Oh, to be young and punk again. To be clear, I was never a punk exactly, although I’ve always had an affinity with that world. But I wasn’t nearly cool enough to pull off the looks or creative enough to create its music or zines. Not in the way Dead Pets are, or were… or still are? Gordy and her band have all reached their thirties by the start of this game, and while the punk spirit is still with them, adult life seems to be getting in the way of the musical lifestyle more often than not.
Yet Gordy still dreams of that final push, finally making it as a band. After a decade of trying, they owe it to themselves to have that one last hurrah, surely? That’s where we come in, with Gordy dreaming big while her bandmates… are a bit all over the place. We are supposed to help Gordy figure things out, help her decide on what’s ultimately the most important in her life, and deal with the consequences and associated tragedies.
Dead Pets puts us in Gordy’s shoes, or leather boots, and sees us navigate her messy life. Whether it’s another shift at the diner, rehearsing with the band or disappointing her parents, we get to do it all through light management mechanisms and plenty of minigames. These are all infused with the spirit of punk, which is brought to life in an incredible way. From the visuals to the writing to the music, it’s all powered by the emotions you’d usually associate with the punk movement.
The different minigames offer all kinds of challenges. Some of them are rhythm-based, especially when playing as the Dead Pets themselves (which makes sense), while others will see you clean your teeth, do a shift at the diner, process the numbers on a computer, and do plenty of other tasks. They offer a nice shift from walking around and making dialogue choices, which makes up most of the game’s base gameplay.
It’s these choices that have most of the impact on the management part of the game, though. You have to keep track of your own needs, those of the band, and your social standing. And your money, of course. Oh boy, do you need a lot of money as an adult. Making your choices will pull at your heartstrings but will also see you walk a thin line in keeping everything balanced. Sometimes you’ll be locked out of certain options because you’ve been neglecting your needs, or those of the band, for example.
And that’s rough. Because ultimately, the game boils down to choosing what’s more important to you. This becomes especially apparent once the game introduces an event that the developers have issued a trigger warning for, dealing with sexual assault and harassment at the end of episode 2. Nope, the game doesn’t shy away from heavier topics (although you can skip the particular scene if you can’t or don’t want to handle this). It’s an event that Gordy carries with her from that moment on and that will influence her choices and decisions on the band, her passions, and her whole life.
Dead Pets takes these topics on full speed ahead, just like it deals with other factors of adult life. That shouldn’t come as a surprise considering Triple Topping are the developers, the same people who brought us Welcome to Elk. It’s refreshing to get to see this very feminist point of view represented in a game, with Dead Pets refusing to look away from female sexuality or women’s space within a patriarchal world, both in the music business and in society in general. It’s a sad thing that this is refreshing, as we really need more points of view like it, but here we are.
The music is a particular highlight in Dead Pets. The EP that was written for the game is rather excellent, which is fortunate as you’ll be hearing it quite a bit. There are rehearsals, performing at gigs and even an EP release party, so you’ll get to memorise the songs in no time. But they’re absolute bangers, every one of them. And to top it all off, in Jukebox Mode, you get to play along to songs from other Akupara-published games as well, featuring Cryptmaster, Airframe Ultra, Star Viking and more. So for you rhythm game purists, there’s a lot of fun to be had here.
But the main thing for Dead Pets is its punk spirit. This is brought to life so spectacularly well through its crude interludes with sometimes vulgar humour. There’s also the real dilemma of what it means to be punk and how that can be combined with leading an actual adult life. It’s the main force of disruption between Gordy and her parents, but it also becomes a factor in whether or not the band can even continue, as some band members seem to have different priorities in life from Gordy herself.
It turns Dead Pets into a very human game. The struggles are relatable, especially to people from the same generation as Gordy. Adulting is something that has become more of a challenge to my own generation than any previously, with millennials often being accused of not growing up. Seeing Gordy face those same struggles, and being able to affect her decisions on how to deal with it all, feels empowering. There is strength in creation, beauty in resistance, and love in acceptance, and Gordy’s journey through it all is one I’m so glad to have finally gotten to experience.
