More than just a mobile port?
When I booted up Animal Hospital for the first time, I could tell this was a game that began as an Android/iOS game. It’s simplistic design to everything from treating animals to customizing your animal care facility screamed a mobile game, but luckily without any pesky microtransactions to ruin things.
The formula is simple, each day a number of animals will walk into your Animal Hospital requiring treatment. Some can be instantly solved while others will have to stay overnight as long as you have the room. You will get side-objectives too which help with levelling up, which unlocks new perks such as new equipment, rooms or decorative items for your practice.
I don’t really understand the logic of animals without owners just waltzing into the surgery or just how exactly they are paying for the treatment, but I’m just massively overthinking it. Treatments vary from injections, rubbing ointments on infected areas, taking the animal’s temperature (yes, even from the more grim method) as well as others. Animals vary from typical house pets like dogs and cats all the way through wildlife and even mythical creatures like unicorns.
The controls are simple to use and failing to treat an animal correctly is pretty much impossible. You can get better ratings for your treatment if they stay overnight and you do everything to accommodate them including feeding them, cleaning their room and petting them. It’s simple and almost zen-like as there’s no stress or pressure within the game, making it accessible to almost anyone.
The visuals are basic but they get the job done. There isn’t going to be a case of “what the heck is that animal meant to be?” and the art style fits the overall theme of the game. The framerate was solid and I didn’t encounter any bugs.
The Verdict
Animal Hospital is a very simple animal care game, but it doesn’t do anything wrong either. It also does away with any microtransactions which I had come to expect when I first loaded the game. If you are looking for a game that is chilled and you love taking care of animals then look no further.