Shelter will let you experience the beauty and terror of nature through the eyes of a mama badger.
One of the great things about the indie gaming scene is that you’re never quite sure what developers will come up with next. Where triple-A developers usually stick with familiar genres, indies might follow a successful open-world sandbox with a digital card game. To that end, Pid creator Might and Delight will forgo retro platforming to make a 3D survival game called Shelter. What really makes the game stand out, however, won’t be the survival gameplay. Instead, Shelter represents the simplicity of nature itself by putting you into the role of a protective mama badger.
In Shelter‘s world, the player is forced to leave their comfortable burrow to seek a home in the dangerous environment. It’s hard enough to survive in the game’s wilderness, but you won’t just be looking out for yourself. A helpless litter of badger cubs also need your protection and guidance if they’re going to survive for long. Getting the cubs safety promises to be difficult and heart-wrenching as other animals seek to make meals of the entire clan.
“It´s our ambition to create an experience of immersion by making you feel exposed and vulnerable in the sometimes unforgiving hands of the wild,” said lead level designer Andreas Wangler. “We are not saying nature is cruel, however what the mother and her cubs will experience is simply a fact of life … There are no boss fights in this game. No good or evil elements. It´s simply about survival and protecting your offspring.”
I’m not entirely sold on the visuals, but the survival twist is unique enough that I’d be curious to see how it plays. Thankfully, we shouldn’t have to wait too long. Shelter is due to launch this year for PC and Mac, while a new Greelight page may also provide a Steam platform release.
