Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Jul 16, 2022

  A classic from 2006. This game holds so much nostalgia for me. I played this game when I was 12 years old, installed from the installation disc borrowed from my local library. Unfortunately this version of the game required the disc to be present in the CD—ROM drive, which meant I could only play it for a limited time until I had to return it. But now it's on Steam, and while this game was made for windows XP and the likes, I've managed to make it run just fine on Windows 11 by enabling compatibility mode for Windows Vista SP2. If you are having issues (my game crashed when I tried to change graphics settings) I recommend you try that as well. I've heard reports of the game crashing after the first mission, but I cannot confirm this so far. The downside of this compatibility adjustment is that for some reason it will no longer run through Steam, you have to launch the executable manuallly. This is also the reason why I only have 5 minutes playtime, in case you were wondering. The actual game is a timeless classic—you are a photojournalist, you are sent on numerous missions in the Serengeti of Africa to photograph creatures for a newspaper article. The game is played in first-person mode, and the game world is open (each mission is one map, free for you to explore). There is a special focus on being considerate about the environment, represented in-game by a meter which tells you how much you disturbed the animals, needless to say that running up to them and touching them will give you a penalty. Instead, you have to sneak up to them close enough so you can take those perfect photos but not close enough to disturb them, which is a nice game mechanic I think. The missions are all very varied and teach you a ton about the wildlife of Africa. The music is very epic and really gives you this cool African vibe. Overall the gameplay is incredibly relaxing and very immersive. In terms of graphics, you can definitely see that the game is from 2006, but in my opinion they have aged very well, don't expect anything super fancy though—you can see the animal models are relatively low poly, textures are not that high res and the shader quality could be better— but I think it still looks very good. The hardware requirements are also minimal and it'll run on practically anything, I've managed to make it run on the Intel chipset family (which is a very low performance integrated GPU, much worse than even Intel HD Graphics) and with a 1.4 GHz processor. If you like Indie games, want to learn a bit about our Earth, and would like to immerse yourself in an African Safari adventure, I'd say this game is for you! can definitely recommend.
• gamedeal user

  Jul 20, 2022

  I'm sure many other animal lovers have played Wild Earth African Safari for the Wii, and yes this is essentially the same game. Specifically the older version of the game originally released to the computer. So, this lacks the minigames unlocked by beating a level seen in the wii version. Other than that though, expect the same levels and missions that were so fun in the original. Don't go into this expecting amazing graphics, they are very outdated. Still I loved the wii game as a kid and this takes me down memory lane. The fun voice acting is still there, and you can still learn about the animals you love while taking pictures of them. If you are looking for a really simple, low stress, animal photography walking simulator this is the game for you.
• gamedeal user

  Oct 5, 2022

  I remember playing this game on the Nintendo Wii and then i tired to see if there was a wild earth series then saw that it was on steam so I had to get it.
• DanielRightinuum01

  Jan 24, 2023

  As another of my nostalgia games I use to play back then, this is a great game, you get to take photos of everything around Africa, and it is a good experience as it takes you on a safari adventure. A decent game that I remember.
• TroubledRooster

  Jun 17, 2023

  A beloved game from my childhood, the graphics haven't really aged well but it's still a relaxing and fun game in my opinion.