You are... A group of bees just trying to gather pollen from flowers and then return to your beehive while avoiding a variety of obstacles in [b]BEE CAREFUL![/b], a Sokoban-styled game by [b]D3R[/b] written with the Unity engine.
Before the game "Portal" popularized the 3D first-person puzzler genre, the game "Sokoban" did so for 2D logic puzzles. The premise of "Sokoban" is well-known at this point where even people who don't play such games would be familiar with the concept: You play as an individual trying to push a box to a pre-determined goal and must avoid various obstacles.
In BEE CAREFUL, the premise has been stretched out somewhat; You are not so much pushing boxes to a pre-determined place but a group of bees that move as one. In other words, if two bees are together and one of them moves up one tile, the other one moves up one tile as well. The bees always keep their spacing and so if one bee is four tiles to the left of the other bee in their group, they will always stay that distance separated no matter how they move. The bees are so disciplined that if one bee can't follow an instruction (such as move to the right one tile) because of an obstruction (such as a tree), then the entire group can't move.
Staying in formation is the core gameplay mechanic of BEE CAREFUL and in order to alter this formation (and, in the few levels that I played where you had to alter that formation in order to complete the level), certain levels have more than one group of bees and certain bees are part of different groups. For example, if there is one group of bees (Group A) that contains bees #1, #2, #3 and another group (Group B) with #2 & #4, moving Group B allows a player to adjust the distance between bees #1 & #2.
There are a whole host of obstacles, however, beyond just jostling the distances that the bees keep themselves that a player must navigate the bees through. Campfires push toxic smoke in a conveyor-belt fashion, wild grass will spring up if a bee moves over certain tiles too many times, rain will pummel the bees unless they are under the cover of trees and the trunks of trees are obstacles themselves. Finally, fences are deadly obstacles which can't be flown over and the playing field is only so large which creates its own natural (but not deadly) wall. And you thought cellphone signals were dangerous to bees...
The presentation of the game is perfectly fine. The game itself could have been a strictly 2D perspective but it is rendered in an isometric 3D perspective which makes it more visually appealing for a modern audience. The graphics themselves have a sort of pixelated "Minecraft" appearance which, again, is perfectly fine for the environment. The blocky renderings does not hamper a viewer to distinguish a beehive from a flower, a fence from a puff of smoke from a campfire. If anything, the only time where the graphics got into trouble is when the "wild grass" grew to it's maximum amount; Is that a patch of tall grass or maybe a grasshopper (or some other insect, such as a praying mantis)? I eventually figured out that it was tall grass.
The music is serviceable enough although, like stereotypical elevator music, it does get distracting (for all of the wrong reasons) after a while. The game is a logic puzzle and, unless you are brilliant at such games, you will be staring at these levels for a while in an effort to complete them which means that you will be listening to the same music loop for that same while. After a few moments, I silenced the music so that I could concentrate on solving the level.
The game allows to either start a new game or continue from where you left off (at the start of the latest uncompleted level). A save-game feature is essential for these types of games and I was glad that such a feature was included.
The game is also a somewhat "language-neutral" game with the English language being used sparingly. As a seasoned gamer, I didn't entirely mind although some additional clarification may have been warranted. I understand a game developer's urge to appeal to the broadest possible base but I also enjoy the concept of understanding without having to interpret pictographs as well.
The game is not flawless although the flaws, like the concept of beauty, are certainly in the eyes of the beholder.
The game does expect the typical player to be somewhat adept at Sokoban-styled logic puzzles. There's not much of a ramp-up to truly challenging levels (at least, truly challenging levels [b]for me[/b]); All that you get are a few introductory levels and off-you-go into the deep end of the motel swimming pool. Sink or swim, indeed.
Gameplay elements aren't really introduced formally and you are just 'expected' to understand what they are, either through trial-and-error or intuition. Bumping into a tree trunk doesn't bother one of the bees but a fence is deadly. Bumping into a campfire doesn't bother a bee but colliding with its cubic puff of smoke is. Rain is not just cosmetic; It is to be avoided whenever possible and don't stay out it in for too long. Yes, all games expect gamers to "learn-as-they-go" to an extent but this game stretched that expectation out a little too far for myself.
There's also no level editor which, in my opinion, is never a good idea for puzzle games. Puzzle games don't have much replayability; Once you know the solution, that's it. A level editor allows for the games to have more interaction with the player and gives them a creative outlet if they truly enjoyed the game.
Despite these grievances, though, [b]I am generally recommending the game.[/b] I think that experienced Sokoban-styled logic-puzzle players will make short work of the levels that I had difficulty with. The graphics and theme are appealing enough for younger players and for players who only occasionally dabble in this genre of gaming. The grievances are legitimate - The paltry introductory levels, the over-reliance of pictographs to convey information, the "learn-as-you-go" gameplay mechanics - But none of them were, separately or together, enough to sour on the game as a whole. At 121 Megs, it's not a bad size for a game of its genre and content and can be kept on a hard drive as an "occasional" gaming experience whenever the mood strikes.
Although I may not be the audience for this type of game, BEE CAREFUL will likely BEE a hit with those who want a challenging Sokoban-styled experience. For everyone else, though... After the first few levels, be careful.
