Dad ‘n Me | a Review
originally published on 14/12/2024;
Hello everyone, I am the proponent for fathers to have the time to do things with their children, G.E.M.Simov, a being so thankful that it had a present father that I’ve come to tell you about the flash game “Dad ‘n Me”.
Simple review details - I rank games on an out of 10 basis, granting up to 3 points in 3 categories, as well as a last, single point from my own self, depending on my experience with it.
Gameplay
Dad ‘n Me is a beat ‘em up game in the vein of Streets of Rage. As such, it is horribly mangled by the fact it relies on a three dimensional playing field, which is presented to the Player in an isometric style, but has two dimensional Character sprites who only have heights and widths, without having any girth at all.
Thus, the Presentation issue of the Characters having only 2 axis while the playing field has 3 axis becomes a dreadful Gameplay issue that makes it so the Player Character (PC) needs to be positioned on the exact same line as the enemies, that are in need of defeating, so that they can actually be hit.
The issue here is that that is not an easy task, and not because of the game’s failure. In fact, Dad ‘n Me does many things right - including movement, because it is brisk and responsive. However, the issue here is that there are somewhere around 100 or 200 or 300 lines that the Player must contend with, and since the PC does not stick to said lines (as in it does not stop moving upon reaching a line so as to allow ease of line selection), because that would make movement a horrible experience, the solution is…
The solution is to ‘get good’, which requires that the Player plays the game a lot, gets good at estimating when the PC and the Enemies are on the appropriate lines and when hitting said enemies is achievable. However, investing that much time into a game that has no replayability and can be beaten in less than two minutes is… Well, it’s not a good investment.
So the way this issue could be solved - instead of requiring learning the game inside and out - is by having the PC’s attacks be broader, allowing them to affect more than just three or four lines, instead going for 10 or so. That would make the game a lot easier, on account of making things simulate 3D. That is not done, though, and so the Player must simply get lucky or get very good at estimating.
This issue is, of course, mostly related to avoiding gripes with the game. When playing Dad ‘n Me, the goal is to have fun, and to avoid bothersome situations - well, the way things are positioned in this 3D space, which things have 2 Dimensions, rather than 3, leads to a lot of nearly inexplicable things. That attack should have landed, it looks like it goes straight through that enemy; and other examples of that nature.
The problem is not just in enemies, though. It also affects objects. The game features a large field that the PC walks through, enemies who roam around said field, or attack the PC, and occasionally objects here and there. These objects can be picked up, but the means by which this is accomplished are clunky, due to the fact that said objects are also sprites, rather than 3D entities.
So, the Player must have the PC walk up to the objects in a very particular manner - from below up - otherwise the objects will not be picked up. There is another issue relating to picking things up - some enemies can be picked up, but that occurs by simply walking into them. Picking up objects occurs by walking into them and pressing a button - the attack button - which is problematic because many of the objects in the game explode when damaged or hit.
There are other objects that are picked up by walking up to them, much like enemies. So why is there such a start difference? Well, it could be that the objects in question slow the PC - those that need a button press to be picked up - while those other ones do not impede the PC’s movement. However, that is not properly communicated to the Player, and remains a point of contention due to the volatility of the objects that get picked up by pressing a button.
This could be explained away and excused as limitations - and since one single person did the programming for the game, it stands to reason that it was so - but at the same time, it is a detractor to the amount of enjoyment that the Player can derive from the game. It is clunky and unpolished, and produces moments of displeasure and annoyance.
Now, onto combat. The game is all about combat, after all. Enemies walk around, with only a select few actually having means of hurting the PC (some of whom also simply wander around, while others purposefully seek out the PC and try to deal damage to it, ultimately hoping to kill it).
The goal is to kill all enemies, with the game’s world - the large field - being sectioned off. The PC starts off on one end of the field and slowly walks up to the other end, regularly encountering invisible walls that prevent progress prior to killing all enemies in the current section.
The PC has two means of attacking - by pressing the A and S buttons. They can be pressed together to perform a special attack. They can also be pressed in rapid, different successions to pull off various combos. For a ten minute game, Dad ‘n Me has a very robust combo system, especially considering that it has only two buttons to work with - and that is a very commendable achievement.
In fact, the game has more than just that. Normally, the PC moves at a certain rate, but the Player can press either the Left or Right Arrow Key twice (in rapid succession) to make the PC sprint, moving faster and doing damage upon colliding with an enemy, while also knocking them down. This particular command can be combined with an attack to produce yet another combo.
In addition, when the PC picks up an enemy, they can press either A or S to hit the enemy, with there being combo options. That said, enemies are… Flakey. They get knocked down after a few hits, or get knocked back and bounce off of the edge of the screen, falling on the ground and becoming invincible for a moment. The Player is incentivized to deliver many attacks in rapid succession, but the way that interacts with the feebleness of the enemies is somewhat bothersome.
It urges the Player to juggle targets, or to hit more than one at a time, so as to get as many hits in in as small a time-frame as possible. That is valuable, because it builds up the Rage meter that the PC has, and when the Rage meter becomes full, the PC becomes empowered, moving faster and doing more damage with their attacks. However, taking damage immediately empties the Rage meter, and the Rage meter, when not full, rapidly depletes while the PC is not doing damage.
Thus, the game has some depth to it, which depth is neat and urges the Player to consider their actions… That said, there are a few issues.
The enemies that do attack are very unforgiving, leaving incredibly small time-frames for the Player to react to their attacks. This is most pronounced when the enemies get up from being knocked down, as often they immediately attack, and their attacks start as soon as they are on their two feet - there is no wind-up animation, no indication that they will attack - the just start attacking.
This is most pronounced in the boss of the game - who not only has ranged attacks that immediately do damage to the PC (hit-scan, no projectiles) but also has a particularly unpleasant attack that is literally built around him getting up after being knocked down, which can lead into some impossible interactions (such as one that I experienced which, somehow, had him falling down while I was just standing there and him constantly hitting and killing me).
Overall, the game suffers from the fact that it is a beat ‘em up with the point of view that it is making use of. It is difficult on account of the faults that I have mentioned, and it is a cause of agitation and bother. However, it is not bad. It is quite good, even if it is weighed down by these shortcomings. 2/3
Presentation
Dad ‘n Me starts off with a very funky little cinematic that then transitions into something out of a slasher film. It quickly sets the tone - that this is a murder random people game - and establishes the theme, which is a bit jokey, but also somewhat serious.
That said, the game does not actually rely on sound to make itself unsettling. In fact, it does not try to, and does not become anything chilling or thrilling, though it does set some odd expectation that it will be such, thanks to the presence of its main menu, which features a very particular piece of music.
The game itself is a very bright and colorful mess of things, featuring a playing field that is in 2.5 and Characters that are sprites that wobble around on that field. Everything is somewhat rough, employing a very cartoony style. It looks good, if a bit rough.
On top of that, the characters are all decently well animated, coupled with a very decent selection of sound effects that really help with hit feedback. The one oddity that Dad ‘n Me allows itself is the cheerful, and unfortunately repetitive, soundtrack, which is such because one track plays for most of the game. There are a few slight exceptions, but aside from that, it’s just that cheerful little tune.
The tone and theme are, however, very on point. It is a caricature, a parody, of sorts, and it plays with cliches. There are ninjas, there are gangsters, there are bullies - there’s a lot of everything. It is one of THE Newgrounds games, and it is definitely what some people think of when they think of Newgrounds - it has just that type of humor… Back when flash was a thing and this game came out, of course.
Dad ‘n Me also features a very interesting tutorial, in the sense that there is a short, built in video that goes over the basics in a succinct and slightly entertaining manner, as a result of which the Player has few excuses not to know how to play the game prior to playing it… Though it does miss a few tidbits. 3/3
Story
A little fella in a purple suit and a skull mask gets dropped off by his dad (a big fella with a purple suit and a skull mask) and starts beating the shit out of the neighborhood’s kids. And by beating the shit, I mean killing them by punching them hard enough to cave their skulls in.
He goes on a rampage, killing everyone who shows up, including a pistol wielding thug, and then his dad picks him up.
In short, there is no story. There is an interesting tidbit that every enemy has a name, but aside from that, there’s nothing to talk about here. 0/3
Legendary Point
Does this game get the Legendary point, so craved and wanted by all and none at the same time? While I remember it from my childhood, it is not a fond memory. I just know of it. Similarly, the experience of playing the game is not something amazing, and so NO, it does not get the Legendary Point. 0/1
Conclusion
5/10. Dad ‘n Me is a funky little flash game that shows off what Newgrounds was like (and what it was all about) back when flash was in its heyday. The game is a neat little time-capsule, but I would only recommend a play-through for fans of old internet humor or beat ‘em up games.
In the bag of mediocrity it goes, wherein it will gather dust, a long forgotten memory…