Quite a few times I was sure I had taken the correct photo, only to eventually realise I needed to be a few steps closer, or a bit further away, or I hadn’t quite nailed some other arbitrary detail for the game logic to verify my work. Although, given the problems encountered in recognising whether the contents of a particular photo fulfilled an objective, perhaps that would only lead to more trouble. I couldn’t help but wish for more complicated requests or more cryptic clues.
It’s unchallenging stuff, mostly a case of remembering where you saw certain things or following some fairly simple directions. Make sure they’re centred in the frame and you’re done. Drop off the boardwalk onto the sand and there you go, a couple of dogs dressed up in caving helmets. Or track down ‘the spelunkers under the boardwalk.’ Most requests are straightforward and easily achieved. You might have to take a close-up of a dog on a skateboard. Objectives appear in the form of requests from your social media fans. Read: The perfect video game is just six hours long There’s just not a lot to be gained from trying to interact with these creatures. Instead, you’re left with a coterie of dead-eyed canines half-heartedly trotting around or listlessly rocking back and forth on a bicycle. But it fails to capture the expressiveness of a dog’s face and the boundless enthusiasm with which they can move. Image: Sundae MonthĪ clean, minimalist art style highlights the wide range of dogs, all kinds of breeds and shapes and sizes. But there’s only so many times you can relent before boredom kicks in.įortunately, they don’t seem to mind when you stop paying them attention. Interact with them and they’ll love you for it, following you around for a while in the hope you’ll further indulge their basic urge to run after a tennis ball. You can pet the dogs, reaching out with your weird, elongated camera arm to give them a tickle, and encourage them to play fetch with sticks and frisbees, or chase after a toy car. You know, the kinds of fun activities you occasionally see dogs getting up to.
They’re usually just walking around, but sometimes you’ll find them sleeping in a hammock or sitting on a playground swing, or riding a skateboard. You unlock camera upgrades, new areas, and dog toys by tracking down collectibles and gaining social media fans eager for your very good boy content.Įach location is populated almost entirely with dogs. You travel between five locations – a secluded beach, a busy boardwalk, a city park, woodland falls, and a less down-to-earth area unlocked at the end – armed with a checklist of photo requests. You play a literal camera on legs, viewing a colourful world from a first-person perspective.
Even since the pandemic saw us both working from home – me in the spare room that doubles as a study, her in the living room at the other end of the apartment – I’ve continued taking photos of the cats and sending them to her, so she’s up to date on precisely how Penny was sitting on the window sill next to my desk and given visual evidence of Rosalina chasing my mouse cursor across the monitor.įrameborder="0" allow="accelerometer autoplay clipboard-write encrypted-media gyroscope picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen>Īnd sure enough, Pupperazzi is a game entirely about taking photos of dogs. Working from home for the past half-dozen years, I’d spot Penny or Rosalina doing something adorable and take a photo to send to my partner, hopefully delivering her a moment of whiskered relief from her office job. As photography subjects, my cats are irresistibly cute. Or Penny and Rosalina together, snuggled with their bums just touching. No, definitely every day – who am I trying to kid here? My phone’s camera reel is at least 90% pictures of Penny or Rosalina, curled up like some pristine doll or sprawled across the floor, limbs splayed ludicrously.