Preserve: First Impressions
Release Date: Q3 2024
Developer: Bitmap Galaxy
System: Steam PC
Price: TBD
I grew up playing so many of the OG SIM games on PC. My dad would bring home new floppy disks (the save icon for those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about) and eventually CDs to install new games that my sister and I would play for hours on end. One of those games, that still lives in my brain rent free, was Sim Park by Maxis. You had to build your own state park and change the ecosystem to have a suitable and maintainable landscape for the plant life and critters who came to visit.
When I first saw Preserve it took me back to playing Sim Park as a kid. Why yes, yes I would love to figure out the best layouts and terrain setups to give the most creatures possible a happy place to live. The goal in each mode of the game is the same: balance the ecosystem to “preserve” nature and wildlife. The overall game play is easy to understand, but the undertaking of creating the best biome to get higher and higher scores can be quite intricate.
The game randomly generates land chunks that you place together like a puzzle. There are different cards, which also seem to spawn randomly, that can be used to create different water sources, environments, and animals. Habitats can be expanded to house more critters, but beware, if you connect chunks housing too many animals you may need to remove a few to maintain the habitat.
The random generation of the playing parts and many different modes help keep the game-play fresh, time and time again. The modes include a creative mode where you can do whatever you want, puzzle mode (a set of 10 puzzles for each biome) where your goal is to reach a certain number of points to pass each level, and then three different sizes of the general biome modes where you can work to beat your own high score. With the demo only the first biome is unlocked with 5 puzzles and the first two map sizes, I was able to complete all of the puzzles and my high score for the medium map was 1564. I was soooo close to hitting the next achievement level but just couldn’t make it.
One thing I haven’t mentioned are the graphics and audio. The graphics and art style are simple, but still quite detailed. Even though the same few landscapes and animals are repeated throughout the game the patterns and colors vary slightly giving the imagery depth. I can’t wait to see the differences in the other biomes too!
The audio. My goodness. I sat with this game open, even when I wasn’t playing it, just for the background music. It is so cheerful, peaceful and calming, like a spa day for your ears and mind. The sound effects themselves are not overwhelming and fit exactly what is happening in the game ie: rainfall, grass sprouting, etc. Check out the trailer below for some snippets of the audio!
Keep in mind I only played a demo of this game, so there were many features that I was unable to unlock at this time. There are more puzzles, biomes, and larger game maps that I cannot wait to explore when the game is released later this year. If you like cozy games, you should definitely add this one to your wishlist!
Special thanks to Bitmap Galaxy for providing the Gamers Lounge with a demo of Preserve.