There's a simulator for all sorts of weirdly specific things these days, so much so that it's a joke. Some really try to portray a true-to-life experience, while others use the moniker ironically. Bee Simulator leans towards the latter camp, though instead of aiming for cheap laughs, it hopes to inform and entertain at the same time. Aimed primarily at children, it's an education in little critters, but as a game it's unlikely to generate positive buzz.
Playing as a young bee, you'll learn the ropes in the hive before soaring into the world of Central Park. Your main objective is to collect pollen from flowers by flying over rings and bringing it back to base, but you'll also have to fight antagonistic wasps, a Simon Says-style dance mini-game, and other side quests. The creepy voice plays aside, the main story is really sweet, and finishing it unlocks Free Flight mode for you to explore the big (but ugly) sandbox.
However, this is a bit painful. The flight is way too tricky to be fun, and all of the game's activities are extremely simple. Playing in Defer mode delays some things and makes combat less straightforward, but the only real difficulty you'll encounter is 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, giving you information about each. You can add 3D models of them to the hive if you have accumulated enough knowledge points. As a game, Bee Simulator isn't very enjoyable, but its heart is in the right place.
- Good educational elements
- The music is good
- Frustrating flight controls
- Visually dated
- Getting caught in a spider's web is scary
Poor 4/10
Scoring policy
Review copy provided by Bigben Interactive
