Dogpile Combines Balatro, Tetris, and Adorable Puppies in Unique Puzzles

One day, gaming enthusiasts will dive deep into the influence Balatro has had on the industry, particularly how many titles that followed sought to replicate its charm by integrating intricate systems into straightforward, accessible gameplay. Until that day arrives, I’m diving into Dogpile.

Dogpile is a deckbuilding match-3 roguelike that takes inspiration from merge games like Suika Game, adding a delightful twist reminiscent of Balatro. The result is an adorable, cozy experience that caters to both my love for incremental progress and my affection for dogs. Players stack matching dogs to create larger breeds, earning points to unlock new levels. The smallest dog is a Chihuahua, and merging two Chihuahuas transforms them into what I believe is a Pomeranian, and the chain continues. The dogs accumulate on the playing field much like Tetris blocks, and just like in Tetris, if they overflow the top, it’s game over.

Merging dogs is the simplest aspect of the game, where player control is minimal—everything is influenced by gravity, physics, and trajectory. Yet, this is also where Dogpile shines with excitement. The dogs are charmingly designed, often contorted into amusing shapes that occasionally reveal a cheeky detail or two. Adding modifiers like bouncy or magnetic dogs introduces a fun physical element—Dogpile is essentially match-3 Tetris, but with a physics engine. It may sound silly to highlight the gameplay moment of a pug merging with another pug to create a dachshund in 2025, but the satisfying “pop” and adorable “arf” that accompany it are undeniably engaging.

While the game has no connection to poker, you can definitely see Balatro’s influence throughout. Each round, you’re dealt a hand from a deck featuring dogs as different suits. Similar to Balatro, you earn in-game currency to enhance your deck with additional cards and tags that function like Balatro’s jokers. For $15 in-game currency (no microtransactions here), you can purchase a chow chow card or a tag that makes certain dogs spin in place, creating more merging opportunities. After winning a round, you visit the grooming salon to modify your dog cards, adding positive traits like “friendly,” which attracts them to their matches, or washing away negative traits like fleas that can hinder their abilities.

Building a dog deck filled with synergies to maximize points is where Dogpile closely resembles Balatro, and it’s where your strategic thinking really comes into play. I enjoy giving my dogs the barking trait, which causes them to disturb the pile with a bark when dropped. Pairing this with a tag that rewards points for each bark creates a satisfying spectacle of meters filling up and cash register sounds ringing, tapping into the psychology of addictive gameplay that many Balatro-inspired titles leverage.

Dogpile doesn’t delve too deeply into complexity. There are no boss challenges, and failing to meet the point threshold doesn’t end your run; instead, you choose from a selection of negative events or traits that can either be easily ignored or lead to an immediate loss. Unlike Balatro, Dogpile doesn’t evoke the same sense of endless deck-building possibilities.

While Dogpile isn’t the first to add depth to the match-3 genre, it’s intriguing to see how it expands on Balatro’s formula—especially when dogs are involved.

And yes, you can pet them.

Dogpile is available now on Steam.