Bee Island

About Bee Island

Bee Island is a single player and multiplayer survival city builder game. It was developed by Lemma Arts and was released on August 25, 2023. It received positive reviews from players.

Take control of the hive and protect it from enemies. Build factories, wonders of the world and defence. Research technologies and, if necessary, use nuclear weapons, but do not let the enemies harm the queen!

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Reviews

87%Audience ScoreBased on 816 reviews

gameplay19 positive mentions

replayability5 negative mentions

Unique and fun blend of tower defense, base building, and resource management with the charming theme of bees vs. hornets.
Ability to manually control bees and turrets adds an engaging and satisfying layer to the gameplay.
Game has a cozy and humorous aesthetic with a good progression system from basic medieval to advanced modern and sci-fi weaponry.

Limited content and short campaign with low replayability; the game can be completed in a few hours.
Performance issues, especially lag and frame rate drops as the game progresses with many units and projectiles.
Lack of quality of life features including poor UI/UX, unclear resource and unit info, awkward controls, and no difficulty settings.

gameplay
71 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27% positive mentions, 69% neutral mentions, 4% negative mentions
The gameplay is praised for its unique and addictive mechanics, combining hive management, tower defense, and direct control of military bees, offering a satisfying and dynamic experience. However, some players find it repetitive over time, with limited content variety and a somewhat weak tutorial, while others note issues with UI, optimization, and short progression. Overall, it delivers fun and engaging gameplay with potential for deeper complexity through future updates.
- “The idea of bees with guns and factories is the type of game I like with wild ideas and interesting game mechanics.”
- “The timed approach to preparing your base for enemy waves, followed by jumping into the action as one of your military units, keeps the gameplay dynamic and engaging.”
- “The game adds a unique twist by integrating tower defense mechanics with active combat, allowing for strategic base-building and hands-on fighting.”
- “In just over half an hour, the gameplay loop never changed even slightly from the first 5 minutes of play.”
- “Terrible optimization, boring gameplay, I don't recommend downloading.”
- “The camera movement has acceleration and deceleration, it's so weird to move, you do get used to it after a couple hours of gameplay, but still, such a weird decision.”
graphics
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40% positive mentions, 53% neutral mentions, 7% negative mentions
The graphics feature a simple, polygonal, and cute aesthetic that complements the game's strategic and defensive gameplay, appealing to players who enjoy charming, wholesome visuals over flashy or highly polished effects. While some users noted occasional performance issues on lower-end PCs and minor visual clarity problems, many praised the art style for its unique and engaging vibe, likening it to an early 2000s flash game but with a distinct charm. Overall, the visuals effectively support long play sessions and enhance the game's atmosphere, especially when fully immersed in its bee-themed world.
- “The moment I dived into 'bee island,' I was greeted with breathtaking visuals and meticulous attention to detail.”
- “Beautiful graphics: the game boasts vibrant and charming visuals.”
- “The visuals may look a bit rough but when you get into the game and all the pieces start working together it's actually quite beautiful.”
- “But when a game has a low-poly aesthetic, I always feel a little lied to when it runs slowly.”
- “At least give us some more graphics settings, jeez.”
- “Graphics sometimes pixelated, screen tearing, and bugs.”
story
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10% positive mentions, 82% neutral mentions, 8% negative mentions
The game's story mode is brief, straightforward, and mainly serves to advance gameplay rather than provide deep narrative, with most players finishing it within two to three hours. Some find it charming and enjoyable, while others criticize it for lacking depth, variety, and polish, with little replay value once completed. Additional modes are promised but currently, the experience revolves largely around wave-based defense without significant storytelling elements.
- “Rather than relying on narrative exposition or scripted events, Bee Island tells its story through systems, pressure, and player-driven problem solving, creating an experience that feels both methodical and tense.”
- “The story has you growing and defending the queen bee from hornets, dragonflies, ladybugs, and moths, each of which are more destructive than the first.”
- “Buzzing music, bee-autiful story, stinging turns and twists.”
- “You cannot play other modes until you complete story mode which is broken, I have no idea how there are so many positive reviews on this.”
- “Almost no story except for the three pointless endings.”
- “So far the entire story can be beaten in less than two hours and there isn't enough depth to justify starting a new game.”
humor
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
91% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 9% negative mentions
The game is widely praised for its humorous and charming tone, blending silly, cute bee characters with absurd, ludicrous tower defense gameplay. Reviewers frequently mention how the funny animations, witty dialogue, and creative upgrades keep the experience lighthearted and entertaining throughout. Overall, the humor significantly enhances the game's appeal and replay value.
- “Bee Island is a very funny, silly game that brings cooler and cooler upgrades as you progress.”
- “This game is for you if you like absolutely ludicrous base building tower defence games where you destroy increasingly insane and funny enemies as you go along.”
- “Funny and cute animations of bees bumping into structures and each other keep this game light on the heart while keeping you engaged and challenged with the next tiers of enemies.”
- “You're not funny!”
- “You're not funny!”
- “You're not funny!”
replayability
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14% positive mentions, 69% neutral mentions, 17% negative mentions
Replayability in the game is mixed, with some players appreciating multiple endings, different strategies, and additional modes like sandbox and challenge, while others find it limited due to a linear campaign, repetitive gameplay, and lack of depth. Technical issues and bugs in challenge mode further detract from replay value, though varied research paths and resource management offer some incentive for replay. Overall, it provides moderate replayability but may not hold long-term interest for all players.
- “Research paths can steer your colony toward different victory conditions, encouraging varied strategies and replayability.”
- “Its blend of colony management and defense creates a constant tension between growth and survival, while its flexible systems encourage experimentation and replayability.”
- “4-replay value: with various strategies to explore and different challenges to face, "bee island" offers a high replay value.”
- “Decent game, it's not very replayable. It's fun for a little bit but it gets pretty boring after you get halfway through your first run.”
- “Currently there is next to no replayability, so I can't see myself coming back to it.”
- “As game currently stands, it is boring and has no replay value.”
optimization
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27% positive mentions, 46% neutral mentions, 27% negative mentions
The game suffers from significant performance and optimization issues, especially in later stages with many units and projectiles, causing frequent lag and CPU strain. While some players find the gameplay enjoyable, poor optimization, lack of quality-of-life features, and limited developer support detract from the overall experience, making it less recommended until improvements are made.
- “Structures can be placed freely across the terrain, allowing players to design sprawling, organic hives or tightly optimized industrial layouts.”
- “Great little game that is not quite finished and optimized, but is still fully playable and good.”
- “It's got bones, but would benefit greatly from optimization.”
- “Either way, the performance issues are a dealbreaker for me, especially as there doesn't seem to be any support from the devs for this game anymore.”
- “Unfortunately, performance tanks heavily as the game goes on, especially with the addition of the minigun towers.”
- “- Poor performance on maximum game speed, especially with high bee population.”
music
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46% positive mentions, 31% neutral mentions, 23% negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for enhancing the overall experience, being unexpectedly engaging, non-repetitive, and emotionally impactful, with some describing it as a masterpiece. It complements the gameplay and story well, adding a unique charm, though a few users noted occasional audio issues that can detract from the enjoyment. Overall, the soundtrack stands out as a significant positive aspect of the game.
- “Really fun and great game; the music was so unexpected and made it so much better. For a tower defense game, it feels great, and the progression from the Stone Age into nukes and cyberpunk weapons is amazing. Highly recommend the game.”
- “The campaign surprised me, especially the music (in a good way).”
- “There were moments where I would simply pause to let the music wash over me, feeling both tranquility and inspiration.”
- “Issues: audio issue with the music is kinda rough and hurts the ears.”
- “Where is the soundtrack? I need it.”
- “Not gonna lie, I bought it because the music in the preview videos seduced me.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 25% neutral mentions, 75% negative mentions
Grinding in the game quickly becomes tedious and overwhelming, with unclear mechanics and confusing enemy behavior that make progression frustrating and require significant repetitive effort.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Quickly becomes tedious.”
- “The overview is lost very fast and early (during tech area 2), making it hard to know what's going on. It's really tedious to figure out why the bees keep dying or how the enemies stay in the air despite many guns shooting at them.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions
The game shows promising potential but is hampered by noticeable glitches, bugs, and poor balance that affect gameplay stability. Several users experienced issues like rounds not ending properly and buggy audio, detracting from the overall experience.
- “The challenges did not improve the game and were poorly balanced and buggy.”
- “It's very fun although some glitches occurred (was in round 8 and I killed every enemy but the round was still going on).”
- “There are definitely some glitches and sometimes it can be unfair.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The game delivers a deeply emotional experience through its heartfelt story, passionate world-building, and wholesome visuals, creating a strong connection with players. It appeals broadly, especially to those who appreciate art, music, and emotional depth in gaming.
- “This is a feel-wholesome game with wholesome visuals and a wholesome story that is supposed to have broad audience appeal.”
- “The emotional arcs and the sheer passion embedded within the world-building left a lasting impression on me.”
- “A must-have for anyone who appreciates art, music, and a deep emotional connection with the digital medium.”