Shelter 3 comments
need to know
What is it? In a survival adventure, you play as a group of elephants.
Expect to pay To be determined
Developer Strength and joy
Publisher Strength and joy
Review date AMD Ryzen 5 3600, 8GB, AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
multiplayer game? No
Associate Official website
Might and Delight is a studio known for making gorgeous and ruthless survival games that capture the awe and ferocity of the wilderness. Or, if you are like me, you probably know that it is a studio that makes cruel badger simulation games that make you cry. Well, it seems that the studio is still on a mission to make me yell at cute creatures in the third part of the sanctuary series, this time featuring a herd of elephants.
Since the first game, I have been a big fan of the sanctuary series, when my badger cub Patch was snatched by a hungry eagle, which made me emotionally broken. Compared to any other NPC, I have a closer emotional connection with that badger baby. This is the well-known maternal connection in shelter games.
When starting Shelter 3, entering the unique patchwork world of the studio felt like returning to a familiar place. After many years, it feels good to play “Might and Joy” again. Unfortunately, this feeling did not last long. As I explored more, I soon discovered that the latest game in the “Sanctuary” series had lost its way.
(Image source: Might and Delight)
In Shelter 3, you play as a female elephant and lead her herd to a place where they can reunite with their ancestors. Its world is a mixture of elements from the previous two games; the linear story of Refuge 1 and the more open world structure of Refuge 2. In order to survive, you need to feed your herd and protect them from danger.
As the cattle cross the plain, you will be guided by environmental checkpoints that look like stars. Every time you arrive at one of these checkpoints, you will choose between two paths (usually dangerous), and after a decision is made, the next checkpoint will appear, taking you into the farther world .
Exploring the environment is a highlight of the game, thanks to the iconic artistic style of Might and Delight. Shelter 3 looks like an elegant quilt, with multiple patterns stitched together intricately. Each elephant in your herd has a unique skin pattern, and you can tell which baby elephant belongs to which mother because they all have the same pattern as if they were cut from the same cloth. This is a lovely touch.
(Image source: Might and Delight)
You will have quite a lot of bamboo forests, hot deserts and puddles for you to navigate, one of which allows you to lead the cattle through the cave and then appear in the luscious lagoon on the other side. The environment is very suitable for travel because you are not playing the role of a predator, so you can happily play with wildebeests, rhinos and antelopes without worrying about them attacking you. However, despite the beauty of the world, the problem was directly exposed from the beginning.
But even though the world is so beautiful, the problem was directly exposed from the beginning
Although I have no problems with controlling elephants, I have encountered multiple problems with the herd AI. Shearing is an ongoing problem. Elephants will often capture environmental areas, forcing me to manipulate my elephants so that they follow me and unravel on their own. There is also a problem with letting them eat the fruit I found. You need to rush into a tree to knock down overhanging fruits and let them fall to the ground, but the AI repeatedly fails to record that there is food there, which is frustrating in survival games. Due to the constant misbehavior of AI, I almost feel that I have to deal with a group of naughty schoolchildren. The other minor issues I encountered were the care commands for my calf not working and the old running checkpoints that appeared in the new game.
Danger zone
Navigation is also an ongoing problem. You can use the “elephant sense” to track the next checkpoint, which will dim the screen and illuminate the next environmental destination represented by the symbol. The problem with these points is that many of them prevent me from moving forward-some of them make me look back at myself, which feels almost counterintuitive in a game about nomads, you have to keep moving forward. The layout of the world is also confusing. I keep running into dead ends and accidentally hovering in dangerous areas, which are designed for different paths. This also doesn’t help. At every checkpoint, I always get the same choice, no matter which one I chose before. It just doesn’t feel like a journey where my choice is important.
(Image source: Might and Delight)
Among the different paths you can choose, the path that implies danger is not that dangerous at all. In one area, the challenge is to cross a hot desert with almost no food, only I can cross it and reach safety immediately. The other is described as “striped death” in which you must gather the herd to protect your calf from tigers. This idea sounds cool conceptually, but because the Tiger AI keeps appearing suddenly and without visual warning, and kills one of the calves as soon as I step into the area.
A dangerous path I like allows me to lead my herd through dangerous waters with crocodiles, looking for safety on small islands scattered throughout the area. You can see the back of the crocodile swimming, plus the slow pressure of your herd, you need to walk in a timely manner to reach a safe zone. This is a great sequence. Although the Alligator AI is a bit uncertain, it still makes some moments of tension appear.
(Image source: Might and Delight)
I think the crux of the “Refuge 3” problem is that there is no real sense of danger. Protecting your herd feels more like a chore than an emotional response, and major technical issues will exhaust all the intensity and fun of the game. It is also very short, less than 30 minutes for a single “run”, and there is not much time to develop an emotional attachment to any elephant. I found that I had completed each route and saw everything at the two-hour mark.
The previous Shelter games shine because they can show nature as both awesome and completely Scary, but Refuge 3 failed to capture this. This breaks my heart because you can see the ideas and concepts of a great survival game, but the execution does not exist.
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