Animal Shelter 2
" Heartwarming adventure simulation with adorable pets and co-op, but buggy multiplayer and performance issues "
Animal Shelter 2 Review
Animal Shelter 2 is a heartwarming and engaging simulation game where players care for and manage an animal shelter filled with adorable pets. The game shines in its detailed pet care mechanics, charming graphics, and the emotional bonds players form with their virtual animals. Many players appreciate the improvements over the first installment, including new breeds, multiplayer co-op mode, and enhanced gameplay depth.
However, the game currently suffers from significant technical issues, especially in multiplayer functionality, with widespread reports of bugs such as delayed door openings, animals glitching, disappearing objects, and performance stutters. These bugs often detract from the experience and have led some players to advise waiting for further patches before purchasing. Despite these problems, the developers are praised for their commitment to fixing bugs and expanding the game. Overall, Animal Shelter 2 offers a cozy, relaxing experience for animal lovers but requires more polish to fully realize its potential.
Highlights
Players love the
The addition of multiplayer co-op is a welcomed feature, allowing friends to manage the shelter together. Many find the emotional connection to the virtual animals deeply rewarding, making it a unique and touching simulation experience.
Criticisms
The game is plagued by numerous bugs and technical issues, especially in multiplayer mode, where players experience crashes, desyncs, and unresponsive controls. Performance optimization is lacking, with stutters occurring even on high-end hardware.
Quality-of-life features are missing or broken, such as keybinding customization and NPC behavior. Some players note the game feels unfinished, with repetitive NPC dialogue, bright indoor lighting, and occasional animation glitches. Save file corruption and missing games have also been reported, lowering player confidence. These issues make the current state of the game less enjoyable and suggest it needs further updates for a polished experience.
Pros
- • Adorable and diverse animal models with great visual detail and animations.
- • Engaging pet care mechanics including feeding, playing, and dressing pets.
- • Relaxing and cozy atmosphere with soothing music and warm graphics.
- • Multiplayer co-op mode allows friends to manage the shelter together.
- • Significant improvements and new features over the first game.
- • Emotional bonding with virtual animals creates a unique gameplay experience.
- • Well-designed shelter management with various tasks and interactions.
Cons
- • Multiplayer is highly buggy, causing crashes, desyncs, and unplayable sessions.
- • Performance issues with stuttering even on powerful PCs at 1440p resolution.
- • Numerous animation bugs including sliding animals and warped textures.
- • Missing or broken quality-of-life features like keybinding customization.
- • Save file corruption leading to loss of progress reported by players.
- • Repetitive NPC dialogue and slow NPC movement reduce immersion.
- • Lighting inside buildings is often too bright and unbalanced.
Rating Criteria
Welcome back to the heartwarming world of Animal Shelter 2! Provide a loving home for every four-legged friend in need – play with them, pet them, even dress them up! Get to know them and find them a loving family. Play with your friends and manage your shelter together in co-op!