INTRODUCTION
I love platformers. Especially platformers that mix in elements from other genres. One Dog Story is one such platformer. Plus you’re a dog! A humanoid, walking, talking dog, but a dog nonetheless. It’s not often you find a game like this, especially one as well designed as this.
STORY
Dog wakes up from a broken capsule in the middle of a lab seemingly deep underground. Setting out from the room to find out who or what you are, in addition to what happened that released you, it’s the player’s job to guide “Dog” through various areas. Accompanied by a mysterious voice, Dog sets out to discover his origin and what happened to the lab.
Additional bits of story play out via Dog having the occasional blackout and dreaming about bits and pieces of his past. You find out why he was in the capsule, and a lot of other details I’m going to leave out of this review so as not to spoil anything. It’s a story players need to experience for themselves.
GAMEPLAY
One Dog Story is mainly a platformer, and as such you will be doing a lot of jumping and…platforming. Early on you’ll come across your first weapon which you’ll use to defend yourself from the threats you face along your journey. You’ll also find various items to help you access and progress through new areas.
Defeated enemies drop mutagen, which you can use to upgrade your weapons, heal yourself, and save your game. You can only do these actions at various “vending machines” placed throughout the game, and are setup much like checkpoints. You’ll never really be short of mutagen to do anything as long as you kill most enemies you encounter.
GRAPHICS
Overall I like the general aesthetic of the game. It’s very crisp and everything is animated very well. I like how colorful the world is, and how detailed each environment is. You can easily tell what obstacles are, what the enemies are, and for the most part where to go at nearly all times. Every area is also very well designed and generally have a theme.
 AUDIO
Each area has a different track that adds a certain feel to it. Slow and suspenseful for the big open areas, or really tense for darker areas. It makes it feel like you’ll never know what you’ll find around each corner. Sound effects are a bit basic, but they do their jobs.
VERDICT
An intriguing and surprisingly gripping platformer, One Dog Story is more than it appears. Don’t be fooled by it’s simple appearance. It’s challenging enough to warrant a playthrough, but simple enough for most gamers to play. Well designed levels add to the excitement. Definitely worth a buy.
