“Abandon a dachshund and upon your return, you may well be confronted with a small token of her displeasure.” – Mary Doria Russell
Overview
The Lost Dachshund is a point-and-click adventure in which players must traverse a lush island and solve puzzles in order to find their granddaughter’s mischievous birthday gift, Peanut the dachshund puppy, before she arrives.
Developer: Fiddlepoke Games
Released: 17th May 2022
Price: Free
Platforms: Windows, Mac
Available on: Steam
Engine: Unreal Engine
Gameplay
The Lost Dachshund will take around 30 minutes to complete and features classic point and click inventory puzzles, with hidden objects to retrieve and combine, locks to get through and a puppy to find! The player explores static scenes and will need to do some back-and-forth to solve all the conundrums and finally reach Peanut! The gameplay is low pressure with no timers or punishment for mistakes which makes for a very relaxing experience overall.
Narrative and Styling
Arriving at the post office the protagonist finds a letter from a fully voice-acted postman Pete. It explains that the dachshund puppy intended for their grandaughter’s birthday gift has escaped and gone galavanting across the island, much to the dismay of the grumpy neighbours! Postman Pete is kind enough to leave further updates dotted across the various scenes.
The Lost Dachshund has a simple but realistic 3D art style with vibrant colours depicting scenes such as a river, a clifftop, a bridge and a gazebo as well as the absolute cuteness of Peanut himself! The ambient nature sound effects help bring the scenes to life and the relaxing music features layers of gently plucked and droning strings that really fit the charming nature of the game.
Summary
Whilst The Lost Dachshund doesn’t really bring anything new to the table it is a lovely example of a family-friendly point-and-click game. It has engaging but laid back puzzles, pleasant environments and an adorable puppy and is a great way to spend half an hour. If you’re after a cute little game to enjoy with a cup of tea, this might be it.
For more jolly point-and-click titles check out the following reviews:
Shindig: A Wholesome New Point-and-Click Adventure – Growbot – A Puzzling New Biopunk Adventure! – Delores: A Free Thimbleweed Park Mini-Adventure