Have you ever wanted to be a badger, killing foxes and taking care of small little beanbags? Me too, so, as your friendly neighberhood badger enthusiest, I will help you make sure that your babies make it to the end safe and sound ^^

(Spoilers for the game. Sorry)

Ok, so, you start up the game, and then what? Smol badgers, that's what. They're whimpering but happy to see their mama badger is awake and safe. One babeh badger isn't so happy to see you, though.

Because it's dying.

You need to get the turnip on the floor (clicking left click) and then feed it to your baby. It'll get up and turn a darker shade of grey.
This is important!

If one of your smol marshmallows goes a light pale shade of grey, THEY ARE DYING. Find a turnip on the floor for them so they can go back to their healthy shade of dark grey and white. Then, they will all cluster around you like little sheep ^^. Now you can go through the tunnels of your home.

So naturally, you need to name them (you can't actually name them in the game, but you can in your head, and that's what matters...) so name them whatever you like~

You'll walk quite a bit towards the entrance of the cave, and finally, the game will teach you how to hunt frogs and sprint and stuff. you can get food in many different ways; hunting frogs, getting turnips, or bashing your head into trees to get aplles. This part is very calm, so you can just laze about and take in the sights, just make sure to feed your babies and at least try to get to the first level.

Keep walking until you get to a small rocky entrance to what seems to be a meadow. Crouch down into the nearby bushes.

Suddenly, scary music will play, and a mouse will walk in front of you...then something will come swooping down, killing the mouse.

Then...


CAW.

ANGRY MAMA EAGLE.

DUCK INTO THE GRASS AT ANY CHANCE YOU GET. To keep all of your cubs close to you, make sure to hide into the tall grass.

Make sure to wait for angry mama eagle's shadow to pass by before sprinting to the next pass of grass or maybe a log, because if she sees your shadows pass by hers, your baby's gonna die. (rest in peace Bandit.) This level's pretty simple; avoid the shadows, hide in the grass, and make it to the end, near a cliff. (If you do loose a babeh, the eagle will leave you alone.)

When you get to the end, the music will calm down while you and your babies get to the log on the edge of the cliff. And then it falls...

Ok, you you've fallen down the cliff with your babies, but you're all ok. You should notice how everything is dark now, and you have a small circle of light around you.

DO NOT LET YOUR BABIES OUT OF THIS RING OF LIGHT. IF THEY GO OUT OF IT OR IF YOU GIVE THEM FOOD AND THEN LEAVE, THEY WILL DIE.

Eventually, as you make your way along the spoopy nighttime river of death, a twig will crack, and your cubs will run away. Your job is to run after them.

This happens many times.

Make sure they stay inside of your circle of light, and if they run away, follow them (NOTE: QUITE A BIT OF THE TIME, THEY WILL SPRINT IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION WHEN HEARING THE TWIG CRACK, SO YOU HAVE TO GO THE OTHER WAY.)

Make sure to find where your cubs went (they should be quite close to you,) before something takes them...(a sound will start to get bigger, and then your cub will scream, as well as the sound of an animal screaming, and one of your cubs will be gone..your surviving cubs will then come by your side once again.)

If you can find them before the sound grows too much, your cubs will be safe, and you can continue going down the river.

(I'm sorry Cammi TT^TT)

This level is creepy but simple: sometimes you follow the river, sometimes you don't, find food for your cubs (there's a few frogs,) and make sure they stay if the circle of light.

Finally, when you get to a small pond, walk a little ways, and the screen will turn white. Then things become all about survival.

The screen will go blank, and then you'll be in a peaceful little valley with your remaining cubs, where everything is red, and its raining.

There's some foxes to kill and some apples and turnips to snuffle for, but you will eventually have to cross the GIANT RIVER OF DEATH.

There will be two waves that comes by, sometimes one (I think,) but mostly two, and you have to time them just right: wait for them to pass, then go to the other side of the river. finally, there will be a small hill to rest on, get some food, feed your cubs.

A couple of foxes to nom on.

Then you will have to pass a giant past of the river, that comes swooshing down, thretening to swoop your babehs into oblivion.

For this wave, hide behind every single rock until the wave passes, then run to the next. You will go to a giant waterfall, time it and then RUN.
If you don't, or even stop of one second, your baby badger will drown ;-; it'll scream as a wave overtakes it, and no one wants a dead baby badger.

(r.i.p. Sajen)

After your baby drowns, the waves will stop, and you can run to the next level with your surviving babies. (How many babies do you have left? I have two ;-;)

This level is basically all of the levels in one.

Okay, now you've been transported to a calm little valley. There's a few carrots for you to feed your babehs, but you could swear you smell something burning...

FIRE.

YOU NEED TO RUN.

..ok, I'm kidding. The baby badgers won't be burnt, toast the little mallows as much as you want ^^ (ok, maybe not too long, you pyromaniac.)

Grab a few carrots and head into the logs, and try to stay out of the fires because even though you CAN burn your babies, it dosen't mean you SHOULD. And then, to top off the world being on fire with food running out, the angry mama eagle is back, caw-cawing at you to give her your babies.

But you're not going to let her take them, are you?

You need to run to safe spaces, small shurbery that you can hide under your'e calm enough, and until the eagle's shadow passes. Look for small tunnels to hide in.

(NOTE: DO NOT STAY IN ONE PIECE OF TALL GRASS FOR TOO LONG, IT WILL EVENTUALLY SET ON FIRE IF YOU AREN'T QUICK ENOUGH...)

But the eagle isn't just satisfied in taking one of your babies and then leaving...no, she FOLLOWS you to each fire-filled area UNTIL SHE GETS ONE OF YOUR CUBS. You just need to follow the tall grass and get some food, go through the tunnels, and you'll find a small river. This is a sign of peace, that the eagle has finally left.

You can grab some more veggies and apples, there's a couple of foxes, and make sure to avoid the river. Then run to the next level.

You've made it! You and your surviving badger cubs, (or cub,) now grown quite a bit, have made it to the peaceful valley, full of food and shelter for your babies.

You can spend most of this level lazing about, showing your growing babies the sights, the smells, bringing them food and exploring the beatiful atmopshere.

And then you'll come to a small tunnel, and

CAW CAW MOTHER BUTLER

RUN INTO THE TUNNEL WITH YOUR BABEHS. Eventually, you'll find the exit out the other end, and there are some smaller patches of grass and some logs to hide in. But let me remind you, your little poofs are bigger now, and you've gotten older.
But you can't go anywhere. If you're not careful, the angry mama death bird will steal your babehs, and it won't go away at all. It will keep taking your babies unless you hide them, but you'll notice there's nowhere to go. And that's because this part in the game has a much deeper meaning...

You'll have to die.

You've taken care of your babies for so long, and now you're finally at your new home, but now your time has come. You've killed foxes, frogs, and other creatures that have families, all to feed your babies. But now, the eagle needs to kill you for her babies. She wants them to live, too. That's why she's been hunting you down for so long. She wants her babies to be safe, too.


And so, you can't go anywhere. You can't save yourself. You just have to run with your babies towards the peaceful horizon, with a sad smile on your face and your heads held high, your babies sheilding you, yipping and doing everything to protect you. You tell your babies you love them as they look sadly to you, and with a loud CAW, the bird swoops you and takes you high above the peaceful pink heavenly mountains, with your remaining babies walking away sadly, chriping as you call to them that you love them and to brush their teeth twice a day.

And then the game ends.

*cries*

But you've made it! And now your little badger babies will live on together in honour of the badger mom whose taken such good care of them.


(thank you for reading this guide, and I hope your little babehs get to the other side safe and sound ^^)

Okay, now we have questions? *gets fluffy blankets, pillows and hot cocoa* okay, so, let's answer things! *badgers curl up at meh feet*



How do you keep your babies safe?

Read the guide. Be careful, keep them close to you, and make sure they brush their teeth twice a day.


The eagle keeps eating my babies at the last level and won't go away!! What do I do!!??

No problem, that's supposed to happen. The eagle will still follow you until the end, even if that means killing all of your babies for its babehs. Sorry :(


Can you have your babies go into the fire or no?


Yep! Toast those little marshmallows...but maybe just not for too long. The fire could trap your babies, and they'll eventually die, so be careful...


...you little pyromaniac.



HOW DO I STARVE MEH BABEHS??


....okay then...


starve them. Let them get killed at every opportunity; evil death bird, swooshy red waves of the sea, darkness wolves of the night, and crumbling river fire death trap.

But in my opinion, it won't be as hard or intresting if you just play as your lonesome mama badger yourself. Just saying.


What happens if you end up killing off all of your babies?


The ending is still the same. It's still the harshness of nature, but you can always restart and start from scratch will all of your babies :)



What did you name the babies and which one's your favorite?


My mama badger was Sam, and the babies were Sajen (the one with the stripes,) Cammi, (the circle swoopy one,) River, (The teardrop cirlce one,) Boots, (the one with the strips on his side,) and Bandit, (in my opinion the oldest, and the masked one,)

My favorite was probably River or Boots, but I just love them all ❤



How many babies did you survive with?

First time I played, River and Boots. Then I accidently reset, and managed to survive with everyone but Cammi (dang swooshy rivers...)

But then the eagle took Boots *cries*

Both times I played, Cammi and Bandit died on the swoopy nighttime terror by the sea, then Sajen on the swoopy death river, and no one else.

Actually, wait, that was the first time. Second time, Cammi died on the swooshy river, and on the fire death trap...BANDIT. WOULD. NOT. STOP. DYING. Stupid eagles.



Can we be friends and cry about baby badgers together?


Of course! *gets you a blanket and hot cocoa and sets up Shelter* let's cry together about small little badgers and the inevitability of death.


Are you really a badger enthusiest?


Absolutely ❤

Thank you for reading this guide! Remember, one day you and your badger babies will reunite in badger heaven ❤

But you've survived! Your babies are okay!


And I'd like to thank some humans




Stacyplays

For inspiring me to play this game, letting me enjoy the atmosphere and tones and colours and emotion of the game, and for making me cry at the end.

SO. MUCH CRYING.

And also for just being my favorite youtuber and making me absolutely adore the shelter series, and it's probably my favorite and best game series still.


AmazingPhil

For making me revisit mama badger, and instead of making me cry, making me laugh. I now know that if youre a badger and your name starts with, 'b,' you are screwed.



Happyfish

Meh really good friend, who screamed with me when our babies died in the spoopy horror by-the-sea darkness of death, so thanks x)


Might and Delight

Thank you for filling my sad heart with lots of babeh badgers, lynx, and bear cubs, and they are just so atompsheric and beautifully sad, so thank you ^^


And all mothers

Thank you mothers for putting up with way too much x)


❤