App Review: Dashy the cat

Dashy is right — this cat can dash and zip throughout the various levels that give life to Dashy the cat. Created by Cliqers game studio and published by Appsolute Games, Dashy the cat brings a fun and lighthearted atmosphere to the puzzle genre.

The game features the internets favorite pet, a cat, as it zips rips and dashes across the screen in a grid like pattern as you swipe in one of the four directions to move it. Meanwhile you can choose to make a run towards the exit of the level, or take your time and try and collect the various orange watermelon pieces scattered throughout. In either case you have to avoid colliding with devious red tucans that will send you back to the start of the level if you touch them.

Gameplay

The premise is simple enough that you can pick the game up quickly and the controls feel very responsive which makes controlling your zippy friend enjoyable. There was hardly ever a time where I didn’t know what to do or what something would do to me, and if there was, it didn’t take very long to figure it out. The enemies are setup in interesting patterns and formations that keep you still while you think about your best move and if you should go for that juicy off colored watermelon or make a quick dash towards the exit instead. Timing is usually key in most levels and you usually get ample little sections where you’re able to try and time your move, however theres some sections where the timing almost feels impossible without relying on the replay option (which requires a video ad replay, more on that later) which then spawns you back to your death point but unable to be damaged by enemies for the first move. Although its fun to think about the puzzle and timing, after multiple deaths from the tucans, you cant but help the wanting of some sort of ability that would do the same to the tucans.

Artwork and Design

The artwork is where the game really shines, with two artists on-board (Raymond See and Poh Yong Huat) you can tell that a lot of time was spent on making the great work that shows on the screen. The world comes to life with floating block like clouds, enemy animations, small particle effects and movement for the cat. The menus are minimal and not-complicated making it easy to navigate. You wont mind taking your time to think about your next move when enjoying all the animations happening at once.

Music and Sounds

Sadly where the art prevails, the music fails. Theres nothing wrong with the background music provided, it feels like a mix of Animal Crossing and poppy elevator music however I would of like to at least heard one more track through my play through to keep me sane. The background music though is about as much as the game attempts in music and sounds. The same sound is re-used when hitting anything regardless of if its an enemy or spiky thorns. Collecting a juicy watermelon only produces a sounds that seems ripped straight out of candy crush. Theres nothing when you actually reach the end of a level or checkpoint to make you feel like you accomplished anything, until after you’ve given up 20 of your hard earned watermelons or watched a video ad.

Monetization and Ads

Dashy does Ads well, for the most part. The game is free therefor Ads come with no surprise here. Theres a constant banner at the bottom of the game that refreshes every 30 seconds or so, but while playing you’ll hardly notice it. After you’ve completed a level you have the choice to move on to the next by either giving up your felines fruit or to watch a video ad. Not bad, although you sometimes don’t get the full 20 watermelons required to pass to the next level therefor are occasionally forced to watch an ad to proceed. You’re also able to get revived once throughout a level if you die by watching a 30 second ad, and restart at the spot where you died — instead of having to restart at the top of the level. As the levels got longer and longer, I had to use this more and more, otherwise I’d have to redo every “perfect” timing that I had already done prior. Although I didn’t particularly mind this in general as it was my choice to get served the ad, at times I chose to start the level over instead of watching an ad… only to be served a regular pop up ad anyways — not cool.

Overall

Dashy the Cat is a fun, puzzle/collecting game. It’s art really does half the job here and pulls you into the world while the gameplay makes you think and plan. It’s charming and engaging with small rough edges that can be overlooked. I’d recommend the game to anyone looking for a fun, small, semi-challenging game to try and beat. As of this writing it seems the game only features 10 levels, but they’re hard enough to at least keep you engaged for a couple hours and easy enough that you can pick up the game anytime and take a quick stab at trying to beat a level. You can get this game through the Apple AppStore or Google PlayStore. For more information on this game you can visit the official website at http://dashythecat.com/index.html. If you liked this review, feel free to follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/GeorgeSprites ! Thanks.