So that’s why everyone has been raving about Wobbledogs Console Edition (the last bit of the title added to be formal): it is that good. Within context. Ok, will Wobbledogs take over the world, cure diseases and help you score with that hotty you have saved on Snapchat? No. Well… maybe. But should you finally cave and get it for your console?
I reckon you should.
This isn’t a popularity contest, but Animal Uprising’s sandbox scores Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam for a reason. There’s a blend of creativity, addiction, the unpredictable nature of evolution, and genetics. Before you get anxious about not paying attention in science class, you don’t need any formal qualifications for this gene splicing.
The plot: make a dog, feed it anything and everything, watch it mutate, allow your relationship to blossom, then once it pops its clogs, feed it to the others and look on as they develop, hoping that they might inherit the best bits of your last pup. Rinse and repeat!
Wobbledogs Console Edition Review – PS4
Wobbledogs Console Edition occurs in a virtual playground, so you don’t need to physically clear up all the dog eggs and half-eaten grub they leave scattered about. ‘Dog egg’ is a double-edged sword here, as the dogs will crap pink Mr Whippys but will also hatch from a machine that generates a new pup, pending you tick off the criteria required.
At the start of each pup’s life, you get to choose their name or randomise it (much better – we’ll be here all day), then interact with them as much as possible. Think of it as a Tamagotchi, but fun. And active. The pup will start as a – well… pup and gradually mutate (puptate) into an older version of itself. I didn’t say a bigger version, as it depends on what they digest.
A vending machine will generate fast food and similar that you can feed to the dog, and the more you do it, the more research is conducted on the food, informing you of potential modifiers. Will eating a chicken nugget make your dog’s ears smaller? Matt their hair? Does eating dirt turn them from purple to brown? There’s only one way to find out, and that’s the way all youngsters find out: by shoving foreign objects into their mouths.
Aye, Pet
The obvious choice when feeding is conventional food, but as mentioned, they can also eat the dirt residue from digging a hole, eating their faeces, or anything else that’s passable as food. But all food and no play make the animals in Wobbledogs Console Edition sleepy and… bored. What else can they get up to?
Perusing a checklist available through the options button, you’ll see milestones to achieve, such as digging X holes or hatching X eggs. Hack scientists will be rewarded with goodies to entertain their Wobbledogs or cosmetic items such as flooring, walls and furniture. As cute as it all is, the game is pretty garish with its patterns, colours, and even the modelling – at a glance, Wobbledogs Console Edition is ugly, but look under the hood, and it’s jolly good fun.
I played this with my youngest daughter, and we loved the experimentation and customisation. “Eat the poo!” was a frequent command, plus loads of “Awwww… so cute!”, but the key thing to take away was the fun. Even when you don’t prod at your experiments, watching them going about their business (often quite literally) was very entertaining. While there’s not much driving a session other than the checklist, Wobbledogs Console Edition has a chill vibe and is worthy of positive testimonials.
Verdict
Wobbledogs Console Edition shouldn’t replace your pet just yet, it’ll undoubtedly kill a lot of time when looking through the observational window, shoving anything into their mouths to see what happens next, but the lack of… challenge might put some off. However, anyone looking for a cute bona fide sandbox should give this a look.
