Dr. Phluff, a mad scientist with a human body and a dolphin head, set out to make a cute pink little microscopic tentacled critter. But his experiment went awry, and he created a black, one-eyed tentacled microscopic creature with a mean disposition. In a fit of rage, the scientist accidentally swallows his little creation from the Petri dish. Now, you play as the tiny one-eyed tentacled monster as you navigate internal organ mazes and dangerous obstacles inside the doctor. Tentacles: Enter the Dolphin is a mobile game available on Windows Phone, and now iPhone and iPad (iPad version reviewed here).

To maneuver the creature, tap on a wall and the critter will stretch out one of his tentacles and latch onto it. Keep on doing this and the critter’s main body will move forward, depending on how his tentacles are stretched out. Controls are very intuitive and work well. In the mazes, you’ll need to avoid obstacles like spikes, crushing walls, and enemies such as tapeworm bosses. To beat bad guys, simply touch them and your character will stretch out one of his tentacles, grab their eyes, and defeat them.

Along the way, you can collect little globules for points. Also, in each level is a special challenge section which requires you to make it to the other gate within a certain time limit or without getting hit. You’ll earn stars for each level depending on if you completed the challenge, collected all the items, and made it to the end of each of the 40 plus levels without dying. There are also in-game achievements, too. If you die, you’ll start over fairly close to where you kicked the bucket, and you get unlimited lives so it’s not too frustrating. The levels start out easy but get progressively harder as you go on. The gameplay can get a little repetitive at times, but at only 99 cents, it’s not a bad game at all.

Kid Factor:

Tentacles: Enter the Dolphin isn’t rated by the ESRB, but I would imagine it would get an E-10 rating. Ripping the eyes out of enemies with your tentacles sounds disgusting, but it really doesn’t look that bad in the game. But there are a few tiny flecks of red stuff that come out when you do that. Reading skill is helpful for the instructions, but the game is pretty easy to figure out just by playing. Younger gamers might need help on some of the tougher levels, though. I think it would make a perfect Halloween game for kids, as it is creepy and gross in a silly way, but not TOO scary either.

Tags: Game Reviews