Dead Pets Unleashed took the idea of those wholesome, slice of life indie games and made a version that has a bit more grit and punk rock to it.
Not everyone wants to be a farmer or help rebuild a town. Here, you are focused on your band and attempting to bring them back to life while also paying rent. Here, you and your band have been trying to play together and make it big for 10 years, but it just hasn’t happened yet. Now that you are turning 30, you want to take one more big aim at your dreams, if you can.
Dead Pets Unleashed is a captivating game, starting off with introducing you to a character named Gordy. Each character that comes onto the screen has a little moment where they appear with their likes and dislikes as a quick intro on who they are. You are hungover, rent is due, and a lot is going on. Your housemate wants you to agree to pay the rent, and you can either tell them that you will not be or lie and say you will (but if you don’t it does make them upset with you). These sort of decisions do let you know the outcome, which is interesting and adds a bit of hinting as to what is to come.
Along with needing to pay rent, you also want to bring your band, Dead Pets, back to life (if you can). This involves a lot of management; you can pick out your clothing, wash your dildo, water a plant, and do a bunch of other little mini-games. And there are a lot of them; jobs to work, food to create to eat, and music related mini-games to show off your band’s talents. This game is made by the creators of Welcome to Elk, and the different mini-games do feel like a nod to their previous work. Dead Pets Unleashed felt so well-written and captivating during the Gamescom demo I tried, especially as I learned more about Gordy and the various characters in the band.
Dead Pets Unleashed is currently in development, but in the meantime, you can add it to your Steam Wishlist.