Mini Review: Bee Simulator - A Good Natured Game, But It Still Stings

There's a simulator for all kinds of weirdly specific things these days, to the point where it's a bit of a running joke. Some really are trying to portray a true to life experience, while others use the moniker ironically. Bee Simulator flies closer to the latter camp, although instead of aiming for cheap laughs, it's hoping to inform and entertain at the same time. Aimed predominantly at children, this is an education on the fuzzy little critters, but as a game, it's unlikely to get much positive buzz.

Playing as a young honey bee, you'll learn the ropes inside the hive before flying out into the Central Park-esque world. Your primary goal is to gather pollen from flowers by flying through rings and taking it back to base, but you'll also engage in battles with antagonistic wasps, a Simon Says style dancing mini-game, and other side quests. Dreadful voice acting aside, the main story is really quite sweet, and completing it unlocks Free Flight mode so you can explore the large (but ugly) sandbox.

Doing so is a bit of a pain, though. Flight is far too fiddly to be much fun, and all the game's activities are extremely simple. Playing the game on Hard puts a timer on certain things and makes combat less straightforward, but the only real difficulty you'll find is in keeping your bee under control. Perhaps the best part of the game is that flora and fauna are added to a glossary as you find them, providing you with some information on each, and you can add 3D models of them to the hive if you've accrued enough Knowledge Points. As a game, Bee Simulator isn't all that enjoyable, but its heart is in the right place.