Escape: The Endless Dogwatch Reviews

It was fine. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] The gameplay follows standard point-and-click style puzzles, there isn’t much else to say here and there isn’t really anything more to it interesting, if you like point and clicks you won’t have any trouble here. The game features the standard inventory interactive puzzles and that’s about it, there is a light time restraint that can either improve or hurt the ending that the player can get through. [h1] Story [/h1] The story isn’t too complex but is engaging. The player is a second officer on a ship sailing when the captain starts acting strangely, soon a second seemingly abandoned ship is spotted and things get hectic, next you must uncover the mystery of the ship and what the captain is hiding as well as escape. It’s a very short game, I was able to 100% it in about an hour but the story is engaging enough that the first run-through was enjoyable. There are some light horror elements but nothing too daunting. [h1] Graphics [/h1] The pixel graphics are uniquely done, it almost appears drawn in some instances and despite the seemingly low quality everything is quite clear and easy to see, the unique visual style is why I was originally drawn to it and it pays off well. [h1] Soundtrack [/h1] The soundtrack is fine, didn’t notice it much but there is some light music that adds to the spooky atmosphere. [h1] Conclusion [/h1] Escape: The Endless Dogwatch is a short little point-and-click mystery game with a decently engaging story, it is a very simple concept though and very short but for only $6 it’s not too bad. [h1] Score: 7/10 [/h1]

a fun, short (maybe too short), easy to solve adventure game. if you have a free hour and nothing to do, this game will help you pass the time.

The Endless Dogwatch is horror point and click game that fits within a particular subgenre of "Escape" games which I'll touch on further below. In this game, your goal is to "Escape" the SS Carolina, a ship that has recently come under new haunting management. Unlike traditional "Escape" games, where you simply collect and combine items in order to escape your situation, there is an added dimension of performing optional tasks throughout the run to increase your odds of successfully escaping. As an unrelated example of how this works, let's say you have to "Escape" a boulder rolling towards you. On your first play through you try to outrun the boulder, fail and turn into a pancake. Next time, you equip some running shoes so you're faster. This was a good call except you overlooked the crucial detail of tying your laces, tripped and became a boulder pancake anyway. It's a bit like that but on a grander scale. Generally, you shouldn't expect to achieve a 100% success your first play through and part of the appeal of these games is to replay with your increased knowledge so you can complete the run faster and maximize your chance for success. Although it is a bit short, clocking in at an hour and half for me, these types of games seem to work best in short bursts where they can let their creativity shine. As other reviewers have mentioned, this game appears to be inspired by Scriptwelder's games and for us Scriptwelder cultists, the comparison is a compliment. Personally, I think Dogwatch executed itself very well and Scriptwelder himself endorsed the game on Twitter when it released. Take your time, I'll wait here while you go look that up. In conclusion, I hope this game is successful enough to encourage the developer to pursue future "Escape" games. [b]Pros[/b] [list] [*] Pixel art is great. The Last Door type pixels are just too bare bones. This styles gives enough "meat" while still being minimalist. [*] Success mechanics calculated at the end of the game. [/list] [b]Cons[/b] [list] [*] I felt the ship corridors were a bit difficult to navigate since the view angles kept changing. [/list]

Really short, can be done in an hour, but sweet. Reminds me alot of scriptwelder's games, to the point i had to double check this was not made by him (for the record, I like his games so this is good). Nonetheless, its up to you to decide if an okayish game lasting an hour is worth your 5 bucks....

It's short and atmospheric and really hits the nautical horror vibe its going for real well. I very much appreciate that none of the puzzle require any moon logic and everything is pretty straightforwards. However it does lean a little on the easy side, and while it has the right atmosphere, it never is truly scary. There's a decent amount of replayability in tracking down the achievements and alternate endings. I really enjoyed my time with this adventure, though I would have enjoyed it more if there was a little more lore and worldbuilding, some more ways to waste your time on the ship, some more genuine frights, a couple more difficult puzzles, and perhaps slightly higher fidelity artwork in places. (The birds for instance look particularly amateurish, and there's a scene with gore that lacks any punch because the gore is just a few pixels in size.) All those criticisms in mind, however, I can't complain for the 6 bucks I spent on it, and really had fun!

very classy point-and-click graphics. Love the atmosphere. I would have loved to see more dialogue however. It was a bit short in general. But other than that, great game!

Great game. Similar to Scriptwelder series, but much simpler and shorter than Don't Escape: 4 Days to Survive. Also less story, but there *is* a story. If you really love those style of games, it's probably an 7 or 8 out of 10 bite sized version. Personally a 10/10; only took 1.2 hours to 100% without any guides, so the price may be steep for a lot of people. Definitely worth $2~3 if you're bored, though. Wish it were a bit longer or a bit more to do, but I'm definitely satisfied and looking for more games like this.

a bit short but the art style is charming and the story and puzzles are pretty nice. there is a really annoying bug though, where the strange crate will not be correctly labeled, only saying 'pile of crates' no matter how many times i keep entering and exiting the room in attempts to fix it. if this could be fixed it would be greatly appreciated! other than that, good game edit: the bug i talk about has now been fixed! go ahead and enjoy the game :)

Pretty good. Cool to see something made in the old scriptwelder style! But I wish the endings were a little more varied. That there were a few more options that contributed to the end outcome. And that there was some deeper mystery that wasn't just incidentally resolved by beating the game. I feel like scriptwelder's games stood out with their depth and layers of interactions. Well made. Great art style. Short. Fun for fans of point n clicks. But not a lot to sink my teeth into

It's ... okay. Don't expect a horror or even creepy game, though. Didn't care for the story much and it's also pretty short. But it has style and I like the idea that you can leave anytime and have what you did until then influence your chances of survival. However, the way it's done, it's clear you won't really have played through the whole game, so it feels more like a fancy game over screen than an actual ending when you do. Overall, I was sligthly disappointed because I ecpected something more serious with a meatier story, but I think it's still a fun little experience worth playing if it appeals to you.