It’s been a hot minute since a cute animal adventure scarred me for life. Ever since the first Shelter game where my sweet baby badger got snatched up by the claws of a giant eagle, I’ve learned that these adorable animal games can be pretty ruthless. It’s the maternal connection that gets me, the pang of loss for something you were supposed to protect. It shoots right between the ribs and straight into the heart. Ow.
Endling - Extinction Is Forever is one such game. You play as a fox mother trying to keep her four cubs alive in a post-apocalyptic world, and from that premise alone it definitely feels like developers Herobeat Studios are deadset on making me cry. After playing through the game in two evenings, Endling didn’t end up being the emotional gut punch I had braced myself for, but its story of scrappy survival did have me reaching for the tissues by the closing credits. What can I say, I see an animal in distress and I’m a weepy mess.