Puppergeist Review – A Heart-Melting Serenade

Between our coverage for Beast of Reincarnation and Signy & Mino: Against All Gods, August has already been shaping up to be quite the dog show here at Noisy Pixel. This is by no means a complaint, either; please release as many games starring lovable, fluffy companions as possible.

Well, ask, and you shall receive, I suppose, as a third puppy-filled adventure has hit the calendar: Serenity Forge’s delightfully cute rhythm game, Puppergeist. After my time with this adorable bite-sized indie, I confidently believe that among the dog-focused games released this month, it deserves the Best in Show award.

A Heartfelt Journey Through the Doggie Underworld

Puppergeist follows Claire, an orange-clad witch, as she traverses the doggie underworld in search of her recently passed-away puppy, naturally named Pup. After successfully proving her love for dogs to the Cerberus guard of the underworld, she meets the friendly demon Lunne, who offers to assist with her search. Lunne leads them to Fido, a golden retriever who serves as the top dog at the nearby park, to see if he has picked up any scent of the missing puppy.

Upon meeting the goofily optimistic retriever and gaining their friendship through a steady stream of pets and belly rubs, they unfortunately have no information on Pup to share. As Claire speaks with Fido, however, it becomes clear that he has yet to realize he is in the afterlife. Having been waiting for his master for who knows how long, Fido has remained in this park steadfast and optimistic.

Following some debate between Claire and Lunne, they decide it’s best to explain to Fido that his master won’t be coming back. Of course, the best way to get Fido to open up and have this talk is to play ball with him, evoking memories of playing with his master. After this play session, Fido verbally recalls his life with his owner, Dave, detailing growing up together, eventually living alongside his children, and finally becoming a bit too tired to keep up with everything going on. As this melancholic story concludes, Fido realizes his life with Dave has ended. Jumping right back to positivity, like a golden retriever, he expresses gratitude for his life and is now happy to be full of energy and able to play in the park as much as he wants.

Puppergeist’s brief story contains several moments like this, where you help a passed-away pup come to terms with their life. Needless to say, I was nearly in tears each time. There is also the underlying mystery of how Claire’s dog ended up in the afterlife to uncover, which she frequently hints at feeling responsible for. Furthermore, Lunne has their own tragic baggage to unpack, which eventually explains why she helps Claire in the first place. Through the game’s mix of light-hearted, playful moments and earnest, heart-melting dialogue, I found the narrative an emotional roller coaster. One that proved exceptionally memorable despite the game’s runtime being just over an hour.

Delightful Rhythmic Challenges

Each obstacle Claire faces, whether it’s a welcome puppy play session or a challenge to be overcome, takes the form of a delightful rhythm game. These minigames, using only a single button, are welcomingly accessible while still offering a surprising amount of variety. Across the dozen or so games present, there are call-and-response karaoke, beat-holding chase sequences, and memorization-based fur trimming; each of which provides a friendly but not irrelevant level of challenge. With both audio and visual cues provided during each sequence, the game feels reliably accommodating to the rhythmically challenged without dulling down the experience for those more confident in their abilities.

Passing each stage with a “Good Boy” rating is enough to proceed through the story, but much of the fun within Puppergeist comes from replaying each level until you can make it through without missing a beat. I found playing through the minigames numerous times in pursuit of this “Top Dog” rating a delight and never frustrating, thanks to their short durations, catchy tunes, and colorful visuals. Achieving a perfect score often took several attempts, as I ran into issues when I was required to hold down a button for several beats. I am admittedly not that versed in the rhythm genre, so I don’t believe this to have been any issue with the game itself, almost certainly just being a skill gap on my part. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more musically inclined players able to score perfectly on their first attempts.

While these music-filled sequences are a consistent delight, I can’t help but greedily wish there were more of them. I respect and love hyper-focused games that lean into their short runtimes, but I really wish there were a couple more levels to round out Puppergeist’s conclusion. As is, the game’s tear-jerking finale feels as though it’s missing one final climactic play session at the very least. Additionally, a hard-mode set of stages with more elaborate patterns and beats to keep up with feels like a natural inclusion, but nothing of the sort is currently available.

Cutesy Visuals and Catchy Tunes

When I first came across Puppergeist, it’s no surprise that the game’s adorable visuals piqued my interest. With a colorful, cartoony art style featuring expressive, humorous animations, each character, human and dog alike, feels brimming with personality. The second top dog, Cookie in particular, was my absolute favorite thanks to her cute speaking cadence and shy mannerisms. Still, everything in this game is just so absurdly lovely. The strong visual identity also gives each minigame a distinct look and feel, with fluid animations that are consistently enjoyable to watch and serve as vital visual cues that help you stay in tempo.

As this is a rhythm game, the music is naturally an absolute highlight. Coming from a small collective of artists, Kawai Sprite, Kris Wilson, Kan Gao, and NomnomNami, the cutesy music remained catchy and earworm-y throughout; I’ve even found myself subconsciously humming many of the songs since completing the game. Providing the perfect backdrop to each minigame and pairing excellently with the cutesy visual presentation, there is no question the soundtrack is the vital core of the experience.

Verdict: A Heart-Melting Rhythm Adventure

As cliché as it is to say, my only gripe with Puppergeist is that there isn’t more of it, with the absence of one final play session during the game’s bittersweet conclusion and additional hard mode variants of each stage feeling sorely missed. Still, this brief yet emotionally meaningful rhythm adventure is dense with heartfelt moments, entertaining minigames, delightful music, and of course, adorable dogs. If Serenity Forge eventually drops further songs and levels via DLC or even a fully-fledged sequel, you can bet that I’ll be sprinting to the front of the line, eager to play. In the meantime, you can find me humming along to this game’s earwormy tunes, daydreaming about the day when I finally adopt a pup of my own.