I dropped dogs onto other dogs to create even bigger dogs in Dogpile's hefty Steam Next Fest demo

Dogpile finally answers the question: what if the yard where you kept puppers well into the double digits was vertical? It also answers the question: what if when two similar dogs touched they became a bigger dog? The answer, as I find out during my Steam Next Fest demo, is that it creates a fun and compelling, erm, dogbuilder I can't keep my paws off. I just have to cram more good boys into my garden!

From developers Studio Folly (Gubbins), Foot, and Toot Games (who are also working on the seriously intriguing My Arms Are Longer Now), Dogpile's art style is gorgeous, with striking designs for different breeds and block, cartoony colors. Designed for repeat play, Dogpile is the kind of game I can see myself cumulatively losing plenty of hours to. It's also perfect for trying as a demo, which I encourage you to do yourself (our Steam Next Fest guide explains more).

In the doghouse

Dogpile's genius comes from a merge of its own, taking tactical deck drafting and combining it with playful physics. Hands of dogs from your deck are drawn onto the top of the screen for you to literally drag the pup above your lightly curved yard and drop 'em in. Taking cues from playing cards, the smallest dogs are aces, growing into larger, more complex shapes as the ascend in dog number.

When two dogs of the same number touch, they merge to become a dog with a higher number – whether that's immediately after you unleash them into the yard or if they get nudged around and touch later. Like Tetris, it's game over if your dogs overflow from the top of the screen, so continuing to merge so you have fewer dogs that take up less space is vital.

Yet, the larger, twistier shapes of bigger dogs can be hard to handle on their own, like the particularly pudgy eighth dog the dalmatian. And what happens when those big chonky floofs block off access to smaller dogs below? Successful merges are immensely satisfying, but it can also be tough to optimize your space below. But there's nothing better than the feeling of all your pups being in the right place.

Dogpile is more than a simple, merger, though. You also need to constantly accrue bones and cash from your combinations. Pet Shop cards mean you can spend money to fill out your deck with higher level dogs with unique effects, and special stamps for your collar that give special buffs. Reach your bone goal, meanwhile, and you can use the dog wash to further boost your pets, or cut out lower levels you've grown past from your deck (as a healthy trim – there's a wholesome energy here). Fail to reach the bone goal in the turns given, though, and you're in the doghouse, meaning you have to take on a negative effects – which may involve fleas. It's a loop closer to Ballionaire than Balatro, and it's fun to see consequences play out.

From boosting the merge rewards with best in show ribbons, to dealing with lover dogs who are prone to magnetizing towards other dogs to keep the pile of puppers shifting, there's plenty of complications to come up against in Dogpile, whether that's to help, hinder, or sometimes in between. As with any arcadey game like this, as I learn the rules I'm constantly kicking myself – oh, if only I used this power here and not there, or waited to drop this dog before this other one! But, all the more reason to reshuffle the dogs, and go for another round. Dogpile is coming soon to PC.

A player before me destroyed a bridge in this Steam Next Fest demo, so I had to build it again in this narrative adventure where your choices have consequences for others