Wobbledogs
Review

Wobbledogs (2022) is a pet simulation where your dogs not only need care but are rapidly mutating different behaviour and appetites. You breed new dogs (from eggs), create and decorate a home for them, feed them and see how they evolve.

You play by creating an environment for your dogs to thrive in. You slowly earn more furnishings and decorations to give your pets a relaxing place to sleep and play. As you combine different breeds you can create unique evolutions of different canine friends.

Then as they age, the simulated genetics system means they periodically evolve and mutate. The result is a combination of their genetics and the foods they eat to fill their guts. By paying attention to the petri-dish display of the contents of the dog's stomach you can slowly learn the impact of these different elements so you can craft and mould them them to your idea of the perfect pet.

There are no specific goals, so you are free to play the game any way you want. But unlike other virtual pet games, your choices about diet and breeding result in a teeming ecosystem with life (and emergent behaviours) all its own. The dogs start out relatively normal but mutate and behave in surprising ways as the game progresses and their evolutionary lines advance.

The result is a game that is fun to observe but really comes into its own as you interact with the dogs to influence how things develop. Maybe you pet them to relieve some stress, toss a pup around to watch it tumble through the pen, or help them get unstuck from tight space. Whatever you do has an impact and builds a bond between you and your canine friend.

Our examiner, Jo Robertson, first checked Wobbledogs 15 months ago. It was re-examined by Andy Robertson and updated 4 weeks ago.