Shelter Generations

Shelter Generations is a compilation of two games that originally came out for PCs and later on for Nintendo Switch. Shelter Generations includes Shelter 2 (along with the 2015's expansion pack Mountains) and Paws: A Shelter 2 Game (2016). The creators of both the games (the Might and Delight studio), added the games' soundtracks to the compilation – the player can listen to the music included at any time. Apart from that, the creators prepared the so-called "living books" – Fables From the Den and The Lonesome Fog. Thanks to these, one can learn about the game world of the Shelter series and familiarize themselves with additional stories.

Shelter 2

Shelter 2 is a continuation of an original simulator game, which was released in 2013. In that game, one played as a female badger and their goal was to ensure that the badger family remains safe and develops in the proper way. The series has been developed by an independent Swedish studio Might and Delight, whose members used to work on such games as Killzone, Battlefield, Mirror's Edge or Bionic Commando Rearmed.

In the second installment, the player assumes the role of a female lynx, and this new concept enforces a slightly different play-style than in the original game, due to the specifics of the genre. Although lynx's position in the food chain is significantly higher than that of badger, lynx is still exposed to various dangers in its natural environment. Since the player-controlled lynx is currently pregnant, the first thing the player needs to take care of is finding and preparing a den, where the expected offspring will be able to be born. The den becomes the central place to the entirety of one's actions – it is the shelter of the lynx, where the animal can recover and store different findings and trophies. Later on in the game, the player has to make sure the young lynx develop properly, provide sufficient amounts of food and water, and defend them against deadly threats.

The action takes place in an open world that gives full freedom of exploration to the player; it is also significantly larger than in the original game. In similarity to the first installment though, the element of survival is the dominant one. Depending on the season of the year in this tundra biome, slightly different kinds of challenges are placed in front of the player. One will also face a lot of natural threats, as well as different predators that will not hesitate to take the lives of the player's lynx family. The creators placed a focus on realism, making use of different kinds of sources concerning the life of the lynx as a species. A special emphasis was placed on the element of motherhood and bounds connecting the lynx mother to its offspring. Compared to the original game, new elements contributing to the complexity of the experience were introduced, such as new species of animals one can hunt or a meter showing the animal's strength.

The original, patchwork visuals remain a distinctive feature in the original game's continuation – the game bears a resemblance to vector graphics simulators from the 1990s. Music for the game was once again created by Retro Family – a group that had worked on the studio's previous projects as well.

Paws: A Shelter 2 Game

Paws: A Shelter 2 Game is an adventure title set in a world depicted in a sandbox lynx simulator Shelter 2. The game was developed by Might and Delight – an independent, Swedish studio that apart from the Shelter series, has also produced typical arcade games, such as Pid or The Blue Flamingo.

Paws follows the adventures of a young lynx that along with its companion – a young bear, traverses an extensive, dangerous world in search of its home. The plot especially emphasizes the sense of loss, seeking love lost, and the significance of friendship that allows to count on help from someone close in a difficult situation.

In terms of the mechanics, Paws combines unique features of the Shelter simulator series with elements of adventure games and platformers. This time however, instead of a grown-up animal, the player takes on the role of a suckling, and instead of a sandbox formula, the experience is based on a linear story. For the first time in the series, the player has two characters at their disposal at the same time – they can support each other while solving puzzles and avoiding various traps. Compared to the core game, the action is always viewed from the third-person perspective, and new elements were introduced, such as an ability to follow traces based on the animal's senses.

Paws: A Shelter 2 Game is based entirely on the game world depicted in Shelter 2, and it operates on the same, unique graphic style. The player is taken to an extensive, fully three-dimensional world, which was nonetheless created using slightly outdated, vector graphics – this combined with the game's quite detailed world, can arouse associations with impressionist painting for instance. When it comes to the music, the game offers a completely new soundtrack, which was again created by the Swedish group Retro Family.

Last updated on March 12, 2018