Crazy Dogs Review

What if Duke Nukem was a dog? If more developers asked questions like these we’d have more games like Crazy Dogs, and the world would be better off for it. Hopefully those games would be less one-note though.

The most immediate appeal of Crazy Dogs is its delightfully insane premise. Taking place on a planet full of talking dogs, players control dog gym teacher Jin as he attempts to rescue his daughter during the middle of a zombie, and later alien, invasion. It’s the sort of high-concept idea that recalls countless furry animal platformer mascots. Jin himself is basically a poor man’s Fox McCloud.

However the gameplay, looping grunge soundtrack, and overall tone are closer to a 90s shooter. As players mow down enemy mutts into bloody piles in third-person, Jin spouts off stilted one-liners like “Next time I dig a hole, I’m burying YOU in it.” While the limited sound samples get old quick, the combination of cute critters and horrific gun violence is arguably more funny than disturbing. What helps too is the game’s striking high-contrast lighting which does a great job of making the relatively low-poly character models still pop. The graphics end up looking like a comic book crossed with a Suda 51 game.

Once the charm of the presentation wears off though, what’s left is still a pretty decent wave-based shooter. There are over 15 areas ranging from urban wastelands to secret laboratories to military bases each with a handful of stages to survive. Using virtual joysticks to aim rarely feels good, but at least foes are large enough that pinpoint accuracy is never called for. Busting out grenades, baseball bat melee attacks, and the appropriately titled “roll over” dodge move also feel fine.

Unfortunately, Crazy Dogs does tend to overstay its welcome. The enemy variety slowly increases, but not enough to make up for how long some stages drag on, or the ridiculous amount of bullets bosses can soak up. Thankfully the reward system typically provides enough in-game currency to buy ammo and upgrades without paying real money. Still, the game never shakes this repetitive feeling - especially during the campaign. There’s also a more bite-sized mission mode but, strangely, players can only have a save file for one mode or the other at any given time.

Anyone who can simultaneously enjoy adorable dogs and sleazy grindhouse gore will still probably get a kick out of Crazy Dogs. Just be ready for its disappointing lack of new tricks.

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