The Putt-Putt titles weren’t just point-and-click adventures – they also had arcade-style games as well! That’s what Putt-Putt and Pep’s Dog on a Stick is, and well it sure is… interesting.
You play as Pep, Putt-Putt’s dog, on a pogo stick. Yes, a dog on a pogo stick, thus the title of “Dog on a Stick.” It all makes sense now, doesn’t it? Your goal is to go through the levels collecting bones (and other various things) to make it to the finish flag. Of course, you can also choose to just go to the end and just ignore the bones since your only “penalty” for doing so is less points. To put it simply – it’s Q*bert.
As you proceed through the levels they start to get more tricky and challenging. Well, maybe challenging is the wrong word but I can’t think of what else to call them. Different “hazards” will be introduced, such as animals, moving platforms and oil. The oil could potentially make you slip off, the moving platforms can make you fall if you jump on them and they move, and animals will give you some sort of “hug”. Putt-Putt will come to your rescue and send you back to the start, though everything you’ve done so far is saved.
Every 10 levels you get a new “design” for the levels. This is typically when a new mechanic is introduced. Watch out for those rascally critters though, especially the rascally beach ball critters! Yeah, Putt-Putt’s lines get a bit old after awhile… Definitely hilarious when he calls “beach balls” critters though!
Had I played this game as a kid, I probably would have rage quit early on. Even as an adult I found it difficult to push myself through the levels. After all, there is 99 of them (excluding bonus levels)! Bonus levels happen if you meet certain conditions within levels, though what (and which levels have them) are a mystery to me. Well, okay, maybe I would have tried to push myself more as a kid since there’s a nice “Junior Helper” that gives you infinite lives. Nope, definitely didn’t turn it on to save myself pain and misery as adult nope not at all… Ahem, anyways.
Would I suggest it? Sure, if you want to teach your kids about jumping on a pogo stick as a dog. Or even if you ever wanted to see that. There really is a lot of levels though, but at least you can take breaks and have your progress saved. Want to challenge yourself even more, beyond the 99 levels? Putt-Putt and Pep’s Dog on a Stick has a custom level option. Overall though, the game isn’t exactly very high up there on my list of games I’d suggest… even if it is a nice distraction for a bit. However, for its regular Steam price of $4.99 I wouldn’t suggest it – wait for a sale.
Putt-Putt and Pep’s Dog on a Stick Review Score
2.5/5
The custom levels part is a nice touch for kids, but most are likely to give up due to annoyances in the levels themselves. “Critters” tend to like to block off your otherwise perfectly clear path and there is just too much randomness for most kids (and even some adults) to enjoy. Also, unskippable intro video is very unskippable every time you launch the game.
