Considering the success Hit-Point has had with Neko Atsume on both mobile and VR, it’s been a surprising wait for the company to make a dog-themed follow-up to the pet care simulator that won the hearts of millions. Rather than making its way to the platform after finding success elsewhere, Inu Atsume VR is debuting in mixed and virtual reality. As more of a dog person myself, I’m delighted.
Inu Atsume VR will be instantly familiar to anyone who enjoyed their time with Neko Atsume Purrfect. There isn’t an adventure to beat, just pets to meet, photograph, play with, adopt, befriend, train, and love for as long as you like. It’s an immersive Nintendogs offering everything you need to pretend you have a dog without the cleaning or vet bills that come with one.
Official trailer
Dogs are very different animals from cats, so there are certainly gameplay aspects that have changed compared to Neko Atsume Purrfect. You pick your first dog by playing fetch with a frisbee in the park and giving them a collar, though you can also play with and befriend any dogs you encounter without the commitment of bringing them home when you visit in the future. After that, they live with you, and you need to give them enough to keep them entertained.
They’ll need a bed and food and water, naturally, but you can also get more toys and presents for them. You can teach them tricks and, if incentivized by enough treats, they’ll learn them permanently. You can have them sit or lie down on command at any time.
If they’re done digging holes in the garden to find currency for new toys, gizmos, and other surprises, you can simply call them over and pet and stroke them. Endlessly. Having lived with dogs for much of my life while living in the UK, I’ve only been able to see the family dog through a screen since moving abroad. Even spotting a dog while on a walk and sometimes getting to greet them can be a highlight. Getting to do that at any time in Inu Atsume VR, especially with how adorable they are, is worth the price of admission. I could watch them run and stroke these virtual dogs in my pets-not-allowed apartment for hours.
Actually, I think I spent close to an hour doing this before I even realized it during my first session.
With dogs being more active creatures than the aloof and independent feline, Inu Atsume VR offers a few features not found in its predecessor for interacting with your dog. You can take them to events – simplistic minigames such as maze navigation offer a break from the more passive experience found elsewhere. In this maze game, for example, you can navigate your dog through simplistic labyrinths using either a navigation panel in front of you or voice commands. Unfortunately, voice recognition is very poor and rarely works. Attempting to call and have my dog respond is neat, yet I found myself going to menus and buttons both in and out of minigames. It’s only worked for me around 10% of the time during my experience with the title.
That said, it’s the returning Mixed Reality mode from Neko Atsume Purrfect that remains a highlight. Using your room as a space for this dog to roam, playing with them, or simply watching them walk around is one of the platform’s best uses. I say that as someone who misses the joy a dog’s mere presence can bring to any room. I watch George scratch at my shoes with joy, not anger, and find myself doing odd tasks with my Quest headset in this mode in a way I haven’t in other mixed reality modes, just so I can occasionally spot them having fun as I clean my room.
Mixed reality often falls short, not from poor execution but from how unnatural it feels to have these events taking place in the real world. Yet despite the stylized appearance of these dogs, it simply feels right. I actually felt a little sad when the headset was put away and George wasn’t around, which I didn’t expect.
Mostly, though, this isn’t a game to pick up and play for long sessions. Your coins needed to play minigames and get toys are only drip-fed, and once you’ve fed and played with your pets, it’s perfectly acceptable to go about your life until returning the following day. The daily login system encourages this further, offering goodies for every day you log in.
A dog lover like myself would inevitably prefer Inu Atsume VR compared to Neko Atsume Purrfect, but Hit-Point has done more than a species swap with this new game. It’s taken advantage of VR to bring new features and ideas that feel natural to the medium and make this an engaging and adorable pet simulator that can stick with you for months. Now, if you don’t mind, George needs some food, and then we’re off to play frisbee.
Inu Atsume VR is out now on the Meta Quest platform.
