Given that human beings make video games, it's not surprising that most of them feature people as their protagonists. However, several games break that trend to put players into the shoes of various other members of the animal kingdom. Some of them aim to present realistic depictions of the struggles that befall wildlife creatures, showcasing how terrifying and confusing the world can be from their perspective.
Others jump into surrealism and absurdity by dropping animal characters into comical or bizarre stories. Regardless of what direction games featuring animals take, their unique playable characters open up new options that are not possible with human beings.
Tokyo Jungle
There is no shortage of excellent wilderness survival games, but few of them present players with such interesting situations for survival. Instead of empty woods or tundra, Tokyo Jungle drops players into a futuristic Tokyo after humans have gone extinct. Various animals have overrun the streets and struggle to survive, from predators like lions to fluffy Pomeranians.
The game features an open free-play survival mode, but it's more notable for a campaign that's divided up into narrative missions centered on different animals. Players can play as a Pomeranian, deer, beagle, lion, hyena, and robotic dog.
Ecco the Dolphin
Ecco the Dolphin may have been released with a cover featuring realistic aquatic animals and an ocean, but the game's premise is much more bizarre. Ecco starts reasonably enough with the titular dolphin searching for its pod, but the experience develops into the creature traveling through space and time to combat an extraterrestrial threat.
Gameplay-wise, Ecco does fairly mundane dolphin things like sing, swim, and ram enemies. Ecco the Dolphin spawned four sequels, including actual narrative follow-ups and a few edutainment games aimed at young children.
Maneater
Jaws was a groundbreaking movie that still holds up today, and its influence has extended beyond film. Plenty of video games have featured sharks as enemies, but Maneater paints these animals in a slightly more sympathetic light than its name implies.
This open-world game features a bull shark seeking revenge on a fisherman that disfigured it as a baby and killed its mother. Players must hunt to stay alive and earn new abilities, and there are plenty of opportunities to wreak havoc on beaches and boats.
Untitled Goose Game
Despite its intentionally vague name, Untitled Goose Game is a humorous puzzle and stealth game that tasks players with controlling a goose to bother humans and accomplish various tasks. Unsurprisingly, the controls are relatively limited; players can honk, run around, flap their wings, and bite/hold objects.
The game's concept came from a stock photograph of a goose posted by designer Stuart Gillespie-Cook in a company group chat, and the team wanted to break the trend of stealth games always focusing on violence. Untitled Goose Game was originally a single-play only experience, but an update after release added a co-op option as well.
Okami
Okami, a game in which players control a dog-like sun goddess, originally came out back in 2008 on the PlayStation 2, but this beautiful action game has only gained popularity as it's spread onto more systems and received an HD rerelease. Okami isn't just one of the best video games based on mythology; it's one of the best games in its genre, period.
The visuals are a beautiful mix of cell-shading and watercolors that have held up remarkably well, and the Celestial Brush (that has players draw symbols to summon different effects) is a unique mechanic that differentiates Okami from its peers.
Depth
Most games in which the protagonist is an animal are PvE experiences, but Depth bucks this trend. This online multiplayer game is asymmetrical, pitting one team of divers against a single shark.
The team of humans must escort an automated mini-submarine in an attempt to gather treasure, and they have various weapons and tools available at their disposal to combat and track their enemy. The shark starts weak, but it gains evolution points to give it new abilities that help it eat divers or destroy the sub.
Shelter
Shelter is a survival game that has players taking on the role of a mother badger as she tries to guide her litter of cubs from one den to another. While the graphics are beautifully stylized, the threats remain grounded and realistic.
The most prominent dangers players will have to navigate are predators and fires, though food and water need to be monitored as well. The series currently has three games; Shelter 2 features a mother Lynx and her cubs, and Shelter 3 centers on an elephant herd.
Goat Simulator
Many video games attempt to depict animals in realistic, sympathetic ways, but Goat Simulator is not one of them. This third-person game is one of the most random simulators available on the market, and it tasks players with causing as much damage as possible with a goat.
Said animal can perform menial tasks of destruction like headbutting objects, but Goat Simulator encourages players to get as extreme as possible with the game's ragdoll physics. Hidden items in the game world also unlock other animals such as ostriches and giraffes.
Deadly Creatures
Deadly Creatures is an action game that was released in 2008 for the Nintendo Wii. The game is divided into two kinds of levels featuring different playable arachnids. Missions centered on a young scorpion are combat-heavy, while tarantula missions focus primarily on stealth.
In addition to hunting small bugs, Deadly Creatures also pits the scorpion and tarantula against large predators like a rattlesnake and Gilla monster. One unique feature of the game is its use of Wiimote motion controls to perform attacks and web shots.
Octodad: Dadliest Catch
Octodad: Dadliest Catch has players controlling the titular cephalopod as he attempts to navigate everyday situations while hiding the fact that he isn't actually human. These tasks include tending to his house, shopping for groceries, and going on family day trips.
Controlling all of Octodad's limbs is intentionally challenging, and the goal is to simply navigate each task without causing too much of a stir. While Dadliest Catch was released traditionally on several gaming consoles, its predecessor was a freeware title made as a hobby project by several students from DePaul University.