New cozy free-to-play game tops Steam charts with over 300+ "Very Positive" reviews just two days after launch

Steam quietly welcomed another indie game this week, but this one is distinctly different for a lot of reasons. Dogwalk, which debuted on July 11, is the kind of short, gentle experience that almost forces you to smile. Developed by Blender Studio, the game introduces players to a gorgeous winter landscape. You play as a cute, fluffy dog, with a small child in tow.

You spend your brief journey exploring snowy forests, frozen ponds, and quiet trails. Your goal is pretty simple: find scattered items to build a snowman. But it’s how you choose to get there that adds depth to the whole experience. The leash binding you to the child can foster a lot of cooperation or simply make the gameplay more troublesome, with one player pointing out that sprinting too fast can cause the kid to tumble behind you. Many other players praised its relaxed pacing and described it as a therapeutic escape, among other things.

What's particularly interesting here is that Dogwalk is more than just another charming indie project. It's Blender Studio’s showcase for what's possible using fully open-source tools. The entire project - assets, animations, and code - is made with Blender and the popular Godot Game Engine. Unlike industry giants such as Unity or Unreal, Godot is completely open source, meaning it doesn't require developers to pay royalties or follow strict licensing agreements. This should make it great for small studios and independent creators, as it lowers the entry barrier to game creation.

Dogwalk is 100% free, which fits neatly into its open-source philosophy. However, there's a $4.99 Supporter Pack if players want to tip the developers for their work. Players have explicitly stated in the reviews that the short runtime of just around 20 minutes and the modest download size of roughly 300MB makes the game way more accessible. Dogwalk is quite a pleasant distraction, and with no price tag attached to it, it might be worth a look. You can check it out here.