Tokyo 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.