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0 Having played Filthy Animals: Heist Simulator a number of years ago at EGX it was only right that we pulled the original team back together and took to heists once more!
Keep the Change You Filthy Animals
Developed by Pewter Games Studios and LoPoly Games and published by Green Man Gaming Publishing, Filthy Animals will see you becoming mutant animals. So tell us down below, who is your favourite mutant animal?
Gameplay
Playing the game either solo or co-op you are in for a chaotic treat. In co-op, you get a PvEvP heist game for up to 4 players. Each picking their own Mutant animal, between a monkey, croc, chicken and deer. Carrying out increasingly crazy heists for Tony, the Bossman Criminal Mastermind.
The levels are super varied. Your first mission was in a basic convenience store, but then moving up to bank robbery at a military base. Even a level in outer space awaits you if you manage to make it that far. Each level has its own set of puzzles for you to work through, as well as steal as much money as you can whilst avoiding the authorities.
Filthy Animals has a complicated control system that may well leave you scratching your head. Don’t worry though as they have added a nice convenient ‘easy mode’ set of controls. So on the standard system, your arms are controlled with the trigger buttons, and how you grab is by reaching out to an item and then either pushing the right stick upwards to reach up, or down to reach down. This works most of the time quite well. In fact it’s quite a good system to use for controlling your animals. However, when the pressure is on, then this system is going to really test you. You grab things that you didn’t mean to and all of a sudden you are walking around with a pot plant attached to you. Switch it up to easy mode and all you need to do is reach where you need to grab something and the game does the rest. However, it’s not all plain sailing there as you can still grab the wrong thing.
Heisting 101
When you head out into your level you are given a number of objectives to carry out, these can be from collecting the letter F-I-L-T-H-Y for an added bonus. Or even finding a particular hat or clothing item. Your main objective however is always to get as much money as you can and make your way through the level. Once you have completed all the relevant tasks, you then get picked up from Tony and it’s time to count your loot!
As you make your way through the levels, there are guards that will try and stop you. Don’t worry though as littered around the levels are items for you to fight back. From axes to shotguns, you can even through a desk chair if you so wish. After a few hits, the guards don’t get back up though. Being a PvEvP you can also hit your teammates. It isn’t recommended, but it is hilariously funny! Feel free to throw things at your buddies if they aren’t doing what they should.
Should you take too much damage, you turn into a mutant animal ball. Either move yourself to the nearest toilet or get one of your compadres to carry you there. Once there flush like my mum did to my goldfish all those years ago! This will bring you back to life and ready for another round with the armoured guards. Be careful though, because if all of your team get turned into this ball state, it’s Game Over. Well it’s back to the menu screen to try again.
Graphics
Filthy Animals has some great graphics. From the character models to the particle effects when firing fireworks. It’s all done really well. Yes, it’s not anatomically correct, but neither is a deer walking on its back legs. I think the term, artistic license, is banded around. The level design is great, with each level featuring furniture, hazards, people, and even moving traffic outside some of the levels. So beware when crossing the street.
Audio wise, the usual crunch and pop you would expect from a comedic heist game is all here. From the car horns and the impact noises, everything is done so well. The soundtrack however kind of pales into non existence after a while, but that doesn’t cause a negative to the game.
Longevity
You will be playing Filthy Animals for hours. It very much has that “one more game” issue. Instead though, it becomes one more heist pretty quickly, and with some levels taking a while to complete. Band together with your mates for some hilarious moments that make the game a joy to come back to, time and time again.
Final Thoughts
The real question here is whether you feel lucky…. well, do ya! Filthy Animals is a great co-op game to play with your friends. With seemingly unending gameplay you definitely should pick this game up if you are a fan of games like Overcooked, or Plate Up. The only difficulty will be deciding who gets to be the crocodile, who is obviously the best animal to be.
Filthy Animals: Heist Simulator gets the Thumb Culture Gold Award
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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