Game Reviews

Dub Dash - Absurdly hard twitch gaming

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iOS
| Dub Dash
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Dub Dash - Absurdly hard twitch gaming
|
iOS
| Dub Dash

Sheer bloody mindedness will only get you so far. Super Hexagon was barely on the right side of the line.

Dub Dash barrels over it, gleefully eradicates the line with an industrial sander, and for good measure gives you a solid kick in the nether-regions.

Whether that sounds like a good idea to you or not will indicate whether you should install Dub Dash.

This isn't so much a tough game as one that revels in making things absurdly difficult for the player.

It's for the kind of person who nonchalantly breezed through to Super Hexagon's final screen at the very first attempt, while simultaneously completing Super Meat Boy using their toes.

Got no rhythm

The developer calls Dub Dash a "fast-paced rhythm based action game", but that shouldn't be mistaken for rhythm action. If anything, this is a disjointed affair that has little to do with its soundtrack.

Each of the punishing levels abruptly shifts between several game modes, constantly throwing you off balance. Only some of the game styles require moving on the beat — and even then only rarely.

The first level begins as a kind of overhead one-thumb leapy game, with your little vehicle lurching left when you swipe in that direction.

Then you get to a bit where you have to swipe right. Timing is of paramount importance. A fraction of a second out? Tough. Start again.

Identity crisis

Once you master that initial section, Dub Dash decides it wants to be Flappy Bird for a bit. Then back to a leapy bit, only tougher.

In one level, you zoom along a corridor and jerk left and right. The game then helpfully adds spikes to snare you after the slightest mis-timed move.

Elsewhere, you'll briefly find yourself making 90-degree turns in an overhead twisting geometric path. And you'll never really get into that zen-like state of concentration the best twitch games demand, because each section is so short.

The game's rigidity means you can at least learn each section's layout, but whether you'll want to do so after the game tells you that you're on attempt 67 is another matter.

Dub crash

In a sense, it's a pity Dub Dash is quite so insanely hostile, because some parts of it are quite fun, not least the aforementioned overhead sections.

And it does provide those brief moments of excitement when you finally manage to bludgeon your way to the end of a level.

But such moments are rare, and most of the game is spent staring at lurid graphics and getting killed time and time again.

It becomes trying, it's just not enjoyable, and there's also that nagging sense that the controls aren't quite responsive enough. Still, the music's quite nice.

Dub Dash - Absurdly hard twitch gaming

If ridiculously hard games are your thing, you might have a ball, if you don shades. For mere mortals, it's a joyless slog
Score
Craig Grannell
Craig Grannell
Craig gets all confused with modern games systems with a million buttons, hence preferring the glass-surfaced delights of mobile devices. He spends much of his time swiping and tilting (sometimes actually with a device), and also mulling why no-one’s converted Cannon Fodder to iPad.