Have you herd? Shelter 3 is out this month

An elephant never forgets its own release date. At least, I'm pretty sure that's how the saying goes. But in case your human brain forgets, a new trailer for Shelter 3 has scheduled the animal survival sequel's release for the end of the month—and this time, developer Might And Delight has gone big.

Back in 2013, the first Shelter mixed up the survival space by pitting you as a skittery little badger mother, forcing you to defend your cubs from hungry eagles, forest fires, and drownings. As Pip found, being a badger mum is tough work. The second game pivoted from prey to predator, giving you control of a fierce family of Lynx—but for Shelter 3, the studio really decided to supersize the stakes.

This time around, you're the matriarch of an elephant herd. I do enjoy how each new species dramatically changes the pace of these games, too. As an elephant with a large family, there are so many more mouths to feed, but that community gives you a level of protection that the first game's badgers never had.

"Until now, Shelter games have focussed on animal families," lead programmer Sofia Papworth said in a Steam update. "With Shelter 3, we had a strong feeling that we wanted to make a Shelter experience that’s more social—elephants are incredibly sociable and that allows us to create a very different game experience."

The series' gorgeous aesthetics remain untouched, thankfully, painting a world knitted together in folded, shimmering tapestry. Shelter 3 arrives on Steam on March 30th. With the escalation firmly in place, we can only imagine what giants we'll be controlling in Shelter 4.

Blue Whales, perhaps?

20 years ago, Nat played Jet Set Radio Future for the first time, and she's not stopped thinking about games since. Joining PC Gamer in 2020, she comes from three years of freelance reporting at Rock Paper Shotgun, Waypoint, VG247 and more. Embedded in the European indie scene and a part-time game developer herself, Nat is always looking for a new curiosity to scream about—whether it's the next best indie darling, or simply someone modding a Scotmid into Black Mesa. She also unofficially appears in Apex Legends under the pseudonym Horizon.