You’ve been visited by the Dog Wizard. You are tempted, nay, compelled, to pack up your life and move to the queerest city you can find and adopt a gorgeous puppy. You will meet a bunch of dog-obsessed human hotties, and make passionate love to some of them. And you will be able to afford your own apartment despite being a funemployed artist. Yes, it’s the millennial dream – and in New Zealand developer Starcolt’s Best Friend Forever, it is your reality.

Best Friend Forever is a romance game for the discerning dog lover. Part dating sim and part pet care simulator, it won over hearts and tails with its energetic announcement trailer last year starring outspoken shiba inu Cheeseball. Does the game’s bark live up to its bite? Well, mostly!

Set in the fictional utopia Rainbow Bay, Best Friend Forever places you in the role of an emerging photographer who’s brand new in town. Of course, Rainbow Bay is renowned for being incredibly dog-friendly, so your first priority is rushing to the local adoption centre and picking out a canine companion of your own. There are four adorable puppers to choose from, each with their own unique history and personality. You will love them all. It’s so hard to choose. Starcolt’s creative director Lucy Morris explained a little about why these particular dogs were chosen for the game, saying “we’ve tried to avoid putting in ‘boutique breeds’… and done our best to shine a light on the benefits of adopting dogs with a range of personalities, strengths, and challenges.”

Once you’ve picked your pup they will accompany you throughout your various adventures around Rainbow Bay, sitting happily to the right of the screen and living their best doggy life. At random intervals, you’ll be prompted to give your doggo lots of pats to calm them down, or quickly throw its poop into a bin. It’s clear what Best Friend Forever is attempting with these dog-related quicktime events, and while it does its best to add some diversity to an otherwise straightforward graphic novel, occasionally it toes the line of annoyance – particularly as there are only four different events that can occur at random, usually unrelated to the current situation.

I cannot stress enough just how boldy, unashamedly, unabashedly queer Best Friend Forever is. It’s an absolute delight to jump into a game that celebrates queer and gender diverse communities in such an overt way, right down to the rainbow flag in the background of almost every scene. You choose your pronouns, and absolutely everyone is romanceable (and incredibly thirsty). This game was made for us and about us, and I love the developers for it. I was super impressed with the subtle teachable moments peppered throughout the story:  for example, a character explains what it means for them to be “out” as trans while pointing out that everyone’s experience is different, and it feels entirely natural.

Presentation-wise, the character portraits are nicely done and animated just enough to feel alive. Environments are colourful and pretty, capturing the sunny San Francisco-vibe of Rainbow Bay. The mise en scene of your main character’s apartment has such a nostalgic Tumblr aesthetic: big “fairy lights and watching movies on a laptop” mood. The dogs are also full of personality and the simplicity of their facial design makes them cartoonishly cute.

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It’s worth mentioning that Best Friend Forever is a short experience. My first playthrough took around three hours, which felt like just the right length: long enough for the narrative to wrap up, without the repetition growing stale. With the various characters to date and multiple possible endings it seems well designed for multiple play sessions. It would also make for a fantastic streaming game due to the many narrative directions and quick playtime.