Gravhounds Playtest: Dog People Co-op Shooter on Steam

Ever scrolled through Steam and stopped because a game looked just weird enough to try? That's exactly what happened with Gravhounds, a new co-op wave shooter that's currently holding a free open playtest on Steam. And yes, the characters are dogs with human bodies. You play as a dog person. It's as bizarre as it sounds.

The playtest runs through Monday, and all you have to do is click the 'join playtest' button on its Steam page. It's free for the next few days, and for an unreleased early access game, it seems surprisingly well put-together. So if you're looking for something to muck around in with friends this weekend, this might be worth a shot.

So what's the actual game like? It's a co-op wave shooter, which is basically always fun with friends, at least for a bit. The movement feels good, especially when you're gliding across networks of buildable cables. There's also a light resource mining and tower defense element that has potential. You collect resources by hucking them across the map with a gravity gun, which is satisfying—just don't do it with explosive materials, as I learned the hard way.

Now, about that Helldivers 2 comparison. The game doesn't really play like Helldivers 2; it just replicates the home base spaceship setup. But it's a good format, and the shooting is fun. So if you're a fan of that style, you'll probably feel right at home. The dog people thing, though? That's a whole other story. It caught my attention, mainly because I find these particular dog people a bit unsettling. I felt the same way about Fox in the Star Fox remake. But you've got to stand out, right? Would I have tried Gravhounds if the characters looked like Helldivers 2 soldiers? I'm not sure. And I do like that when you respawn, you come back wearing a cone of shame. Maybe a worn-down, dissociating blue collar dog guy is just what you need to get people in the door.

So, do you think he has regular human hands under those gloves, or are they like paws that have morphed into hand shapes? These are the important questions. Either way, the open Gravhounds playtest runs through Monday. All you have to do is click the 'join playtest' button on its Steam page and you, too, can be a dog who thinks he's people and also is people. Will you be picking this up? Let us know in the comments!