Before We Leave (2020)

Balancing Monkey Games, Team17

Main
17
hours
Main + Extra
22
hours
Platinum
28
hours

Before We Leave is a non-violent city building game set on multiple planets in your own cozy corner of the universe. Your people emerge from a long period hidden underground and they’ve forgotten the world above. Rebuild civilization back to what it once was by building huts, harvesting potatoes and expanding your reborn society to other continents and eventually other planets. Manage resources, discover ancient tech and create a multi-planet network of colonies to thrive in your solar system. But the universe is not always a safe place. Ancient guardians, remnants of your ancestors, will demand your attention and challenge your cities. The planets you inhabit are scarred by the disasters that forced your forebears underground, and those disasters will still plague you if not managed properly. And most of all, watch out for vast planet-eating space whales coming to graze on your planets! Before We Leave is a (mostly) non-violent game. There are no weapons, no fighting your neighbours for control of resources and unless you fail to handle an incoming space whale, your people will not die. Play, expand and chill out at your own pace in your own solar system of rehabilitated planets!

Platforms

Mac Switch PC PS4 PS5 XONE Series X|S

Genres

Indie Simulator Strategy

Themes

Sandbox Science fiction

Languages: English and 10 more

Interface Audio Subtitles
Chinese (Simplified)
English
Italian
Japanese
French
German
Portuguese (Brazil)
Spanish (Spain)
Turkish
Russian
English (UK)

Media

Critic Reviews

Rapid Reviews UK

By Sophie Hunt
90

In a world where life moves at a million miles an hour, everyone needs some downtime. Whether that be going for a leisurely jog around the block or staying in to enjoy some escapism through the latest Nintendo release. Gaming has been a part of our lives for a very long time (1972 specifically) and has been used as a tool to escape the harsh reality of modern-day life. We are lucky that we have such a wide variety of games available to choose from. One of the most popular genres is simulation.

07 Jul, 2023 Read full review

Pure Nintendo

By Bill Stiteler
60

Before We Leave promises to be "gentle" and "relaxing" city-building game, and it is until you reach its game-breaking bugs. I guess you can't expect the post-apocalypse to be all fun all the time.

08 Sep, 2022 Read full review

NintendoWorldReport

By John Rairdin
75

It is a combination of having limited real estate to display a lot of information, and then picking all the wrong information to show in that space. When you're not wrestling with it, the actual moment-to-moment gameplay is very satisfying. It looks sharp and sounds fantastic. There are some hurdles to make it over, but it is hard to deny the underlying charm of Before We Leave.

17 Aug, 2022 Read full review

Nindie Spotlight

By Justin Nation
80

Smart strategic city-building and a pro-environment vibe help this sim stand out as something enjoyable

12 Aug, 2022 Read full review

FingerGuns

By Miles Thompson
70

Before We Leave is a comforting and accessible city building simulator that will entice and equally challenge you. The momentum occasionally stutters and micro-managing your ever-expanding cities can be a pain at times, but your Peeps will never cease to entice you back in. Helping this fledging society of tiny cute figures colonise islands and planets from neanderthal to fully-developed modern society is a fundamentally lovely experience. Saving them from space whales is certainly tough, but it’s also a wholesome, worthwhile endeavour.

08 Aug, 2022 Read full review

Similar Games