The Good Dog: Chasing Shadows
by Poultry Party Games · 5 May, 2026
3 downloads
About the Game

Has your dog ever stared into the darkness, barking at something you couldn't see? Maybe they've growled at a quiet hallway in the dead of night or watched an empty corner of your ceiling, tracking something invisible with eerie focus.
As the family dog, it's your job to protect your loved ones from danger—especially from the kind they can't see. In The Good Dog: Chasing Shadows, step into the paws of a loyal dog defending its owners from paranormal entities. 

In the Fetch game mode, you're tasked with venturing out into a desolate world to retrieve supplies your family needs to survive. Explore abandoned towns and decaying buildings while avoiding the terrifying entities that haunt the places you once called home. As the days pass, your job will become harder. Resources will spawn less often and farther apart, and your daily resource target will become more demanding, all while the dangers outside grow stronger.
Explore three large maps at launch, each with a unique selection of landmarks and weather conditions.


Use your keen sense of smell to search the area for tools. Dig up hidden items to help fight back against the paranormal. Bark at certain immaterial entities to disperse them, or at physical entities to draw their attention away from your family.
And if all else fails, use your teeth.
In the world of the Entities, however, even dogs need a helping hand. Utilize technology repurposed by your human companions to get the job done: flashlights to see better in the dark, a portable speaker to distract enemies, and even a robot dog companion to help you carry supplies.

With over twenty breeds to choose from, you can tailor your gameplay to your preferred style. Will you play as a small breed, perfect for slipping into tight spaces and evading danger, or a larger breed with more health and attack power to take on threats head-on? Will you prioritize a breed with high stamina, tracking capabilities, stealth, or something else entirely? Whatever your approach, there will be a breed that suits your playstyle.
Screenshots
9 images
Version Information
Steam Patch Notes
Official update history
Early Access Patch 1.1.0
Hello again, everyone!
The game’s 1.1.0 patch was looking like a big one, so I’ve decided to release it in two parts! This first half includes the new map I talked about in my previous update posts, as well as a number of other new additions. The map isn’t completely finished (some locations may look a little empty of decorative meshes or even buildings) but it’s 100% playable! Your early feedback will help shape the map further.
In the last few weeks, I also spent a lot of time optimizing the game’s textures and meshes. This has resulted in a much lower overall install size (accounting for the increase the new map would’ve had on the old install size) without a noticeable difference in quality!
The next half of the patch, which I plan to release soon, will include even more features and fixes, including a few new playable breeds and a Progression Pass with new unlockable skins for the robot dog and more!
As always, thank you so much for your feedback, support, and patience as I continue to improve the game. Keep an eye out for the next patch coming soon!
Features
New Map - City
Still a WIP but fully playable. More buildings, decorative meshes, and item spawn locations coming soon!
Balancing
Fallen Dog evidence will now spawn at different distances from the source based on Expedition difficulty level
Before: Within 10 m of source -> After: Ranges from within 5 to 12.5 m of source (5 / 6.5 / 8 / 10 / 12.5)
For example, on Difficulty III, search an 8 meter radius around the source to find the evidence
Increased Robot Dog walking speed when far from target player
Fixes & Other Changes
Optimizations
Greatly optimized models and textures to reduce installation size and improve performance
Updated trees on Forest to optimize materials, improve colors, and reduce impassable gaps between trees
Fallen Dog
Fixed Fallen Dog evidence and collar not spawning properly in some locations
Sound
Updated dog walking SFX variants (stones, snow, etc.) to be more consistent with default SFX
Lowered volume of Robot Dog and Drone movement SFX
Readded ambient sounds (birds, bugs, etc.) to Forest
HUD
Added Robot Dog icon and distance counters to the Scent Mode compass
Added match timer to collection platform's screen
Added info boxes in the Scent Type wheel to describe what each type is used for
Darkened player colors on in-game HUD
Features
Added Drone tool
Drone follows player around and has a permanent flashlight
Can be used to fight Wraiths more easily in solo matches
Drone collision is disabled for testing purposes
Added in-game bug/feedback report system using F7 key
Added in-game patch notes to main menu
Added current Build ID to menu headers for version checks
Balancing
Wraith values tweaked to account for the new Drone tool
Damage from light reduced (100 health points)
Drone light -> 8 points per second (12.5 seconds to kill)
Normal flashlight -> 5 points per second (20 seconds to kill)
Light sources can be stacked
Removed gradual healing effect when out of light beams
Base running speed increased very slightly
Increased number of starting flashlights to 4
Reduced fuse dispenser cooldown timer
3 minutes -> 1.5 minutes
Fixes
Improved reliability of Fallen Dog evidence and collar spawns
Out-of-bounds "Go Home" pop-up will now display even with tutorials disabled in the settings
Fixed even more unexpected invisible walls
Tweaked color of grass on Forest to better match previous lighting changes
Removed some unused toggles in settings menu
Added tutorial pop-up text for Fallen Dog evidence
Coming Soon...
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45187895/dcbda176b634e20d9c6dab1ebe7fc68fe5f0695f.png"]
Hello again, everyone!
Today's patch has been published to the public_beta branch. If you'd like to test out the new content, you can do so by right clicking the game in your Steam library, then Properties, then Game Versions & Betas, and then selecting the public_beta branch. After some testing, I will of course be releasing the patch on the main branch.
Additionally, in the next week or so, I will be releasing a preview of the game's next map! If you are a member of my Discord community, you may have already seen some sneak peaks of the new map, but if you aren't, here's a screenshot!
[img src="{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/45187895/dcbda176b634e20d9c6dab1ebe7fc68fe5f0695f.png"]
As always, thank you for your support and feedback. I'll see you soon with another update!
Features
Added Drone tool
Drone follows player around and has a permanent flashlight
Can be used to fight Wraiths more easily in solo matches
Drone collision is disabled for testing purposes
Added in-game bug/feedback report system using F7 key
Added in-game patch notes to main menu
Added current Build ID to menu headers for version checks
Balancing
Wraith values tweaked to account for the new Drone tool
Damage from light reduced (100 health points)
Drone light -> 8 points per second (12.5 seconds to kill)
Normal flashlight -> 5 points per second (20 seconds to kill)
Light sources can be stacked
Removed gradual healing effect when out of light beams
Base running speed increased very slightly
Increased number of starting flashlights to 4
Reduced fuse dispenser cooldown timer
3 minutes -> 1.5 minutes
Fixes
Improved reliability of Fallen Dog evidence and collar spawns
Out-of-bounds "Go Home" pop-up will now display even with tutorials disabled in the settings
Fixed even more unexpected invisible walls
Tweaked color of grass on Forest to better match previous lighting changes
Removed some unused toggles in settings menu
Added tutorial pop-up text for Fallen Dog evidence
Hello everyone!
Today's patch is a small one, and fixes some issues introduced in yesterday's patch. A larger patch will be releasing next week, so keep an eye out for that one. Thank you!
Full Patch Notes
Fixed soft lock with new Fallen Dog objective
Fixed issue where Fallen Dog evidence can spawn in some unreachable locations
Fixed issue where turning speed wouldn't update after uncrouching with Toggle Crouch enabled
Hello everyone! After a week of visiting family, I am back to working on the game full-time. This patch contains mostly bug fixes, but I've thrown in something new that should be exciting and fun, too!
Fallen Dog
Patch 1.0.7 brings a new gameplay objective to Fetch, called Fallen Dog.
Those of you who played the new tutorial level will find this objective familiar. Using a brand new scent type in Scent Mode, investigate your territory to find evidence of your fallen dog companion's last known location. Fallen Dog scent trails will lead you to the general location of a piece of evidence, and your immediate area will need to be explored to find it. Here's a tip—evidence will glow yellow in Scent Mode!
Each collected piece of evidence will lead you to another, with up to three total pieces of evidence being required depending on your selected difficulty level. Eventually, you will be lead straight to the Fallen Dog's collar, which can be returned to the Collection Platform back home to complete your objective. Do you have what it takes to save your fallen companion?
With this objective, it will pay off to bring a friend—and maybe a flashlight, too. As with all updates, certain variables and quota amounts are subject to change, so don't hesitate to let me know if any changes I made are too difficult or too easy!
For the next patch, I am planning to incorporate a Kick system for the host in order to combat a few pesky trolls, as well as more bug fixes. As always, patch contents are subject to change! Thank you!
Full Patch Notes
New Fetch objected added: Fallen Dog
Use new scent type to find evidence of the Fallen Dog's location
Scent trails will lead to the evidence's general location
The evidence can be found somewhere nearby, and will glow yellow in Scent Mode
Each collected piece of evidence will lead to another, eventually leading to the Fallen Dog's collar
Returning the Fallen Dog's collar to the Collection Platform will revive it, completing the objective
Added icons for each Fetch objective to the Collection Platform's screen
Icons correspond to matching scent type icons
Added descriptions to Scent Type wheel
Fixed supply drops crates not appearing for non-host players
Fixed exploit where players would receive double the expected XP
Fixed issue where in-game friend list would duplicate entries
Fixed issue where certain meshes would appear invisible and could be walked through on Marsh
Removed an invisible wall blocking the Outpost door on Alpine
Fixed robot dog navigation issues on all maps
Fixed issue where swimming audio could be heard by all players, even from across the map
Fixed issue where some HUD elements became warped/stretched in multiplayer sessions
Fixed inconsistent unlock levels in the Progression Pass
Fixed inconsistent names and appearances of camouflage collars
Reworked the Wraith Entity type
Wraiths that remain in a flashlight's beam long enough will die
Six seconds of continuous light will kill it
Will heal at 1/10 of that speed when not in the light
Wraith will become stunned when hit by the flashlight's beam
Movement speed momentarily lowered when stunned
Brief cooldown after exiting light beam before next stun can take place
Shrieks upon each successful stun
To compensate, Wraith sprinting speed has been increased slightly
Added momentum conservation for dropped items
Items can now be thrown by moving/swinging the dog's head before dropping them
Updated tutorial information about Wraiths
Fixed bug where placing item on the platform multiple times locks progression in the tutorial level
Fixed crouch camera zoom being applied to all players instead of just the crouching player
Improved code that caused crashes for some players
Fixed various meshes not properly blocking AI navigation on Alpine
Further improved scent trail spawn consistency
Improved consistency of objectives spawning correctly with higher player counts
Improved behavior of scent trails
Lifetime after exiting Scent Mode increased
Scent trail movement speed increased
Raised scent trail height to mitigate issue of spawning underground
Trails now spawn ahead of the dog's nose instead of at the root bone
Massively optimized Alpine's textures and meshes for better performance
Improved the robot dog's pathing
Collision of storage bag disabled for more consistent navigation
Increased Fetch time limit to 45 minutes (previously 40 minutes)
Fixed bug where crouch breaks occasionally if not using Toggle Crouch
Fixed bug where sprinting could be activated while sniffing when using Toggle Sniff
Improved lobby menu reliability after restarting or returning to the lobby
Tweaked some tutorial text
Tutorial level added
Covers the basics of the Fetch game mode
Toggle crouch and toggle sniff added
Increased controller look sensitivity
Fixed broken collision box on Shiba Inu
More small optimizations to all maps
Fixed issues relating to fuses and towers
Fuses will more consistently respawn at the home base
Timer on the fuse dispenser's screen now displays properly
Fixed respawning and dog collar issues
Dropped dog collars can no longer be duplicated
Respawned dogs will spawn with proper meshes and skins
Respawned dogs can see their HUD and interact with items
Tweaked Entity behavior
Wraiths have been significantly nerfed
Sight radius and lose sight radius reduced
Max running speed reduced
Entity investigation locations will update more regular as they hear new sounds
Improved consistency of Entities attacking from behind
Improved robot dog companion
Player can now send the robot home
If bag has items, the robot will drop them off and return
Otherwise, it will return to its original position and stay
Upon noticing the followed player's death, the robot will return home
Spectating after death has been fixed
Added HUD element showing currently held item
Fixed a bug that hid the credits from view
General performance improvements and optimizations
Fixed radio towers not acting properly
Fixed scent trails not spawning or moving
Scent trail on Alpine raised slightly to account for snow accumulation
Updated the How To Play screen and added to Main Menu and Lobby Menu
A full tutorial level is being worked on
Made the graphics settings menu actually do something again
Fixed collars not spawning on lobby dogs
Fixed some dog breeds not spawning properly in-game
Stopped Entities from spawning in the Explore game mode
Improved lighting conditions on all maps
You can now actually see at night. I may add challengingly dark maps back in the future as an option.
Lowered lantern brightness on Alpine
Fixed some collision issues on several maps
General performance improvements and optimizations
Current Release
Build 23748486
Uploaded Jun 30, 2026
System Requirements
How to Install
GOODDOG.exe to play
Troubleshooting tips
• Run Redist/_CommonRedist installers if game won't start
• Add folder to Windows Defender exclusions
• Run as administrator
Download
Direct link available
6.5 GB
23748486
34DB8195
1ca868997d100c8d3926d4731345ef9c66d0e52be93daf3ede67ad8dbf860a84
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