Pup Champs

About

Pup Champs is a single player casual sport game. It was developed by afterburn and was released on May 19, 2025. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

Pup Champs is a cozy tactical puzzle game where you coach a team of adorable pups through over 170 hand-crafted challenges. Strategically position players, navigate hazards, and outsmart opponents to lead your team to victory. Along the way, enjoy a heartfelt story of friendship and teamwork told through interactive motion comics.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+18

Skip User Reviews

98%

Audience ScoreBased on 43 reviews

graphics7 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

Charming art style and relaxing music create a cozy atmosphere, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.
The puzzles are well-designed with a balanced difficulty curve, offering a mix of easy and challenging levels that encourage strategic thinking.
Each pup has unique abilities that add variety to the gameplay, making it engaging and fun to solve the puzzles.

Some players may find the game can feel like trial-and-error, especially in tougher bonus levels without a hint system.
The characters can appear very similar, which may lead to confusion during gameplay.
A few players noted that the challenge of finding specific sequences can be less satisfying compared to the more open-ended puzzles in previous Afterburn titles.

graphics
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
44%
17%
The graphics in "Pup Champs" are consistently praised for their adorable and charming art style, which complements the game's heartwarming narrative and engaging gameplay. Reviewers highlight the pleasing aesthetics and cozy visuals, noting that the simple yet appealing design enhances the overall experience, making it both enjoyable and immersive. The combination of cute graphics and relaxing music creates a delightful atmosphere that resonates well with players.
- “The graphics are adorable, the gameplay is deceptively complex; there is so much variety in the level hazards and they are introduced so gradually that the difficulty feels fair and steady throughout each world.”
- “The whole vibe from the visuals to the music is just on point.”
- “The art style and music blend seamlessly together in this happy adventure to become the best footie team this dog world has ever seen!”
- “Graphic is dog-like.”
- “As with previous Afterburn titles, the standout quality of Pup Champs is a very smooth gameplay experience paired with cute graphics.”
- “From the cute visuals to the relaxing music, Pup Champs is an excellent game that is as enjoyable as Railbound, Golf Peaks, and In Bento.”
gameplay
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The gameplay in "Pup Champs" is characterized by a well-balanced difficulty curve and a variety of engaging mechanics that are introduced gradually, allowing players to adapt and strategize effectively. With over 170 hand-crafted levels, players navigate charming soccer-themed challenges using unique pup abilities, while the game maintains a smooth experience complemented by adorable graphics. Although some bonus levels may require trial-and-error due to the absence of hints, the overall design ensures a delightful and strategic puzzle experience.
- “The graphics are adorable, the gameplay is deceptively complex; there is so much variety in the level hazards, and they are introduced so gradually that the difficulty feels fair and steady throughout each world.”
- “Pup Champs, crafted by Afterburn, is a delightful tactical puzzle game that puts you in the role of a retired soccer coach guiding a team of adorable pups through over 170 hand-crafted soccer-themed challenges, blending strategic gameplay, charming audiovisuals, and a heartwarming narrative.”
- “The puzzles offer a great variety of simple enough golden path levels and increasingly complex optional levels, with a regular influx of new mechanics keeping things fresh.”
- “The gameplay revolves around positioning your pups on a grid to pass the ball and score goals, with each pup having unique kicking styles—like the shiba inu’s lob or the labrador’s straight shot—requiring careful planning to navigate obstacles like mud, bushes, or rival players, though the lack of a hint system can make some of the tougher bonus levels feel like trial-and-error.”
- “The mechanics are simple to get a hold of, but you really have to work to understand how they can interact to help you score a goal as quickly as possible.”
- “Gameplay is quite a puzzle.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The music in the game is consistently praised for its relaxing and chill vibe, perfectly complementing the colorful visuals and whimsical gameplay. Reviewers highlight how the soundtrack enhances the overall experience, creating a cozy atmosphere that aligns well with the game's charming aesthetic. Overall, the combination of soothing music and engaging sound effects contributes significantly to the game's enjoyable ambiance.
- “Visually, the game shines with its colorful, hand-drawn 2D art and smooth animations, paired with a relaxing soundtrack and satisfying sound effects that evoke a cozy, potato-chip-crunching vibe, perfectly complementing the whimsical soccer matches.”
- “The art style and music blend seamlessly together in this happy adventure to become the best footie team this dog world has ever seen!”
- “Along with the sound effects, a chill soundtrack accompanies you as you try to solve these puzzles.”
- “And, as always, everything's wrapped in cute graphics and chill music.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
"Pup Champs" evokes strong emotional responses through its heartwarming narrative and charming art direction, appealing to both new and experienced players. The game combines engaging gameplay with a wholesome story, leading to moments that resonate deeply, even prompting tears in some players. Overall, it offers a delightful and accessible puzzle experience that is both cute and emotionally impactful.
- “It's genuinely heartwarming.”
- “Made me cry actually a few times.”
- “Pleasing aesthetics, wholesome art and story combined with gradually more difficult puzzles.”
story
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
The story is presented through interactive motion comics, focusing on a heartwarming narrative of friendship and teamwork as a retired coach helps a group of pups become champions in their local park. While the charming art style and wholesome themes are appealing, the simplicity of the plot may not engage players looking for a more complex narrative. The progression is complemented by comic interludes that enhance the overall experience with gradually increasing puzzle difficulty.
- “The cute art style follows a simple but likable story of a retired coach helping some pups become champions of the local park.”
- “The story, told through interactive motion comics, weaves a charming tale of friendship and teamwork as the pups grow into a cohesive team, though its simplicity might not fully captivate players seeking deeper narratives.”
- “As in some levels there are multiple copies of them even though the story follows only three (or four, not sure if Mr. Mole is in or out).”
- “The levels are accompanied by a comic in between stages that tells the story of a doggie dad coaching his kid to play soccer, being joined by his friends and then by other neighborhood kids.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, as it shifts focus from building and refining to repetitively searching for a specific sequence, which can detract from the overall enjoyment.
- “Instead of building and refining things like in their other games, here you're tediously looking for one specific precise sequence.”
- “The grinding feels endless and repetitive, making it hard to stay engaged with the game.”
- “I spent hours doing the same tasks over and over, and it just became a chore rather than fun.”