The Morals of an Alley Cat

If you’re Millennial or Gen-Z, or a parent to someone who is, you may know of an aardvark with glasses named Arthur (and I only know how to spell aardvark because it was a part of the spelling bee in one of the episodes). The show addressed issues of sibling rivalry, night terrors, classism, feelings of regret, and a whole host of other things that people face every day. My friend and I discussed it a few years ago and we wondered if it would have been the same if the characters were human children instead of aardvarks, bulldogs, bunnies, and rats. We agreed the show wouldn’t be the same if the children were people.

Consider Stardew Valley vs Animal Crossing. Do the animals add to the charm of Animal Crossing? They seem to have very different audiences and the question remains: is it the species of the characters that makes a difference?

@VerseAndVermin and I came across two games recently that involved animals as players. Super Animal Royale is a mix of Fortnite and Animal Crossing. The map is played top-down with 2d graphics and the players are, you guessed it, cute tigers, purples kitties, and teddy bears. For gamers like me, first person POV is not my favorite. It often makes me feel disoriented and confused. While I’m still not a great shooter, Super Animal Royale feels accessible to players like me. But the use of animals also appeals to my sense of humor. As my furry fox friend acquires an automatic rifle or sniper, my cute tiger-self is trying to drink some health and level-up my bullet-proof vest. And when our duo dies (which usually only takes a couple of minutes), the animal puns are pawsitively hilarious. It even makes dying fun. So yes, while this is my endorsement for an accessible battle royale type game, this is also my message that the use of animals is kind of everything.

While not free, Party Animals is another game that reminiscent of a popular royale: Fall Guys. As a platformer hero (self-proclaimed title), I liked the platformer royale style. But it got old. Party Animals is not that similar to Fall Guys because that some levels just involve you doing tasks, but the motions give the same amusing frustration as Human Fall Flat and the rounds are very akin to Fall Guys. What makes a huge difference is that the levels are in semi-realistic settings. For example, one level involves you and your teammate to bring coal from a train car to the steam engine. One player can fuel the engine while the other can beat up the animals on the adjacent train, thus distracting them from the task at hand. The ice hockey level reminded me of Fall Guys the most of all the levels as the motions are very similar to that of the soccer games.

But much like Super Animal Royale, what takes the cake is that they’re animals. To hear your buddy ask if you just got jumped by a golden retriever is a joyous experience. I play as an adorable otter who can inconspicuously drag a corgi off the platform to get hit by a subway.

Would the experience be the same if the players were people? I doubt it.