Shelter

Shelter is a traumatic badger simulator.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

You are a parent badger who must care for and protect your pups. This includes finding food for them as well as guiding them through dangerous terrain. By the second stage, which is at nightfall, I was compulsively looking over my shoulder to do a headcount. (Still 5 of you back there? Okay, good.) We did not complete our journey unscathed, sadly. I lost pups to the birds, my friends. I will never forget. I will never forgive.

There are some issues, namely with clipping and camera angles. The gameplay could be more varied. But what makes Shelter truly interesting, at least to me, is how different it feels. There is a powerful simplicity to the setup and the game resonates from start to finish. (I’m really glad I didn’t play this one Saturday, I probably would have thrown myself out a window after I lost a pup in the rapids.)

Also, I’d like to make the observation that if Gamer Bros can empathize with a mother badger in a video game they should have no trouble empathizing with a human woman in a video game. Just saying.