Taking on the role of a mischievous and adorable pup, Doggy Don’t Care is one of the more colourful and crazy games we got to check out at SXSW Sydney 2024. As a massive dog-lover, it’s not hard to get me on board with playing as a canine, but rather than sending me on an epic quest or heartfelt adventure, Doggy Don’t Care cleverly keeps things simple: cause chaos, wherever you go. It’s a true delight.
Solo developer Rohan Nowell was happily showing off the latest demo at SXSW this year, which included a new level that he was testing out for the first time. My playthrough started in the house, though; when your owners go out and leave you home alone, what is a doggo to do? Well, pee everywhere, smash everything and make an absolute mess of the place. It’s in the name of the game, but this doggy don’t care, that’s for sure.
“Its vibrant and cartoony style makes Doggy Don’t Care stand out visually, and it’s a joy to see what you can interact with in the environment.”
Mucking around and seeing what you can mess with as the cute pug is hilarious, to say the least. It’s like Untitled Goose Game but on doggy steroids (Shmackos?), as you leap around the place, pissing everywhere and causing tonnes of damage as if you’re at a bucks night on Brunswick Street. The house serves as a bit of a chaotic proving ground as you get your bearings; there are Mischievous Badges that you’ll earn for doing certain things, like smashing a statue or bringing a piece of bread outside for birds to eat. You’ll quickly unlock a sort of extra-bouncy jump to access gated-off areas, and solve cute environmental puzzles to progress.
You have a sidekick in Rocko the Parrot who can give you hints on what you should do; the Badges can be seen at any time, with the pictures on them serving as additional hints to try and figure out the next steps. That said, if you experiment, make a mess and have fun, you’ll naturally find yourself unlocking them without looking. A piano you can jump on and play the keys? A mound of dirt you can dig in? A glass statue minding its own business? You know what to do. Make. A. Mess.
Its vibrant and cartoony style makes Doggy Don’t Care stand out visually, and it’s a joy to see what you can interact with in the environment. Anything not tied down was fair game, and I was sure to test everything I could to see if I could break it or play with it. While the house was a fun appetiser, the new SXSW demo level, a farm, had even more opportunities (and creatures) to mess with. The puzzles on the farm seemed a little more detailed than those in the house, with more space to play with and some Badges that required extra steps, like finding a red flag to lure a bull into other areas to do some serious damage, or searching for hay bails to destroy. Rohan is looking at having multiple levels in the final release, which are sure to up the ante.
Oh, and did I mention you can pee everywhere? You should definitely pee everywhere. There’s a dedicated button for it and everything.
In my short time with Doggy Don’t Care, it captured a sense of childlike wonderment that is impossible not to grin at. It looks set to join the pantheon of irreverent-but-awesome Aussie games, with an adorable pug protag making for a family-friendly adventure that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Doggy Don’t Care is coming sometime in 2025, and can be wishlisted now on Steam.
About the Author
Luke Mitchell
he/him
Luke spends his time making radio, playing video games, binge-watching TV, getting unreasonably invested in wrestling, hosting bear events and hanging out with his beautiful pets.
