Game: Dog Man: Bark in Action
Genre: Action, Adventure.
System: Steam (Windows) (also on PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo Switch)
Developer|Publisher: Floor 84 | Mindscape
Controller Support: Yes
Steam Deck: Playable
Price: US $44.99 | UK £39.99 | EU € 44,99
Release Date: October 27th, 2026
Review code provided with many thanks to Minscape.
Dog Man: Bark in Action – A Supa Little Platformer
Dog Man: Bark in Action is a straightforward, family-friendly collectathon platformer that doesn’t particularly attempt to reinvent the genre. Instead, it offers a colourful adventure filled with familiar platforming mechanics, silly humour and plenty of collectables to hunt down.
I’ll be upfront: I’m not particularly familiar with the Dog Man source material. I know it’s a popular comic book series, but I don’t have any particular attachment to the characters or their adventures. So, rather than judging this game by its relationship to the comics, I’m approaching it as a platform game. On that front, I think it’s a perfectly enjoyable little adventure, as long as you know what you’re getting into.
Dog Man And The Supa Buddies
The story sees the town falling victim to a rather unusual problem, with Dr Scum using Hypno Screens to take control of the innocent townsfolk. Naturally, it’s up to Dog Man and his Supa Buddies to put things right, defeat the villains and save the day. The storytelling is presented through comic-book-style panels, which feels like an appropriate way to bring the original material into a video game. The artwork also takes plenty of cues from the comics, so fans should feel right at home.
There’s plenty of tongue-in-cheek humour throughout, and the whole experience has a light-hearted feel. Even without knowing the characters beforehand, I found the presentation easy enough to follow. Thankfully, the game doesn’t spend too much time throwing its story at you either, allowing you to get on with the actual gameplay.
Straightforward Platforming Fun
The gameplay is built around exploring individual levels, collecting items, defeating enemies and making your way towards the exit. It’s a familiar formula, but one that works well enough here. You can switch between Dog Man, Li’l Petey and 80-HD, each bringing their own abilities to the adventure. Dog Man can fling bones, Li’l Petey has his own scratching attacks, and 80-HD brings a rather amusing boxing-glove attack into the mix. As you progress, you’ll unlock additional abilities and gadgets that help you overcome obstacles and access unreachable areas. These introduce a little more variety to the platforming, although the mechanics themselves remain relatively simple. There’s a mixture of jumping, running, exploration and combat, with plenty of opportunities to collect bones and other goodies along the way. Gathering enough bones charges up a special ability, allowing Dog Man to unleash a more powerful form.
There are also plenty of collectables hidden throughout the levels. You’ll find crowns, hidden items and other little secrets, with some discoveries unlocking additional artwork for the gallery. It’s these optional objectives that provide the main incentive to explore beyond simply reaching the end of each stage. You can also bring in additional characters using the in-game phone, with some offering useful assistance such as restoring health or helping you locate hidden collectables.
Not Exactly A Ruff Challenge
One thing worth mentioning is that Dog Man: Bark in Action is exceptionally easy, particularly if you’re an experienced platform game player. The levels are straightforward to navigate, the controls are comfortable and the combat doesn’t demand much from you. Boss encounters follow similarly simple patterns, generally requiring you to recognise an attack, avoid it and dish out damage until your opponent eventually gives up. I never really found myself getting particularly stressed or stuck. In fact, the biggest challenge for me was tracking down some of the hidden collectables rather than actually completing the levels.
There are optional side levels and time challenges to tackle, which provide a little more variety, but don’t expect anything particularly demanding. This is very much a casual platformer designed to be accessible to a casual audience. Whether that’s a positive or negative really depends on what you’re looking for. If you enjoy challenging platformers that test your timing and precision, you might find this one a little too gentle. However, for younger players or anyone wanting something straightforward to enjoy without too much frustration, I can see the appeal. There’s also local two-player co-op, making this a potentially nice option for families who want to enjoy the adventure together.
Comic Book Colours
Visually, the game does a good job of recreating the look and feel of the original comics. The characters and environments have that distinctive cartoon presentation, with plenty of colourful locations and silly visual details. The soundtrack is equally upbeat, with a cheerful, slightly jazzy feel that suits the light-hearted atmosphere. Nothing particularly stood out to me musically, but it does its job of keeping the adventure feeling lively. The overall presentation is simple but effective, and the game runs well on Steam Deck, where its accessible gameplay and straightforward controls make it a comfortable handheld experience. Although I did have to map the controls to the gamepad in the Steam menu, as it appears to default to mouse and keyboard on booting.
Conclusion: Top Dog
Dog Man: Bark in Action is a fairly uncomplicated collectathon platformer. It doesn’t push the genre forward, offer particularly challenging gameplay or introduce many ideas that haven’t been explored elsewhere. However, I don’t think every platformer needs to do those things. Sometimes a simple, colourful adventure is exactly what you’re after. Fans of the Dog Man comics will likely get an extra kick out of seeing their favourite characters brought to life, while younger players and casual platforming fans should find plenty to enjoy. Those looking for a more demanding platforming experience might want to look elsewhere, though.
Final Verdict: I Like it
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