Dog Man: Mission Impawsible

If you’ve ever watched the late great actor Bob Hoskins talk about taking the role of Mario back in the early 1990s, then you’ve probably heard the story about how he had no idea that the Super Mario Bros. movie was based on a popular line of video games. In fact, it wasn’t until Bob’s son showed him the cartridge when he finally connected the dots. That’s how I felt going into Dog Man: Mission Impawsible. When I loaded up this cute side-scrolling platformer, I had no idea that it was part of a long-running graphic novel series and spin-off of Captain Underpants, both of which were created by none other than Dav Pilkey. Now, if you’re of a certain age, you’re probably shouting at the screen wondering how I could be so clueless. How could it be that I’ve never heard of Dog Man? Much like Bob Hoskins back when he agreed to be Mario, I’m old and out of touch with the youth. I’m a relic from another era. But is that going to stop me from enjoying a well-crafted 2D platformer? Heck no! This is my review of Dog Man: Mission Impawsible.

OH NO! The key to the city has been stolen by Piggy, the nefarious leader of the evil organization F.L.E.A.S., and he intends to unlock the prison doors and release all of the evildoers. What are we going to do? We’re going to call Dog Man, of course! He, along with his Supa Buddies, are on the case, sniffing out clues and chasing the leads through dozens of levels spread across five wildly different worlds. Watch out, criminals, because Dog Man is on your tail. In some cases, literally.

So, who are Dog Man’s Supa Buddies? First up there’s Cat Kid (aka Li’l Petey), an adorable kitty with a real penchant for technology. In the game, he’s small and agile, allowing him to fit into tight paths and climb the walls with his sharp nails. Also on the case is Lightning Dude (aka 80-HD), a massive droid robot that is able to jump higher and use his strength to push crates around the level. Players will be able to switch between Dog man, Cat Kid and Lightning Dude at pretty much any time, so you’ll find the levels are created in such a way that requires you to use all of their different abilities.

At first glance, Dog Man looks and feels like a fairly straight-forward 2D platformer. It’s a non-violent game where you jump on cartoony enemies to make them dizzy. There are no weapons and nobody dies, which I imagine is in the spirit of the book series. However, it’s on that second glance when you realize that this is more than a simple platformer, because we’re constantly being introduced to fun new abilities. This ends up gently transitioning the game from a simple action game to a surprisingly compelling puzzle game.

A lot of this can be placed on the shoulders of the new abilities that we construct throughout the course of the game. All three heroes will earn extra moves and abilities, often something that will give you access to a new part of the level or help you solve some sort of puzzle. For example, Dog Man will build both a grappling hook and a hang glider, which help him get around. Cat Kid, on the other hand, will be able to hack nearby computers and shrink objects in the way. All of this is reflected in the level designs, which go from simple to elaborate by the time the game is over. You’ll have to do more than just switch between the three characters, because you’ll also need to keep track of their different upgrades.

Now, as the old guy who has spent four decades playing cartoony platformers, I could stick my nose up in the air and say that this has all been done before. That’s because, it has. Dog Man isn’t exactly breaking any new ground here. However, for younger gamers, there should be more than enough ideas here to keep things fresh and constantly changing. And for those who love Dog Man and all of his lore, this game is packed with familiar locations and tons of cameos. I’m sure 99% of the references went over my head, and I still had a good time running and jumping through these well-crafted stages.

It helps that the visuals look like they were pulled straight out of the book. Although a bit on the simplistic side, the different stages do a good job of capturing the spirit of the books. It looks the part. They didn’t attempt to make Dog Man look like some overly animated 3D character, but rather opted for a very simple two or three frames of animation, mimicking the moves and positions found in the books. I prefer this approach, though the target audience may be looking for something more modern. Perhaps something more akin to the upcoming movie.

As a game aimed directly at kids, I found Dog Man to be extremely charming. I thought back to games like DuckTales and Castle of Illusion, the cartoon games of my youth that left a big impact on me. Although most of these ideas feel like old hat to me, there are probably some kids who will be introduced to some of these puzzles for the first time. If I were a kid who loved these books, I would eat this game up. The action is constantly changing and there are so many fun extras to unlock along the way.

However, if you’re an adult with no prior love to this franchise, then you may want to sit this one out. Yes, it’s a well-made platformer, but it’s also extremely easy and maybe a bit too long for its own good. You’ll be shocked at how short and easy the boss fights are. There were battles that barely lasted sixty seconds. If I were a kid seeing these far-too-easy boss fights, I would feel insulted It’s the one big flaw in an otherwise fun game.

Despite some of those flaws, Dog Man is a whole lot better than I was expecting. It’s a game that uses the license well and gives fans more than they were asking for. It’s loaded with new obstacles, enemies pulled straight from the books, items to collect and upgrades that change the way you play each stage. Older gamers will recognize all of these tricks, but younger gamers who love Dog Man will have a blast fighting crime with the Supa Buddies.