Have you ever wanted to become a bee? Have you ever wanted your friends to become bees as well? By the end of the year, this not-at-all-unusual dream can finally come true when Bee Simulator is released on PC and all three major consoles.
At first, the game sounds like it would be right at home among the more comedic "simulator" games that have gained notoriety, such as the ever-popular Goat Simulator or the upcoming Pigeon Simulator. However, when you watch the trailer, you get the distinct impression that the developers actually want to create something that actually resembles the life of a bee.
A press release by the developers seems to confirm this oddly-down-to-earth tone for the game, describing the game as one where players can "learn more about the relationship
between bees and nature," and one that might cause people to "to change their views on the balance between work, life and the environment."
Much of the promotion surrounding Bee Simulator focuses on how it's a family-friendly affair, and the developers seem to want to attract an audience that shies away from the kind of violence and mayhem that many modern games feature.
It's not all just sitting around and marveling about nature, however. The game features a plot involving saving your swarm from humans who want to cut down the tree that holds your hive. Players will take on quests given out by the queen bee and fly around an ersatz Central Park as they work to ensure the colony thrives and remains safe from harm.
The game even features combat against aggressive wasps and less-than-friendly people. There's no word yet on whether this combat will force players to sacrifice their lives by losing their stingers.
The game boasts multiplayer in the form of both co-op and versus modes, and also has an exploration mode where players don't have to worry about the existential threat that's featured in the main single-player story.
So, can a game that seems dedicated to exploring the place bees have in the world actually succeed? There are plenty of popular low-key simulator games, such as Farming Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2, but those simulate jobs, not the lives of insects. Animal simulators that actually make an effort to simulate the lives of animals is an untested market, so only time will tell whether Bee Simulator will end up being a surprise hit, a complete dud, or something in between.