Dog Walk

Dog Walk (Japanese: 犬の散歩: Inunosanpo) is a role-playing and monster collecting style video game developed and published by Zali Inc. for the Nintendo Switch and is the first game made by Zali Inc. as well as the first in the Dog Walk franchise. Originally released in North America on July 16, 2021, the game takes many ques from other monster collecting games like Pokemon and Yo-kai Watch, except the main set of monsters in the game are real life Dog breeds that the player needs to tame and battle. In Dog Walk, the player character Mason Reeves or Selena Burrows, depending on the players' choice of gender, is given an amulet that gives them the ability to talk to Canines after chasing their pet dog Gage into a back alley. Players assume the role of Mason or Selena as their new talking pet follows them from behind, as they solve mysteries and battle (or befriend) hostile dogs, and solving problems throughout the city.
The game released to semi-positive reviews in North America, Selling 100,000 copies in its first month, sales began to steadily rise. The game was successful enough to warrant a sequel pair of games, that further emphasize the trading and exclusive style of other monster collecting games, like Pokemon. Dog Walk 2 released the next year for the Nintendo Switch, to much more successful and positive reviews, as it addressed the flaws of the first game and adds many new features. Despite the series' small cult following in North America, the game would not release internationally until after the release of Dog Walk 2.
== Plot ==
After selecting a save file, the player can choose which protagonist to play as, as well as choose the name for the character. The canonical names are:
(♂) - Mason
(♀) - Selena
The game starts after the last day of school, the characters walk outside of the school and discuss plans on what to do with their summer. Depending on the player character, their best friend will either be Mason or Selena. Two other friends are present, Ethan Andrews and Skyla Flierly. While the other characters discuss going to the park and the creek to hang out, the player character decides against it, and would rather go home and rest for the rest of the summer.
After the main character arrives home, they see their mom on the phone, talking to the character's dad, who isn't a huge part of the character's life. The character's mom tells them to pack their bags and get ready for their dad to pick them up and take them across the country to his home for the summer. The player character objects and runs to their room and slams the door. Their dog, Gage, comforts them as they cry on their bed. After consoling the main character, Gage hears a sound that the player character cannot, and jumps out of the house's window. The player character jumps after Gage, to chase after him. Gage runs down the street, prompting a movement tutorial.
Down the street, the character chases Gage into a dank alley, with a glowing light coming from the dumpster. Gage runs to the dumpster, and begins to dig. Once the player character pulls Gage away, he has a bone-shaped amulet in his mouth. The player character puts it around their neck, in which it begins to glow, and light surges to Gage. Gage begins to talk to the player character in perfect English. The player character, surprised, tries asking Gage several annoying questions. Gage ends it all by befriending the player character and giving them his Dog Tag (This game's version of Pokeballs). On the walk home, the duo run into a rabid Rottweiler. This commences a battle sequence, where the tutorial is shown.
Category:Fan Games
Category:Games
Category:Original Games
Category:Nintendo Switch Games
Category:Nintendo Games
Category:2021
Category:Single Player Games
Category:Role-Playing Games