A pleasant little distraction to while away some time. Worth a look if you like the idea of peaceful city building, if you don’t mind not having a grand finale to work towards.
But those are minor complaints, really. Before We Leave is an intriguing, enjoyable game—one that puts its own twist on a Settlers-style civilisation-building game with a heavy environmental focus and a reframing of the colonialist implications that tend to underpin the genre. It’s a relaxed, chilled-out city-building experience, but within the premise of reclaiming your own land instead of colonising someone else’s, it’s also a thought-provoking one.
While there are some small issues like a slightly clunky and complicated interface, Before We Leave ended up being a great little sim that was pleasantly peaceful and delivered a kind of gameplay that I think will be perfect for sim fans looking for something on the lighter side. We may not get as may of these as we used to, but I’m happy we got this one.
It’s such a shame that that serenity is broken by frustration when trying to plan roadways and neighborhoods. This may not seem like much of an issue for some, but for someone who finds odd satisfaction from having complete control of how my society will look, it kept me from falling in love.
Before We Leave is as close as I’ve ever come to sticking with a city builder and, for that, it deserves enormous credit. The non-violent nature of the gameplay is also to be commended. However, it’s all still just a little too dizzying for me and, if you also struggle with the level of micro-management this type of game fosters, then this likely won’t be quite streamlined enough to change your mind.
Before We Leave's a surprisingly well-optimized, visually pleasing, and refreshingly relaxing city builder that excels at making players feel like reclaimers of a massive, interplanetary empire, but it has many gameplay issues to iron out in its full release before it can live up to its own ambitions. The gripes noted herein are all present in an alpha build, so it's possible that Balancing Monkey already addressed these and other concerns between then and now. If not, though, the subtle makings of a personality may not be able to atone for the fact that its mysterious, mellow tone is undermined by frequent annoyances.
SummaryBefore We Leave is a non-violent city building game set in your own cozy corner of the universe. Rediscover and rebuild civilization. Create a multi-planet resource network. Overcome ancient challenges and fend off hungry space whales.