Russian Subway Dogs isn’t good just because of its street-smart animals. It’s a great game because of its simplicity. It follows the gangster mafia games genre perfectly, starting off with one enemy and one incentive, and gradually increasing the risk and reward with each new subway stop. The character designs are repetitive in the classic arcade way. The screen can be riddled with the same fur coat-wearing, shawarma-eating commuters and I’d never tire of them, because each commuter is another chance to get a long chain in eating food and dodging explosive vodka and aggressive subway bears.

The wild thing about the game is that it gave me pangs of nostalgia for an era that it wasn’t even born in. Every time I played, I lamented my use of an Xbox 360 controller. Russian Subway Dogs is an arcade game through and through, and it’s such a shame I can’t play it in an arcade, twisting the joystick left and right until my hunger eventually overtakes me and my coins.
Perhaps the most fun part of the game is its unlockable characters. From KC Green’s Question Hound to Uay Chivo from Guacamelee!, Russian Subway Dogs pays homage to the cartoon animals all thriving in other games and artforms. There’s a bit of camaraderie in its nod to other games, particularly other indie games, who no doubt must compete for attention and money. But in the end, we all must work together so that we can all rise—or in this case, so that we can all eat some hot food.

Another thing it borrowed from the arcades: this game is difficult! Opening up new subway lines requires players to complete specific challenges. The game is extremely creative in how it keeps players on their toes by slowly deviating from its initial “bark for food” premise. Like a classic arcade game, Russian Subway Dogs is doing its hardest to make you lose, and it’s your job to make sure no animal starves. I can see Russian Subway Dogs being the new game I play when I’m itching to get my fingers active and looking to improve my score.

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