Grapple Dog

Lore & Background

Hundreds of years ago, the people of Partash lived in hardship until the Great Inventor appeared and built devices to help them. He was adored like a king, but a great evil emerged, jealous of him. Sensing an attack, the Inventor scattered four Cosmic Gadgets across Partash and was never seen again. Treasure hunters have since searched for the devices. One thousand years later, historical researchers Pablo, Toni, and the Professor land on an island. Pablo falls through a hole and meets a robot named Nul, who tricks him into opening a door. Nul reveals his true nature, destroys the island, and begins his plan. Pablo escapes and learns from the Professor that the Cosmic Gadgets' power may destroy the world. They decide to find the gadgets before Nul does. During encounters, it is revealed Nul is from another world and hated the Inventor because the Inventor stole inventions from Nul's dimension's robots and claimed them as his own. Nul tried to warn the people but was thrown to the scrapheads; he waited a thousand years to escape and go home.

Reader's Guide

Grapple Dog was developed independently by Joseph Gribbin, who served as designer, artist, and programmer, with music by Jazz Mickle. The game's core mechanic is the grappling hook, which Pablo uses to swing and pull himself toward enemies and across platforms. Each level ends with ringing a bell, and players can collect five hidden purple gems per stage, plus two more by collecting 220 out of 250 oranges. Reception noted that the game aims to claim a place among mascot platformers and gets incredibly close, though some mechanics ranged from brilliant to frustrating due to the imprecise nature of the grappling hook, which can only be aimed straight up or at a 45-degree angle. Critics described it as one of the tightest arcade games of the year, with tricky but rewarding swinging mechanics and boss fights that occasionally border on greatness when not overly punishing. A sequel, Grapple Dogs: Cosmic Canines, was released on September 12, 2024.

Did You Know?

• The game's protagonist is a dog named Pablo.
• Each level contains 250 oranges, and collecting 220 of them earns two purple gems.
• The Great Inventor is revealed to have stolen inventions from robots in another dimension.
• The game was developed solely by Joseph Gribbin, who handled design, art, and programming.