It is absolutely true when they say a dog is for life, not just for Christmas. I’ve always had dogs or cats in my family, and they quickly become one of the family and I find it very hard to believe there are people out there who treat animals badly or disown them. Unfortunately, thousands if not millions of pets become available for adoption in animal shelters worldwide. A lot of them eventually go onto new loving homes, but not all of them make it. Without turning this review morbid, I have recently had the opportunity to go hands-on with Animal Shelter Simulator which is available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S on 25th November 2022 and comes to Playstation 4|5 and Nintendo Switch in Q1 2023.

Introduction

Animal Shelter Simulator hits the console market after spending seven months on Windows PC. By now many will know I always like to target simulation-based games to see what kind of experience they offer as the core gameplay differs significantly from any other titles. After getting through a fair few this year including Tourist Bus Simulator and Construction Simulator, it’s time to get emotional and look after some virtual animals and find them a forever home.

You are first tasked with adopting your first animal and given the choice of a dog or cat and then guided through the process of the administration side of gaining delivery to your shelter with the computer system. Here you’ll be able to navigate through all of the requirements of the shelter and observe all the logistics of the operational side of the day-to-day running. Once you adopt your first animal, you’ll see a van roll up to the gate within seconds with your new four-legged friend, just try not to get too attached, they won’t be with you for long.

Gameplay

The computer is the hub of everything and is where you’ll be deciding which animals pass through your shelter. Choosing these can be a bit of an emotional exercise since each has a paragraph describing the background that the animal has derived from. I played this with the heart and always took in the ones who have had the worst time and during the early game you only have available space to cater for a couple and can’t take them all. You’ll also need to get online to complete orders for food and water for the animals so that you can keep eye on their nutritional needs.

You can’t just sit in the office all day though and play Solitaire and Minesweeper, you’ll actually have to get out there and engage with the animals to increase their happiness and rebuild their trust in human beings. You’ll be able to take them out of the caged environment into a small field and partake in activities such as fetch with them. There are opportunities for expansion and customisation across your entire shelter with room to change the layout how you desire.

Keep Your Eye On Animal Needs

If you have ever played The Sims before then you’ll recall constantly having to keep your eye on the humans’ needs such as hunger, fatigue, toilet trends and suchlike. Animal Shelter Simulator is nearly identical in the way that these meters display. There are dials for the animals’ requirements such as their hunger, happiness, need for the loo and how clean they are. You’ll uncover some unique traits in certain animals the more you interact with them. When you get them ready to depart you’ll be able to take some photos to showcase your short-term furry mate to future candidates to adopt.

Graphics & Audio

Sadly, it’s not all bells and whistles in the visual department and everything just appears to be awash with various shades of green and brown. You can liken it to other simulator-style titles that are low-budget and it has that feel to it overall. Whilst the interior portions of the game within your shelter HQ and offices seem to have a little more range in the colour palette, everything else surrounding it just seems a little dull. I was also disappointed to see the first three dogs I had taken into my domain were all identical despite the images on the computer being different. It set the precedent that every animal from there on would be exactly the same with the ability to give them an alternative name.

In Conclusion

Animal Shelter Simulator is a game I really wanted to admire but it gets ever so stale very quickly. With the clunky and horribly ported control scheme and the lacking variation of animals and no other signs of human connections or life, it becomes a hard game to fully recommend. It was a game that I was hoping my five-year-old son could pick up and play but he became frustrated with the delayed responses and the lack of interaction with the animals. I feel it could have been a much better all-around package with some work to the controls and a more varied catalogue of animals with a roster of different breeds. Even the addition of humans coming to observe their forever family members would have blended in well.

That said, the game does have some decent elements and surprisingly deep customisation options. Unfortunately, the longevity didn’t extend beyond a couple of hours for me, but those who have an adoration for looking after animals may get more enjoyment than I did out of this one. I admire the ambition of the development team for giving something entirely different a stab, but sadly it just misses the mark in many ways.