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Also, you need DOSbox to run them.
That being said, what specifically do you enjoy and dislike about these games? What would you improve if given the resources?
The main goal in Shelter 3 is to get to some final destination and you have some choice in the destinations between, but it's a mostly linear arc and there's very little to interact with or going on (predators are in static locations, most ambient animals you clip through, not much going on to make you care about your elephant herd either, was quite disappointing to me).
I'm working on a game design document for a personal project, so I've put a lot of thought into this type of question, but if I answered it'd be a novel.
TL;DR I like being able to play as an animal and my expectations on how they're portrayed depend on the game. If it's a simulation, I expect to have to hunt or forage and eat things to survive. If it isn't, then I expect the world and gameplay aspects to be designed based on how the animal would behave, or include quirks that make sense for the animal (ex: Okami, with its bark button and digging for treasure or food or money).
It just needs to be nicely designed and give me things to do that make sense for what it is.
WolfQuest is pretty perfect tbh, or will be once Saga is finished and we get the full life cycle going. It takes a long time to finish a generation, but not an unreasonable amount of time, and you can play single or multiplayer if you like.
One of the things I like the most is that you raise AI pups, which you can then play as if they survive. It has a feeling of progression that way.
The Isle is fun, but it's focused more on individual survival and horror elements than the life cycle of a dinosaur. The fact that it's always online multiplayer and the amount of time it takes to age up as larger dinosaurs make it nearly impossible to have a generational challenge in the game - which is something I'd enjoy. I also prefer WolfQuest's scent system, it feels much more realistic and natural.
(I'm actually also working on a little coding project that's basically a dinosaur simulator based more on life cycles, but I'm not sure what I'm doing with it yet)
I've heard The Isle has quite a few problems. Is it better than it was a couple of years ago?
(The previously mentioned:)
- WOLF
- LION
- The Isle, Beasts of Bermuda, and Path of Titans (the last often considered the favorite of the three by many as there’s a means to speed up growth through little gathering/exploration quests and the like, whereas you have to wait literal hours in the other two games without much to do besides try not to get picked off by the bigger players — particularly in BoB due to the growth mechanic going beyond just “baby-to-adult”; you can just keep growing in size for quite a bit, to the point where it’s incredibly hard to stay fully-fed .-. but the talent tree system is neat, IMO, and I like the maps)
- Shelter 2 (too short, simple, and repetitive for me, honestly; I’ve only played through it a few times on buying it and then haven’t touched it since nor do I ever feel the urge to go back to it, and I bought it several years ago…)
- Niche: A Genetics Survival Game (that’s the full title, but everyone just calls it Niche. I personally adore the game, but doesn’t exactly sound like what you’re going for. It’s less “age up and survive in a wild environment” and more “turn-based genetic strategy involving a whole pack/colony/tribe/etc of funny-looking little critters that you have to try to both keep alive and evolve progressively to safely navigate various island environments to eventually reach the “Home Island”, which is effectively paradise with little to no challenge, although you can always choose to LEAVE said island; you can also make custom games and set custom end-goals and such instead)
(Not-yet mentioned games:)
- DinoNest (Very simple but decently challenging (at least until you manage to get your dinosaur(s) up to a formidable size/strength, which DOES take a while at the very least) dinosaur pack(velos with…some large number limit I can’t remember rn)/gang(gigas with a limit of 3 alive at a time)/secret third solitary dino(plays pretty differently from the others) survival sim but with no “free movement” so to speak; I don’t know how to explain it so I’d just look it up if I were you)
- There’s another animal game involving african animals I know of but don’t remember the name of and don’t personally own it (it doesn’t seem like it’d interest me, personally)
- Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey (no, you never grow into humans or make fire; it’s more about the overall dangers of just trying to survive in that time period and everyone is an ape, meant to be a theoretical image of our distant ancestors in evolution. Also in case it concerns you, a lot of people dislike that it was EGS-exclusive on launch; personally I’m part of the crowd who doesn’t care as much about that as the actual game’s problems, like some bugs that have STILL long gone unfixed (albeit they don’t seem common), cruddy AI of your tribe members (they get themselves killed…a lot, not to mention they seemingly just don’t ever eat or drink unless you do it in their presence so they can activate their shared, singular “monkey see monkey do” braincell, lol), and the stupid, fan-dubbed “stalker cat” and the inability to disable it in the game settings. God I hate that thing — most people do, or just want it to function better at the very least. Still, if you can get past all that…? Incredibly fun and immersive animal survival game!)
EDIT: side note, Path of Titans is NOT on Steam. They have their own launcher (very simplistic and is just for their games) because they disagreed with something or other in Steam’s contract or whatever. I forget the exact reason but they basically just didn’t want to host their game on Steam. Thankfully the launcher is fairly small in size and again, very simple. Just checks for game updates and developer news on the games you have and has your usual big ol’ Play button for the game itself.
speaking from experience. at the same time, too, most animal sims these days (good or bad) are usually 3D (and use the same models all the time...bleh), which does not make any new ones stand out as much. plus you have lots of problems to solve in a 3D space (like how to make a predator animal grapple the prey in a realistic and believable way!)
2D i think gives you room to be a bit more creative and will likely stand out more, depending on what you go for.
Makes sense. The only reason I considered 3D is because it makes cooler sprites. But I am famously bad at bug squashing so it would be hell for anyone trying to play it.