You play as the last fox on Earth. At least until you escape a forest fire and give birth to four little cubs into a world that is rapidly crumbling. One cub is stolen away in the night, and now it's up to you to find your missing cub while keeping the others safe.
I have never cried so hard at any video game ever. Or probably any piece of media.
Visuals
Endling is done in a low-poly style, which really works for this desolate world. The world might be dying, but it doesn't look empty. There are lots of little details to tell you about what is happening here, like the bags of trash strewn about, the falling towers, and derelict buildings. The color palette is quite drab as everything is falling apart and rusted and dirty, and you always play at night. The fox is the main source of color being bright red.
Sound Effects + Music
The music and sound effects in Endling are quite minimal, but when they are more noticeable they really add to the stress and emotion of the game. The mournful yips when the cubs lose their mother, her injured cry, the dramatic doom music when a human catches her. It's not pleasant, but it is impactful. And when you hear some familiar sounds at the end, you know what's coming...
Gameplay + Controls
Endling is the most stressful game I have ever played. It's not because the mechanics are terribly difficult, it just feels like too much is at stake if you mess up. You control the mama fox as she works her way through this desolate world. The layout of the areas are kind of maze-like, since you're stuck in a 2D plane, despite the world being 3D. You can only change directions at specific points, which can make it a little hard to find outself around. Luckily, there's a map.
The main, and most important, game mechanic is finding food for the cubs. You can sniff to find a scent trail. and then you have various ways of actually obtaining the food. Things like apples and berries, just require interacting with the bush or tress. Live prey requires some stealth and good timing to catch it. But no matter what, you must keep those babies fed. If the fullness bar bottoms out, they will die.
Each night you have a limited amount of time to explore, find food, and complete events before you must be back in the den. Of course, prioritize food! But the more nights that pass the more areas unlock, providing more opportunities for food. Also more opportunities to get killed by roaming humans.
In addition to expanding the map and feeding the cubs, you also need to be looking for the taken cub. Every three nights, a scent trail will appear which shows brief glimpses of what happened to the kidnapped baby. Follow it to learn more, and to head in the correct direction.
Replayability
I would absolutely never replay this game. It's too emotionally stressful. There are missable achievements, and no chapter selection or save states, so you'd have to start from the beginning to get those. My version doesn't have achievements, but even if it did, I wouldn't worry about getting them. This game had too much of an impact on my emotions.
Overall
I absolutely cannot recommend Endling. It's too cruel. To go through all of this, and with the highest hopes, since I not only had all four of my babies, but a baby badger, only to be met with that ending? I know it's the most realistic outcome for these animals, but I wanted to keep at least a shred of hope.
I have never cried so hard at any video game ever. Or probably any piece of media.
Visuals
Endling is done in a low-poly style, which really works for this desolate world. The world might be dying, but it doesn't look empty. There are lots of little details to tell you about what is happening here, like the bags of trash strewn about, the falling towers, and derelict buildings. The color palette is quite drab as everything is falling apart and rusted and dirty, and you always play at night. The fox is the main source of color being bright red.
Sound Effects + Music
The music and sound effects in Endling are quite minimal, but when they are more noticeable they really add to the stress and emotion of the game. The mournful yips when the cubs lose their mother, her injured cry, the dramatic doom music when a human catches her. It's not pleasant, but it is impactful. And when you hear some familiar sounds at the end, you know what's coming...
Gameplay + Controls
Endling is the most stressful game I have ever played. It's not because the mechanics are terribly difficult, it just feels like too much is at stake if you mess up. You control the mama fox as she works her way through this desolate world. The layout of the areas are kind of maze-like, since you're stuck in a 2D plane, despite the world being 3D. You can only change directions at specific points, which can make it a little hard to find outself around. Luckily, there's a map.
The main, and most important, game mechanic is finding food for the cubs. You can sniff to find a scent trail. and then you have various ways of actually obtaining the food. Things like apples and berries, just require interacting with the bush or tress. Live prey requires some stealth and good timing to catch it. But no matter what, you must keep those babies fed. If the fullness bar bottoms out, they will die.
Each night you have a limited amount of time to explore, find food, and complete events before you must be back in the den. Of course, prioritize food! But the more nights that pass the more areas unlock, providing more opportunities for food. Also more opportunities to get killed by roaming humans.
In addition to expanding the map and feeding the cubs, you also need to be looking for the taken cub. Every three nights, a scent trail will appear which shows brief glimpses of what happened to the kidnapped baby. Follow it to learn more, and to head in the correct direction.
Replayability
I would absolutely never replay this game. It's too emotionally stressful. There are missable achievements, and no chapter selection or save states, so you'd have to start from the beginning to get those. My version doesn't have achievements, but even if it did, I wouldn't worry about getting them. This game had too much of an impact on my emotions.
Overall
I absolutely cannot recommend Endling. It's too cruel. To go through all of this, and with the highest hopes, since I not only had all four of my babies, but a baby badger, only to be met with that ending? I know it's the most realistic outcome for these animals, but I wanted to keep at least a shred of hope.