Grapple Dog

What to Know

Critics Recommend

Average Score

Total Reviews: 21

Play It

Grapple Dog suffers from frustrating gatekeeping, but simple controls and an adorable world make it an interesting experience that’s worth your time. Switch owners, beware, however: Grapple Dog is yet another unfortunate example of a game whose performance is severely compromised on the platform.

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Critics Recommend

Critic Reviews: 21

Critics Consensus

# Reviews: 21

Grapple Dog suffers from frustrating gatekeeping, but simple controls and an adorable world make it an interesting experience that's worth your time. Switch owners, beware, however: Grapple Dog is yet another unfortunate example of a game whose performance is severely compromised on the platform.

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What did you think of Grapple Dog?

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Critic Reviews for Grapple Dog

Critic Reviews

Score Distribution

21

Reviews

Average Score - 79/100

79%

Ranges

Not Recommended

Matt Cox (Rock, Paper, Shotgun)

A cute yet frustrating platformer, with a grappling hook that can’t quite do the business on levels mired in frustrating repetition.

February 9, 2022 |

Full Review

Grapple Dog is a light, breezy mascot platformer that hooks you with precise, simple controls.

February 15, 2022 |

Full Review

7/10

Steve Watts (GameSpot)

9/10

Kaelyn Daugherty (Pure Nintendo)

Grapple Dog is an adorable, challenging platformer with a lot of content for the price. It’s a great filler if you’re waiting on some of the bigger 2022 titles to be released, or if you’re wanting a game to play with the kids. I highly recommend checking it out!

February 15, 2022 |

Full Review

Matt Cox (Rock, Paper, Shotgun)

Not Recommended - (Read Review)

A cute yet frustrating platformer, with a grappling hook that can’t quite do the business on levels mired in frustrating repetition.

Steve Watts (GameSpot)

7/10 - (Read Review)

Grapple Dog is a light, breezy mascot platformer that hooks you with precise, simple controls.

Kaelyn Daugherty (Pure Nintendo)

9/10 - (Read Review)

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Read the Reviews (21 total)

Outlet	Author	Score	Date	Quote	Read
33bits	Rubén Rionegro	90 / 100	02-15-2022	There are few things that Grapple Dog can’t do well: it has a very solid and addictive gameplay that will keep us glued to the screen for hours, an elaborate level design with many secrets to discover, a unique visual style and a lot of replayability. A real must have for fans of platform games.	Read review
Cultured Vultures	Ashley Bates	7.5 / 10	02-09-2022	Grapple Dog’s not a perfect platformer by any stretch of the imagination, but the core gameplay concept and visual design still manages to raise huge grins.	Read review
Digital Chumps	Will Silberman	8 / 10	09-22-2021	Grapple Dog is an excellent proof of concept for a 2D action platformer that requires you to swing through levels and traverse through the air as an adorable pup. While I did enjoy the gameplay despite the quirky movement, I couldn’t help but wish there was more, as Medallion Games are onto something fun, charming, groovy, and unique with Pablo. I hope to see this game optimized and updated for the Switch, as the gameplay issues I encountered slightly detracted from this short but sweet indie platforming gem. Need I remind you to pet Pablo every time you complete a level? Please give him all the pets; he deserves it.	Read review
Digitally Downloaded	Matt Sainsbury	4 / 5 stars	02-16-2022	I’m not the world’s biggest fan of platformers, but I very much warmed to Grapple Dog. The thought and passion that went into every element of the experience is explicit, and it’s hard not to fall for its wiles and charms. I do think the developers lost sight a little of how they wanted people to play this game, as the speedrunning quality of the movement system does feel at odds with the way the game also asks you to carefully explore levels, but that’s really splitting hairs here. Grapple Dog is a bold, confident, and often inspired take on a genre that is as oversaturated as they come.	Read review
FingerGuns	Kat Bullock	8 / 10	02-10-2022	Grapple Dog is an exhilarating, fast paced 2D platformer that feels like a familiar warm hug and a nod to platforming greats such as Sonic and Super Mario. While it doesn’t do anything especially new, the game never stops surprising with its mechanics and it’s a valiant addition to the genre.	Read review
GameSpew	Chris McMullen	7 / 10	02-10-2022	The game is clearly a labour of love and it shows, to the point where a sequel seems like a given. And so, if you’re prepared to look past Grapple Dog’s level gatekeeping, you’ll have a blast.	Read review
GameSpot	Steve Watts	7 / 10	02-15-2022	Grapple Dog is a light, breezy mascot platformer that hooks you with precise, simple controls.	Read review
Hardcore Gamer	James Cunningham	4.5 / 5 stars	02-11-2022	Grapple Dog is a fantastic platformer that nails just about everything it tries to do.	Read review
Hey Poor Player	Josh Speer	4 / 5 stars	02-11-2022	Grapple Dog may look cute, but it grows more and more challenging the farther you go. It has tight, fast-paced platforming and features a ton of hidden goodies to keep you playing. If you’re at all a fan of the genre, I’d say you need to check Grapple Dog out.	Read review
Nintendo Enthusiast	Steven Rollins	6.5 / 10	02-09-2022	Ultimately, while I did enjoy my time with Grapple Dog, it doesn’t feel like it reached its full potential. There’s a lot of room for replayability and improving your skill in traversing the levels, but the game feels quite slow a lot of the time due to long levels and the also long waits that come with trying again. I do think I’ll come back to it at some point in short bursts to try to clean up the missing collectables, but it’s not something that begs to be finished in any hurry.	Read review
Nintendo Life	Stuart Gipp	9 / 10	02-15-2022	Grapple Dog isn’t quite perfect. We feel that more could have been done with the grapple itself, as it’s a little restrictive in its application. A less friendly, more freeform approach would interfere to an extent with the tight level design, but it would still be cool for speedrunners if the grapple really let them cut loose. That’s pretty nitpicky, though, because developer Medallion does precisely what it sets out to do — deliver an unpretentious platformer that’s a hell of a lot of fun to play.	Read review
NintendoWorldReport	J.P. Corbran	7.5 / 10	02-15-2022	undefined.Grapple Dog has some neat ideas, and it keeps them coming throughout the campaign so it continues to mix things up along the way, but it doesn’t really stand out in a major way. It’s an enjoyable game, but it doesn’t do any one thing exceptionally well. If you’re a platformer freak like I am it’s definitely worth a look, but there’s not much here to put it above some of the great examples of the genre on Switch.	Read review
Rapid Reviews UK	Joseph Barrood	3 / 5 stars	02-16-2022	Grapple Dog is an action platformer that follows Pablo the dog on his quest to save the world from an evil robot. Along the way, I met a host of allies, fought robotic enemies, and made use of my grappling hook to manoeuvre through levels. Does this adventure keep me hooked? Find out in this Rapid Review.	Read review
Rice Digital	Pete Davison	Recommended	02-09-2022	To sum it up then, Grapple Dog is a great game, albeit one with more than a few elements which give me a certain amount of pause in recommending it unreservedly. For some, these issues won’t matter at all — in which case I encourage you to pick Grapple Dog up right away. For others, though, you’ll need to weigh up whether the promise of an extremely solidly designed platformer is enough to make up for a few potentially significant annoyances along the way.	Read review
Rock, Paper, Shotgun	Matt Cox	Not Recommended	02-09-2022	A cute yet frustrating platformer, with a grappling hook that can’t quite do the business on levels mired in frustrating repetition.	Read review
Saving Content	Ed Acosta	5 / 5 stars	03-31-2022	Even though Grapple Dog is just one 2D platformer in a sea of them, I believe this can be your one diamond in the rough. It’s a game that feels responsive and is relatively easy for anyone to pick up and play. It isn’t a cakewalk, though, and you will find challenges ahead, but at the same time, you’re going to soak up the bright colors and the fun story, placing this near the top of your lists.	Read review
TechRaptor	Tanushri Shah	7 / 10	02-14-2022	A fun platformer that offers quite the challenge, Grapple Dog scratches that nostalgia itch but is still pretty ruff around the edges.	Read review
The Game Crater	Max Mitchelson	9 / 10	02-09-2022	Grapple Dog is an approachable platformer with enough depth in its central mechanics to encourage replayability and mastery.	Read review
Use a Potion	Unknown	7.5 / 10	02-10-2022	Grapple Dog is a charming and well-designed 2D platforming adventure that’s only let down by some imprecise controls and technical hiccups. I loved exploring its creative levels, uncovering its collectibles, being a part of the vibrant world, and grappling everywhere, but having to deal with some clunky jumps and long loading times could be a little frustrating.	Read review
Video Chums	A.J. Maciejewski	8.4 / 10	02-09-2022	I love Grapple Dog so much that I hope to see Pablo come back for many more swingin’ adventures. From its fantastic 2D platforming action to its rewarding collectibles and its adorable world to its quirky cast of characters; this delightful dog has it goin’ on.	Read review
WellPlayed	Mark Isaacson	8.5 / 10	02-12-2022	Grapple Dog is a lot of fun, and for platform fans new or old it should provide plenty of entertainment. But the concept doesn’t push the ingenuity slider high enough, and many of its other tricks have been used aplenty elsewhere.	Read review

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Game Info

Game Description / Storyline:

Grapple Dog is an exhilarating 2D pixel-art platformer. Use your awesome grappling hook to clear tricky challenges as Pablo, the Grapple Dog! Sail across 6 colourful worlds with a crew of fearless adventurers to stop the robotic overlord Nul from destroying the world!

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