Heir Of The Dog Review – The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread (And Figgins’ Pies)

You might be waiting patiently for GTA 6, but I’ve been tenderly fondling my beard growth in anticipation of Heir of the Dog. No, I’m not being facetious – I genuinely have been looking forward to this game since playing the early builds some years ago.

I’m not going to pretend to have known about this when it was part of a game jam competition; however, I will happily fly the flag for Tall Story Games at the drop of a (top) hat, as Tom and Emma’s Lucy Dreaming was brilliant and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

And, because this is my bloody website, I can say what I like and drag out this praise by saying that if I were limited to buying a handful of games, or had restricted shelf space for a big box title to sit up there with Sam & Max Hit the Road, Grim Fandango and E.T. (the NES edition), Heir of the Dog is a game I would pick.

If I didn’t want to review games anymore, or our future AI masters ration us to a handful of games we can revisit in rotation rather than have an unhealthy number of backlog titles we may never finish, let alone play, then I choose you, Pikachu. Oh, and Heir of the Dog. Now that the arse-kissing is out of the way, let’s begin the show.

Out Of Two, I’d Give It One

Jekyll & Hyde. Heard of it? Doesn’t matter, but I reckon you have, and if you haven’t seen it yet, check out Reece Shearsmith’s rendition of the literary figure. You aren’t playing as Dr Jekyll, but there’s a passing resemblance. Only this time, it’s an uncle who’s foolishly left out a concoction that turns our hero into a beast.

As with its predecessor, Heir of the Dog is delightfully British. It’s non-discriminatory, of course, yet knob jokes, bum hugs, trademen entrances and pop culture references are in abundance. For crying out loud, the title itself is a play on words that all booze hounds will be familiar with: the alchemy to cure a hangover by drinking more alcohol to balance it out.

Cumberbund Bandersnatch, a.k.a. Bandy, turns into a hairy beast (that grows cuter with progression) by night, and a dapper chap during the day. The immediate goal is to create the antidote to remove this tomfoolery; however, it’s time-related, so a pocket watch can help you shift the day/night cycle to reverse/trigger the effects.

Why would you entertain this? Well, switching to an animal has the advantage of smell-o-vision, which, surprisingly, is very key to the story. The caveat is you can’t speak, so you have to converse with fellow hoomans as Bandersnatch – voiced by Tom, who’s an absolute charmer. Fans of Lucy Dreaming will be pleased that Emma also features here. Mrs Figgins was a great introduction.

Point And Click, Then Point And Click Again

One area worth pointing out is the Heir of the Dog interface. It doesn’t use anything like a LucasArts verb wheel, modified controls for consoles like Unforeseen Incidents, nor the more recent style used in The Drifter. Instead, it opts for the Zak McKraken and the Alien Mindbenders approach, which is to ‘click’ a verb, then point to the object/character.

If you’re one of those lovely readers that have been around this site for a while, you’ll know that I used to mention Zak McKraken at least once a week. It was one of my favourite point and clicks and it was pretty nice to see Tall Story Games continue this style. Having this option adds to the depth and variety rather than having a use and inspect option that’s directly available from a mouse click.

If you played the demo, you might think the narrative is short-lived, but as alluded to, Bundersnatch’s other side evolves a little, and the plot thickens with a conspiracy, kidnapping, and a potential Ragamuffin Idol audition. Heir of the Dog is quite self-contained with its world map, but the development of puzzles ensures that it never feels boring or repetitive.

While the inventory combinations are entirely absurd, the puzzles are engaging and require both a good eye and ear for a solution. There were plenty of times I got stuck, but it never felt like a negative, since the dialogue is laced with clues and you have a handy companion who nudges you toward objectives (you can even give them a rather splendid hat, too).

Top Marks For A Top Hat

Hot spots are there as well, but you have to hold down the button a little longer so you can’t claim to have clicked it in error. Not that these clues will ruin it for you as they only highlight points of interests relevant to the plot, and there are more than enough things that demand your attention just because it’s just so damn funny, and subtle with its delivery, too.

I do appreciate that the point and click genre is a niche one, but if you’re still reading this and neither Tom nor Emma (hi both!), then it’s highly likely you’re a fan too, and for that reason, I highly recommend you pick this up – more so if you enjoyed Lucy Dreaming. I know scores are subjective and I’ve always been hesitant to use them, but Heir of the Dog is right up my alley, so top marks and a top hat to boot. I can’t fault it.