Endling forces you to sit in the heartbreak of losing a cub for the remainder of the game. Hunger, and other problems you encounter throughout the game, can result in the death of a cub. A health meter at the bottom of the screen measures your cubs’ hunger level and, as it begins to drop, the sense of urgency increases. Survival is at the forefront of the game as you constantly need to provide for your cubs, hunting down food and avoiding danger. The striking visual of the bright blaze contrasted by the game’s muted colour palette is designed to leave a lingering impression.
According to the new video game’s creators, Herobeat Studios, this dystopic yet familiar burnt landscape is entirely intentional. They’re eerily reminiscent of the Black Summer fires of 2019–2020 – which tore through more than 24 million hectares of Australian bushland, killing an estimated one billion animals along the way. The opening scenes from Endling: Extinction is Forever are confronting. All of them are woefully unprepared for what comes next. She manages to limp her way to a cave where she collapses, birthing four little cubs.
Later, as she attempts to navigate her way down a cliff, a moose races through the haze with its antlers on fire, startling the vixen who falls and injures herself. The smoke is suffocating as she begins to dig beneath a fallen tree, searching for a way out. Amongst the carnage, a fox streaks through the foliage, frantically trying to find safety. Red and yellow flames lick the sky and engulf the forest.
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