I've been looking for some gameplays of it. Is there something to do beyond the hunt&escape&eat&mating combo?
I've got to say that the number of creatures to play is awesome. I imagine that it's pretty much the same with all of them, though.
Well, there are dozens challenges to complete, and various random events like plague or my favorite "Chicken Party" but that quickly turns into a "Chicken Massacre" but that's basically it. The thing is, as years roll by, it gets much harder. There comes a time when toxicity levels rise and finding clean food and water become a serious challenge. Playing with a friend changes the game, because you can't kill each other with violence, but if you're quick and a better hunter, you can starve your friend to death. Of course, you can always work with your friend, but my friends prefer trying to kill me off. Playing the golden retriever is much different than playing the Elephant, they have different fighting styles. It's all random as well.
When I was playing as a tiger, the first few decades weren't very difficult, but at one point I came across some sleeping lion cubs. I thought "Looks easy enough." So I attacked. The thing is, all animals have stats that fit them. Tigers are strong and can do a lot of damage in a fight against a lion 1 on 1, but the lions can call their pride into fight with them. Tigers tend to be solitary animals, and are slower than lions. So when I attacked, one of the lion cubs ran off and called his pride, and some of the other members of the pride called in more members. So within a matter of a minute or so, I was surrounded by more than 20 lions. The lions are faster so I couldn't run away, I had to fight. Of course, I died, but I took down most of the pride with me, which was epic.
You never know what's around the corner, it could be a pack of pomeranians, it could be a herd of elephants, it could be a pride of lions, sometimes it's nothing at all and you starve to death. You can also breed better stats into animals. If I complete a random challenge, it will give me a random stat boost, maybe life, stamina, def or speed etc etc. If I earn +10 life on my golden retriever, and I find a prime female and rank myself up to boss, my next generation has a better chance of carrying on more of the stat boost permanently. You can actually breed a super breed of whatever animal you choose if you play enough to complete challenges. My golden retriever can take down an elephant now, I've wiped out lion prides, taken down just about everything. There are some really hard animals later in the game that still own me when I try to fight but I don't want to give away the surprise and tell you what they are.
There are also usable items. Pet food which lowers toxicity and fills your hunger gauge, water does the same but not as much. Bed rolls for sleeping and hankypanky on the go, and various other items. There are also wearable items that act like weapons and armor. At first when I saw this and put a hat on my pomeranian, I thought, wow this is really stupid but then again the stat boost was kind of nice. It adds a light hearted feel to the game. I thought it was funny dressing my elephant up in a Japanese school girl outfit, you can also play a baby chick, and if you complete the right challenge, you can find the chick battle armor, which basically makes your chick into a super soldier looking thing.
The game is not for everyone, I recommend finding a demo or playing with a friend first but like I said, it's only $14.99 USD. It isn't a game I'm obsessed with either, I play a round or two every few days but usually I get bored of other games quickly, this game has not done that to me. It's a really fun game to show to friends too.
The other day I was playing with my friend, he was playing the cheetah, and I was playing the dairy cow. We got pretty far into it and got trapped by a pride of lions. As the dairy cow, I was fighting for my life, but the dairy cow is surprisingly good. I had killed 4 or 5 lions when I realized my friend who was playing the cheetah was just sitting their watching. I said "Dude, help me." his response was "Sorry lions, but to get to me you have to fight my cow bodyguard! Muahahahaha!" It reminded me of that terrible scene from Kung Pow but the sheer absurdity of the game makes it fun.
