Review: Soap Opera Dash

The response to hearing about a new DASH game is pretty much the same, regardless of who is hearing the news: “Another DASH game?” The difference is the tone in which that statement is made. Either it’s one of surprised disgust, confusion, or excitement. If you fall into the last of these categories, keep reading, as Soap Opera Dash is the latest in the franchise from PlayFirst, and one that strives to yet again take the series in a new direction. If you found games like Hotel Dash and Cooking Dash interesting diversions from the main food-delivery series we know and love, then Soap Opera Dash may be right up your alley, so stay tuned.

Rather than controlling Flo, as in most DASH games, Rosie takes center stage as the producer of a budding soap opera, As the Burger Turns. Rather than filling orders and delivering food, Rosie has a lot to do to produce a successful show. Each level is an “episode,” and each stage is a “season,” culminating in a season finale. You have some control over who plays which roles (such as the “lover,” “best friend,” and “sidekick”), as well as how the finale will play out, but your choices don’t affect the game; they’re simply an element of customization. Still, it’s kind of fun to decide if the best friend will betray one of the lovers, or the evil mastermind will kiss the sidekick.

As far as the gameplay goes, it will both feel familiar and completely different for series veterans, but the game does a good job of walking you through the different elements regardless of whether you’re a Flo veteran or this is your first visit to Dinertown. For one thing, Rosie isn’t alone: she has several people to help her produce each episode, although Rosie will still be busy enough. For example, someone directs, someone writes the scripts, and someone films each scene. Still, Rosie has to keep everything running by making sure the actors are happy and ready for their time on camera.

Each episode starts out with the actors arriving in their seats. Each will request a script, which you can color match for extra points. Rosie will pick up up to two scripts and hand them to the actors, who will then spend some time reading them. Once read, the actors will want to have their hair done, so you have to drag them into the stylist chair; again, you can color match for points. Rosie then has to fix their hair, which you do by clicking on them. Some of the more important stars will have a circle of stars around them; click on these people in time (before the circle disappears), and you will enter a mini-game, where you have to match the hair to the picture by clicking on the correct style on one side and hair color on the other. This isn’t really timed, but you can “fail” it if you make the wrong choice, and later in the game some things will continue to go on in the background if you take too long.

After hair, your actor will want to get dressed, so you have to take them to the dressing booth (again, you can color match). Once again, you may have some stars that will offer you a mini-game where you have to cycle through to find the correct outfit. Once dressed, it’s off to makeup, where you can again play a mini-game with some stars, matching eye shadow and lipstick, before they’re finally ready to appear on film. Actors will automatically take the stage if their scene is up, otherwise they will wait their turn. As you progress, you will get two seats you can put actors in to wait for their turn without losing any patience, which can be handy when juggling combos and multiple actors. All of this may sound boring in text, but especially as you get more actors and more conditions, things can get pretty frantic.

One interesting element this game has that is different from other DASH games is that in addition to expert on each level, you also have a panel of judges who will rate you for certain conditions (that change with each level), such as completing the level without using the trash, or making a certain number of combos. These earn you “votes” that you can spend on extras like bonus mini game levels (such as delivering ice tea to as many actors as you can in a certain time limit) and set-changing designs (such as adding Christmas lights to the set). The judges add an extra layer of challenge to each level, which is kind of nice, as you can test yourself to not only complete each level with an expert score, but also to get all judges’ approval. As far as the unlockables go, however, I found them a bit disappointing. The choices for decoration were limited to only one per item, and I found them distracting once in the game. The mini-games, though offering a slight change of pace, gameplay-wise, really weren’t all that fun, either, and I ended up skipping most of the upgrades in favor of focusing on the main game. Still, that is extra content for those who want it.

The game also features in-game achievements, such as rewarding you for completing a certain number of levels with an expert score, and does have a bit of a story, although it is presented in the older style of DASH games, as comics with no voice acting. Considering how most of the newer games are fully voiced now, this was a bit of a disappointment; still, it definitely doesn’t take away from the game, as the heart is the dashing, not the story, after all. My biggest gripe wasn’t the lack of voice work, but rather the uneven difficulty. While in some levels it was easy to rack up thousands of points above the expert score, others it was a struggle to make expert at all, and it was really hit or miss. I would get expert on all levels, then have one that all of a sudden was hard to get expert, then get all the rest expert, with no real rhyme or reason. While I was able to eventually get expert on all levels, it was a bit frustrating how uneven the difficulty seemed to be; still, it wasn’t like some other games of this type that I’ve played where the game actually punishes you for building combos. Still, this wasn’t a game breaker, especially if you’re the type who doesn’t care about your score while playing. One thing I did love about this game is I think it was the first time I’ve played a game that actually made the credits a game. I thought it was not only fun, but a clever way to keep your player watching the entire credits.

All in all, this isn’t my favorite DASH game; it feels like it can be a little too hectic at times to be as fun as some of the other entries in the franchise, but the varied gameplay is refreshing, and I definitely enjoyed my playthrough. Although technically the game doesn’t have any replay value once you’ve achieved expert on every level (and earned all the achievements) since there’s no endless mode, I could definitely see myself playing through it again in the future, and that’s something to say. One thing that keeps the game fun (even while replaying the same level for a higher score) is that the scenery and props for each level are random, so you never know what will play out next, keeping things fun and fresh. Fans of the DASH series looking for a new game to past the time should definitely give this game a try: you don’t even have to like soaps to enjoy it.