Might and Delight is a studio known for making gorgeous, ruthless survival games that capture both the awe and ferocity of the wilderness. Or, like me, you may know them as the studio that created the weepily cruel Badger Sim. Well, it seems that the studio is still on a mission to make you cry your eyes out at the adorable creatures in the third installment of its "Shelter" series.

I've been a big fan of the "Shelter" series since the first film, when badger cub Patch was kidnapped by a hungry eagle and mentally devastated. I have an emotional connection to that badger cub that is stronger than any other NPC, and it is that maternal connection that is the hallmark of the Shelter games.

When I started Shelter 3, being dropped into the studio's uniquely styled patchwork world felt like a return to the familiar. It was like playing a game of Might and Delight again after all these years. Unfortunately, that feeling didn't last long, and as I continued to explore, it soon became clear that the latest installment in the Shelter series was a lost cause.

In Shelter 3, you are a mother elephant leading your herd to a place where they are reunited with their ancestors. The world is a mix of elements from both previous titles: the linear storyline of Shelter 1 and the more open-world structure of Shelter 2. To survive, the herd must be well fed and protected from danger.

As the herd moves across the plains, star-like checkpoints will guide you. Each time you reach one of these checkpoints, you have a choice between two paths (usually both dangerous), and once you make a decision, the next checkpoint appears, leading you further in.

Exploring the environment is the highlight of the game, and it is due to Might and Delight's signature art style. Shelter 3 looks like an elegant quilt with multiple patterns intricately stitched together. Each elephant in the herd has a unique skin pattern, and it is easy to tell which calf belongs to which mother because the patterns are identical, as if cut from the same cloth. A nice touch.

The elephants will move through a variety of locations, including bamboo forests, scorching deserts, and waterholes. In one section, you'll lead a herd through a mountain cave and out into a luscious lagoon on the other side. And since you are not playing as a predator, you can frolic happily without fear of being attacked by wildebeest, rhinos, or antelope. However, as beautiful as the world is, problems begin to be exposed right from the start.

While we had no problems controlling the elephants, we ran into multiple problems with the herd AI. Clipping was always a problem and the elephants would regularly get caught in environmental areas, forcing me to manipulate them so they would follow me and unclip. I also had problems getting them to eat the fruit I found. I had to lunge into a tree to knock down the dangling fruit and let it fall to the ground, but the AI repeatedly failed to recognize that there was food there, which was frustrating for a survival game; the AI was constantly misbehaving and I felt like I was dealing with a naughty elementary school kid. Other problems included the calf nursing command not working and checkpoints from old runs appearing in the new game.

Navigation was also an ongoing problem. Using "Elephant Sense," the screen would darken and the next destination, represented by a symbol, would be illuminated so that the next checkpoint could be identified. The problem with these points is that many of them take me somewhere other than forward, and some of them make me backtrack myself. This feels almost counter-intuitive in a nomadic group game where you have to keep moving forward. The layout of the world is also confusing. I hit dead ends and accidentally wandered into dangerous areas. It was also annoying that at every checkpoint, the same choices always came up, regardless of the choices I had made previously. It didn't feel like a trip where my choices mattered.

Of the various roads available to choose from, the ones that hinted at danger were not dangerous at all. In one area, the challenge was to cross a blistering desert where there was little or no food, only to drive through it and reach safety in no time. The other was "death by stripes," where the herd had to be put together to protect a calf from a tiger. This idea was pretty cool in concept, only that the tiger AI kept appearing out of nowhere, with no visual warning, and killing one of the calves as soon as I set foot in the area.

One of the dangerous paths I enjoyed was leading the herd through the dangerous waters where the crocodiles swarmed and kept them safe on the islets that dotted the area. With the ridge line where the crocodiles swim and the pressure of the slow speed of the herd, it was necessary to walk at the right time to reach safety. This was a great sequence, and although the crocodile AI was a bit erratic, it still created a tense moment.

I think the core problem with "Shelter 3" is that there is no real sense of danger. Protecting the herd feels more like a chore than an emotional response, and the major technical glitches suck all the intensity and fun out of the game. Also, the game is fairly short, taking less than 30 minutes per "run," so there is not much time to get emotionally involved with any of the elephants. I found myself running all the routes and seeing everything at the two-hour mark.

Where "Shelter" has shined in the past has been its ability to present nature as both awe-inspiring and utterly terrifying, but that was lacking in "Shelter 3." It conveys the idea and concept of a great survival game, but not the execution.