Reviews / 24 November 2022

Review: Wobbledogs

I have a huge soft spot for games where you look after animals with Nintendogs being one of my many comfort games. The idea of getting to look after your own puppy (plus cats in the later instalment) without the need of even stepping out of the comfort of your own home is just pleasant to me, and while Nintendogs has yet to make an appearance on the Nintendo Switch, in enters Wobbledogs.

Wobbledogs is a 3D pet simulation where you raise your own collection (also known as hive) of mutating dogs. The dogs start out relatively normal, with a long pink body and wobbly blue legs, but eventually they can evolve and change completely. As your dogs age they will periodically enter a pupal state and will mutate. How the dogs mutate is down to the food they eat as the food contains different flora which influences the dogs mutations.

Other than mutating your hive of wobbledogs, you can also pet and play with them, and decorate their home. As you play, you can unlock more objects and decorations so you can create and set up your dogs rooms however you like. The creativity is endless and I always find myself excited for the next item drop to see what room ideas they inspire next.

Another good thing, is that your dogs can be okay on their own without influence. They have a general idea of how to look after themselves, and while you can help them by moving them closer to their food or asking them to take a nap, they seem pretty happy to wobble around and do their own thing. This can be very helpful when you start to accumulate a larger quantity of dogs to look after.

Once your hive of dogs grow into adults, you will have the opportunity to breed two of your dogs together, which allows you to try and create the wackiest and bizarre looking dogs. My current pride and joy is my two headed purple puppy, Cerberus. I let out a shriek of excitement when I saw him, looking much different to the other puppies in the litter. The experimental nature of the breeding system is probably the most exciting element to Wobbledogs, as you never know what strange looking puppy will appear next.

The game has a very hands-off approach when it comes to tutorials, so you find yourself experimenting very early on to see what works. I did find after a while that I was worried that I didn’t fully understand the flora system very well, so I found myself on multiple forums online looking at tips and tricks from other players.

Another issue I had was that I found the controls on the Nintendo Switch version a bit tricky to get used to. I found the camera movements to be very clunky, confusing and I would struggle to navigate around the room to see all my dogs. Eventually I got used to the controls but I definitely feel this could be updated to make it easier in a future patch.

Overall, Wobbledogs is a chill and casual sandbox game for players who want to care for their very own virtual pets in a stress free environment. Even thought the controllers can take a little while to get used to, once you do it is a lovely experience, with the mutations of your dogs making you excited for what may come next.

Thank you to Secret Mode for sending me a copy of Wobbledogs to review. While my copy was gifted, my review remains unbiased.