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Before We Leave
View on Wikipedia |
| Before We Leave | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Balancing Monkey Games |
| Publisher | Team 17 |
| Designer | Sam Barham |
| Engine | Unity[1] |
| Platforms | Windows Xbox One Xbox Series X/S PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 |
| Release | Windows May 8, 2020 Mac August 18, 2021 Xbox One & Series X/S November 22, 2021 PS4, PS5 April 5, 2022 Nintendo Switch August 2, 2022 |
| Genre | City-building |
| Mode | Single-player |
Before We Leave is a city-building video game developed by Balancing Monkey Games and released by Team 17.
Gameplay
[edit]Before We Leave is a non-violent city-building game with elements of 4X gameplay. Players control a group of people, called Peeps, who leave a bunker. After exploring the area, players guide the Peeps as they rebuild on the ruins of a fallen civilization. Maintaining happiness levels by providing for the Peeps' needs increases their efficiency, decreasing the amount of time required for actions taken. The game's ultimate goal is for the Peeps to build up their society enough to launch themselves into space and colonize other planets. To do this, the Peeps must contend with space whales.[2]
Development
[edit]Developer Sam Barham previously worked in the New Zealand software industry on educational tools. When one of his games competed in a fundraising competition run by the New Zealand Game Developers Association, it attracted funding from an investor, which Barham used to hire a team. In 2019, Barham transitioned into working on the game full time.[3] The game is not strictly non-violent; players pointed out that the space whales could be considered violent. Barham did not intend for the game to be a comment on violence in video games, but he wanted to use his game as a vehicle for social change.[4] The game was released exclusively on the Epic Game Store in May 2020 with 50 000 sales by December 2020, and was released on Steam on 14 May 2021.[5] It was released on the Xbox Series X and S and Xbox One in November 2021,[6] on the PlayStation 4 and 5 in April 2022,[7] and on the Nintendo Switch in August 2022.[8]
Reception
[edit]Before We Leave received mixed reviews on Metacritic.[9] Ian Evenden of PC Gamer called it a "cute little city-builder with big ambitions".[2] Nicole Carpenter of Polygon said the game was initially relaxing and fun but became increasingly stressful, for both her and the Peeps, as expansion caused pollution and unhappiness in the Peeps' society.[10]
References
[edit]- ^ "Before We Leave Press Kit". Balancing Monkey Games. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
- ^ a b Evenden, Ian (11 May 2020). "Before We Leave review". PC Gamer. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
- ^ McSweeny, Jacob (14 December 2020). "Balancing Monkey's Dunedin success". odt.co.nz. Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- ^ Mathias, Shanti (23 March 2022). "Inside the Dunedin studio making a 'nice' video game". The Spinoff. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
- ^ Bayley, Dominic (17 May 2021). "Before We Leave: Non-violent Kiwi game releases on Steam". PC World. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
- ^ "Before We Leave". Game Informer. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
- ^ Croft, Liam (5 April 2022). "Govern Peeps in Sci-Fi City Builder Before We Leave, Out Now on PS5, PS4". Push Square. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
- ^ "Before We Leave - Nintendo Switch Announce Teaser Trailer". IGN. 21 July 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ "Before We Leave". Metacritic. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
- ^ Carpenter, Nicole (12 May 2020). "A chill world-builder for questioning our impact on the planet". Polygon. Retrieved 5 April 2022.