Judging games for review brings some challenges. How can a tiny indie game compare with a Nintendo-developed blockbuster? We thought about this a lot when playing James Montagna and Andrew Lim's Dot Arcade, a small, highly focused experience that keeps things simple in the name of fun and longevity. While there's not much to discover in Dot Arcade, its elegant design and novel yet accessible gameplay are extremely addictive. As a result Dot Arcade is easily one of the best eShop games released so far this year - but it's not for everybody.
Dot Arcade presents three "light dot" games, where the player moves their avatar (one of those light dots) on an 8x8 grid. The objective of each game is the same: get a high score. While there are no on-screen instructions, most players will automatically and instinctively know what to do. In Mr. Snake, you start with one light dot and collect any green that appear, which then attaches; as more dots are collected, the snake gets longer. If the head of the snake hits any other objects on-screen (represented by blue dots) or collides with itself as it wraps around the screen, it's game over. Mr. Snake is the most challenging of Dot Arcade's three offerings, but there's a strange satisfaction that comes with the "bleep" sound when you get a green dot. The obstacles travel vertically down the grid, so it's easy to predict when you need to high-tail it to the bottom of the screen or get out of the way on the sides, but the green dots appear randomly.
In Dodge Club, the player is represented by a yellow four-dot square and has to avoid the other square, which is made up of yellow and red dots. There's also a green two-dot line that moves around the border that needs to be avoided; the score is accumulated for each second that collisions are dodged. It's deceptively simple - at first it seems easy enough to avoid other objects on the screen, but sustaining your focus and not getting tripped up by the other yellow lights is a challenge.
Rally Driver, the final game in the package, has the player control a "car" (two yellow dots) on the bottom of the screen, avoiding the rails on either side in addition to other cars. The light dots move down the screen here, giving the illusion of racing past other cars; every time a car is successfully passed the border will flash green for a moment. The game speeds up after every ten cars passed, and before long it's a test of quick reflexes - multiple cars will appear, and some will actually shift to different sides. Of the three games, Rally Driver is the most fun and accessible, since the player only has to move horizontally and bypass other obstacles.
One of Dot Arcade's highlights is the "cabinet art" found on each game. The art, which appears on the left and right borders, feels like authentic retro arcade machine art and infuses Dot Arcade with a quirky, bespoke personality not found in most games. The art also lends it a bit of a meta-narrative; Mr. Snake's art shows a valiant knight riding a dragon-like snake, while Dodge Club shows two sparkly anime-style girls in what looks to be a dance club of some sort. In a time when games are released using free assets found in game engine templates, it's refreshing to see such lovely, handcrafted artwork. There are also some alternate cabinets, but we won't spoil how to find them.
The rest of the presentation is strong, as well. The lights really look like LED bulbs and are bright and smooth on the TV screen, as well as the GamePad. Players will notice upon booting up Dot Arcade that the start-up screen is different on the TV and GamePad, with the TV displaying "Dot Arcade" and the GamePad acting as a sort of back-of-box, with the three games listed. It's a small detail, but examples like this make Dot Arcade stand out. The sounds effects, consisting mostly of bleeps, are familiar and realistic, and the main theme song on the game selection screen is catchy and fun. Dot Arcade is a single-player game, but can easily be played in turns. There are no online leaderboards, which is unfortunate, but players are encouraged to post their scores to Miiverse.
Conclusion
Leagues ahead of most other indie eShop arcade-style games, Dot Arcade is a slick and professional production that bursts with personality and enthusiasm. It easily earns a recommendation, but your enjoyment of it depends entirely on whether or not you like quick, twitchy arcade experiences; its uniqueness is an important factor to consider. While this isn't the deepest game on the Wii U, its creativity and pure fun factor make it a slightly surprising must-own for arcade fans.
Comments 31
This felt more like a summary than a review and didn't really try to sell my on "why" I should pick this up. But I guess it's kind of hard to review something like this since the creator himself said it's difficult to explain this game to someone without them actually playing it.
I knew this would be quality. Now when is it coming to Europe?!?
@RCMADIAX how a simple game should be executed
Hey, this looks pretty fun! I'll definitely get this when I have the chance.
I really want this game now. Looks super fun! I'll have to get it with the spare funds I'll have in my eShop account after buying Xenoblade Chronicles 3D off the eShop.
Reminds me of some of the fun days with intellivision/colecovision. I'm definitely planning to pick this up at some point.
I knew this would be (the light) fantastic. Can't wait for the European (and hopefully the 3DS) release.
Neat. Might have to pick this one up.
Bring this to the 3DS as well, and I'm game;)
@undomiel
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, which is actually kind of neat. The market is saturated with 8-bit throwbacks like Shovel Knight, but it's pretty rare to see a game like this. I almost wish it were a little cheaper (Steam sales have made me stingy), but $5 isn't too bad for high-scoring fun..
Hmm... This actually has enough personality for me to consider getting it, should they ever bring it to Europe that is. Quite an interesting release... O_o
In all honesty, this game wouldn't interest me in the slightest if it wasn't for the adorable girl decorating the Cheer Club minigame. I'll see if I'm gonna sacrifice 5 bucks for it, though.
Wow. If this ever makes it to Australia I might just have to pick it up.
So it's five dollars for a game I played on my phone, another mobile game, and a game I've seen on Newgrounds. Why is this allowed on the E-Shop?
Got this yesterday. Interesting and made for high scores, like an Atari 2600 game. I may not play it a lot, but I dont regret the money spent. $5 is nothing anyway.
@KnightRider666
Same here. I just don't know why games like this are not more common on the 3ds since the gameplay lends itself to the handheld. Bring it into the Wii U feels like a waste, IMHO.
This is definitely a hard game to review. On one hand, you can tell a lot of love went into it, and it emulates those old "electronic football" games well. On the other, it is just 3 extremely simple games. If you're not pulled in by the screenshots, you probably will not like the game.
I won't lie, the art caught my attention so I may have to pick this up the next time I get an eshop card.
@maceng: I wouldn't consider it a waste considering the Wii-U's gamepad, but it should've came to both, or at least the 3DS first. It reminds me of the old school handheld games.
I enjoyed Mattel Electronics Auto Race back in the day, and even the electro-mechanical Tomy Blip, so I will definitely give this a try.
I have a Wii U, and stills feels like a waste. The gamepad should not be used to cater to these kind of games, but shine in what is called asynchronous gaming.
When a game hitting the Wii U is meant to played on the gamepad, then, IMHO, is a waste.
Never had any doubt about Dot Arcade's brilliance. Now I'm gonna want a version of the physical cabinet...
Put it on the 3DS and I'll think about it.
This is the kind of stuff I would play for hours on end when I was seven. While I'm too young for actual arcade cabinets of such a simplistic nature, cheap GameBoy knock-offs with five-ish games built in were abundant, complete with colorful stickers surrounding the screen. I'm sure a fresh coat of paint like this will help revive the excitement of the simplicity!
I LOVE the art.
My take on the font of the score (this font is also used when you hold plus or minus to break out of a game and return to the main menu) is it's going for a "debug menu" type feel, intentionally breaking the "fourth wall". If not, then yes, they should have maid a stacked filament type font or something.
I downloaded it. Played it. Wouldn't call it a 9 from a gameplay standpoint, although I could see it garnering a 9 in a design capacity for hitting it's mark; it definitely does what it was meant to do. It feels closer to the handheld Mattel LED games I had as a kid in the 80s, and less like an Atari game. Not for nothing, but I think some of the originals did it better. The cabinet art is cool, and I give them props for bringing together a package with some polish, but I won't play this all that often (though I will play it). It's neither substantial enough to warrant playing for any lengthy amount of time, nor is it addictive enough for me to want to pick it up daily. I have yet to play it passing the controller with friends, so that might give it a bump… or it may further reveal it's lack of substance. Time and a game night will tell. Not a bad game and your mileage with definitely vary, but I would consider a 7 to be a fair score, with and 8 being a stretch and dependent upon personal taste and a 9 being somewhat of a gift. I don't regret picking it up, but I'm not exactly jazzed either.
Edit: To a few people's point, I think this would have been a better fit on the 3DS. I'm not a graphics whore, but it does seem a bit sparse and short lived for a Wii U game. The 3DS seems like a more logical choice.
Again, it's decent for what it is and the Wii U can use all of the games it can get... even C+/B- games (imho), so I'm not knocking it.
It sounds pretty boring to me. I'll pass.
More of an artistic re-interpretation of old school games than something original. It reminds me of all the failed attempts to contemporize classic arcade games for a modern audience that has never heard of them before. I do like the design aesthetic but these are too simple to be anything more than time wasters (of which there are much better these days).
Noooooo. I've already played so many of these kinds of games growing up. Buying this wouldn't feel justified especially since I've got so many other options which feel like better, more complete, more fun games.
People are talking about buying this game because of the art work on the side. Really? If centerfolds of Miss September and Miss October were on the sides and the game was a series of blinking dots I still wouldnt get it.
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