Slugpup

Slugpups are creatures added in the Downpour DLC. They are unlocked after completing the food quest and traveling to Journey's End, upon which they'll begin spawning in Gourmand's, 's, and 's campaigns.

As they are the infant form of the, they have to rely on the player to survive.

Appearance
Pups are the juvenile version of s, being about half the size of an adult. Pups' bodies and eyes come in a variety of different colors and brightness, with green and blue hues being the most common while red and violet are the rarest.

Abilities & Behavior
Slugpups are initially afraid of the player, running away upon spotting them. The player can press the grab button to hold the pup's hand or hold the grab button to carry the pup to calm it down. Afterwards, Slugcat must sleep with the pup in a, after which its food bar appears above their own. Upon waking up the next cycle, the Slugpup will be in a starvation state and will require three pips of food to hibernate. The Slugpup will begin following Slugcat, who may need to throw food to the pup to feed it; though they are capable of taking food on their own, including catching and most edible objects. Holding Down and Jumping will order a Slugpup to stay.

Pups can tug on the player and point as well as pick up and throw items like and jump over terrain. Upon entering a room with a hostile creature, like, any pups that are not being held will scatter. If any are captured their food bar starts blinking red, alerting the player so they can save them. If a pup is killed (by being carried off-screen by a predator, drowning, falling down a bottomless pit, etc.) their food bar will fade to a dull grey. While they cannot defend themselves when grabbed, if the player happens to be captured, they may throw spears and rubbish in an attempt to rescue them.

Pups can also become tired, similar to and other Slugcats.

Utility
Slugpups can hold extra and  for the player. Slugpups can also throw them to catch food and give the player a chance to escape when they are captured. They do the same amount of damage that does, so they can be quite adept at killing creatures that are distracted by the player.

Trivia

 * Pups are a reimagining of Cut Content: another version of pups shown in alpha trailers, which had a different code base and which were removed prior to release.
 * Successfully hibernating with a Slugpup for a few cycles will reward you with the Passage of "The Mother."
 * Pups can eat, and upon consuming them will shake sporadically for a short period of time; the player's perception is unaltered.
 * The ending cutscene in Journey's End for Survivor will change depending on the amount of pups the player brings with them.
 * Slugpups can be fed to and will increase their tameness.
 * Slugpups have unique food preferences: if a pup eats a food it dislikes it will shut its eyes in disgust, and if it eats a food it likes it will do a little dance.
 * Slugpups can be targeted for tutorials by an . This is most likely an error in the entity being targeted.
 * s are terrified of them, although this is likely a glitch.


 * They can't ascend with the Player and will be stopped by an invisible horizontal wall.
 * Slugpups also don't gain any Karma from, etc. and will be attacked by.