The developers behind Animal Shelter Simulator return to the field with Animal Shelter Simulator 2. Though it looks like a majority of games by Games Incubator tend to lean mixed, Animal Simulator was a fair success for them. Though I myself did not play the introductory title, I did hear good things, and watches some gameplay footage on my own time. Some of the portions of the game that had previously been DLC have been incorporated into the core game (like puppies and kittens). I myself have not played the first game, but looking over some of the footage, it is clear there have been some changes. So, lets dive in, and take a look at this newest entry to the Animal Shelter IP.

Make something out of nothing, cleaning up an abandoned building to turn it into a renowned animal shelter.

Out the gate, this absolutely tastes like a Simulator Title, though lacking the self awareness that makes some passable. This truly is a title looking to try and replicate the experience as closely as possible. That being said, this seems to be a very tall order. While the concept of how things should work is fantastic, the shortcomings overflow at the functionality standpoint. While things like editing your interior are easy enough, when it comes to dealing with the pets themselves (you know, the important part), things can get muddled, and I think this potentially comes down to code. Pets unassigning themselves, pets you renamed giving that name to OTHER pets... just very... core functions that are VITAL not working well. To be fair, this game has a ton of moving parts. Between your hires, helpers, patrons, and people dropping off pets, there's so much going on I almost found it a wonder that it worked as well as it did. However, with pet interactions being the true bread-and-butter of this WHOLE title, things going wrong at that level are unpleasant at the bare minimum, and beyond frustrating at times.

All of your furry friends get dirty one way or another. Take the time to make sure they're all adoption ready!

The gameplay loop is fairly straight forward:
You go pick up animals by way of intervention, simply sending out your truck, or in rare cases, have them brought in to your shelter. They may need vet care (more than you can provide) or they may simply need some additional care to overcome something like a cold. Wash and groom them, play with them, make sure they are fed and watered. You can also use things like a photo booth to make insanely adorable photos to help your adoption ads go farther. Upgrade facilities and decorate to your hearts content. While not without some basic flaw, the process and loop is enjoyable at its core, if you're in no rush.

Go stretch your legs! You're not confined to just the shelter. Take a walk out to the massive park with some of the animals.

It's worth mentioning that while there is a lot of joy to be had of nursing animals back to health when they have an illness, it can be borderline torture to have a pet with any kind of chronic illness. I was VERY fond of an Egyptian Shorthair that I REALLY planned to keep around. Until I found out he was diabetic. 8 hours in game BLOWS by, and it is beyond easy to be caught unable to dose the pet at the needed time. With a shelter full of pets needing love, attention, and specific needs met, stopping constantly to dose chronically ill animals felt tedious and awful. Sadly, as much as I loved the cat, the second he was adoptable, I gave him to the first person who met most of his needs.

You didn't think they would skip out on THIS part of veterinary care, did you?

While I had initially thought there were some shortcomings with all puppies and kittens generically looking the same, it appears I got to be pleasantly surprised. While unsure of if it was a bug, ort fixed on the launch day patch, it seems now they are different from each other. Not only that, I muddled around with a kitten long enough to watch it grow up. This was absolutely a welcome feature, especially when on initial plays I thought it was something left out. It seems each breed now has it's own puppy/kitten form that are color coordinated. And boy, are they CUTE.

Despite looking for the best potential adopter possible, asking applicant for details about themselves can currently lead to some... empty... results.

In addition, money seems all too easy to spend, not nearly quick enough to earn, inventory management can be a hassle, and to top it all off: This is a very slow burn game.  There is, in theory, nothing wrong with this. I could easily enjoy dumping hours in this title. But the core flawless function that should make it enjoyable is still struggling. That's not saying there's NOTHING good about this title. It has a cute sentiment, but requires some REAL polish to be what it could, and should be. Potential adoptees and workers are bland, have very generic dialogue, and feel like exactly what they are: Placeholders. You're here to play with animals, not really to do the miniscule tedious tasks you can have the workers do. Not to mention, either i am fantastic at matching pets to people, or potential adoptees will never decline a pet. I do think that is a vital part of the gameplay, as not everything works out all the time. It definitely feels like it will always lean in the players favor.

There are plenty of animals to rescue- though you only have so many cars available to have at your disposal!

Overall, after taking another look at this title post-launch, there have absolutely been some changes made that are for the better. Other issues, like horrible indoor lighting and generically lackluster side missions (interventions) while novel, just feel like a last minute thought. I feel like there could be more done here to make it a really solid title that shows massive improvement over it's initial predecessor, but that will require some serious dedication from the developers- who seem to have not even fully addressed well known bugs from the first game. Ultimately I think that this is a game that has a lot of heart, and while not perfect, animal lovers and cozy gamers will easily look over it's flaws to find homes for some furry friends.

Animal Shelter Simulator 2 is available for purchase on the Steam Marketplace for $24.99 USD.