Developer: Might And Delight
Publisher: Might And Delight
Platform: PC
Tested On: PC
Shelter 3 – Review
Shelter 3 is the third entry in the main series of Shelter, involving simplistic gameplay. Revolving around nature, herding, and survival, the game shows some interesting perspectives surrounding the everlasting Circle Of Life. Sadly, the title fails to deliver on many fronts, which are primarily supposed to be the foundation of the game altogether.
Story
Shelter 3 is the third title in the Shelter series, with the central theme focusing on inhabiting different types of animals. In Shelter 2, players controlled a family of lynx, while this time around it’s a small herd of elephants.
At the stat, players take the role of a star-studded elephant. Being the newly tasked Pathfinder, the Matriarch of the herd gives you the job of traversing the land and finding a new place to live. Players will have to navigate the herd through various landscapes and biomes, while keeping track of resources, keeping the morale of the herd high, and avoiding potential predators.
The story isn’t really made relevant to the player at all. Sadly, the premise is completely vague outside the small slideshow that appears at the start of the game. Occasionally, there are some enjoyable scenes involving visions and flashbacks surrounding the Matriarch when players reach certain areas. While these are enjoyable, they simply aren’t enough to carry the plot entirely. Aside from the somewhat bittersweet ending, the story comes off as bland and unenjoyable at times.
Graphics
Shelter 3, for the most part, looks like it’s been taken out of an art exhibit and that’s not a bad thing. As jarring as it sounds, it suits the game well, especially when experiencing the visions and flashbacks mentioned earlier. The overall color pallet, is subtle and soft, adding a sense of normality to the game. Environments are unique, ranging from dense forests, rocky terrains, and vast savannahs, the game does a good job of introducing these areas naturally.
However, the same cannot be said for the other animals that inhabit these areas. Being the largest mammals on the planet, it would be safe to assume that smaller animals would steer clear of the walking behemoths; that’s not the case here. Aside from the predators that pop up a few times, the animals the player will encounter simply ignore the fact that you’re even there. Birds don’t fly away in your presence, and smaller animals just sit there while you walk over them, literally killing some of the immersion entirely.
Sound
The overall sound design is lacking in a few areas. When traversing through areas casually, the music is calming and tranquil, with the sounds of forestry and animals complimenting the latter. The only time music takes a certain upbeat turn is when there are predators close to the herd’s location, which is basically just a signal for danger.
Besides the sounds the elephants make personally, there’s not really much to take in here. Even with the small interactions that add some sort of immersion; like walking through water and knocking down trees, it all still seems lackluster in delivery. The game could’ve done a lot more in this aspect, considering the broad scope of the title itself.
Gameplay
The gameplay loop is simple enough. Players are tasked to lead the herd to different areas to find the place the Matriarch is looking for. Players use the WASD controls to lead the pack, with the Pathfinder in front. Aside from that, players will have to keep track of stamina and various resources to keep the pack stable and healthy.
The gameplay itself is surprisingly slow and downright unenjoyable most of the time. The elephant pack moves at a slow speed, which turns down the pace considerably. There is the option to sprint but at the cost of losing stamina, which has a huge penalty.
If players don’t keep track of stamina, their overall speed will decrease and hunger will increase, meaning some of the elephants can die from hunger and exhaustion. If all of the elephants die, then players will have to start over, which is a tedious task since it will take a very long time to get back where they previously left off, even with saving points.
Food and resources are a primary factor in Shelter 3. Players can drink water, and knock over trees with a simple press of a button, allowing the herd to automatically eat and drink. Since everything in this game takes a very long time to process, stopping to eat and drink takes up huge amounts of time; a lot more than actually needed.
Another factor is the little effort in challenging the player at all during predator encounters. There are only two predatory animals players will encounter on their journey. These encounters are surprisingly easy to get past, despite the scenarios players are given. For example, one area revolves around traversing through a large watery area while avoiding a group of crocodiles. Since the crocodiles don’t even try to approach the herd, players can easily just stay in one spot and let the crocodiles swim away; adding no type of strategy or challenge like prior games in the series.
Lastly, there are countless bugs and glitches players will encounter. There have been numerous times where my overall progress has been completely erased because of random bugs, requiring a complete restart of the game. Even when traversing through areas, some of the elephants will refuse to eat or drink, making progression impossible. Overall the gameplay aspect is lacking the most, with the need for some huge fixes down the line.
Conclusion
Shelter 3 is a shadow of its former self. While changing different aspects of the game, such as the playable animals, environments, and story; the game is surprisingly more bland than past entries. The gameplay loop is slow-paced and more of a tedious engagement rather than being enjoyable. If players can get past that aspect, they will still have to deal with the endless bugs and glitches that will hinder progress entirely.
Shelter 3 - Review,
No Comments