I managed to survive 100 days. Raiders come and attack my shelter. Don't know why they attack my kids first... They die. Parents die. Refugees become traumatized. Game over. Just when I thought things were going well. ahaha...ha...ha

One of the best games I found on Steam... It lacks polishment but It is a perfectly balanced game that will keep you playing for hours. I just wish we could scroll faster the items list (or maybe use the keyboard to navigate on it) I would like to have a screen where I could see char attributes faster than just by hovering the mouse and waiting and some other stuff... But those are mere details that don't take away the fun to play this marvelous game.

The game is unplayable for many people. A huge number of users have been having an issue with the mouse cursor being invisible - and the issues been there over six months, with no sign of a fix (take a look at the problem report forum and find then 9+ page thread). Unfortunately, I'm one of the affected users.

(As a side note - ignore my 5.9 hours played. I got so frustrated trying to find an option or something that would fix it that I walked away from my computer without exiting...)

Hate to write this negative review, but it's needed. The game was fun... For a WEEK. The most new content you get from updates are items that have no use at all. I wish they could add stuff like custom maps, customizing your shelter, and maybe more customizable characters. Mostly, this game needs CUSTOMIZATION! Also, having an online multiplayer option would be cool. Until stuff like that happens, the game is kinda crap.

AWESOME!!! but it wont let me install :(

This game is SUPER fun, except one *SUPER HUGE* bug that I'm encountering that is a genuine, real deal-breaker.

I thought it was just a one-time thing the first time it happened, but it's recurring and it's really turning me off the game (apparently it's been a problem since May 2016, and and it's now August 2016 and it still hasn't been fixed). It makes it so that no matter how prepared you are/how well off you are in your game, it doesn't matter because your whole family could be slaughtered by invisible asailants who can walk through walls.

If not for that bug I'd give this game a 10/10, seriously. This game has got everything you could ever want from a game like this. I like to tell people it's "The Walking Dead, without the zombies" which I feel is super accurate. Survival strategy, risk taking, stress, reward, getting you attached to the characters, etc.

Overall, however, I'm going to give it a 4/10; I LOVE it, but that bug is SO SOOO bad that I genuinely don't want to continue playing it (at least until it's fixed) because it's just not worth the time/effort you put into it for everything to be thrown out the window for something that isn't your fault.

Once they fix the issue I'll happily submit a new review, but for now... I cannot reccoment this game. The bug is just TOO bad.

It's pretty fun but after a day or two of playing you're pretty much done with the game.

FANTASTIC! Don't let it's delightfully retro appearance and seemingly simple concept fool you, Sheltered is an engaging and often surprisingly complex mashup of resource management and world exploration, with tough survival choices that have lasting effects.

A highly recommended detour from the flood of graphically-rich, engagement-poor alternatives.

tl:dr;
It's not a bad game, not really. It's not a great game either. Recommend if on sale, sorely lacks content for endgame and many functions that you would expect from resource management and survival combo game are not present.


Long version:
Sheltered is a cross between Fallout Shelter and This War of Mine. It lack in every aspect when compared to the above titles.

Audio: 7/10
Amazingly good. Ambient sound and sound effects constantly remind me of Fallout1/2.
They are great in building the atmosphere of the game and definitely fit the setting.
However the music (either battle or jukebox) is like 12 sec long loop that gets pretty annoying fast.

Graphics: 6/10
Ok, nevermind pixelized "oldschool" setting. The problem with graphics is that every shelter has the same background, locations have no variety to them (each farm has dead cows) and there are very few character clothes to choose from.
Asset variation is simply POOR, and considering everything else there is no excuse for it.
Also the UI. UI will overlap parts of the shelter, making sometimes invisible to see. Apart from that it's crowded and non-functional. It really would use a bar with all the most important actions visible clearly.
Also no help accesible from inside the game nor the full list of the people and their stats in a survival/management game is f*king insulting.

Gameplay: 5/10
Ok so it is not a bad game. For around dozen or so hours. It really gives you something to do in the beginning, there really is some pressure and tension and fun initially.
Problems starts when you finally get a grip of the situation and get some more people and build up your shelter.
Here are the issues:
- some facilities are unbalanced in terms of mats required versus what they give. For example it is better to build lvl 3 store boxes and lvl 3 pantries above them, as top level storage facilities take more space but give the same amount of storage.
- upgrades end too soon
- some materials are too difficult to come by, like ropes and hinges that are needed for most stuff
- space in a shelter is very limited (obviously) but still some facilities take way too much space for what they offer.
- everything breaks so fast it's just stupid! really need to fix a bed every five days?! really?!
- you can't rename nor change appearance of your toons. Why? why not give nickname or new harcut or new pants?
- no automation for characters beyond basic eat/drink/sleep/sh*it actions
- no crafting of weapons! you can have tons of nails, duck tape, pipes, metal and wood, but you cannot craft a baseball bat or a spiked mace!
- very limited character inventory. worse, you do not have character management screen, you cannot give them some items permanently.
- water requirements for travelling
- random loot! you are likely to find a single bulb, a single nail, a single duck tape, a single pipe, a single wood plank in a location than simply 6 nails! and you need dozens of them to craft upgrade, so there is always a problem with the flow!
- random encounters! only single people, no caravans, trading usually has very little to offer (one nail, one pipe, one water bottle etc)
- unable to store excess items in external nearby locations
- cannot change your weapons or use medkits while on expedition
- very limited and repetitive diary entries. like wth devs write more than 3 entries for a new recruit please?

Ok, so basically the worst part of the game is that you cannot equip your sheltered people, arm them and have them fend of raiders in battle. Either you build some crappy traps (selection VERY limited) or they rob you blind. You just cannot fight back.

Another major issue is lack of roles in the shelter. See, there is basic needs automation. But there is no roles automation.
I would love to mark a single person as botanist/cleaner and have them only plant and water seeds and clean the shelter.
I would love to mark a person as maintenance, so all they do would be fixing stuff and cleaning the shelter.
I would love to have a doctor, who would check the wounds, if there would be any wound system in place and feed the pet from time to time.
I would love to have a guard, who would be walking armed and fight back against the raiders, spending his time to train stats.
A scientist making research in the lab and reading books?

And finally. There is no entertainment facility in order. I wouldn't mind a poker table or an arcade machine for my toons to spend some time and relax.

Conclusion:
This game is bare bones as it is now. It was released 5 months ago and I am not sure if there will be any serious updates to it (homepage seems empty). If you find it with price tag below 10$ grab it. Support devs.
We need games like that, but we need them finished with some late-game goal to aim at. Right now it is dollar per hour and little more of value.

FInal tip - how to open mystery hatch:
https://www.reddit.com/r/sheltered/comments/4bcgk5/mysterious_hatch_spoilers/

Sheltered being a fun game i would recommend it because i have always enjoyed survival games and that combined with the pixel style art it will one day become and amazing game with it being 1 year old and many updates to come i recommend this game