Before We Leave
Planet-Sized City Building Game
I love city builders, and Before We Leave caught my eye immediately. It has a cute art-style and a non-violent setting, both of which I appreciated. It has the usual trappings: resources to collect, a tech tree to research, peeps to keep happy. The most apt comparison is probably the Anno series, as much of the game is managing supply chains across islands and eventually planets.
I played a few sessions, including the tutorial, but unfortunately couldn’t really get into it so I’m shelving it for now. Two things I didn’t like:
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The tile placement system felt very constricting. The islands are pretty small, and every building needs roads, which take their own tile. Figuring out where to place everything is quite a puzzle. I was always running out of room and second-guessing which way to expand. The hex tiles look attractive, I just wish I had more of them.
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You’re forced to expand to another island almost immediately because there are two types of research, red and green research points, which are mined from different islands. Eventually you’ll run out and need to colonize somewhere else. This keeps the game moving, but it made me feel rushed.
These two design choices made into a logistical puzzle game where all my moves were sub-optimal, rather than the chill city builder I was expecting. This is reinforced on the main menu where it shows you how many actions you’ve performed since the start of the game. I just wanted to enjoy my cozy little colony and expand at my own pace.
To be clear, it’s not a bad game. I think I just had a different mindset coming in. There’s a lot this game is doing right, and it looks amazing. I plan on coming back at some point to give it another shot, and hopefully next time it resonates with me.