Stealth horror Survival horror Horror PS1 horror Short horror

CANINE

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Get your dog back from the pet-experiment lab. You have only a ball.

Platforms: PC, Mac, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox
Stores: Steam, GOG, itch.io
Price: Paid
Rated: Very Positive on Steam (96% of 317 reviews); 4.6/5 on itch.io (100 ratings); 3.8/5 on the PlayStation Store (155 ratings)
Length: about 30 to 40 minutes
Players: 1
Made by: Puko
Released: 2023

No. 26 of the horror games with dogs · No. 26 of the mutant horror games · No. 26 of the kidnapping horror games

Get it on Steam GOG itch.io (Windows, macOS)Nintendo eShop (Switch)PlayStation Store (PS5)Xbox (One, Series X|S)

What frightens A boy goes after his kidnapped dog into an abandoned building where a corporation experiments on pets. He has no weapons, and an eight-foot dog-human hybrid stalks him through dark warehouses, labs and corridors full of mutilated animals.
Content: gore, blood, violence, dead animals, animal experiments, mild language.

CANINE is a short PSX-style horror game by Puko. A boy goes after his dog Tomy, kidnapped by a corporation that experiments on pets, and has to slip past a towering humanoid dog with nothing but Tomy's ball to throw.

About CANINE

CANINE is a first-person horror game by the solo developer Puko, released on Steam in May 2023. It is also sold on GOG and on itch.io, where there is a macOS build too, and in July 2025 Dolores Entertainment brought it to Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox. It tells a deliberately B-movie story in a PSX look: low-poly models, grainy textures and harsh coloured light.

Your dog Tomy has been taken by an evil corporation that runs experiments on pets. You go to fetch him and find the place abandoned, with a dog-human hybrid around eight feet tall walking its halls. There are no weapons in CANINE. All you carry is Tomy's tennis ball.

Play is a game of hide and seek. You crouch, wait around corners while the creature passes, and run when it sees you. Throwing the ball pulls it away for a moment. Along the way you find keys and switches and move a forklift out of your path. The building holds tanks of mutated creatures, a dog's carcass torn open on a garage floor and blood trails down yellow-lit halls, and the music shifts as the threat comes closer.

A run takes about half an hour to forty minutes. There are two endings depending on what you do. A score system with stars and a timer rewards faster, cleaner runs, and four stars unlock a hardcore mode. The maker names Resident Evil, Silent Hill and Alien: Isolation as inspirations. It suits players who want a cheap, tight stealth horror game they can replay for a better score, and who can stomach dead animals.

How to play CANINE

Enter the abandoned building to search for Tomy.
Move carefully, crouch and listen for the humanoid dog patrolling the halls.
Throw Tomy's ball to draw the creature away from your path.
Find keys and switches to open the way deeper.
Reach the end, then replay for a higher star score and the other ending.

Screenshots

A brown dog in the foreground of a dark warehouse while a tall figure with a glowing face stands far down the aisle of crates

A yellow-lit hall with gurneys and a blood trail leading to a thin red creature crouched by a blue door

A pale, bloated creature floating in a green-lit specimen tank, with more tanks behind it

A thin figure with glowing eyes standing under a green exit sign at the end of a dark office corridor, a tennis ball in hand

A dog's carcass torn open in a pool of blood on a parking garage floor, a tennis ball nearby

A snarling dog beside a chain-link gate with a sign reading Cuidado con el perro

A dog peering through the bars of a padlocked cage in a dark room

Tips

You cannot fight back, so learn the creature's patrols before you move into open rooms.
Hide around a corner and let it walk past; if it spots you, sprint and break its line of sight.
Throw the ball where you want the creature to go, not near where you plan to hide.
Speed counts for the star rating, so a second run once you know the layout scores better, and four stars unlock hardcore mode.

Questions

Can you fight in CANINE?

No. There are no weapons; you only have your dog's ball to distract the creature.

How long is CANINE?

Short: the maker gives about half an hour for a session, and the Fearzine review calls it a forty-minute game. Both endings and the hardcore mode take longer.

How many endings does CANINE have?

Two, depending on your actions, according to the store.

What platforms is CANINE on?

Windows PC (Steam, GOG and itch.io), macOS through itch.io, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox One and Series X|S.

Is CANINE suitable for teenagers?

It is rated ESRB Teen for blood and gore, violence and mild language. It shows dead and mutilated dogs, which some players will find upsetting.