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Animal Shelter

Animal Shelter Simulator should be a game full of joy and life, but in reality it's just bland, repetitive and hard to control.
Animal Shelter Game Cover
78%Game Brain Score
gameplay, graphics
stability, story
85% User Score Based on 981 reviews
Critic Score 40%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchPCPlaystation 4Xbox OneXboxWindowsPlayStation
Buy Nowfrom $6.99
Animal Shelter Game Cover

About

Animal Shelter is a single player casual simulation game with a kids theme. It was developed by Games Incubator and was released on March 22, 2022. It received negative reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

Save our four-legged friends! Animal Shelter Simulator grants you the opportunity to tackle the challenging but also highly rewarding task of running a refuge for strays and rescues.

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
Animal Shelter screenshot
Animal Shelter screenshot
Animal Shelter screenshot
Animal Shelter screenshot
Animal Shelter screenshot
Animal Shelter screenshot
Animal Shelter screenshot
Animal Shelter screenshot
Animal Shelter screenshot
Animal Shelter screenshot
Animal Shelter screenshot
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85%
Audience ScoreBased on 981 reviews
gameplay26 positive mentions
stability61 negative mentions
  • The game is adorable and provides a relaxing experience for animal lovers.
  • Gameplay allows for a variety of tasks, including caring for pets, finding them homes, and customizing the shelter.
  • The developers are responsive and actively working on updates and bug fixes.
  • The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay.
  • Gameplay can become repetitive quickly, lacking depth and variety in tasks.
  • There is a limited variety of animal breeds and species, which can make the experience feel shallow.
  • gameplay
    71 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the gameplay is described as fun and engaging, particularly for animal lovers, with a relaxing tone and cute mechanics. However, many users note that it can become repetitive after a few hours, with limited content and some bugs affecting the experience. While the graphics are praised, there are calls for more variety in gameplay features and improvements to streamline tasks.

    • “The gameplay is fun!”
    • “Very fun gameplay, not too difficult.”
    • “The gameplay is nice and the pets are cute.”
    • “But since the Christmas update, the graphics have gone up, and even with my video settings still the same, my gameplay and controls are very laggy.”
    • “The tasks in this game are just too repetitive, and the game gets boring after 1 hour of gameplay because of it.”
    • “Pretty much 2-3 hours of gameplay before the novelty wears off, although the boredom was already setting in before that and I was trying to churn out cats and dogs as fast as possible.”
  • stability
    62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is a significant concern among users, with many reporting frequent glitches, bugs, and freezing issues that disrupt gameplay. While some players find the core experience enjoyable, the prevalence of technical problems, including save file issues and unresponsive mechanics, detracts from overall enjoyment. Despite ongoing developer efforts to address these issues, the game is still considered unpolished and in need of further refinement.

    • “The graphics are not that buggy for me; my shampoo became temporarily invisible after I moved the washing building, but it came back after I reloaded my save.”
    • “The game is extremely broken and buggy and deleted my save files after updating and buying the DLC.”
    • “I want so badly to enjoy this game, but every time I try to play it, I always discover a new buggy issue that takes the joy out of playing.”
    • “Game freezes on loading screen.”
  • graphics
    60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players praising their quality and realism, particularly in the depiction of animals and environments. However, some users report performance issues, requiring them to lower settings significantly to achieve playable frame rates, and note occasional glitches. Overall, while the graphics are generally well-received, there are calls for improvements, especially regarding certain animal models and performance stability.

    • “The graphics are amazing, and I love how you can upgrade stuff.”
    • “Its graphics are beautiful, and I love the gameplay; the way the animals behave is so cute too!”
    • “The game has more realistic graphics compared to other pet store/shelter simulators, and feels more lifelike with the task of cleaning the floors.”
    • “Some of the horses have bad mane and tail graphics, so I keep all of their mane and tail cut short, but it's a good game!”
    • “Have the game on lowest graphic setting and shadows off but still getting only a few frames each second.”
    • “The graphics are hardly anything out there.”
  • story
    29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its absence, with many users expressing a desire for more narrative depth, character backgrounds, and engaging side quests. While some players appreciate the gameplay and the animal care mechanics, they feel that the repetitive nature of the content and lack of a structured story detracts from the overall experience. Suggestions for improvement include adding missions, rescue scenarios, and more detailed animal stories to enhance engagement.

    • “It scratches the itch of a game I can spend an ungodly amount of time on instead of another with a half-baked storyline stitched into it.”
    • “Super super adorable! This game makes me so happy. I love animals, so getting to spend most of my day on a game where I get to look after some of the cutest animals ever is brilliant. The fact that the charity the creators support is involved is wonderful; you rarely see such beautiful humanity these days, so bravo.”
    • “I think it would be really cool to have missions where you can go rescue a dog on the streets (as long as they promise not to make me cry). Also, I think it would be awesome to have special needs dogs and cats, like amputees, so I can find them homes too.”
    • “Adopters had the same story/requirements over and over.”
    • “More detailed descriptions of the animals' stories and backgrounds as they are also very repetitive.”
    • “This game has no story.”
  • grinding
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and repetitive, especially as they progress to higher levels. Critics note a lack of automation and engaging content, leading to a feeling of monotony in managing tasks. While some still find enjoyment in the game, the grind can be overwhelming, suggesting that it may not appeal to those who dislike extensive grinding in simulators.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “With a lack of automation, such as features to 'hire' people that could care for pets, do certain tasks, the game tends to feel very tedious and not rewarding enough.”
    • “Once you get to a certain point in your shelter, you'll be spending more time doing tedious chores than you will be managing the business.”
    • “The game is fun at first but has bare bones content and no means of making the tedious gameplay more streamlined with workers/automation.”
  • emotional
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is widely regarded as heartwarming and cute, evoking strong emotional responses from players, particularly those who love animals. While many find it fulfilling and wholesome, some express a desire for deeper emotional engagement, particularly in the pet adoption process, which can feel too simplistic or detached. Overall, it strikes a balance between fun and emotional investment, often leaving players feeling both joyful and bittersweet.

    • “Super cute game, but I am an emotional piece of garbage and can't play without getting unreasonably sad for all the real-life animals that are in shelters needing adoption.”
    • “I'm more emotionally invested in this game than my own life... this might be a problem.”
    • “The bad thing is I always have to shed a tear when a friend leaves to finally join his new family <3”
  • humor
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is largely derived from the quirky personalities of the pets, with players enjoying the amusing interactions and expressions, particularly from the cats. While some find the humor charming and entertaining, others express frustration with the game's bugs, which can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game is seen as cute and funny, appealing to those who appreciate lighthearted pet antics.

    • “I really like the personality traits and having to match them with an appropriate home. I've found myself keeping kind-natured or funny pets in my shelter longer than I needed to because they're lovely.”
    • “The cats are adorable and make faces worth laughing at, mainly the ':|' when they are on the clinic table!”
    • “Having 2 dogs play and bark at each other is funny to watch too :)”
  • monetization
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as a cash grab, with developers prioritizing DLC releases over fixing the base game, leading to poor quality and numerous bugs. Players find the repetitive gameplay and reliance on advertisements for animal adoption tedious, diminishing their motivation to continue without significant updates. Overall, the monetization approach appears to detract from the game's enjoyment and quality.

    • “I always side-eye developers who release DLCs before fixing and finalizing their base game. Seeing the poor quality and negative reviews for the DLCs, I'm pretty much convinced this game was made as a cash grab and nothing more.”
    • “Seems like a slightly more fleshed out cash grab.”
    • “And apart from being a cash grab, it's full of bugs.”
  • music
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally well-received, described as relaxing and enjoyable, with some users noting its addictive quality. However, there are mixed feelings about the volume and initial experience, with one user mentioning a frustratingly loud soundtrack during setup. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's atmosphere, evoking a nostalgic vibe reminiscent of titles like Scribblenauts.

    • “Overall though it's a relaxing and mildly addicting game, and the background music is also quite good.”
    • “The idea is good, the music is nice and relaxing.”
    • “I get a Scribblenauts vibe from the GUI and soundtrack and I love it.”
    • “Game launched in Polish. I spent 5 minutes trying to figure out how to turn it to English while being overwhelmed by the music.”
    • “No, like different breeds of dogs in this game, but it's very addicting to play for me at least. Warning: there is slightly sad/happy music when you give away a pet to the new owner.”
    • “I get a Scribblenauts vibe from the GUI and soundtrack, and I love it.”
  • optimization
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with players noting that while it is enjoyable, performance issues significantly detract from the experience. Many report lag and inconsistent frame rates, especially when there are numerous animals on screen, indicating a need for improvements in optimization and bug fixes in future updates.

    • “This game is so much fun for animal lovers; some bugs here and there for the horses, but everything else runs smoothly!”
    • “I think it's really great; with a few bug fixes and some optimizations, it could be even better than now!”
    • “Performance suffers horribly as soon as there's more content on the map, especially when there are a lot of animals (20+).”
    • “The game makes progress, but the once smooth performance should be a priority for the next update.”
    • “The game is really cute and relaxing, but it’s very poorly optimized. The frame rate is very inconsistent and choppy at times.”
  • replayability
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The reviews on replayability are mixed; while some users express a desire for more engaging mechanics to enhance replay value, others criticize the game for its repetitive nature, stating it offers little incentive to play again. Conversely, a few users highlight that the game is infinitely replayable, suggesting that it has elements that can keep players coming back.

    • “Just feels like it would add another level of replayability and would make it where you actually need to socialize with your pets.”
    • “☑️ infinitely replayable”
    • “ replayability”
    • “The replay value of the base game is... next to none.”
    • “A complete lack of replayability and basically just doing the same thing over and over again.”
    • “I'm sure it's been said already but the game would be drastically more playable after the first couple of hours if.”
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40%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews
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6h Median play time
9h Average play time
5-15h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 15 analyzed playthroughs
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Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Animal Shelter is a casual simulation game with kids theme.

Animal Shelter is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and others.

On average players spend around 9 hours playing Animal Shelter.

Animal Shelter was released on March 22, 2022.

Animal Shelter was developed by Games Incubator.

Animal Shelter has received negative reviews from players and negative reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its stability.

Animal Shelter is a single player game.

Similar games include Animal Shelter, Animal Shelter: Prologue, Animal Shelter 2, To The Rescue, The Tenants and others.