WonderPaws is a newly announced game heading to Steam, and it’s one Animal Crossing fans should keep an eye on. Set in a bustling metropolis filled with anthropomorphic animals, WonderPaws is an upcoming Steam game that seems to be taking the general gameplay loop of Animal Crossing and dropping it into a large open world structure.
The cozy life-sim genre has been thriving for decades now. While the likes of Animal Crossing, Harvest Moon, and The Sims pioneered the genre in the 90s and early 2000s, there have been plenty of acclaimed entrants in recent years as well, with Stardew Valley, Spiritfarer, and Hello Kitty Island Adventure being just a handful of the genre’s best. Given the platform’s unparalleled popularity, Steam is often the first port of call when it comes to brand-new cozy game experiences, and that’s being proven once again with WonderPaws.
WonderPaws Looks Like a Multiplayer Open-World Animal Crossing
-
Image via Farlight Games -
Image via Farlight Games -
Image via Farlight Games
Announced via IGN, WonderPaws is an upcoming cozy life-sim that thrusts players into a large open world inhabited primarily by anthropomorphic, human-sized animals. Called Paw City, WonderPaws‘ open world looks to take some influence from Disney’s Zootopia, with the game’s official Steam page describing the metropolis as one filled with “whimsical daily life,” where animals open shops, form pop idol groups, and drive cars through the busy city streets.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Like Animal Crossing, WonderPaws‘ gameplay loop will revolve around the player forging a life for themselves in this fantastical location. This journey begins by moving into an apartment and selecting some animal roommates, all of whom have “jobs, personalities, plans, and plenty of opinions,” according to the upcoming life-sim’s Steam page.
Along with completing errands to earn new cosmetic items that can be used to decorate their Animal Crossing-like living space, players will reportedly be able to engage in a few different career paths, such as becoming the city’s mayor, forming a beloved pop group, or becoming a world-famous fashion designer. But if all those human-like activities feel a bit too daunting, players have the option to drink a magic potion that turns them into one of Paw City’s furry residents, seemingly giving them access to a new range of animal-specific activities.
Over on Twitter, the newly created WonderPaws official account has confirmed some key details that aren’t made immediately obvious via the game’s Steam page. According to a Q&A post on its Twitter account, WonderPaws will be free to download and play, will be available on PC and mobile, and will feature online multiplayer. The scope of this online multiplayer is a little unclear, though the Q&A does hint that WonderPaws could feature some kind of shared world, as it states that “plenty of real players [will live] life right alongside you.” There’s no official word yet on when WonderPaws will launch, though the first playtest is now in the works.
