Dogwalk Review: A fun casual game everyone should try

I was scrolling through Steam, looking for my next muse. I wanted to play a casual, relaxing game away from all the flashing lights and weird SFXs. Maybe it was fate that I filtered the list by positive reviews. And at the top of that list was a casual game titled Dogwalk, which received overwhelmingly positive reviews. I was about to scroll away from it when something peculiar caught my eye.

The developers of this game were none other than Blender Studios. For the uninitiated, Blender is a free and open-source software used by many to sculpt 3D models and create animations. Then, why on Earth did a company that makes 3D modeling software create a video game, especially one using the Godot Engine?

Drawn to this question out of curiosity, I hopped on the internet to start digging. Turns out, Blender Studio has been working on Project Dogwalk since January 2025. It is their way to showcase the efficient pipeline between Blender and Godot. I definitely wanted to try out this unique yet casual game, so I put it on download and went for a coffee. The download was a small one, only taking 694 MB. The game started smoothly, with Godot and Blender logos being presented in a stop-motion papercraft animation. 

At first look, the game reminded me of simpler times, where you didn’t have to button mash to land a single blow. It is a pretty adorable casual game. It is set in a snowy winter environment, where players control the dog using their mouse movement and interact with the environment with a simple single tap. 

But before starting my first playthrough, I decided to look around. The credit scenes were a treat in themselves. They were filled with glimpses of developers and artists brainstorming the looks and feel of the game. I was pleasantly surprised by this attention to a credit scene.

First gameplay and thoughts

The game starts with zen music playing in the background. A little girl is making a snowman, and her dog is tied to a leash nearby. The snowman is still incomplete. The little girl is baffled over this. The players have to navigate the little girl around the snowy landscape by leading her with her dog.

That’s the whole premise of this game. You can complete it in 15-30 minutes, depending on how good your navigational skills are. While it does not have a huge gametime, what it does have are cute moments shared by the dog and her owner. You can slide around in a frozen lake or cuddle up with your owner, totally your choice. That’s exactly why people are raving about it in reviews.

At the time of writing, over 1000 people have given reviews about this game, with positive feedback from 97% of them. If you go over to the community page of the game, you will see the love it is getting. After playing it, I too would find myself rallying behind the crowd. The does not need to be complex to be enjoyable.

If I had to, the one bit of criticism I would give is to add hints. Sometimes players may find themselves running haywire, searching for clues in the snowy fields. Maybe a button to get pointed in the right direction would be great. Apart from that, I have loved the game. 

Blender Studio has struck gold with their first release. The cute easter eggs sprinkled in this game show the level of thought that went into making it. I would definitely like Blender Studio to try to build a storyline for this game or delve into new projects.

Rating 9/10

(Reviewed on PC)