Dog Man: Bark In Action Review

More Of The Same, But With Enough Charm And Sharpness To Get It Over The Line

I’ll always have gratitude to Dog Man and its creator, Dav Pilkey. I have one bookworm daughter who will read anything with a beginning, middle and end, and another daughter who’s less inclined to pick up and read something. But Dog Man has been a bit of a gateway: through the bouncy fun of its comic strips, she’s found her way to Phoenix comics and, from there, onto actual books with chapters and things. 

It makes me wonder if Dog Man: Mission Impawsible and Dog Man: Bark in Action are doing something similar, but for other kids and video games. These games from Mindscape and Floor 84 are a great jumping-off point for potential gamers, and they’re pretty good for established gamers who love the characters too. I like to imagine that someone is finding their way to video games through Dog Man, just like my daughter did with the books.

Stop Us If You’ve Heard This Before

For anyone who has played Dog Man: Mission Impawsible, Bark in Action will feel very familiar. It keeps the character-swapping structure of the first game, as you switch between Dog Man, L’il Petey and 80-HD to complete a series of 2D platforming levels. Dog Man is the one I tend to default to, and not just because he’s the face of the game. He can chuck bones at enemies from a distance, and his unlocks allow him to ‘copter down from platforms. Li’l Petey has a pretty duff claw-swipe as an attack, while 80-HD is so big that it can feel like he’s a liability on the tighter levels. I’d go so far to say that this character imbalance is one of the more notable issues with the game. 

The story this time out is that – Incredibles 2-style – someone has been merrily wandering about the world, enslaving people to screens. They’re hypnotised, and that allows them to be controlled. Your task is to defeat the hypnotic hordes as you discover and defeat the big bad behind it all. It also allows you to face off against foes and friends as the game’s bosses, which will be especially exciting for fans of the comics. 

This all maps to a similar structure to Mission Impawsible. You work through several conventional 2D platforming levels before hitting a miniboss. After defeating them, there are a few more levels and then another boss. These are all themed around a given world – Dog Man: Bark in Action travels to prisons, flying submarines and an entirely different planet – and there are six worlds this time out, which is more than its predecessor’s five. 

Comes From A Universe Where Licensed Games Are Decent

As a platformer, Dog Man: Bark in Action isn’t hugely dynamic – it’s quite a slow, plodding platformer that will leave fans of precision platformers feeling empty. The sprites are big, the platforms even more so. But while it’s not going to be anyone’s favourite speedrunner any time soon, it’s perfect for a younger player. The controls are intuitive, and the platforming feels correct. There’s a generosity to the collisions and jumps that never means you are punished unfairly. Generous checkpointing and the ability to play in co-op, staying safe when the other player fails, only makes matters more suitable for younger players.

What I like about the levels is how there’s a very clear thrust forward – this isn’t a Metroidvania or Shantae-like maze – but there’s still room for branches and offshoots. Almost every room in the game has a main path and separate one that leads to a collectible, of which there are plenty. You can deviate to free a pet dog (one per level) or a police shield (three per level, with another awarded at the end for… actually, we’re not completely sure). There are yarn balls that can be used to pay for costumes, and there are bones that stack up until you can unleash an ‘ultimate’, as Dog Man becomes Mecha-Dog Man. 

Best of all, batteries can be found which allow you to ‘phone a friend’ and bring in one of the wider cast. Dog Man: Bark in Action may not have the budget to allow you to play Petey the Cat, Chief or Big Jim as main characters, but you can still momentarily transform into them or ask them for help. Petey can hack computer terminals, Big Jim can blast through walls, and characters like Flippy help you to spot the collectibles. There’s a neat mix of ‘characters who get you past stuff’ and ‘characters who make the level easier’, so you’ve got a decision to make about how you spend those batteries. Generally, they’re a cracking addition, and they even enrich the collectibles as they have to be found before you can use them. 

Dazzled By The Golden Path

If there’s a complaint about the levels, it can be incredibly difficult to discern which way progresses the level, and which is a secret area. It’s such a minor bugbear, but I always hate it when you head down – what you think is – a secret passage, only to find a gate closing and you can’t travel backwards. Dog Man: Bark in Action has a fair amount of that. We’ve all fallen foul to it.

The levels aren’t overly innovative, and they don’t break from the formula to take you to different places (there’s no sudden shoot ’em up levels or driving sections, for example). They’re not challenging for adult players, either. But while they might have a low ceiling, they make good use of that space. A series of unlocks for each character, allowing you to shrink things, water down lava and grow plant-platforms, only add to the variety of stuff that you will do, even if the levels don’t go anywhere particularly surprising. 

I’m more mixed on the bosses. These crop up every few levels or so, and if you’re worried whether your kids can handle them (or if they are too pressuring) then you needn’t worry. Dog Man: Bark in Action’s bosses are easy to the point that they teeter on trivial. A large proportion of them stand stock-still, and most have two – maybe three if you’re lucky – attacks. Those attacks are easy to avoid and the boss’s only weapon is their resilience. Particularly if you are using the more long-distance but weaker missiles of Dog Man, they can take some time to overcome. 

You’re Not The Boss Of Me

As an adult who has killed bosses mightier than these, it did feel a bit airy-fairy. The bosses don’t get more urgent as their health drops, and their attack rotations rarely change. Bosses start to bleed together, particularly in the first half of the game. But for a kid, it’s probably fine. There’s a sense of increased stakes, even if the bosses are – in all honesty – easier than your average level. 

Dog Man: Bark in Action is undoubtedly a step up from Dog Man: Impawsible Mission, with more levels, more unlocks, and the ability to crank a window and let one of the other colourful characters have their moment. But it’s not a huge step up, as this is something of a ‘1.5’ gentle improvement, rather than a true sequel. 

Still, when Dog Man: Impawsible Mission was a ruddy good time, Dog Man: Bark in Action is only ruddier. If you have a Dog Man fan in the family, this is a no-brainer. Grab a pad and join them in the action.

Important Links

Dog Man: Bark In Action Is Out Now – Time To Save The City – https://www.thexboxhub.com/dog-man-bark-in-action-is-out-now-time-to-save-the-city/

Dog Man: Bark in Action Expands The Comic Book Adventure – https://www.thexboxhub.com/dog-man-bark-in-action-expands-the-comic-book-adventure/

Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/dog-man-bark-in-action/9nzc4w4jd209