One Dog Story

About

One Dog Story is a single player arcade hack and slash game. It was developed by Big Way Games and was released on April 28, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

One Dog Story is an engaging pixel adventure game with RPG elements, gameplay that’ll get you hooked for hours, and well-developed characters. You wake up in an underground laboratory, free again after a horrific accident. Prepare to explore this expansive game world and its many secrets and mysteries.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

72%

Audience ScoreBased on 285 reviews

story80 positive mentions

stability14 negative mentions

The game features nice pixel art and a charming main character, which evokes nostalgia for classic platformers.
The soundtrack is praised for its quality, enhancing the overall atmosphere of the game.
The gameplay includes a variety of weapons and challenging bosses, providing an engaging experience for players.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs and glitches, including game-breaking issues that can prevent progress.
The controls and gameplay mechanics are often described as clunky and unresponsive, leading to frustrating experiences.
Many players report a lack of clear direction and poor level design, making navigation tedious and confusing.

story
200 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
57%
3%
The story of "One Dog Story" is generally seen as engaging and charming, featuring themes of loyalty and friendship, reminiscent of classic narratives like "All Dogs Go to Heaven." While some players appreciate its intriguing plot and multiple endings, others criticize it for being poorly executed, with fragmented storytelling and minimalistic dialogue that detracts from the overall experience. Despite its flaws, many find the story compelling enough to keep them invested in the gameplay.
- “The story, world, music, art, and characterization are all very charming.”
- “In flashbacks made as cutscenes, we are shown the backstory about the friendship between the hero of the game, while he was still a dog, and the girl, which is quite cute.”
- “The interesting thing about the story of this game is that you kind of walk into the middle of it in the game, and figure out what's going on as it's already well underway.”
- “My primary complaints are a rather forgettable story and pretty boring lore within the computers, etc. I did also run into a few bugs where my character would get stuck mid-jump or sometimes stuck in the ceiling.”
- “The story shows promise, but is so segmented that it becomes harder to follow.”
- “The story tries to be mysterious and aloof, but just comes across as flimsy and uninspired.”
music
82 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
40%
10%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its charm and retro feel, particularly highlighting the chiptune and 8-bit tracks that enhance the atmosphere. However, some players criticize the soundtrack for being repetitive or uninspired, with a few describing it as a collection of short loops. Overall, while the music is often seen as a standout feature, opinions vary significantly on its quality and impact on the gameplay experience.
- “Great chiptune music and pleasant graphics.”
- “The game deserves a purchase, at least for the soundtrack.”
- “I haven't even finished this game and I know for a fact that this game is a beautiful metroidvania that has a nice art style and music that is absolutely amazing.”
- “The music and sounds are annoying from the get-go; the graphics are very repetitive, the enemies are poorly designed, the weapons don't feel good, and the story is some generic amnesia tripe revealed through random unconsciousness and small text logs.”
- “Platforming is pretty basic, gameplay is uninspired, combat is finicky, controls are responsive but have little room for nuance, sound design is bad, and the soundtrack is possibly the laziest and most uninspired collection of 5-10 second loops I've ever heard.”
- “I personally didn't like the music, but you can check it out yourself in the trailer.”
gameplay
77 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
53%
5%
Gameplay reviews are mixed, with some praising its addictive nature and solid mechanics, while others criticize it for being simplistic, uninspired, and plagued by bugs. Many players appreciate the retro graphics and atmosphere, but find the combat and level design lacking depth. Overall, the gameplay is described as straightforward and polished, yet often feels repetitive and fails to fully engage players.
- “Despite the banal plot, the game pleases with its atmosphere, gameplay, and picture quality.”
- “Solid gameplay, likeable characters, good story, great soundtrack.”
- “The gameplay is pretty fun: the story is interesting enough to keep your attention, at the very least; the pixel art is well done; and, look, it's just plain cute.”
- “Ran into a dead-end after 15 minutes of gameplay because I couldn't retreat through the very same door I entered the room before.”
- “Platforming is pretty basic, gameplay is uninspired, combat is finicky, controls are responsive but have little room for nuance, sound design is bad and the soundtrack is possibly the laziest and most uninspired collection of 5-10 second loops I've ever heard.”
- “The level-based gameplay with linear story progression and a variety of guns that can be missed, along with an upgrade/ammo system that seems missable, as well as no indicator on how to get certain endings and whether or not you're locked out of an ending...”
graphics
65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
34%
6%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the beautiful pixel art and nostalgic aesthetic reminiscent of the 16-bit era. However, some players criticize the repetitiveness and lack of variety in the visual design, noting issues like choppy frame rates and graphical glitches. Overall, while the art style is often highlighted as a strong point, it is sometimes seen as the only redeeming quality amidst other gameplay shortcomings.
- “The graphics look appropriately nice, the action and controls feel precise and fluid, the puzzles are simple enough to keep progressing, and the audio works well with it.”
- “The attention to detail is outstanding and I love the graphics; it makes me nostalgic.”
- “I'm still not done with it, but I’m really enjoying the game, especially the kickass graphics.”
- “The graphics are typical of the 16-bit era, but unfortunately the game has some choppy frame rate issues at times on my system.”
- “All the rooms in an area look very similar in terms of both design and graphics.”
- “Edit: actually, now that I've resumed my game, I have cutscenes playing that shouldn't be replaying again and causing some weird graphical glitches and stuff. This game needed more polish before being fully released, I'm sad to say.”
atmosphere
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
50%
17%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised, characterized by pleasant and engaging elements such as eight beat music that enhances the experience. Reviewers note that despite a simplistic plot, the game's atmosphere, gameplay, and visual quality create an enjoyable environment, making it a standout feature. Overall, the combination of atmospheric music and intriguing puzzles contributes to a captivating gaming experience.
- “A very pleasant and atmospheric game.”
- “Despite the banal plot, the game pleases with its atmosphere, gameplay, and picture quality.”
- “One Dog Story is an arcade game with various interesting puzzles, a fascinating story, and an exciting atmosphere.”
- “- atmosphere is pretty well done”
stability
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
88%
The stability of the game has been widely criticized, with many users reporting numerous irritating glitches and bugs that detract from the overall experience. While some players have not encountered significant issues, the consensus leans towards the game being a "buggy mess" in need of further polish and refinement. Overall, the game's stability appears to be a major concern for a significant portion of the player base.
- “This game is a buggy mess, with several irritating glitches that disrupt the experience.”
- “One Dog Story is a buggy, dull affair, where you slog through sewers and elevator shafts and wrestle with the clunky controls.”
- “There are too many technical glitches and issues, along with bad game design and code problems. This game needed more polish before being fully released.”
humor
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as a mix of intentional and unintentional comedy, with players finding amusement in its quirky storytelling, silly weapon choices (like the chicken tosser), and the absurdity of its characters and monsters. While some elements may not land well, the overall experience is seen as entertainingly ridiculous, making it enjoyable to laugh at despite its shortcomings in gameplay.
- “A funny game.”
- “Weapons range from 'classic' (shotgun, plasma rifle) to funny (chicken tosser) and can be upgraded.”
- “Basically, the game's all about all sorts of bosses and monsters, a bunch of weapons, lots of battles, and a funny little dog with his story.”
emotional
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its touching storyline that emphasizes themes of friendship and sacrifice, complemented by nice music and sound. Reviewers highlight the emotional impact of the narrative, describing it as heart-warming and reminiscent of classic storytelling, making it a must-play for fans of emotional experiences in gaming.
- “A must-play for everyone who loves good heart-warming stories about friendship and sacrifice.”
- “Top-notch pixel art, real heart-warming story, just like in the good old days!”
- “Nice music and sound, interesting enemies, and a touching storyline.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly due to the repetitive nature of checking identical doors for keycard access and the drawn-out final boss fight. The minimalist story and poor design choices contribute to a sense of monotony, making the experience feel unnecessarily long and unengaging. Overall, the grinding mechanics detract from the enjoyment of the game.
- “All unusable doors look the same regardless of whether they just don't work or they need a green keycard or a red keycard or whatever else, so I need to manually check every door every time I pass it and every time I get a new keycard, which is just tedious.”
- “The final boss is... atrociously easy, while at the same time being tedious and long-winded!”
- “It could be a system of forcing choices between upgrades, heals, and saves, but instead it's just tedious... more awful design.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews highlight strong character design as a positive aspect of the game, but do not provide specific insights into character development or growth throughout the narrative. Overall, while the character design is praised, the lack of detailed commentary suggests that character development may not be a focal point in the game.
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization has been criticized for being barely average, with users expressing uncertainty about whether the issues stem from the game engine or the developers' implementation. Overall, the performance and gameplay mechanics do not meet expectations.
- “I'm not sure if it's the engine or the developers, but the gameplay, mechanics, and performance side of this game are barely average.”