It's Hard Being A Dog

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I was a bit frustrated while playing at first, however once I got into it, it is actually a weirdly solid Vampire Survivors-esque experience wrapped in DOG coating. 6/10 (So far) The GOOD: DOG, Decent Boss Fights, A decent amount of unique enemies, Solid control scheme, Good replay value especially with Endless mode. The BAD: Hard mode is tedious, whereas Normal mode sadly isn't that challenging. In Hard mode you essentially just kite enemies while waiting for your bark cooldown during the early game, then there's potential variation as you level up and gain power ups. However, bark is still the safest strategy, and kiting then barking isn't that fun, it should be disincentivized in some way. In my gameplay I ran into a bug where a Artemis totem/statue spawned in as I was dashing which got me entirely stuck inside of the grass, ultimately leading to my death.

IHBAD is a wonderful game and a complete gem. I can't believe I stumbled upon it by chance! For a free game, it is an amazing roguelike. The combat and mechanics are simple and the gameplay is fun to master. I can see people making speedruns for this game. The only downside is that the story is rather short. I wish there were more levels to play, more enemies to fight (especially of the basic type--not only phoenix and alpha phoenix), and new abilities to improve replayability. Overall, amazing game! You should definitely play!

It's Hard Being A Dog is a small-scale roguelike action game that uses an immediately entertaining idea to separate itself from the crowded genre: instead of playing another warrior, wizard, or heavily armed survivor, you control a dog trying to endure a bizarre dystopian world filled with dangerous creatures and figures inspired by Greek mythology. Developed and published by MALGOW, the game combines 2D platforming, hack-and-slash action, RPG elements, pixel-art presentation, and permadeath progression. Its strange combination of an adorable protagonist and a hostile mythological setting gives it a memorable personality even when its mechanics remain relatively straightforward. The dog's combat abilities appropriately reflect the protagonist. Biting serves as a basic means of attacking enemies, while barking provides another useful action and dashing supplies the mobility required to avoid danger. The relatively small moveset makes the game easy to understand, but surviving increasingly threatening encounters still demands movement, timing, and awareness. Rather than overwhelming players with complicated button combinations, it concentrates on using a few simple abilities effecti…

why did steam hide this gem from me for so long bro

Good game, kinda buggy though but still an enjoyable short roguelike. Just a cool little free game you can probably beat in an hour.