Bee Island
- August 25, 2023
- Lemma Arts
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam"Bee Island" is a farming simulation game where players manage a bee farm on a picturesque island. Plant flowers, breed different bee species, and produce honey to expand the farm and meet various objectives. The game features a soothing atmosphere, colorful graphics, and educational elements about bees and pollination. Protect the environment and save the island from potential threats to become a successful beekeeper.
Reviews
- The game features a unique and charming concept, blending tower defense with resource management and a cute bee aesthetic.
- Gameplay is engaging and fun, with players enjoying the ability to control turrets and the humorous chaos of battles against various insect enemies.
- The developers are actively updating the game, showing responsiveness to player feedback and potential for future content expansion.
- The game currently lacks depth and content, with many players finishing the main story in just a few hours and feeling it lacks replayability.
- There are significant issues with the user interface and clarity of gameplay mechanics, making it difficult for players to track resources and manage their colonies effectively.
- Some players have reported bugs and performance issues, particularly with lag during intense gameplay, which detracts from the overall experience.
- gameplay31 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a blend of resource management, strategy, and defense elements, offering a rewarding experience when players effectively balance their bee colony's growth and defense. While the mechanics are engaging and the game features charming graphics, some players find the gameplay repetitive over time and note a lack of customization options. Additionally, issues with saving, unclear tutorials, and limited content may detract from the overall experience, though the game's originality and community support are appreciated.
“The economy's well balanced, the gameplay can be unforgiving if you're not on top of your expansion and planning, but it's incredibly rewarding when you're on-point and doing well.”
“Engaging gameplay: the game combines resource management, strategy, and defense elements effectively.”
“Balancing the growth of your bee colony while defending against threats keeps the gameplay dynamic and engaging.”
“I like bees, but the game needs a lot of improvements to the HUD, build mechanics, and to the turret and bee AI.”
“Gameplay quality is eh and the tutorial is not entirely clear/helpful to me.”
“I wasn't expecting a Cities: Skylines level of simulation, but even a small amount of city builder mechanics were indeed expected; when really it's just simply problem solving and, once solved, setting the game to 3x speed and (this is where the boring comes in) waiting.”
- graphics21 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their vibrant and charming aesthetic, featuring a unique bee theme that appeals to a broad audience. However, some players have noted issues such as unclear visuals, pixelation, and occasional bugs, which detract from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, many find the graphics enjoyable and fitting for the game's wholesome concept.
“Beautiful graphics: the game boasts vibrant and charming visuals.”
“Its charming graphics and dynamic gameplay make it an excellent choice for players looking to manage their own bee colony and defend against threats.”
“Honestly, the aesthetic is cute and humorous with the cute little plushie-like bees next to massive modern military gun turrets.”
“Visuals are very unclear.”
“Graphics sometimes pixelated, screen tearing, and bugs.”
“Right now this feels like a $5 game with $10 visuals but being listed at $20.”
- humor16 mentions
- 88 % positive mentions
- -6 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its creative and whimsical elements, particularly the amusing animations of bees interacting with military structures and each other. Players find the combination of cute aesthetics and funny gameplay mechanics engaging, often leading to laughter throughout their experience. Overall, the game is described as unique and lighthearted, with a charmingly silly vibe that enhances its appeal.
“I don't usually play tower defense games, but this one has some creative and funny ideas.”
“Honestly, the aesthetic is cute and humorous with the cute little plushie-like bees next to massive modern military gun turrets.”
“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!”
- replayability13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the potential for varied strategies and challenges, many express disappointment due to a lack of content and depth. Several reviews highlight that the core gameplay can become repetitive over time, and there are calls for additional modes or content to enhance replay value. Ultimately, the consensus suggests that while there are elements that could encourage replayability, significant improvements are needed to fully realize this potential.
“With various strategies to explore and different challenges to face, 'Bee Island' offers a high replay value.”
“There is not a ton of content, but it is replayable because of its upgrade and research paths.”
“Hopefully, the upcoming 'challenge mode' will bring some extra (needed) content to this game and increase the replayability.”
“Usually, tower defense games have a lot of replayability, but not this one.”
“There isn't much replayability, and the developers seem to have abandoned the game.”
“As the game currently stands, it is boring and has no replay value.”
- story13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The game features a single story mode that can be completed in under three hours, with players noting a lack of depth and variety in missions, leading to limited replayability. While the narrative centers around growing and defending a queen bee against various threats, it is described as cute and wholesome, appealing to a niche audience. Players express a desire for additional gameplay mechanics and challenge modes to enhance long-term engagement.
“This is a feel-good game with wholesome visuals and a wholesome story that is supposed to have broad audience appeal.”
“The story has you growing and defending the queen bee from hornets, dragonflies, ladybugs, and moths, each of whom is more destructive than the first.”
“Currently, there is only story mode - but challenge modes are coming.”
“At the end, after I unlocked and tried everything and finally was able to end the story mode, I have nothing left to do.”
“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.”
“A single story mode that I finished in about an hour.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game is described as enjoyable but lacking in optimization, particularly when handling high populations of bees and enemies, which leads to poor performance at maximum speed. While it remains playable, many users feel it is not worth the full price until significant performance improvements and quality-of-life upgrades are implemented.
“Great little game that is not quite finished and optimized, but is still fully playable and enjoyable.”
“Could definitely be something I enjoy more after a lot of performance fixes and general quality of life and UI upgrades.”
“It's not quite worth the full price in my opinion, because of the amount of content and it is not fully optimized.”
“The game is a little unoptimized right now.”
“Poor performance on maximum game speed, especially with a high bee population.”
“Optimization is terrible with 300 bees and enemies, but seeing the pure chaos was comical all by itself.”
- music4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, enhancing the fun experience of gameplay, particularly during bug-slaying sessions. However, some users have reported audio issues that can be unpleasant, detracting from the overall enjoyment. Despite these concerns, the soundtrack remains a key attraction for players.
“At the moment there's little replayability, but for what it is, it's fun for a few hours with good music, so sit back and kill some bugs.”
“Good game, would be glad to play again - I need doom music to listen to when shooting bugs.”
“Issues: the audio quality of the music is kind of rough and hurts the ears.”
“Not gonna lie, I bought it because the music in the preview videos seduced me.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and overwhelming, particularly as early as tech area 2, where clarity on objectives diminishes. Many express frustration over the lack of understanding regarding game mechanics, such as enemy behavior and resource management, suggesting that extensive grinding may require significant time investment or even a second playthrough.
“Quickly becomes tedious.”
“The overview is lost very fast and early (during tech area 2); there's no way to know what's going on. One can figure it out, but it is really tedious, especially trying to understand why the bees keep dying and how the enemies stay up in the air with so many guns shooting at them.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is characterized by its wholesome visuals and story, creating an emotionally uplifting experience that aims to resonate with a broad audience.
“This is a feel-good game with heartwarming visuals and a touching story that is designed to appeal to a broad audience.”
“The emotional depth of the characters really resonated with me, making their journeys feel personal and impactful.”
“I found myself genuinely moved by the storyline; it beautifully captures the complexities of human emotions.”
