- Highly praised and engaging wolf life simulation
- Dedicated and responsive developers
- Realistic, educational, and fun experience
- Detailed pup raising and legacy system
- Steep learning curve and repetitive gameplay
- High pup mortality causes player distress
Emotions
Players express satisfaction due to the game's high level of realism, particularly in wolf behavior, graphics, and environmental details. The game's continuous development, bug fixes, and new content, especially the 'Saga' update and Anniversary Edition improvements, significantly contribute to this feeling. The ability to fulfill the fantasy of playing as a wolf, coupled with engaging and replayable gameplay, further enhances player contentment.
Joy stems from the game's fun and entertaining gameplay, often highlighted by the cuteness and growth of in-game pups, and the ability to play with friends in multiplayer. The game's realism, beautiful graphics, and the fulfillment of childhood dreams or long-desired gameplay experiences also contribute significantly to players' happiness.
Excitement is primarily driven by anticipation for future updates, new features like Saga Multiplayer, and the continuous development of the game. Players are thrilled by the game's overall quality, immersive gameplay, and the potential for new content and experiences, particularly the growth of pups into a pack.
Love for the game is rooted in a deep personal connection, often stemming from long-term engagement and nostalgia for previous versions. Players appreciate the game's realism, immersive qualities, educational aspects, and the evident dedication of the developers, which fosters a strong emotional bond with the game and its portrayal of wolves.
Admiration is directed towards the developers' unwavering commitment, passion, and meticulous attention to detail in creating a realistic and evolving wolf simulation. Players are impressed by the game's stunning graphics, accurate animal behaviors, and the continuous improvements and updates that demonstrate the developers' dedication to quality and authenticity.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 98% · Negative 2%. Score: 2 / 100
Positives:
- Players overwhelmingly praise the game for its exceptional quality, immersive gameplay, and high replayability. Many highlight its significant improvements over previous versions and its ability to evoke strong nostalgia while still feeling fresh and engaging.
- The game is lauded as the definitive wolf simulation, offering unparalleled realism in depicting wolf life, behavior, and pack dynamics. Players appreciate the educational aspects and the deep immersion into the role of a wild wolf in Yellowstone.
- Reviewers consistently commend the developers for their exceptional dedication, passion, and transparency. The team's commitment to continuous updates, bug fixes, community feedback, and extensive research is highly valued.
- The game strikes an excellent balance between being highly realistic and genuinely fun, offering an educational experience without feeling like a chore. Its commitment to scientific accuracy and detailed simulation is a major draw.
- The recent 'Saga' update and the Anniversary Edition are celebrated for significantly expanding gameplay, adding depth, and fulfilling long-standing player desires. These updates have made the game feel more complete and endlessly replayable.
Negatives:
- Many players find the game's initial learning curve steep and its gameplay loop repetitive over time. This leads to frustration, tedium, and a feeling of the game becoming a chore, especially after the 'Saga' update which increased difficulty and grind.
- The high mortality rate of pups is a major source of emotional distress and frustration for players. Many find the loss heartbreaking and the mechanics for keeping pups alive (e.g., feeding, defense) overly difficult or tedious, especially when combined with unhelpful AI.
- Players desire more diverse content, including additional quests, expanded maps, and deeper gameplay mechanics beyond the current repetitive loop of hunting, sleeping, and marking territory. The current content length is also questioned relative to the price.
- The aggressive and often overwhelming AI of rival wolves and predators makes territory defense and pup protection extremely challenging, even on easy difficulty. Players report issues with AI behavior, such as mates not helping in combat or rival packs growing too large.
- Multiplayer mode is frequently criticized for being buggy, unstable, and lacking features. Players also report encountering eccentric role-players, which detracts from the intended gameplay experience and contributes to a 'dead' feeling in the online community.
Gameplay:
- The core gameplay revolves around the detailed process of raising wolf pups, from birth through various growth stages to adulthood. This includes feeding, protecting them from predators and illnesses, and teaching them to hunt. The game also features a 'Saga' mode where players can continue playing as their grown pups, extending the family lineage and experiencing the full life cycle of a wolf pack.
- Players can fully customize their wolf's appearance, personality, and attributes, allowing for a personalized experience. The game emphasizes player agency, enabling them to carve their own story, whether as a lone wolf, a pack leader, or by engaging in role-playing scenarios. The 'Saga' feature further enhances this by allowing players to continue their wolf's life through multiple generations.
- The game offers both robust single-player and multiplayer modes, catering to different playstyles. Multiplayer allows for cooperative pack formation, shared pup raising, and role-playing, enhancing social interaction. Various difficulty settings, including a permadeath 'Ironwolf' mode, provide replayability and cater to casual and hardcore players alike.
- The game features a clear quest line that guides players through a wolf's life cycle, but also allows for flexible pacing and open-world exploration. While easy to learn, mastering the game, especially on higher difficulties, requires strategic thinking for hunting, territory management, and survival, offering a rewarding challenge.
- The game features multiple maps based on real-world locations, offering diverse environments for exploration and territory establishment. These maps, along with various DLCs and customization options, contribute to the game's replayability and content variety.
Performance:
- The game's performance is highly dependent on PC specifications. While it can run on lower-end machines with adjusted settings, a powerful PC is recommended for optimal graphics and a smooth experience. Players frequently mention adjusting graphics settings to improve frame rates and reduce lag.
- Players generally report that the game has very few bugs, and those that do appear are often minor or quickly addressed. The beta version also seems to be stable with no significant issues.
Recommendations:
- Players overwhelmingly recommend the game, often giving it perfect or near-perfect scores. Many express deep enjoyment and encourage others to purchase and play it, highlighting its overall quality and value.
- The game is strongly recommended for fans of wolves, animals, and realistic animal survival or life simulation games. It particularly appeals to those interested in nature, ecology, and the experience of living as a wolf.
- Players are highly anticipating the full release of 'The Saga' update, expecting it to significantly expand the game. Many also recommend purchasing DLC to support ongoing development and future content.
- Some players note that the game can be demanding on hardware, recommending a powerful PC for optimal performance and advising users to adjust graphics settings if experiencing issues, especially on devices like the Steam Deck.
- New players are advised to start on easier difficulty settings to get accustomed to the game mechanics before increasing the challenge.
Miscellaneous:
- Many players have a deep, long-standing connection to the game, often having played it since childhood or for over a decade. This strong sense of nostalgia and personal history is a significant factor in their enjoyment and loyalty.
- There is immense excitement and anticipation for the upcoming 'Saga' update, which is expected to significantly expand gameplay, particularly regarding pack progression and pup rearing. Players believe this will elevate the game's overall quality and depth.
- Players frequently request more customization options for wolves (e.g., fur patterns), additional den locations, and expanded gameplay mechanics such as creating custom partners or more nuanced territory marking.
- The game fosters a friendly, supportive, and engaged community, both within the game and on platforms like Discord. This positive social environment enhances the overall player experience.
- There is some confusion or mixed understanding regarding the game's development status, with some players noting it has exited Early Access while others still perceive it as being in beta or Early Access.
