There’s no dialogue exchanged between characters in the main Survival mode, and when coupled with the facelessness of their pixel art it becomes all too easy to lose that sense of attachment Sheltered clearly wants you to possess. It’s a game that doesn’t shy away from the nastiness of its concept, but it can sometimes do itself a disservice, too. Take too long to treat a case of radiation poisoning contracted from an adventure on the surface and that family member will perish in a pool of their own fluids. Each survivor needs to wash, sleep, eat and go to the toilet and leaving one of these requirements unmet could risk them deteriorating as a result. That design flaw aside, there’s a palpable sense of brutal reality to contend with should you be willing to invest. By which point your family has already died a painful death. But, considering the layout of the overworld is randomly generated with every new game (and the fact you can only travel so far due to the size of the water canister you carry around) you can sometimes end up in a wasteland void of anything worth salvaging. However, your real battle is with that ever looming need to risk resources in the hope of gathering more. Other survivors may attack your shelter, and you’re likely to encounter anything from bandits to bears out in the wilds, but it’s easily one of Sheltered’s weakest aspects. Everything is a trade.Ĭombat, when encountered, is rudimentary at best, resolving itself to a simple turn-based affair that lacks much flair or personality. Perhaps an abandoned warehouse with a can of petrol, or a wasteland filled with zombies. However, doing so will reduce the amount of water in your tank you never know what you might find. The generator that keeps your 2D pixel art shelter running needs fuel, but in order to gather enough to keep it ticking (and the parts to upgrade it) you’ll need to task one or more of your survivors with an adventure on the outside. There are no good choices to be made here, and every path comes with a sacrifice of its own. Those decisions form the crux of the game’s gameplay loop. And you probably won’t - it’s that kind of game - so you’ll have to make plenty of brutal decisions along the way. With four randomly generated survivors and a family pet - which you can customise right down to the key personality traits before each run begins - it’s up to you to keep them all alive as long as possible. Think a The Last of Us-themed expansion pack for The Sims. It’s resource management, character caretaking and turn-based combat all in the same melting pot. That is Sheltered in an irradiated nutshell. In other words, life post-apocalypse can be a real drag. Now the humdrum of daily life is replaced by a constant need to search the fallout-ridden surface for food and fuel while ensuring your loved ones don’t fall ill or die of radiation poisoning. You go to the trouble of having a family - then boom! - a nuclear holocaust comes along and forces you underground in an attempt to survive.
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