One Dog Story
- April 28, 2017
- Big Way Games
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam"One Dog Story" is a pixel adventure game with RPG elements, offering hardcore bosses, a variety of locations, and original gameplay decisions. You'll explore an underground world, interacting with its inhabitants to regain your memories, with different weapons, modifications, and multiple endings. The game features full immersion in the game world, complete with fantastic SFX and background music.
Reviews
- The game features charming pixel art and a nostalgic atmosphere reminiscent of classic platformers.
- The gameplay is engaging with a variety of weapons and upgrades, providing a fun experience for fans of the genre.
- The story has interesting elements and multiple endings, which adds depth to the gameplay.
- The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches that can lead to game-breaking issues and frustrating experiences.
- There is a lack of proper backtracking and map features, making exploration tedious and sometimes leading to dead ends.
- Controls can be awkward, with issues like poor hit detection and a camera that can cause discomfort during gameplay.
- story101 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The story of "One Dog Story" is generally seen as intriguing and charming, featuring themes of loyalty and friendship, reminiscent of classic titles like "Cave Story." While some players appreciate its emotional depth and multiple endings, others criticize it for being poorly conveyed through small text and a lack of engaging gameplay, leading to a disjointed narrative experience. Overall, the story has potential but is often overshadowed by gameplay issues and repetitive elements.
“The story is morally and spiritually very similar to the cartoon - all dogs go to heaven.”
“The levels are colorful, the storyline is intriguing, and the characters are well developed in every way possible!”
“The story is told excitingly and captivatingly.”
“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 tries to be mysterious and aloof, but just comes across as flimsy and uninspired.”
“The story goes way too minimalist and is kind of engrishy. It may have worked without all these other issues making it just tedious, but it doesn't work.”
- music40 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
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, suggesting that while the music can be enjoyable, it may not be enough to elevate the overall experience. Overall, the soundtrack is often noted as a standout feature, with several players recommending it as a reason to purchase the game.
“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, and the story is some generic amnesia tripe.”
“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.”
- gameplay39 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally described as a straightforward 2D platforming experience, with some players finding it fun and addictive, while others criticize it for being simplistic and uninspired. Many reviews highlight issues such as mechanical bugs, lack of depth in combat, and a linear progression that can lead to frustrating dead ends. Overall, the game features appealing visuals and a retro aesthetic, but suffers from inconsistent mechanics and sound design that detracts from the overall experience.
“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.”
“I really liked this game, the style and music gave it a very retro feel and I thought the gameplay was spot on and smooth.”
“Gameplay is straightforward, but feels polished.”
“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...”
“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.”
“Environments are uninteresting, story is intrusive, and base combat mechanics feel very rudimentary.”
- graphics32 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 34 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the beautiful pixel art and nostalgic retro aesthetic, while others criticize the repetitiveness and lack of detail in certain areas. Some players appreciate the overall visual design and its alignment with the gameplay, though issues like choppy frame rates and graphical glitches have been noted. Overall, the graphics are generally seen as a strong point, even if they are marred by some technical 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.”
“A great platformer, lovely graphics and great audio as well.”
“The graphics are very repetitive; I can very clearly see the 'tiles' and background tessellation.”
“All the rooms in an area look very similar in terms of both design and 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.”
- atmosphere9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised, characterized by pleasant and engaging elements such as upbeat music and quality visuals. Reviewers note that despite a simple plot, the game's atmosphere, combined with intriguing puzzles and gameplay, creates an enjoyable experience. Overall, it is described as a well-crafted atmospheric platformer that enhances the gaming experience.
“A very pleasant and atmospheric game.”
“Despite the banal plot, the game pleases with its atmosphere, gameplay, and picture quality.”
“Decent gameplay, atmospheric music - what's not to like?”
“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.”
- stability8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 88 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with many users reporting numerous irritating glitches and bugs that detract from the experience. While some players have noted improvements after patches, others still encounter significant technical issues and clunky controls, indicating that the game required more polish before release. A few users, however, have reported a stable experience without major problems.
“The game runs incredibly smoothly with almost no bugs, making for a stable and enjoyable experience.”
“I appreciate the stability of the game; it rarely crashes and provides a seamless gameplay experience.”
“The developers have done a fantastic job ensuring stability, with only minor non-game breaking bugs that don't affect my enjoyment.”
“Stability: ☑ buggy mess - ☐ some non-game breaking bugs - ☐ almost perfect - ☐ stable”
“One Dog Story is a buggy, dull affair, where you slog through sewers and elevator shafts and wrestle with the clunky controls.”
“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.”
- humor8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as a mix of amusing elements, including quirky weapons like the "chicken tosser" and a funny dog character, which contribute to its comedic appeal. While some players find the humor entertaining, others feel it falls flat due to repetitive elements and a lack of depth in gameplay. Overall, the game is seen as funny in parts, particularly through its absurd monsters and lighthearted storytelling.
“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.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its touching storyline and heartwarming themes of friendship and sacrifice, complemented by nice music and sound. Players appreciate the emotional depth conveyed through engaging characters and nostalgic pixel art, making it a must-play for fans of heartfelt narratives.
“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.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and frustrating, particularly due to the repetitive nature of checking doors that look identical regardless of their status, and the drawn-out, easy final boss encounter that detracts from the overall experience. The minimalist story and poor design choices contribute to a sense of monotony, making the grinding feel more like a chore than an engaging challenge.
“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 incredibly 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 development1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
While the game excels in music, controls, level design, and character design, the reviews do not provide specific insights into the depth or progression of character development. Overall, character development appears to be overshadowed by other gameplay elements.
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has been criticized, with users noting that the gameplay, mechanics, and overall performance are only average, suggesting potential issues with either the game engine or development choices.
“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.”
“The optimization is so poor that it feels like I'm playing a beta version rather than a finished product.”
“Frequent frame drops and long loading times make the experience frustrating and unenjoyable.”
