Before We Leave Review

Before We Leave is a hex based city/planet building game that offers nice graphic elements and gaming experience.I was initially attracted to this game because of the hex element of the game, it gave me tabletop gaming vibes, which I have an inclination to like because I collect and play board games regularly. Not to mention the post apocalyptic theme of emerging from the ground. Hits a lot of nails on the head with the theme and design department.

The game play is fun and as I suspected since you are using hexes , you may get buffs on your touching edges on the buildings you play. For example putting houses close together may give you more slots for inhabitants (or peeps as the game calls them) of your town. There is a skill tree that makes buildings soft locked in gradual layers depending on your progression in the tree. I am a fan of skill and progression trees, I feel like it’s often the beating heart of sandbox games like this. I felt like the progression was a little fast at first and then hit a wall where it became so apparent. Its key to build your city and not rush it. There is a balance to the flow of the game and the tutorial does a great job getting you into the grooves and progressions that can lead to success.

Graphically your hexes are larger in size on a planet that your view derives from. I think it has a very ideal and good design. The peeps running around are nice to watch as they are automatically doing jobs and tasks that you have put into your city. The spherical shape of the planet and map make the growth and expansion of your city rather attractive to watch progress. This game looked great on all settings and more than expected settings in the menu.

This is a very well polished game. The idea of this game was very indicative of many things we have seen before but the combination of graphical design with the planet and hexes and fantastic tree makes this game set itself apart. It played right into my interests in board gaming and presented it to me in a growing world vibrantly displayed on screen. Certainly worth the coin it costs getting those peeps out of the ground to rebuild humanity!