Reviewing a game which drip feeds you daily content across a whole year is perhaps a fool’s errand – but with Daily Dadish we’ll attempt it nonetheless. Even though we’ve not even played a third of it, technically.
This is the fourth entry in the Dadish universe, but the fundamental ‘plot’ is the same. You play as a father who’s trying to round up his errant children, but you also happen to be a radish. Hence the portmanteau ‘Dadish.’
To rescue these young vegetables you have to complete linear 2D stages filled with various obstacles and enemies – with most of these foes fast food related.
This is a little different to the previous three titles – as those were all pretty standard linear 2D platformers that saw you progress through roughly 50-60 stages and a range of bosses at the end of each world.
The appeal of the Dadish games has always been their simplicity, with crisp visuals pairing perfectly with the responsive controls. Dadish can’t attack, but he can double jump – and this mechanic is used in a range of massively satisfying ways.
This simplicity is followed in the set up for Daily Dadish too. You get just one level a day to complete, and that’s it. There’s a star up for grabs each day if you complete it quickly enough, and these can be used to unlock new playable characters.
The stages vary in terms of location – all taken from previous entries in the series – and are usually very short. If you don’t die they’re often over in around 30 seconds.
Thing is, you will die – as there are some brutal challenges served up at times, and one hit is all it takes for Danish to go to the great vegetable patch in the sky. The difficulty is purely random though, so some days have been much, much harder than others.
Fortunately the quality of stages is largely up to par compared to previous Dadish games, perhaps a little lower due to the random nature of the locations.
What is a little disappointing is that there are few attempts to take advantage of specific days, events, or celebrations.
On Valentine’s Day we were expecting a stage flooded with the lovestruck cupcakes that chase you for instance – but none were to be seen.
The amusing dialogue at the end of every stage between Dadish and his rescued child rarely reflects any special events either.
It’s odd as the effort put into creating 366 levels (the leap year day has not been forgotten, we’re told) has clearly been gargantuan for indie developer Thomas K. Young – so not to go a small step further in this regard is a little surprising.
Ultimately Daily Dadish is a must buy for long-term fans though, and offers some enjoyable if hardly revolutionary platforming fun – in very small daily doses.
No responses yet