Predator Simulator – Review
There are lots of simulator games and some are more authentic than other ones. GameIndica Entertainment took the simulation part not that narrow and gave it a little humoristic twist. Predator Simulator will take you on an eating frenzy, which the civilians of the local town aren’t looking forward to. Onwards, lion!
Story
Predator Simulator gives what it says: you’re in a simulation of a predator and you can try out some of the things a lion would do. This lion has another thing on his mind as he needs to save the planet by wiping out all humans, so he can become a true Lionborn. This just means that you have to run around and eat some humans. Yes, you’ve read it right, you need to kill and eat human beings. This is the only thing the game has to offer story wise though. No fancy love tale about your sweetheart that has been captured and that you need to save, nor any other trigger for you to behave this way. You just start at your cave, run out and start munching on everything that has a pumping heart.
Although it is a simulator game, it would have been nice if there was at least something story related in the game. The only purpose of the lion is to kill people to complete random quests so you earn two currencies (more about that later though).
Graphics
The overall quality of the graphics is quite difficult to describe. If you like a more cartoony and fun style with some mistakes here and there, this game will be something you enjoy graphical wise. Next to the special style, the movements are something else as well. The lion moves quite unnatural, just like the preys you’re about to attack. Some of them are stuck in the scenery as well, making them glitch a bit.
There is something that’s worth mentioning. Eating humans is fun but you will probably see some weird things happen on your screen. For example, your prey just shrimps and disappears and when you munch on one in the proximity of a fence or house, you will see quite some bugged images.
The developer also added some options, like the possibility to disable shadows or blood and gore. Before you start the game, you can also change the quality of the graphics but this doesn’t seem to do anything at all. The quality of the graphics stay the same. We reckon this has to do with the fact the game is also released on iOS, which makes us assume that this is simply a ported version of the original game.
Sound
The sound in the game is really disappointing. There aren’t any tracks, only a few sound effects and these get quite repetitive rather fast. Some of the things you’ll hear are chickens, screams and gun shots, next to your own roaring and grumbling. There are some brave birds here and there as well, that are feisty enough to chirp while a predator is on the loose.
It would have been so much better if there was at least one song or melody, because now the game is quite dull at times. Even more, you can’t change the volume but just turn sounds on and off. This means that you’re stuck with no sound at all, or with those sound effects that cannot be altered.
Gameplay
The goal of the game is rather simple: kill humans (and chickens at times). It is a shame that this is the only thing that you can actually do, since there are other modes that would have been candidates as well, like exploring other areas with other blood-filled beings or the search for a nice female for mating and having cubs (which could be fun to have a family frenzy in the town).
If you want to munch on some bones, you will need to move around. Predator Simulator can be played with the keyboard/mouse or a controller. There are a few things that you can do. For instance, you can roar and scare everyone around you, which is very neat but not that effective (at the beginning). Some of the civilians are quite fast, but don’t stress. You can sprint for a while, giving you the opportunity to catch up on them and slash them with your claws, but keep in mind using sprint will deplete your stamina meter. After having caught up on your prey, you still need to slay him. Only one hit will do and then you can feast on their flesh. It is a good idea to eat them, since you need to keep your health high. Your HP will deplete automatically, so keep this in mind. If you don’t know what to do or you’re a bit lost, you can always turn on the tutorial. You will get pop-ups, telling you what to do whilst explaining the controls. To be honest, the controller might be a better choice for this game. It is easier to rotate, run around and anticipate on the movements the civilians make.
It would be quite dull if there weren’t any other things the game had to offer. Don’t worry, you get two quests you can complete to earn money and diamonds. These missions are mostly killing or eating certain types of civilians. When you first start the game, there are two kinds of humans but they will multiply. Killing and eating humans will raise the defcon level. The higher this level, the more types are available to munch but the more annoying the civilians get.
There are some things you will need to watch out for, when you’re strolling through the city. There is poisonous gas at the drains in the streets and you will have to avoid traps scattered all over the place. After a while, the humans will pick up arms, in order to defend themselves, making it trickier for you to survive. When you die, there is not much to worry about; seeing you can always continue the game after paying a few diamonds.
Completing quests isn’t the only way to get supplies though. Every civilian has a certain bounty and when you kill any human, you get a diamond as well. These two currencies can be used to improve your lion by upgrading its stats or learning new skills.
A fun aspect is that the game remembers how much money and diamonds you’ve collected, same as the skills you’ve already unlocked. This means that you can pick up where you left off, making it easier to stay alive in this endless game.
Conclusion
Predator Simulator is something you’ll probably want to play if you have some spare time. There isn’t any storyline that keeps you motivated, the graphics are personally flavored and the music-related aspect of the game is quite bad. This might sound negative, but the game gives you some fun for a while and lets you express your deepest, darkest emotions: EAT EVERYONE!
Predator Simulator - Review,
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