Dog Sled Saga Has It All: Dogs, Sleds, A Saga

Huskies are brilliant dogs. This isn't just because they look great (to my mind, only the Shiba Inu hedges 'em out). It isn't just because they haul sleds (although that, too, is brilliant). It's because they're great dogs for facts. For example, did you know that they're one of the oldest existing dog breeds, believed to have been about for over three thousand years? Or that they can travel about hundred and fifty miles in a day - in Siberian conditions, whilst hauling loads? Or that they can run at up to fifty miles per hour?

Well, now you do. And now that you're equipped with almost as many huskie facts as I am, we're ready to journey together into the world of Dog Sled Saga.

The game's charming pixel art representations of the huskies are a delight, and I also like that the trainer looks like the original terminator - after he's had an eye out - in cold weather gear. From what we can see of the gameplay I'm reminded of nothing less than Koei's old G1 Jockey series, perhaps passed through a fine Kairosoft sieve. Racing is a big part of life as a rookie musher (another great thing about huskies: the job titles for humans working with them), but it looks like there's a decent management sim bolted on to the side - one that encourages you to care about the welfare and happiness of your team as well as their performance.

The game launched into Steam Early Access a few days back, and the developers warn prospective players that the career side of the game still needs a lot of work. Still, there's a huskie team management sim-sized hole in my life that I didn't know needed filling until now.