The Twitter account @CanYouPetTheDog seeks to answer that question. Going game by game, the account provides users with a definitive answer on whether or not you can pet the dogs appearing within its virtual world. Ranging from Red Dead Redemption 2 to Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures, here are some of our personal favorites:
There's this good puppy in Darkest Dungeon:
You can pet the dog in Darkest Dungeon pic.twitter.com/XkJQknzpkK
— Can You Pet the Dog? (@CanYouPetTheDog) March 12, 2019
This horrifyingly cute varren pup in Mass Effect 2:
You can pet the dog in Mass Effect 2 pic.twitter.com/dl7qTXzLWj
— Can You Pet the Dog? (@CanYouPetTheDog) March 7, 2019
The unjustly locked-behind-bars pups in The Division 2:
You cannot pet the dog in The Division 2 pic.twitter.com/p0GGXWpDpY
— Can You Pet the Dog? (@CanYouPetTheDog) March 12, 2019
And, predictably, you cannot pet the dog in Garfield: Lasagna World Tour. Sorry.
You cannot pet the dog in Garfield: Lasagna World Tour pic.twitter.com/uD5u5eHOLR
— Can You Pet the Dog? (@CanYouPetTheDog) March 11, 2019
It's a great resource to use when making your future game purchasing decisions, because even the boldest of heroes needs time to pat a good boy or girl on the head. Cassidee is a social editor for IGN and just really appreciates the amount of effort being put into this very important account. You can chat with her about dogs and other things on Twitter.