The 13 Best Video Games Where You Play As (Actual) Animals

In a cybernetically enhanced world, players control a stray cat who falls into a world populated by robots, machines, and viruses as he sets out on an adventure to return to his family. This mysterious third-person adventure showcases truly stunning graphics and masterful platforming in a game designed to simultaneously pull on heartstrings, and potentially terrify players. A dark and menacing vibe helps Stray stand out from other animalistic games of this nature, and coming from Annapurna Interactive, the hype level for this game has been through the roof for nearly 3 years.

One of the most acclaimed, iconic, and beloved video games ever created, Okami is a third-person action-adventure game borrowing heavily from a fellow adventure game, The Legend of Zelda, that thrusts players into the paws of a dog while showcasing a gorgeous art style, and visuals with grand world exploration, dungeon crawling, and heart-pounding action. The ancient Japanese mythological setting is only enhanced by the beautiful art style and showcases history and reality that is rarely showcased in any form of media. With a masterful story and tight gameplay mechanics to boot, there is no wonder why Okami is regarded as one of the best games of all time.

Beautiful in its visual style and heartbreaking in its storytelling, Endling - Extinction Is Forever follows a family of foxes as one of their skulk gets kidnapped by local poachers. It is now up to players to take control and play as the mama fox as she must simultaneously venture out into the wild to save her missing cub, and provide for the family she has in hiding. This sprawling adventure takes players through massive and haunting environments, as they rage against humanoid enemies, and learn a lesson on love and family. While it may be told through the eyes of a fox, this story will be one players won't soon forget.

The ultimate troll experience, Untitled Goose Game is a master of annoyance and anger as players take control of the titular character and cause unrelenting havoc upon a local town and its unsuspecting citizens. Quite possibly one of the funniest games ever made, Untitled Goose Game loves to give players the power to completely wreck the lives of the NPC's in the world for their own amusement and while this concept seems like it would get stale quickly, a wide array of side quests and puzzles keep things increasingly fresh and ensure it has never been more fun to be the worlds biggest jerk of a goose in a game.

A wonderfully unique and interesting concept, AWAY: The Survival Series masterfully combines traditional survival gameplay with a holistically original concept of having players listen to and watch the story through the eyes of a documentary following a sugar glider and their attempt to find their family. While never absurdly difficult, AWAY relishes in the ability to tell a heartwarming and sometimes frightening story as opposed to leaning too far in the survival aspect. The feeling of awe and wonder is only amplified by the documentary style in this breathtaking adventure.

Beautifully broken, fiercely funny, and wonderfully weird, Goat Simulator is one of the biggest and best jokes the video game industry has ever made. This purposely buggy mess of a game is something that truly needs to be played to be believed, as the absurdity and ridiculousness only amplify the later player get into the game, and while the only object is smashing things, there is no shortage of memorable moments, iconic scenes, and side-splitting jokes that elevate this seemingly dumb game into one that is so bad it's masterful.

While it may be trying a bit too hard at times, Maneater is a wonderfully wacky and absurd romp akin to Goat Simulator and untitled goose game that would much rather deliver a bitey punchline as opposed to anything resembling a cohesive story. The wacky nature of the game that follows players as they control a massive shark is surprisingly beautiful to look at with lush environments and unique landscapes, but unlike the previous games mentioned, the joke does grow stale as a 15-hour story is just a bit too long, however, the game is quite hilarious before it outstays its welcome.

The cartoonish style and heartwarming nature of a mother badger and her cubs venturing off into the oasis cannot possibly prepare players for the heartbreaking and painstaking journey they are about to endure. A game without a true sense of purpose, Shelter thrusts players into the minds and lives of a badger as she looks to survive and protect her babies in a world that is determined to destroy them. The fear of other creatures, fire, water, and starvation is a constant in this heartbreaking game, and it only becomes amplified when players lose their badger offspring to the harsh reality of nature. Shelter is a wonderfully heartbreaking game that is sure to leave more than a mark on even the most jaded gamers' hearts.

If Tony Hawks Pro Skater ever decided to focus on birds riding Tech Decks while they attempt to pull off the raddest stunts, they would need to get in line, because Skatebird is exactly what they are looking for! A seemingly paradoxical take on the traditional skateboarding games that have flooded the gaming landscape, Skatebird follows the trend to a tee, with one small difference being the ability to fly, naturally. The game is as wacky and novel as its ideology of it would seem to be, and while it may grow stale rather quickly, it is a novel concept that is far more style over substance.

KeyWe is a wonderfully whimsical and absurd co-op adventure that sees players take control of Jeff and Deborah, a pair of kiwi birds who take on grunt work positions at a local post office in Australia and observe what type of hijinx they get themselves into. If that bizarre rundown doesn't sell itself, the game's adorable charm, lighthearted nature, and surprisingly difficult levels will keep partners simultaneously laughing and scratching their heads as they figure out ways to best complete their job before time runs out, or of course, their octopus manager yells at them.

Surviving the post-apocalyptic landscape of a desolated world sounds like a novel, if not entirely an original gaming concept that has been around for decades… what doesn't sound like a gaming concept that has been around for decades however is living in this desolate wasteland while playing as a dog, deer, hyena, lion, or one of the dozens of other creatures showcased in Tokyo Jungle. One of the most bizarre games ever released for the PlayStation, players will unlock a multitude of animals to play as, as they attempt to survive in this non-linear action game that revels in the insanity.

A wonderfully comedic party-style game, Ultimate Chicken Horse is an incredibly unique co-op game that will undoubtedly lead to hundreds of hours of fun. Choosing between a chicken, horse, raccoon, sheep, monkey, or elephant, players will begin the endless customization of levels and maps to race for the ultimate goal of glory and bragging rights. The cartoonish style, vibrant atmosphere, upbeat music, and slapstick nature of the game make this ideal to get a group of friends around and simply enjoy the madness of Ultimate Chicken Horse.

Whacky and zany cat simulator Catlateral Damage may be a little rough around the edges, but the ability to play in first person as a multitude of cats as they cause mayhem throughout their owner's house is something that will undoubtedly put a smile on all cat-lovers faces. With a multitude of unlockables, secrets, skills to obtain, and characters to unlock, this destruction simulator-wrapped eyes of a lovable and feisty feline keeps things fresh enough to be more than a simple gimmick, and genuinely be a wonderful time.