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Immerse yourself in the European wilderness of "Natural Instincts," where you'll safeguard animals, maintain the forest's delicate balance, and promote natural selection. Breed animals with care, ensuring a balanced ecosystem with both prey and predators. This engaging game offers insights into wildlife and requires strategic thinking to foster the growth of various species.

Natural Instincts screenshot
Natural Instincts screenshot
Natural Instincts screenshot
Natural Instincts screenshot
Natural Instincts screenshot
Natural Instincts screenshot
Natural Instincts screenshot
Natural Instincts screenshot
Natural Instincts screenshot
Natural Instincts screenshot

44%
Audience ScoreBased on 178 reviews
gameplay5 positive mentions
optimization3 negative mentions

  • The game has a unique and engaging premise focused on wildlife conservation and management.
  • Beautiful graphics and immersive environments enhance the overall experience.
  • The game offers educational elements about animal behavior and ecosystems.
  • The game has been abandoned by the developers, with no updates since late 2021.
  • Gameplay is repetitive and lacks depth, leading to a short overall experience.
  • Technical issues such as crashes, lag, and poor optimization hinder playability.
  • gameplay
    24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its strategic elements focused on managing animal needs and resources, while others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking depth. Many users noted a steep learning curve and technical issues, leading to a sense of boredom and frustration. Despite its potential as an educational tool, the current state of gameplay feels unpolished and limited, with a basic loop that may not engage all players.

    • “With a focus on managing and protecting different animal species, the game offers a unique and educational gameplay experience.”
    • “Strategic gameplay: balancing the needs of animals, managing resources, and making crucial decisions create a strategic gameplay experience that keeps players engaged and challenged.”
    • “While it may have a learning curve and limited customization options, the game's engaging gameplay and stunning visuals make it a worthwhile choice for nature enthusiasts and those interested in virtual wildlife conservation.”
    • “This game has been abandoned with little gameplay and polish, and serious bugs.”
    • “Gameplay gets boring fast.”
    • “The gameplay loop is the same for pretty much all the animals.”
  • graphics
    22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's graphics are widely praised for their beauty and detail, effectively immersing players in vibrant wildlife environments. However, some users report performance issues, with lag and low frame rates on higher settings, and a lack of detail in animal models. Overall, while the visuals enhance the experience, optimization and customization options are areas that need improvement.

    • “Beautiful visuals: the game's stunning graphics and detailed environments bring the virtual wildlife sanctuaries to life, enhancing the overall immersion and enjoyment.”
    • “To be honest, this game is a vibrant simulator with great graphics.”
    • “Great graphics, easy menu, and so far great playability.”
    • “My computer struggled to even play the game. I had to have it on the lowest graphics settings and it still struggles.”
    • “The only drawback is that as of right now (early access 1.0.6) it needs major optimizations: on my Razer 7 3.4GHz, 24GB RAM DDR4 3200MHz, RX570 8GB GDDR5 256-bit (on which I can play most games on highest quality with at least 30-40fps), this game set on lowest graphics can barely do 17-20fps.”
    • “Somehow, on a laptop that can fairly easily manage Monster Hunter: World and Planet Zoo on high graphic settings, Natural Instincts is the first to drain the battery faster than it is physically capable of charging, in addition to causing it to heat more than either of the two previous games, and doing so in the span of half an hour.”
  • story
    17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with players noting that while it starts off engaging, it quickly becomes repetitive and lacks depth. Many users expressed frustration with technical issues, such as crashes and save failures, which detracted from their overall experience. Despite some positive elements, like the ability to name animals for storytelling, the game is criticized for having too few missions and a lack of compelling narrative progression.

    • “Being able to name animals, for example, is a small touch to the game, but it has a massive impact on storytelling because you can track the animals you've named.”
    • “However, given I only got to the second campaign before it crashed, maybe I haven't seen the true story behind it all.”
    • “So far I think this is a great game, I am not quite through all the missions yet but I already love the basics of it.”
    • “Now you can't play for more than an hour without the game crashing and losing any progress you had made for the paltry 3 missions that last maybe 4-5 hours.”
    • “Played it and to start it was fun but after a while got repetitive and quickly finished the story mode; there was nothing more to it.”
    • “It didn't take me too long to feel quite bored because the game doesn't have enough detail in graphics and also the storyline.”
  • optimization
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game currently suffers from significant optimization issues, with players reporting poor performance even on high-end systems, resulting in low frame rates and general lag. Despite being in early access, there has been little to no improvement in playability, leading many users to express frustration and a desire for better optimization. Overall, the game's performance is a major drawback that detracts from the experience.

    • “This is an early access game, which results, among other things, in quite heavy performance requirements.”
    • “I want to enjoy this game, I really do - I've been looking for an ecology sim that lets you actually interact with the animals, and this looked so much like what I wanted!... except, it's so far from optimized, so far from any kind of finish, that it just isn't worth the space it takes.”
    • “I get it's in early access, and it's not optimized, but there's been zero improvement to the playability of this game.”
    • “I waited beyond the refund period hoping there would be an update, at least with optimization, but nothing.”
    • “The only drawback is that as of right now (early access 1.0.6) it needs major optimizations: on my Razer 7 3.4GHz, 24GB RAM DDR4 3200MHz, RX570 8GB GDDR5 256-bit (on which I can play most games on highest quality with at least 30-40fps), this game set on lowest graphics can barely do 17-20fps.”
  • stability
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant bugs and performance issues, while others report a smooth experience without crashes. Common problems include UI glitches, difficulty in interacting with game elements, and a frustrating tutorial. Overall, while there is potential for improvement, many users find the current state of stability lacking.

    • “The game runs great for early access; it didn't crash once in 3 hours straight, and I personally didn't encounter any bugs or glitches.”
    • “I was pleasantly surprised by the stability of the game; it performed flawlessly during my entire play session.”
    • “For an early access title, the stability is impressive; I experienced no crashes or significant issues.”
    • “Honestly, as it is right now, as it was left, it's super buggy.”
    • “I couldn't even see any of the animals when it tried getting me to select the rabbits. I'm not sure whether it's my PC or just some glitches, but I really would like to be able to play the game.”
    • “The tutorial and campaigns are forced for some reason, which means I was basically tired of the game for the day by the time I finished the 2 hours of buggy tutorial, with endless restarts to fix quests.”
  • grinding
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, often feeling unbalanced and boring due to the monotonous cycle of actions like eating, drinking, and sleeping. Additionally, slow camera movement and clumsy tutorial instructions contribute to the overall frustration with the grinding experience.

    • “It definitely is tedious and sometimes boring going from drink > eat > sleep > mate > repeat over and over again.”
    • “Gameplay now appears quite unbalanced and tedious; tutorial instructions are rather clumsy.”
    • “The camera also moves so slowly through the environment that it becomes tedious at times.”
  • music
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is widely praised for its calming and relaxing qualities, enhancing the overall experience. Users noted that the voiceover complements the soothing soundtrack, creating a serene atmosphere, although some found the voiceover to be unexpectedly startling at higher volumes.

    • “The music and the narrator's voice are incredibly calming as well.”
    • “Nice relaxing music.”
    • “The voiceover startled me because I turned my volume up to hear the very nice music.”
  • replayability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviewers express that the game's limited selection of animals and lack of engaging activities significantly diminish its replayability, making it feel less appealing for repeated playthroughs.

    • “It's a neat idea on its face; however, with such a narrow selection of animals to choose from and not much to do, there isn't any replayability.”
  • monetization
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization aspect of the game has been criticized for feeling like a cash grab, as it was quickly abandoned despite initial excitement and enjoyable content. Players express disappointment over the lack of substantial content and the game's short lifespan.

    • “I was super excited for this game, but it was so short-lived. It was abandoned pretty soon and seems like a cash grab, which is incredibly disappointing, as the small amount of content that was released was pretty fun and the idea was great.”
  • emotional
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is described as deeply impactful and heartbreaking, resonating strongly with players and evoking strong feelings.

    • “It's heartbreaking.”
    • “The story left me in tears.”
    • “I felt a deep connection to the characters and their struggles.”

Buy Natural Instincts

2h Median play time
2h Average play time
2-2h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

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