9 best animal games to play after Stray: Cat games, dog games, more

Dog games, cat games, shark games, it doesn’t really matter, everyone loves an anthropomorphic adventure, and here are nine unique journeys you can take yourself on.

There’s an unquestionable allure about an animal game as we’re so used to playing as humans because we are humans…but where’s the fun in that?

Yes, you could step into the boots of a virtual footballer in FIFA or don the skills and traits of an Apex Legend, but controlling an animal is unique and it’s not something you see all that often.

Stray has proven to be a great example of how to pull off an animal game and there are plenty of other fun ones to enjoy.

These are the best animal games, featuring a cat game, a dog game, and a lot more!

Best dog game – Dog’s Life

Who hasn’t wanted to just be a dog for a day? The world around you is fascinating, you can run for hours, you get belly rubs, head ruffles, it’s ok to be called Scruffles, and someone else makes your food for you.

You’d be barking mad not to want to be a dog and Dog’s Life provides the perfect escape to this mythical reality. It’s not the most refined title you’ll ever play in your life, but as a dog game, it scratches that itch and gives you a nice insight into the minds of a beloved animal.

Best cat game – Stray

We know we said after Stray, but we had to mention it as it is quite literally the top dog, sorry, cat in its field.

Stray isn’t a hardened simulator in the way Dog’s Life is, but it’s a far more mature and polished experience that not only makes for a great detective platformer – but also a purrfect cat game.

We gave it a lot of praise in our official Stray review and it’s also got a decent runtime as well. You get to meow, interact with other cats, and generally be the smallest, cutest ball of kitty floof with enough thoughtful gameplay to not leave you tailing off into boredom.

Best shark game – Maneater

On the other end of the animal game spectrum, you have Maneater, a complete shark game that allows you to live out your greatest Jaw desires.

A meaty experience that sees you take control of a baby shark (doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo) and conquer the seas to take revenge on a shark hunter. Maneater is an over-the-top experience that will leave you thirsty for more.

Best raccoon game – Sly Cooper

Our devious theivius raccoonus, Sly Cooper, is an eccentric and exceptional thief that makes being a raccoon fun, although, admittedly, probably not the most realistic depiction of the creature.

Before Sucker Punch Productions were making themselves inFamous or flirting with the tumultuous territorial conflict of Ghost of Tsushima’s Feudal Japan, they were busy making the much-loved Sly Cooper franchise.

Best frog game – Frogger

Like Pong, Space Invaders, and Galaxian, Frogger is as primitive as a game can be in 2022, but it’s still a classic and doesn’t look like it’ll croak anytime soon.

The concept of Frogger may seem menial and unadvanced by today’s standards, but make no mistake that Frogger can be devilishly tricky and this vintage frog game will have you jumping for joy upon completion of a level.

Best goose game – Untitled Goose Game

Untitled Goose Game is one of those rare instances in which you are the antagonist as no one wants to deal with a dastardly goose that steals, bonks, and honks at you incessantly.

Players will relish their time in Untitled Goose Game as it combines its masterful execution with mad, well-orchestrated melodic music that fits the chaotic carnage that you will inevitably cause. Untitled Goose game may be the only goose game on the market, but it’s, without doubt, the best.

Best gecko game – Gex

It’s still heartbreaking that we never got more Gex, but if you’ve ever had the strange urge to bounce around on your tail like a trampoline, then you definitely need to dig out some vintage hardware and take control of the universe’s best galivanting gecko.

In an era where 3D platformers were king, Gex may have fallen by the wayside to franchises like Mario and Spyro. Still, the boundless charm of the titular hero made being a gecko cool, and maybe one day the witty and urbane character will make a truimphant return.

Best bandicoot game – Crash Bandicoot

Unlike some of the more obscure entries on our list, Crash Bandicoot needs no introduction as the Wumpa-loving, crate-smashing bandicoot is an all-time great.

A bandicoot is certainly a curious choice for an animal game, but Naughty Dog believed it would work, and who are we to question their philosophies given the success of The Last of Us, Uncharted, and Jak and Daxter.

It did work, and that’s why new Crash Bandicoot entries are still reportedly being commissioned, with newcomers being woah-fully underprepared for its savage difficulty!

Best goat game – Goat Simulator

Goat Simulator is a mechanical marvel in that most of its core fundamentals are broken, yet this is what entices consumers to its preposterous goat parkour.

Having the title of the “best goat game” is an honor developers Coffee Stain Studios would carry as a badge of honor, and they decided to bless the world by shockingly announcing Goat Simulator 3.

Players have come to love those fleeting, and bleating, moments and it does make us wonder if anyone will ever step up to the mantle and attempt to ram Goat Simulator out of the way.

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