[2][3] The game features a humorous plot revolving around the central character, an octopus who is undercover as an average human with a family.

The plot revolves around the player, controlling Octodad, attempting to complete various household chores and tasks while maintaining his secret.

The gameplay consists of primarily ragdoll physics, turning mundane tasks into significant challenges.

The gameplay largely revolves around the balance of keeping this charade alive while completing household chores, and evading his wife Scarlet's increasing suspicion of her husband's strange behavior.

The antagonist of the game is the manic Japanese chef Fujimoto, who obsessively seeks to expose the octopus' secret and cook him.

He plans to create a mannequin of himself using a suit, a doll, and a banana to sneak into his basement for secret work to finish a gift.

After completing challenges set by his son Tommy, Octodad retrieves his suit from a grandfather clock and settles down, but an unsettling TV advertisement featuring a crazed fish restaurant chef, Fujimoto, adds an eerie twist to his day.

Octodad successfully navigates the obstacles, rides a zipline, and enters a working station with a gift, awaiting the finishing touch.

However it did receive some criticism for not resolving some plot points[13] such as the chef that threatens to cook the main character and appears in the family home.