Dead Pets: A Punk Rock Slice Of Life Sim

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Ever wanted to be in a big punk rock band? Well so does Gordy. Unfortunately for her, her bandmates are on the verge of giving up on the dream. Dead Pets is a punk rock slice of life sim by Triple Topping and Akupara Games.

Dead Pets is currently available on Steam for £10.79, we turned on our amps and locked in to see whether it deserves space in your library.

There’s nothing more punk than being constantly hungover and generally sprialling

A cartoon illustration of a person named Gordy, labeled as 30 years old, surrounded by humorous captions on a purple background. Center image shows Gordy, who is on hands and knees holding a bucket, captioned "is extremely hungover at the moment." Other captions include "loves over-grilled toasts" with toast graphic, "legendary bass player in Dead Pets" with a guitar, "true visionary" with a lighthouse, "loves short walks on the beach" with footprints, and "hates conformity" with stick figures. Each caption is paired with simple line drawings — Meet Gordy, a totally chill and not at all unhinged demon

Gameplay

Meet Gordy, a 30-year-old demon with the dream of making it big in the punk rock scene. Her fellow Dead Pets bandmates have almost given up on their music dream and are desperately trying to make it through the day. Navigate Gordy’s messy life through a mix of mini games. Band practice plays like a mini version of Guitar Hero, whilst you can dip into old school Diner Dash gameplay when putting a shift in at Gordy’s job to make some money for rent.

Cartoon scene of a character with orange hair playing guitar. Shadowy figures in background play other instruments. — Singstar and Guitar Hero have prepared me for this

Fans of Bojack Horseman will love the characters, tone and design of this game. Dead Pets carries its story through humour whilst also letting the reality of adult life darken the characters’ doorstops every so often.

Minigame madness

As mentioned, there are plenty of minigames to play as you control Gordy. This ranges from the Guitar Hero-like rhythm game and the diner game to number processing and things as simple as brushing your teeth.

Illustrated diner scene with a neon sign, tables, and a cartoon character with pink hair. — Bring back time management games

Dead Pets shifts gears frequently yet seemlessly, making it so much easier to lock in and spend hours playing the game.

But what about my street cred?

Making decisions is a very important part of gameplay so, unfortunately, you cannot be indecisive. Each decisions changes the rating you have including how your band reacts to you, your own personal feelings about yourself and more.

Graphics & Audio

I was expecting great things from the graphics of this game after Akupara Games’ art style in Sorry We’re Closed (which you can read the review of here). Safe to say they met every expectation!

Dead Pets doesn’t only swap game styles, it also includes a diverse range of art styles. The majority of the game sticks with the same grungy art direction but slips into something adorable for mini games. None of these shifts feel jarring at all. If anything, it made the game feel complete.

Two cartoon characters with colorful skin stand in a room. One, with yellow horns, says, "Rent is due at the end of the week." The room is cozy, featuring a purple couch, abstract art, and warm lighting. The characters' expressions suggest a casual or slightly concerned tone. — Even in the game world landlords suck

The music that Dead Pets plays during the rhythm games is catchy and I often found myself bobbing along to the music even though I had no idea what they were saying because I didn’t want to miss notes.

Longevity

The enjoyment of Dead Pets comes from the fact that there is enough built into the game to stop it from feeling like a novel. You also have some choice in what Gordy does with her day. For instance, I really enjoy time management games so I spent a lot of time making money running shifts at the diner.

It’s definitely an easy feat to spend hours playing this games when you think you’re only spending a couple of minutes in this almost-failing punk band.

Final Thoughts

Dead Pets is an adventure through the struggles of adult life whilst keeping it fresh and entertaining. The devs have done a wonderful job of combining a number of game types to fit one expansive story.

I’ve had a wonderful time playing this game and will continue to play until I reach the end of Gordy’s story. As a result, I have to give Dead Pets the Thumb Culture Gold Award. Check out the trailer below.

Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.

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About Author

Alex Crooks

My favourite kind of games are the ones that make you cry… and by cry I mean throw your controller at a wall because I definitely dodged that attack but I’m still somehow dead. Or cry because that jumpscare was just uncalled for and now I need to recover before I can make my way down another scary, dark corridor.

I’m as old as the first Tomb Raider and feel like I’ve been playing games ever since. I’m a Playstation girlie that dabbles in Switch and PC games. Don’t ask me about Bloodborne unless you’re ready to listen to me ramble on for hours.

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Dead Pets: A Punk Rock Slice Of Life Sim – PC Review