Bad boy! Bad demigod!
CANINE is a survival horror game published by PuKo.You play as young boy whose beloved German Shepard - named Tomy - has been missing for the last three weeks. An anonymous tipoff suggest that the poor pooch is being held captive in Umbral Clinic, a shady business that is rumored to steal pets in order to experiment on them. You set off for the clinic one rainy night, only armed with Tomy's favorite ball, and make your way down to the bowels of the building...only to realize that you aren't alone, and this place isn't just a dingy vet's office.
You must solve puzzles while you search for Tomy, all the while evading Ruben, a bloodthirsty human-dog hybrid that has been bioengineered to become a demigod. There are two endings: one good, the other bad.
The game was released on May 10, 2023.
Tropes shown in Canine (spoilers):
- Animal Testing: Umbral is an unethical organization that is driven to produce a demigod. They seem to abduct local dogs - some strays, some pets - in order to experiment on them to achieve their goal.
- Back-Alley Doctor: More like Back Alley Veterinarian.
- Beware of Vicious Dog: Ruben, the human-dog hybrid is a terrifying foe and will not stop hunting you.
- Big Eater: McCree, a little terrier whose file is on the computer in the main office, was a failed specimen that was noteworthy for his ferocious appetite. He is noted to have escaped Umbral Clinic.
- Bio-Augmentation: Basically how the whole "demigod" experiments work, with a hybrid fetus being implanted into a canine mother's womb and raised by the scientists after birth.
- Body Horror: Ruben has the head and facial features of a dog, but his bipedal body is a pulsating fleshy mess that looks like it failed to stretch out his human proportions.
- Cower Power: You can avoid Ruben by ducking into one of the many outlined hiding places, such as under desks and stairways.
- Drone of Dread: The only indicator that Ruben is nearby is a desperate-sounding danger theme.
- Follow the White Rabbit: Once the player character goes down into the depths of Umbral, they have to follow a literal white rabbit through the halls. Once the electrical fuse is fixed in order to proceed, it's discovered that Ruben has killed and in the process of eating the rabbit when the player first encounters him.
- For Science!: Why is the Umbral team so determined to have a biologically-produced demigod, especially when it comes to crossbreeding dogs with humans? Who knows, but it sure doesn't look legal.
- Go Fetch: The only way the player can distract Ruben is to toss tennis balls away from them, as playing fetch is Ruben's weakness.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Ruben is part dog, part human and the most successful mutation of Umbral's efforts.
- Heroes Love Dogs: The player character is determined to find Tomy.
- Jar of the Bizarre: One of the areas house specimens that are presumably being preserved during the mutation process.
- Multiple Endings: Two, both with or without tennis balls:
- Good ending: The player finds Tomy and escapes the clinic with him to return home.
- Bad ending: The player escapes without Tomy, leaving the dog to suffer at the hands of Umbral staff.
- Mysterious Animal Senses: Ruben is noted to have heightened senses but also can cause electrical interferences.
- Nightmare Face: Ruben's file picture on the main office's computer is pretty creepy to look at. He doesn't have the nicest mug on his active character model either.
- Noodle Incident: How the aforementioned McCree escaped the laboratory and what "minor tests" were preformed on Tomy before he was listed as a poor specimen to become a demigod, especially given how the latter appears to be completely unharmed if the player manages to collect him.
- Sequel Hook: Possibly, as the street musician from earlier in the game says he hopes that Ruben doesn't learn how to escape the facility in the good ending.
- Sickly Green Glow: The alleyway that leads to Umbral clinic is outline by a green streetlight.
- Token Good Teammate: The bloodied scientist we meet on our way to the center of the clinic desperately tells us that he never agreed with the thefts and experimentation of the dogs. He passes away from his injuries as he begins to tell us how to deal with Ruben and escape.
