Survival games are a dime a dozen nowadays, with the likes of 7 Days to Die, The Long Dark, and Valheim to name a few. Even many of the Fallout games can be considered survival, as the harsh conditions, and elemental and hazardous factors make an impact on your life. As the focus of these games is to push humanity to the brink of existence and force players to retaliate by finding food, shelter and safety against all possible and usually overwhelming odds. But that’s the key thing, it’s usually (or always) about humanity, about people wanting to survive, people working with or against each other and ensuring the survival of humanity.
But today’s review is of a game which decides to take a different perspective when it comes to survival, the survival of a woodland creature that wants nothing more than to protect their young.
What is Endling – Extinction is Forever 
We’ve seen plenty of games where humanity is on the brink of total devastation, a lead-up to its complete end and all due to various factors which in turn, come back to the treatment humanity has had on itself and the planet. But what about those who aren’t part of this great collapse and the self-ending of the species? There are countless creatures in the air, land and water which live, breathe and feel, but also provide countless resources and lend towards ecosystems that keep nature thriving and alive.
Endling is a tale of a fox mother and her cubs trying to survive in an ecosystem which is polluted, overflowing with toxins and witnessing humanity on its last legs as it so desperately tries to piece everything together, by self-destruction and torturing nature. As the fox mother your role is incredibly important, and not an easy one. You are a parent, you are the watcher of your children, their feeder, carer and only thread to hope. You gather food during the night, you watch over them during the day, and you take it upon yourself to explore the land in ruin and keep danger away from them.
There are many familiar components which any survival veteran will see and understand quickly, but the appeal for Endling is simply the outlook of a world on fire not through the eyes of humanity, but those who don’t understand or play a part in the destruction.
As Fox mother, you must survive, you must care for your cubs and most importantly, find a new home. There is a place far from the wastelands, toxin-filled rivers and burning forests which is walled off, it is still green, has a wealth of nature still healthy and above all, is safe. For now.
Humanity is not at the forefront of extinction 
Endling starts off with chaos, a sign of the beginning of the end. A woodland on fire, animals panicking and people in heavy industrial suits burning everything in their sights. Mother Fox is running like so many others, and within all the mayhem and frightened screams, she manages to escape to somewhere not bathed in fire, yet still highly dangerous. Mother Fox is pregnant and needs to find shelter quickly. Upon exploring, players will discover a den, where Mother Fox’s cubs are born and a new day starts. The first 10 minutes of this game speak on so many levels, and from here it only gets more harrowing, yet there are rays of light dotted throughout.
After the birth of the cubs, players must guide Mother Fox through an unknown land to discover food, and other resources to aid her ability to care for her cubs. Each night brings a blanket of safety, a void from the gaze of patrolling humans who see any remnants of nature ripe for the picking, as they so desperately need whatever they can get to survive themselves. There are traps, searchlights, rivers filled with poison, and other animals which are simply doing what needs to be done in order to survive.
At first, each night does not last forever, and Mother Fox must venture back and forth, little by little mapping more of the land, finding places to hunt and discovering points of interest which will aid her later. The cubs will soon join her and venture forth themselves, leading to dynamic events unfolding for Mother Fox to deal with. Encountering humans is dangerous, as they try to maintain the destruction before them, yet fail to grasp their humanity at the same time.
Players will embark on a gruelling journey to map out a large landscape filled with resources and plenty of danger. Looking for food is important, and returning to your dens in order to rest and protect your cubs is part of the daily cycle. As you explore, new areas will become available to discover and the map is filled with plenty of interesting landmarks to investigate, but potential dangers, from bear traps to humans looking for anything to eat.
As the seasons change, Mother Fox engages with new threats and dynamic events, which see her rescuing cubs which have been taken away by hunters. More dangerous locations can be visited in a bid to gather more viable resources, and soon, the cubs must learn to hunt for themselves, when Mother Fox is no longer around.
Endling manages to capture many simple, yet engaging gameplay elements creating an intense and relentless survival experience, which is only made more captivating as you are a humble woodland Fox. You have no guns, no traps you can make, and you can’t simply take out the threats by making a club. You have to survive with what a Fox would have at their disposal. Using the environment to hide and hunt is compelling, as you track down food through scent, and use piles of leaves, tall grass, and mounts of the earth to lay low and be undetected.
There’s always a sense of urgency to either find food, care for your cubs and watch out for traps, especially when the effects of humanity on nature become more apparent. You have to do it yourself, and unlike most survival games, you actively and dynamically carry out the simple day-to-day in order to survive. There are no complex systems, no morale links between survivors and no making fishing rods to catch your food. As a mother, you have everything you need at your paws which is refreshing and straightforward but also incredibly challenging in its own right.
And while the topic is rather dread-inducing, Endling is visually a very pretty game, even during its darkest moments. The art style and visual design of the world are beautifully shell-shaded, and brims with plenty of life, whether it’s the best of nature or the sections where it’s sadly dying.
Nature in ruin, but there is always hope
To be clear, Endling is not an outright survival game like the norm, there is an end, a goal you must work towards. Most other games do have goals, but they also have a sense of endless adventure. In Valheim you start with nothing, but after 70 hours or so, you’ve built a town, and a home, conquered demons and Gods and become a ruler of the land. But when you reach that peak, you can keep going on and keep being that godly king among men. Endling puts you right in the middle of the brink of destruction, and your goal is to escape it. This is what I admire about it, as it feels like a true survival experience and be it one with a light story, it has a goal you need to reach and one that truly matters in the grand scheme of things.
There are various scripted events that occur like the abduction of a cub and you have to track them down and venture into a steel city of pollution and angry humans to get them back. All the while caring for the other three cubs and making sure no harm comes to them. There are other woodland animals which are hostile at first, but over time become more like an ally as the tension between you and them reduces. There are humans who venture out into the land and walk a fine line between life and death, and you have to decide whether to take their resources for you and your young.
There are a lot of interesting thematic elements being played with, as the humans are indeed to blame for their destruction, but there are clearly those looking to better themselves and survive just like you. Venturing through the world brings up moments of humanity which will give you some hope and remind you of the true beauty of nature. But for the most part, you are fleeing a toxic and hostile landscape and this kept me invested for the 4 – 5 hours of playtime. Endling is not a very long game at all and has little replay value, to be honest, but it’s a game that really matters.
I feel like I should state that this is not a typical review of mine as Endling feels overall not a typical game. I can state that mechanically Endling is quite simple yet highly enjoyable and easy to approach (in terms of gameplay), I can say the world is quite interesting with plenty of interaction, compelling dangers to overcome and small choices which present the grey morale of the world we live in. The notion of caring for your young up front and centre is the most compelling dynamic Endling has to offer and the notion of being an animal with no means of using weapons or managing people to gather food or aid only heightens the tension in all the right ways.
But Endling’s overall experience is somewhat akin to The Walking Dead games. Those are mechanically simple, requiring some lateral thinking and decision-making from time to time. But the core appeal is the story, and with Endling, it's about the tale of being a mother and getting your cubs to a new home. By hunting for food, caring for them in your makeshift den and experiencing what it's like to be without a lifeline, which many people have and somewhat take for granted.
I have foxes in my garden and I can see what they put up with when it comes to looking for food, caring for their young and being massively misunderstood by most people. I throw food out, make sure they’re okay during a stormy night and allow them to enjoy what bright spots they have in their life. I’ve seen them being chilled with cats, and other animals and just being what they are. Playing Endling really enforced the troubles not only foxes face, but lots of other animals and nature as a whole at this time.
And like The Walking Dead games, Endling filled me with a sense of accomplishment, and hope but also broke me at the end. This is a tough game, but one that really challenges the notion of survival games and presents something that felt wholesome and meaningful compared to other titles in the genre.
Overall?Endling – Extinction is Forever is a powerful reminder that video games can be fun, and also strike an important message. I understand that during this current climate, the environmental push is being fought so hard between multiple sides, but no matter your stance, you have to respect nature and the many denizens which we see each and every day. While mechanically the gameplay is familiar and simple, these mechanics are pushed with interesting dynamics and thematic elements which bring a massive injection of gravitas. By nurturing and caring for yourself and your cubs but doing so with little in terms of tools and resources. Many games where you play as an animal can do it well, but often just push silly functions which make them unbelievable. I believe in what Endling presents and what it stands for.
There are compelling gameplay elements, a beautiful art style which is haunting at times, and enticing moments which will leave you breathless and shaking. Endling – Extinction is Forever is not the most advanced video game of 2022, but I will absolutely say it’s one of the most important.
++ Compelling thematic elements to heighten the survival experience
+ Visually beautiful and compelling
+ Neat survival mechanics
+ Filled with gravitas and absolutely heartbreaking at times
- Not much replay value (unless for the feels)
An Xbox Series S/X review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
