The game was developed by Julien Kaspar and Simon Thommes from the Blender Studio team, better known for creating gorgeous 3D assets for open-source animation projects. For one of their short-term studio experiments, they decided to step out of their comfort zone and make a tiny game using the Godot engine - and DogWalk is the delightful result.
According to them, the goal wasn’t to create something “fun” in the traditional gamey sense. There are no scores, no timers, no enemies. Instead, they set out to tell a story through “reactive gameplay” - using the simplest mechanics to create the most emotion. And it works.
In DogWalk, you technically play as a dog, but you’re never alone - you’re tethered to a bundled-up kid via a leash. The kid is trying to build a snowman in the middle of a quiet, cozy winter park, but he’s missing some essentials: a hat, a nose, a cane, some sticks for arms. So naturally, you - the dog - run off to find them.
And I do mean run. You control the dog with just your mouse, and the leash follows behind you like a wiggly little line of joy. The kid waddles along, laughing and smiling, getting dragged behind you as you bound through the snow. You tug him toward trees, bushes, playgrounds - anywhere an excited dog might poke their nose. And every time you find a snowman part, it’s a tiny triumph. You’re not just solving a problem. You’re making your kid happy. And it’s so wholesome I almost cried.
There’s no HUD. No dialogue. No real challenge. Just you, the kid, and a snowy park filled with good vibes. It’s a perfect bite-sized experience that doesn’t ask anything from you other than a few minutes of your time and maybe a willingness to smile like an idiot.
But here’s what makes DogWalk even cooler: every asset in the game was made by hand - literally. The characters, the props, the little scarf animations - they were all handcrafted, with paper and glue, by the Blender Studio team, scanned in, and dropped into Godot. The project isn’t just a sweet story. It’s also a living, breathing showcase of what’s possible with open-source tools.
And get this - not only is the game completely free, but you can also download the full project files. Want to see how it was made? Tweak it? Add your own characters or build a sequel where the dog becomes mayor? You can do that. It’s yours. Just go for it.
That spirit - that DIY, open-source, “hey-let’s-just-make-something-cool” energy - is baked into every pixel of DogWalk. It’s a love letter to creativity, to games that don’t need violence or complexity to make you feel something, and to dogs. Because let’s be honest, everything is better with a dog.
So if you’ve got 20 minutes and a soft spot for snow, dogs, or joy in general, go download DogWalk on Steam or Itch.io. It’s one of those rare games that makes you feel like a better person for having played it. And hey - who wouldn’t want to be a dog?
