Subdivision

One of the biggest curses that humans must endure is that we are destined to outlive our pets. Most animals we care for, we’ll get twenty years if we’re lucky? Turtles might need to be passed down to the next generation, but dogs, cats, birds, snakes, fish? We do our best for them in the time we have, and then, one day, it’s over. If we’re lucky, we get to say goodbye. Subdivision is a Pulp game about a dog.

It’s split into three sections: a 10-15 minute short story “elegy” that’s largely non-interactive but incredibly poignant, a 1-minute-per-day “devotional” that can be done in one sitting or spread across a full 10 days, and a “chill” mode to listen to music and hang out in the yard with squirrels. The story mode is about grief and could be cathartic or it could make you feel even worse, depending on your situation and circumstances. Hopefully, it inspires you to notice the little things your pet does that you will miss when they’re gone, or maybe you can remember an old pet, how they used to sit in the pile of laundry or sleep in your arm nook or take care of you when you got sick. Maybe you have a pet now that wakes you up too early for food and chews on your Dreamcast controller cables when you don’t feed her fast enough, but you know she’ll leave an unfillable hole when she’s gone.

Subdivision is a series of moments that stick with us in a life that can be easy to coast through without really stopping to pay attention. I’m trying to pay attention. Our pets are often the best of us and they deserve it.

(Released January 6, 2026, on Catalog. Copy provided by developer.)