Tokyo Jungle

Because you've always wanted to play a game in which a pack of beagles fight a gorilla. And then get eaten by a cheetah. [Nov 2012, p.76]

Tokyo Jungle is easily one of the best games this fall season, and is going to be cropping up in gaming conversations for years to come.

We're also pleased that Sony has released it digitally in the west at a reduced price point; while it might indicate a lack of faith in Tokyo Jungle's commercial potential (which is a fair point - this is the kind of quirky game that would sink at physical retail), it means that it should reach as wide an audience as possible - and it certainly deserves to. It's definitely not lacking in bite.

Tokyo Jungle is utterly ridiculous but wholly unique, blending challenging gameplay with goofy trappings. Putting a track suit on a housecat to increase its attack stat is a pretty silly thing to do, but the kind of attention to detail you'll need if you want to survive in the urban chaos. The mixture of absurd and serious is addictive and surprising.

Tokyo Jungle is a celebration of classic games, with their ridiculous plots, repetitive tasks, excessive violence and all. It pulls off the impressive and nigh-on impossible trick of being an original homage. Also it lets you set a giraffe on a bear.

For all its rough edges, Tokyo Jungle is one of the year's most exciting games, a work of such originality and clear vision that you end up sort of hoping that a sequel never gets greenlit.

The lack of polish in some areas and questionable design decisions in others can overshadow Tokyo Jungle's moments of brilliance. As I finished the story, however, I realized I couldn't stop smiling: It knows how absurd it is, but it doesn't care. The developers takes the ridiculous concept and runs with it all the way, mainstream tastes be damned. That's something you really have to admire.

Tokyo Jungle is rough around the edges and mad as a box of spaniels with hammers glued to them, but you know what? It's actually good. We did not expect that – we expected throwaway silliness, not a game we actually want to play between sessions on all the other games that are out or coming out oh god there's too many games to play.

Ever played as a zebra roaming the post-apocalyptic streets of Tokyo? And if you have, did that zebra wear a hat? It did? Now you're just being a smartass. Tokyo Jungle might just be the most the original game of the year. And the most addictive. [November 2012, p.92]

Quite a simple game, enlivened to no end by pure silliness and huge breadth of content. [Dec 2012, p.85]

Truth is, Tokyo Jungle is addictive as hell, and there's a heap of pride to be felt from outwitting enemies like a Solid Snake gazelle. And you'll positively beam when you defy commonsense by using a beagle to tear the throat out of a sleeping lion. Throw in rad co-op multiplayer, and this simple-looking PSN title will have you shagging, mauling, or "graduating from bovine university" for ages to come. [November 2012, p76]

Tokyo Jungle has the addicting gameplay to complement this rare animal takeover premise.

Tokyo Jungle is bold, well-designed, and very funny. One can't imagine Tokyo Jungle coming from anywhere but Japan, and it's a case where such a statement is an enormous compliment.

Tokyo Jungle is exactly the sort of unconventional project that I live for, so it's easy to forgive its issues; the low-end production values, two extremely ill-conceived stealth missions that don't suit the mechanics, and a few boss fights that were more frustrating than fun. Although irritating, none were dealbreakers-just be prepared to restart a few missions here and there.

There are dozens of animals to try out and level up, a deeper than expected strategy to maximize your end score, and a ton of replay value for only fifteen bucks.

Tokyo Jungle is a weird game, but one that shows enthusiasm and passion. Its survival gameplay and scoring mechanics work well in solo play, the two player mode is less convincing. The loads of species to play introduce a very nice variety to explore.

Through its constantly shifting challenges, Tokyo Jungle shepherds you to the best of its content without forcing your way. It invites you to explore, collect, fight, or ignore all of these impulses at your own leisure. Whatever path you choose, under whatever animal's guise, something strange and wonderful is waiting.

Despite its tongue-in-cheek nature, Tokyo Jungle is a superb game. It feels quite unlike anything else (the best description of it would be a stealth-action-survival-RPG), it's laugh-out-loud funny and incredibly moreish.

The latest Japan Studio work is a very special title that accompanies the player with a particular progression, at the cost of achieving moments of monotony. A title definitely recommended for those looking for a game outside the box.

Tokyo Jungle is an unique and crazy experience that can be appreciated not only by the fans of Japanese games but by everyone.

That the lead character is a Pomeranian in a baseball cap ceases to be an issue once the compelling gameplay hooks you. Even when you're randomly eaten by a surprising tiger eight generations into an animal's lineage, you'll still be watching a tiger eat a pomeranian in a baseball cap. And that's brilliant.

Tokyo Jungle might be bizarre, different and even a little bit whacky, but it's also a lot of fun. It's a truly different game; you've never played anything like it. And in a gaming industry full of the same old thing, this very fact should intrigue you.

Tokyo Jungle is certainly a different kind of survival adventure. Too bad it's also quite repetitive. Fun in small doses. [Oct 2012

Tokyo Jungle is not a wonder of digital distribution, but it is, indeed, unique. Absurd, unfair, fun, unexpected and different. We missed more situations and events, as well as a better combat system, but if you're tired of playing the same kind of games over and over, this adventure is made for you.

It takes a while to notice that behind all absurdity and craziness hides an interesting fight for survival.

I really can't recommend this game enough. It is definitely fresh and interesting, making it yet another notch in Sony's stellar downloadable lineup. It runs smoothly with minimal glitches, and the controls are simple enough that even a casual gamer can pick them up quickly. It's great to play by yourself or with a friend, and the game is quite addicting with the amount of content to unlock, keeping you coming back for more and more.

The odd premise of Tokyo Jungle is only augmented by the adrenaline rush of survival and the peculiarity of its systems and rules. It can certainly get repetitive and unlocking everything is a bear, but its random nature can often have you shouting at the screen in moments of panic and surprise.

Tokyo Jungle delivers on a highly unique premise. It's an extremely enjoyable experience, even if mediocre visuals and repetitive gameplay keep it from becoming an instant classic.

Tokyo Jungle is a refreshing game with a unique setting. It doesn't stay exciting forever, but there's a lot of fun to be had.

Tokyo Jungle is not the typical adventure game you might expect: it has great ideas and an engaging playability, but it lacks polish and suffers from a very basic graphic department.

Tokyo Jungle is not what you could expect it to be: a survival that takes a different approach from the usual zombie post-apocalyptic world. It has what it takes to become one of the most bizarre adventures we've found on PSN, making worth the chance to buy it. At least give it a try. It deserves it.

While a bit shallow, it's an insane idea done really well. If nothing else, it's worth your cash just to see your fantasy animal match-ups go down. Really, you haven't lived until you've seen a pack of puppies take down an alligator.

For those who doubted its success, Tokyo Jungle appears to be a great survival title on PS3. With chihuahuas, lions, and even raptors to play with, players will be pleased every second to star as the potential animal king of a post-apocalyptic Tokyo. Moreover with its great game length, and its intuitive gameplay mechanics, Tokyo Jungle proposes an exotic journey, despite a disappointing graphical experience.

Tokyo Jungle is as crazy, weird, bizarre and unique as you've ever dreamed. The game has some rough edges and can be a little monotonous at times. Yet Tokyo Jungle is without a doubt an unique game that can't be missed. It's not everyday you get the chance as a gamer to make your pet dog the king of the jungle.

Tokyo Jungle is a great idea taken down by a dull and repetitive gameplay that shows its limits just after a couple of hours.

Tokyo Jungle may feel more than bizarre but it's surprisingly playable – you can hardly find any other sandbox game where animals fight for survival in a post-apocalyptic environment. [Nov 2012]

Anyone craving a fresh take on the stealth-action genre should sniff this one out. [Dec 2012, p.83]

One of the most original games of today brings the unique gaming system into the post-apocalyptic adventure from the animals perspective. Even though it is one of the worst looking PlayStation 3 titles, from the gamer perspective it delivers.

Tokyo Jungle is a bizarre and improbable game that can only be understood in light of the patterns of Japanese production.

Animals take over as humanity bites the dust. Survival of the fittest is the only rule and it works perfectly in Tokyo Jungle. The gameplay however is too simple at times and can get a bit superficial. Without a proper finishing touch this game does not make it past the average level.

Tokyo Jungle is a game of many small errors, PS2-level graphics and a fighting system that lacks depth come to mind most prominently. Still, I wouldn't want to miss the experience. Where else can you sent a group of cats with pink beanie hats to fight a towering elephant?

With an entire ark full of animals on offer and a chapter-based story mode to dive into as well, there's a constantly evolving roster to play around with. It might be bonkers in its concept, but in execution Tokyo Jungle is solid, addictive and best of all, different.

The apocalypse has come and only animals remain. Choose one of many different animal races to hunt, breed and survive. There is a ton of unlockables, but the gameplay feels unpolished and gets repetitive after a while.

Tokyo Jungle is an interesting wild-life simulator in a post-apocalyptic Tokyo, void of humans. Choosing one of the many animal races available, the race is on to take over territories, form a flock and survive the dangers of the urban jungle. It's a nice concept that unfortunately falls a bit flat due to its inherent repetitiveness – eat food, procreate, eat more food, take over more territories. But in smaller doses, it will deliver unique and interesting experiences.

And if this animalistic chaos all sounds a little too weird, consider this: strip away the surface strangeness, and you're left with a surprisingly identifiable tale of a mammal negotiating the pits and pitfalls of the concrete jungle, constantly worrying about sex and death as they try to make their way in a hyena-eat-elephant world. Well, at least until the velociraptors arrive.

The initial selection of Pomeranian and deer does offer a nice contrast of aggressive carnivore and stealthy grazer, but you're grinding challenges for a while before you branch out to the cool stuff. And in a game in which you can fight a cow with a dinosaur, that's a crime.

Not the silly novelty it might sound like but one of the most enjoyably addictive and cleverly original action stealth games on the PlayStation 3.

Tokyo Jungle should be praised for its originality, even though it isn't a consistently engaging experience. If you're willing to suffer the slog of survival through testing environments and even more testing game design you'll be rewarded with a 70-year dynasty of beagles. If you don't have such patience, you might find that your mutt barely makes it to his first birthday.

Tokyo Jungle is something unique that has a lot of potential but manages to fall short in a lot of areas. Replacing the looping music with a decent ambient track would've helped sell the setting and variation in gameplay for different animals would have given you a reason to pick one over another.

I sank plenty of hours into Tokyo Jungle, and still want to play more. I'm just not sure why, as the repetitious gameplay limits the amount of fun I've had with it. Still, if you're looking for something off the beaten path – or just want to see a bunch of animals doing it – Tokyo Jungle provides a modest amount of entertainment.

If developer Crispy's! goal was to create a highly evolved form of Tamagotchi – albeit with less poop - it has succeeded.

I'd recommend Tokyo Jungle to anyone looking for an utterly unique take on the post-apocalyptic theme. It's the sort of game that can get overwhelming if you play it all in one weekend, but if you jump into it every now and then you'll find yourself repeatedly enamoured with the world.

Despite some poor design choices and sub-par graphics, Tokyo Jungle is an oddly addictive game that exudes charm. Each survival attempt feels unique thanks to a steady stream of unlockable animals, new challenges and hidden areas. Stranger than anything we've played this year, Tokyo Jungle is a unique title which, while not without its flaws, is wildly entertaining and well worth a download.

I wouldn't say that Tokyo Jungle is a must play title by any means, but for just $15 I'd say it's almost worth it just to play one of the strangest games the PSN has to offer.

Tokyo Jungle's great concept and good sense of humor end up being little more than lipstick on a pig.

This concept is undeniably evocative and cool; unfortunately, the game isn't especially fun to play.

Tokyo Jungle initially comes across as an original, fast paced game with some fun ideas and a quirky environment. However, its freshness quickly wears off and reveals game play mechanics that feel simple, shallow and repetitive.

Tokyo Jungle seems to completely miss the zeitgeist and the strengths of its chosen platform. It's barely recommendable for the most fanatical of animal friends, and everyone else should look for other hunting grounds.