The sandbox simulation game Wobbledogs has come to consoles, bringing with it unique dog breeding mechanics and amusing automations. More akin to Spore than Nintendogs, this canine-centric title will have players experimenting with genetics and watching their creations live out their lives, though it may be too idle for some players. Wobbledogs comes from developer Animal Uprising and publisher Secret Mode, the latter of which have in the past published games like A Little To The Left and Penko Park.
Just as Spore can be used to evolve horrifying creations, so too can Wobbledogs, essentially putting players in the role of a god with a penchant for dog breeding. The core gameplay loop of the title revolves around combining the genetics of two dogs within a simulation chamber, selecting a final dog to place in a fertilized dog egg, and hatching them to add to a growing collection of canines. These dogs are simplistic but distinct in their design, with various gut flora - which is changed by what the dogs eat - contributing to traits like longer bodies, coloring, and face shape. As players continue breeding, they'll achieve stranger results, from mismatched legs to wings.
The crafting mechanics that are in many games labeled as sandbox titles are largely absent in Wobbledogs. Players will not need to gather materials to make machinery like the Egg Incubator and various feeding machines, nor will they need anything in order to fill their dog play pens with the decor that's unlocked throughout the game. This means as a whole there is actually very little for players to do consistently, with tasks largely consisting of keeping an eye on dogs to trigger their Pupation state - a cocoon dogs enter then emerge from each time they age - when it becomes available and making sure they don't starve, although for the most part the pups eat automatically.
That being said, simply watching the strange dog creations go about their day, interacting with one another and causing trouble is quite amusing. While they aren't the cutest video game animals, they aren't really intended to be - Wobbledogs is all about creating the weirdest creatures players can imagine. Observing dogs that are the result of incredibly unfortunate combinations of genetics is absurdly amusing, although that in itself doesn't mean Wobbledogs is a game players will be glued to. It's a game best enjoyed while doing other things, checking in intermittently to see how dogs have changed since their last Pupation.
There are some goals players have to work towards in Wobbledogs that also help keep things somewhat engaging, with each one unlocking things like new wallpapers, furniture, and food machines. The goals are reminiscent of Animal Crossing's Nook Miles tasks, like digging a certain amount of holes and breeding a set number of dogs. While this does give the very open-ended game some sense of direction, a majority of the rewards aren't particularly exciting.
Some of Wobbledogs' fun is thwarted by technical issues on the Nintendo Switch. While dog animations start smoothly, once additional pens and tunnels are added to the layout they become glitchier, sometimes freezing entirely, which detracts greatly from their charming absurdity. Controls are also not the most optimal, and it can sometimes be hard to select intended dogs when they're moving around due to this clunkiness.
Wobbledogs isn't perfect, and players looking for an incredibly involved pet simulator or a sandbox game with satisfying crafting loops will likely be disappointed. However, for those who don't mind a more idle playstyle, Wobbledogs offers a strange, charming experience, albeit a fairly simple one both in terms of its graphics and gameplay. The game's gut flora and breeding mechanics are fun to experiment with, whether players are setting out to simply make the cutest pup or test the game's laws of nature. While the game might not scratch the itch of a player looking for an involved pet simulator, Wobbledogs is a great source of silly, open-ended, sandbox fun.
Wobledogs Console Edition is available now for Nintendo Switch. Screen Rant was provided with a Nintendo Switch code for the purpose of this review.