This review contains spoilers
I picked up Endling along with the other two games on the Playstation store that were free for the month of July of 2023. It was the first of the three that I played. After watching the trailer, I thought it would be very similar to Inside (in all ways), but I was happily suprised that it was unique in certain aspects. It tells a powerful, yet simple short story about humans ravaging our earth.
Story: 8.5 / 10. Again, this story is very simple and is mostly told through environmental storytelling, but that works to its advantage. You see nature get destroyed throughout the three acts of the game, and then get to the third act where you play in a dump. You can go back to the once beautiful landscapes of acts one and two, but they are now either barren wastelands filled with trash or once blooming forests turned into a clearing. My favorite part is that you can see a giant city in the background of Act 3, showing what the destruction of all this life was built towards. On my first playthrough I got what I believed to be the "true" ending (all 4 cubs alive, mama badger as well), and man did it make me sad. I know how simple the game and its story was, but traversing the barren desert after the rapture-like storm came, saving the poor pups from the mud, seeing mama badger mourn her young one, and getting shot and dying after saving all my cubs only to have a moment of solace with them snuggling my dead body, broke a piece of me. I can't praise this game enough in this regard.
Characters: 7 / 10. The characters have a suprising amount of depth to them! In my first of two playthroughs, I remember that it took me a while to realize the Scavenger was the one who stole my pup. Shortly after I did, I realized the tragedy of his character when I stumbled upon his wife's grave (which in my second playthrough, I even saw him mourn her). This man was doing everything to save his innocent daughter Molly. That's why he took our cub. But she was so innocent that eventually he gave up trying to sell it, as he knew she didn't have too much time left and wanted to keep some part of nature alive for her. Again, it really took me my second playthrough to truly understand his story, as in the first one I wasn't 100% certain of what was going on. Mama Badger becomes an unexpected ally (if you play the game right); you first meet her as she is defending her food, and you rightfully try to take it. Then, you free her from a cage. The next time you see her, her poor baby is hiding from the scavenger, and you have to save him for her. This is when you realize; when you stole that food from her earlier, she was only trying to save it for when her baby came. If you play it right, she will open paths to you and in Act Three you will share a den. Then in the end of the game, her baby dies. Your cubs without a mother, and her without her child, a found family is created in a truly bittersweet ending. Such a great addition to the game. Then there's you and your cubs, which grow up over time and gain abilities and skills along the way. The cubs truly are adorable, and as well you truly feel like a fox! Then, as always, true greed/evil is shown with the Psychopathic Furrier who kills you and the Scavenger and lives through the whole game. Great characters overall created a memorable experience.
Combat: N/A. You can't kill any human in the game, only defend yourself from them and get injured. You can hunt prey and kill them with ease, but besides that this game does not focus on combat (which is a good thing. You should feel powerless to a certain extent against these humans), instead it focuses on you avoiding them by taking semi-inconvenient routes around them.
Content / Gameplay: 6 / 10. The gameplay cycle is pretty basic. You go outside, Get food for your cubs, track scents of your missing cubs, and return to the den for the night. This is kept interesting by the vast amount of scripted events that you can see happening on specific nights that add to the depth of the characters and world (ie. on one night as previously mentioned you can find the Scavenger mourning his wife). There were so many of these that I'm sure I missed a few important ones even on two playthroughs, which ups the replayability of the game. You can also explore and find new cub skills, unlocking new ways to get rare foods. The system was pretty basic and repetitive, but with only 30 nights to go through and the areas changing every 10 or so nights (along with progressively unlocking regions to explore and time-sensitive scents to find your cub), I think it works to the advantage of this game.
World: 9 / 10. The world, as I have said, is how the story is told. It's an ever changing one at that too. You see it go through a drastic change for the worse, and each region becomes less and less associated with nature as the game progresses.
Traversal: N/A. Traversal is the whole vessel of storytelling for this game, so it doesn't feel right to give it an official score. You often find scents and dangers that keep moving around interesting.
Problems: Aside from one trophy being finnicky (the one where you comfort a cub), I didn't have many qualms with the game.
Favorite Part: The beginning where you run through a forest fire. The music is excellent and the stakes are dramatic; it really lets you know what you are getting into.
Least Favorite Part: Getting confused and wondering; is the Fisherman the Furrier (still not sure)?
Story: 8.5 / 10. Again, this story is very simple and is mostly told through environmental storytelling, but that works to its advantage. You see nature get destroyed throughout the three acts of the game, and then get to the third act where you play in a dump. You can go back to the once beautiful landscapes of acts one and two, but they are now either barren wastelands filled with trash or once blooming forests turned into a clearing. My favorite part is that you can see a giant city in the background of Act 3, showing what the destruction of all this life was built towards. On my first playthrough I got what I believed to be the "true" ending (all 4 cubs alive, mama badger as well), and man did it make me sad. I know how simple the game and its story was, but traversing the barren desert after the rapture-like storm came, saving the poor pups from the mud, seeing mama badger mourn her young one, and getting shot and dying after saving all my cubs only to have a moment of solace with them snuggling my dead body, broke a piece of me. I can't praise this game enough in this regard.
Characters: 7 / 10. The characters have a suprising amount of depth to them! In my first of two playthroughs, I remember that it took me a while to realize the Scavenger was the one who stole my pup. Shortly after I did, I realized the tragedy of his character when I stumbled upon his wife's grave (which in my second playthrough, I even saw him mourn her). This man was doing everything to save his innocent daughter Molly. That's why he took our cub. But she was so innocent that eventually he gave up trying to sell it, as he knew she didn't have too much time left and wanted to keep some part of nature alive for her. Again, it really took me my second playthrough to truly understand his story, as in the first one I wasn't 100% certain of what was going on. Mama Badger becomes an unexpected ally (if you play the game right); you first meet her as she is defending her food, and you rightfully try to take it. Then, you free her from a cage. The next time you see her, her poor baby is hiding from the scavenger, and you have to save him for her. This is when you realize; when you stole that food from her earlier, she was only trying to save it for when her baby came. If you play it right, she will open paths to you and in Act Three you will share a den. Then in the end of the game, her baby dies. Your cubs without a mother, and her without her child, a found family is created in a truly bittersweet ending. Such a great addition to the game. Then there's you and your cubs, which grow up over time and gain abilities and skills along the way. The cubs truly are adorable, and as well you truly feel like a fox! Then, as always, true greed/evil is shown with the Psychopathic Furrier who kills you and the Scavenger and lives through the whole game. Great characters overall created a memorable experience.
Combat: N/A. You can't kill any human in the game, only defend yourself from them and get injured. You can hunt prey and kill them with ease, but besides that this game does not focus on combat (which is a good thing. You should feel powerless to a certain extent against these humans), instead it focuses on you avoiding them by taking semi-inconvenient routes around them.
Content / Gameplay: 6 / 10. The gameplay cycle is pretty basic. You go outside, Get food for your cubs, track scents of your missing cubs, and return to the den for the night. This is kept interesting by the vast amount of scripted events that you can see happening on specific nights that add to the depth of the characters and world (ie. on one night as previously mentioned you can find the Scavenger mourning his wife). There were so many of these that I'm sure I missed a few important ones even on two playthroughs, which ups the replayability of the game. You can also explore and find new cub skills, unlocking new ways to get rare foods. The system was pretty basic and repetitive, but with only 30 nights to go through and the areas changing every 10 or so nights (along with progressively unlocking regions to explore and time-sensitive scents to find your cub), I think it works to the advantage of this game.
World: 9 / 10. The world, as I have said, is how the story is told. It's an ever changing one at that too. You see it go through a drastic change for the worse, and each region becomes less and less associated with nature as the game progresses.
Traversal: N/A. Traversal is the whole vessel of storytelling for this game, so it doesn't feel right to give it an official score. You often find scents and dangers that keep moving around interesting.
Problems: Aside from one trophy being finnicky (the one where you comfort a cub), I didn't have many qualms with the game.
Favorite Part: The beginning where you run through a forest fire. The music is excellent and the stakes are dramatic; it really lets you know what you are getting into.
Least Favorite Part: Getting confused and wondering; is the Fisherman the Furrier (still not sure)?