Political Animals

With a strong artstyle and a clever idea, ultimately the lack of in-depth systems and the huge limitations on the gameplay killed the interest I had in this title.

66%Game Brain Score

gameplay, graphics

replayability, music

70% User Score Based on 110 reviews

Critic Score 53%Based on 2 reviews

Platforms

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About

Political Animals is a single player and multiplayer tactical management game with a comedy theme. It was developed by Squeaky Wheel and was released on November 2, 2016. It received neutral reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

Political Animals is an election simulation game set within a fictional world populated by corrupt crocodiles and meritocratic mice. In a political contest where corruption is always around the corner, we want players to find out how incorruptible they really are.

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70%Audience ScoreBased on 110 reviews

gameplay5 positive mentions

grinding2 negative mentions

Unique blend of turn-based strategy and political satire with a colorful, charming art style featuring anthropomorphic animals, making politics approachable and amusing.
Engaging gameplay that balances accessibility for newcomers with enough strategic depth, including resource management, ethical choices, and multiple campaign playstyles.
Customizable candidates, diverse maps, random events, and tactical decisions add replayability and variation, appealing to political enthusiasts and casual gamers alike.

Limited campaign length and lack of content depth lead to repetitive gameplay and reduced long-term engagement for some players.
Absence of multiplayer and online modes restricts social and competitive experiences, disappointing those looking for interaction beyond single-player AI.
Some UI issues, bugs, unpolished mechanics, and insufficient tutorial hand-holding can hamper the learning curve and overall polish of the game.

gameplay
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
62%
14%
The gameplay offers a straightforward yet nuanced turn-based political strategy on a hex board, blending alliance management, sabotage, and ethical choices with a humorous anthropomorphic cast. While it provides initial engagement through its unique theme and mechanics, many find it repetitive, simple, and lacking long-term challenge or depth after a few playthroughs. Overall, it appeals more to fans of turn-based strategy who appreciate thematic creativity but may feel limited in complexity and replayability.
- “At its core, the gameplay revolves around managing your campaign through a series of turn-based actions on a hexagonal board representing the political landscape.”
- “While the mechanics are straightforward enough to welcome newcomers to strategy games, there is enough nuance in managing alliances, sabotaging opponents, and responding to scandals to keep more experienced players engaged.”
- “Its blend of ethical choices, resource management, and tactical gameplay provides a fresh perspective on the cutthroat nature of politics, while the anthropomorphic cast and vibrant presentation keep the tone fun and inviting.”
- “It is a simple game to play, but after a couple of playthroughs it becomes boring.”
- “Just terribly boring from the get go, the mechanics are quite simple.”
- “With a strong artstyle and a clever idea, ultimately the lack of in-depth systems and the huge limitations on the gameplay killed the interest I had in this title.”
graphics
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
53%
20%
The graphics feature a bright, cute, and cartoonish art style that contrasts with the game's serious political themes, making it approachable and appealing to a wide audience. While some find the visuals charming and detailed, others note they can feel simplistic or rough around the edges. Overall, the art style effectively supports the gameplay's strategic elements, though its simplicity may limit long-term engagement for some players.
- “Visually, Political Animals embraces a bright, cartoonish art style that cleverly contrasts with the sometimes cutthroat subject matter.”
- “The game offers some really nice graphics and a nice yet simplistic aesthetic which is pleasant all the same and has some amazing attention to detail even though it is a little rough around the edges.”
- “[The art-style is adorable, winning a difficult election can feel like a real accomplishment].”
- “Despite the art style (which I'm not in love with) and the animal motif & puns, which makes it seem cartoon-y and mobile-y, there's a lot of fun and strategy here.”
- “Looping music and somewhat low quality cartoon visuals.”
- “Also the music options reset every time you boot up the game and all the graphical options can be summed up by the word 'unity launcher'.”
humor
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is characterized by its clever political satire and amusing animal caricatures, offering lighthearted and accessible fun. However, the humor may feel simplistic or lose its charm quickly, especially for players seeking deeper engagement, leading to a short-lived comedic appeal. Overall, it provides an easygoing and entertaining experience, though its comedic impact can be somewhat limited over time.
- “Each candidate is vividly designed as a distinct animal, embodying various stereotypes and political archetypes—ranging from cunning foxes to stubborn bulls—adding humor and personality to the gameplay.”
- “It is a really funny game and doesn't make you get confused at what the hell you're supposed to do; you can easily wrap your head around the game and have hours of fun.”
- “Random events are funny too.”
replayability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The game offers notable replayability through its moral choices, varied outcomes, and multiple maps with different assets and characters that create unique challenges. While some find the replay value compelling due to tactical variety and chaotic elements, others feel it may be limited depending on playstyle. Overall, there is sufficient scope to encourage multiple playthroughs and exploration.
- “This moral dimension adds layers of complexity and replayability, as different choices lead to varied outcomes and endings.”
- “Cute drawings and tactical madness with just a flare of chaos to make each game unique and adds to the replay value.”
- “Replayable multiple maps with different assets and characters allow challenges etc.”
- “While there is a sense of replayability in the game, with the various time lengths, budget amounts, and overall 'dirtyness' the AI can have, it is difficult to say how many times you'd play through it.”
- “Replay value can be very limited.”
- “I can't speak for replay value yet since I've only had an hour with this released version but I look forward to unlocking all of the maps and seeing how that changes things.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The music is generally described as cute, playful, and beautiful, contributing to a relaxed and inviting atmosphere that contrasts with the game's satirical and politically charged themes. However, some note that the music loops and has occasional quality issues, while music settings frequently reset on startup.
- “The colorful environments, lively animations, and playful music create an inviting atmosphere that tempers the game’s satirical edge without diminishing its critique of political machinations.”
- “The art and music is beautiful!”
- “The cute art style and music really put me into a relaxed mindset and that gave me quite a laugh when I started, but after being destroyed quite handedly, I found myself taking notes and reading a lot more on what the game is communicating.”
- “Looping music and somewhat low quality cartoon visuals.”
- “Also the music options reset every time you boot up the game and all the graphical options can be summed up by the word 'unity launcher'.”
- “The cute artstyle and music really put me into a relaxed mindset and that gave me quite a lul when I started, but after being destroyed quite handedly, I found myself taking notes and reading a lot more on what the game is communicating.”
story
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The story mode is considered simplistic and lacks depth, offering limited impact from player choices and minimal campaign content. While extra characters are appreciated, the overall narrative does not provide meaningful challenges or variation.
- “Allow us to use all those extra characters you have please; they are just extras in the story but they are kinda cool.”
- “I think, if you expect to play a game like 'This is the Police!' where your choices have an impact on the storyline, you will be disappointed to find a very simple game with no real challenge, randomization of events, or real content in your campaign.”
- “-a story mode?”
- “I think, if you expect to play a game like "This Is the Police!" where your choices impact the storyline, you will be disappointed to find a very simple game with no real challenge, no genuine randomization of events, and little content in the campaign.”
- “A story mode?”
- “”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is described as short but tedious, with limited flexibility in customization. Users suggest that adding systems for easier asset management and custom content creation could reduce monotony and enhance long-term engagement with grindy achievements.
- “Short but tedious games.”
- “You hard wrote the assets into Unity instead of having them load into the game by a script. If you had then had it read the folder and understand a little bit differently, you could have had a system to drag and drop the land masses together like a puzzle. Then you could draw the lines for new maps or a method for custom two-dimensional character models and use a set default walk animation. Sure, for most it would be a funky animation, but it would at least allow artists to get a new feel even after playing the game for hours to get those grindy achievements.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's stability is mixed, with some users experiencing smooth, glitch-free performance even on less powerful laptops, while others encounter notable bugs affecting their experience.
- “No glitches and is even fast on my laptop that I am temporarily using!”
- “My issues though, do exist - the game is quite buggy.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is inviting and vibrant, combining colorful environments, lively animations, and playful music to balance the game's satirical tone while effectively conveying its political critique.
- “The colorful environments, lively animations, and playful music create an inviting atmosphere that tempers the game’s satirical edge without diminishing its critique of political machinations.”

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53%Critics’ scoreBased on 2 critic reviews

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4h Median play time

6h Average play time

2-12h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Political Animals is a tactical management game with comedy theme.

Political Animals is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

On average players spend around 6 hours playing Political Animals.

Political Animals was released on November 2, 2016.

Political Animals was developed by Squeaky Wheel.

Political Animals has received neutral reviews from players and neutral reviews from critics. Most players liked Political Animals for its gameplay but disliked it for its replayability.

Political Animals is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include No Time to Relax, Game Corp DX, Gremlins, Inc., Armello, Antihero and others.

Political Animals

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gameplay

graphics

humor

replayability

music

story

grinding

stability

atmosphere

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