Paws: A Shelter 2 Game
- March 24, 2016
- Might and Delight
- 2h median play time
"Paws: A Shelter 2 Game" is a single-player drama simulation and adventure platformer that takes place in the world of Shelter 2. With loss and friendship as its central themes, the game features an intriguing story, good game mechanics, ingenious visuals, and a stellar soundtrack, all coming together to create a wholesome, immersive experience. Players will explore the world and interact with its inhabitants, forming bonds and making difficult decisions that will impact the story.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game features beautiful graphics and a stunning art style that enhances the overall experience.
- The story is emotional and engaging, making players feel a strong connection to the characters, especially the lynx cub and the bear cub.
- The gameplay is calming and enjoyable, with easy-to-understand controls that allow for exploration and interaction with the environment.
- The game is very short, lasting only about 1-2 hours, which some players feel does not justify the price.
- There are issues with the controls and camera angles, making navigation and certain actions frustrating at times.
- Some players found the lack of direction and clarity in objectives to be confusing, leading to moments of getting lost in the game.
- story139 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The story of the game is widely praised for its emotional depth and beautiful presentation, following a young lynx cub on a heartfelt journey to reunite with her family. While many players appreciate the touching narrative and stunning art style, some feel the story is too short and lacks the development needed for a more impactful conclusion. Overall, it is described as a charming and bittersweet tale that resonates with players, despite some criticisms regarding gameplay mechanics and pacing.
“The journey of a lost lynx cub as she discovers the wonders of the mysterious world around her, and a story told through gorgeous poetry and art.”
“The art style is beautiful, the story will pull your heartstrings like a violin, the music is calm... it's great.”
“Overall a delightful game, beautiful storyline, and certainly pulls on the emotional strings to your heart.”
“It tries to have the same tear-jerking story as the first game, but while the ending of Shelter was very touching, I feel the game was too short to make the connections for the ending to get that reaction from me.”
“Through the whole game, everything seemed to steer you away from the activity you have to do in order to choose the ending that I would have wanted story-wise, so instead of attempting that activity, I went looking around for alternatives and ended up getting the ending I didn't want (and also just super confused about what was happening because I didn't understand it was the end, or that I was being presented with a choice).”
“A simple story with endearing little animals that gets let down by janky controls and an annoying camera.”
- emotional80 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is widely praised, with many players reporting that it made them cry due to its touching storyline and heartfelt character connections. While some found the narrative to be a bit short, leading to less emotional buildup, the overall experience is described as heartwarming, enchanting, and capable of evoking strong feelings of empathy and nostalgia. The game's beautiful art style and atmospheric music further enhance its emotional impact, making it a memorable experience for those who enjoy poignant storytelling.
“The story is touching and tugged at my heartstrings.”
“Paws is such a short and simple yet amazing game, the storyline is adorable and the characters are so cute; at the end, I cried tons, so thumbs up for that dramatic yet non-dramatic ending.”
“This game made me emotional.”
- graphics66 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique and beautiful art style, often described as enchanting, quilt-like, and reminiscent of a storybook. While many players appreciate the aesthetic and emotional depth conveyed through the visuals, some find the graphics challenging to navigate and occasionally amateurish. Overall, the presentation, including the graphics and sound design, significantly enhances the gaming experience, despite some criticisms regarding accessibility and control issues.
“The best part about this game is the presentation; both the unique graphics and the sound design are absolutely stunning, absolutely the quality level I expected after playing Shelter.”
“Although graphically far from photorealistic, the 'painted fairytale storybook' style is the best looking installment of the series yet, accompanied by stunningly beautiful and sensitive music that fits the setting perfectly and amplifies the experience.”
“The art style is beautiful, the story will pull your heartstrings like a violin, the music is calm... it's great.”
“Bringing it back to the graphics though, it was also hard to see one of the options you had from where you were.”
“I got this game on sale back in the day after I saw its picture because of how much of a crazy cat person I am, but after just a few minutes of playing it, it just turned out to be really trash because the graphics are very clumpy and toyish looking. The surroundings of how everything looks makes my eyes uncomfortable, and I got very stuck in the first minutes. This game just makes me think of one of those roleplaying pretending animal games on Roblox.”
“The graphics are also very hard to look at sometimes.”
- music44 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The music in the game has been widely praised for its beauty and emotional depth, enhancing the overall experience with its calming and atmospheric qualities. Reviewers noted that the soundtrack complements the game's visuals and narrative, evoking a range of feelings from joy to heartbreak. Many described it as one of the best soundtracks they've encountered, making it a standout feature of the game.
“The soundtrack is beautiful and well written, and the aesthetics and animation are overall pleasing.”
“This game is really beautiful; it has an amazing soundtrack, and the story is so heartbreaking that it almost made me cry.”
“But as much as I love the graphics and music and story, I cannot recommend this one.”
“The music is really relaxing at times, and at other times it adds to what you are feeling as the character and story progresses.”
“One part I was at a swamp-like area and the background music really set the mood that this place isn't very welcoming, which was fantastic.”
- gameplay40 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its emotional depth and engaging atmosphere, while others criticize it for being repetitive, lacking challenge, and having poor controls. Many feel that the movement mechanics are not enjoyable enough to warrant exploration, and the overall gameplay experience is seen as underwhelming compared to previous titles in the series. Despite these criticisms, some players still find value in the game's storytelling and emotional engagement.
“I love the gameplay and I have to say it's one of my favorites (if not the favorite!) of the entire Shelter series, and I wish more games like this would be published.”
“Not like the other Shelter games, more story-driven gameplay which is a welcome change for this game series.”
“Everything about this game is amazing, the sound, the art style, the gameplay... everything!”
“This made me give up on exploring the levels for secrets very fast; the secrets didn't feel worth bonking the poor kitten's head against the wall so many times. If the only mechanic of your game is moving, you have to make sure moving around is engaging, or at least not actively unpleasant.”
“Too scripted, the controls are awful (jumping on the bear is equally difficult as it is pointless), and there's very half-baked mechanics.”
“It's more solid than a lot of other titles and digital toys out there and it has a well-defined beginning and end(s), but the gameplay just isn't as enjoyable as it could be and most of the challenge comes from the controls of the game rather than the game itself or any conscious gameplay design choices.”
- atmosphere8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its beautifully designed levels, evocative music, and vivid art direction, creating an immersive experience that encourages players to explore and appreciate their surroundings. Reviewers highlight the emotional depth and heartwarming moments, making the atmosphere a standout feature that enhances the overall gameplay experience.
“Beautifully designed levels, atmospheric music, color concrete moments between fog and dusk, and incredibly heartwarming.”
“It made me really want to take my time and absorb the atmosphere.”
“Atmosphere is a big part of this game and it gives a very nice feeling to players who are just joining or even still playing from start to finish.”
- stability6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 83 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been criticized for numerous glitches and bugs that hinder gameplay, including unresponsive tutorial elements and erratic AI behavior. Many players reported feeling lost and frustrated due to these issues, suggesting that the game feels unfinished and in need of significant fixes before it can be recommended.
“There were some glitches I ran into - certain important tutorial control elements didn't trigger when they were supposed to during my first playthrough, so I was pretty confused about how to move forward at a couple of spots, and that was frustrating.”
“From the start, it seemed unfinished and rushed. The controls are weird, I was getting lost many times, couldn't feel the vibe I was expecting, and when I finally got to know the bear everyone was talking about, it turns out it's buggy and stuck at times. Shortly after meeting him, I got stuck and couldn't continue.”
“The game overall is very buggy and still has quite a few tweaks to fix.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while some achievements are seen as tedious and require significant effort, others are challenging but manageable with guides. The necessity to grind for items like mushrooms and butterflies can feel excessive, particularly when certain gameplay elements, like food, seem to serve little purpose beyond achievement hunting. Overall, the grinding can be time-consuming, leading some to feel it detracts from the overall enjoyment.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Achievements are a bit too grindy (1000 mushrooms, 100 butterflies) but not completely overdoing it.”
“Food doesn't seem to have a purpose beyond grinding for achievements.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game offers limited replayability due to its two endings and short length, which diminishes the incentive to replay after experiencing the storyline and level design. While the graphics are praised, the overall content does not encourage multiple playthroughs.
“The storyline was okay but nothing really great; the game is graphically beautiful like all their titles, but the overall game is super short. Once you play through it, you pretty much won't have to play it again; it doesn't really have any replay value.”
“Replay value diminishes after playing through the two possible endings, as the level design is clever but there are only so many levels to hide secrets and ghosts.”
“The storyline was okay but nothing really great. The game, graphically like all their titles, is beautiful, but the overall game is super short. Once you play through it, you pretty much won't really have to play it again; it doesn't really have any replay value.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's humor is characterized by a blend of lightheartedness and emotional depth, featuring funny and cute characters that evoke laughter while also delivering poignant moments that can lead to feelings of sadness. This bittersweet storytelling creates a unique and honest experience for players.
“One minute you will be laughing, and then suddenly you will find yourself feeling emotions of sadness. This is a bittersweet game that tells a story I feel is so honest.”
“Funny and cute characters.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players have reported significant glitches that hinder the game's performance, leading to frustrating experiences and occasional loss of progress.
“Please fix these glitches, as they significantly impede the game's performance and sometimes cause me to get lost.”
“The optimization issues are frustrating; the game frequently lags and crashes, making it nearly unplayable.”
“I often experience frame drops and stuttering, which detracts from the overall gaming experience.”
