For what “Hive Time” lacks in scientific accuracy, it more than makes up for in puns and fun – Review

A while back, I’d asked our lovely Twitter followers about indie management sims. Among the recommendations (which included the excellent Two Point Hospital), Hive Time, a game in which you manage a beehive, was of particular interest.

I just had to find out what all the buzz was about.

Firstly, I have to commend the bravery of the game’s devs to allow users to pay what they want for it. Personally, I think this is a great way for devs, and indie devs, in particular, to allow potential fans to find their games without being put off by having to pay for a game that they’re not sure they’ll even like.

I think that if you do end up enjoying the game, you owe it to yourself and the devs to pay for it. I’m not going to tell you how much you should pay for this game as you can just pay what you feel the game’s worth (there’s a suggested price of $10).

In Hive Time, your main objective is to manage the beehive by finding the right balance of various resources (wax, pollen, nectar, honey, and jelly) and controlling the number of bees assigned to various tasks so that everything runs smoothly.

You should find it very easy to pick up and play, even if you haven’t ever played these types of games before. Furthermore, with all construction taking place within a hexagonal honeycomb structure, you don’t even need to be that handy with a mouse as pixel-perfect clicking won’t be required at all.

I found the simplicity made the game very accessible and I was immediately enamoured by it. That said, I can see how some players might find it lacking in depth. Personally, I found that there was enough parameters to juggle and tweak to keep it challenging and enjoyable but I also know that sometimes you just want to micromanage to your heart’s content…

This isn’t a scientifically accurate game and the tone wouldn’t really match a serious management sim, after all. However, it’s better for it as it’s really sweet and all the in-game messages are well written and fun, especially if you love a good pun! Since you’ll be playing with a smile on your face, it’s hard to feel down when an event upsets the balance of your hive.

The Verdict

Hive Time is a management sim that allows you to just sit back and relax. While you might yearn for more depth, it generally strikes a good balance with its light-hearted humour and rewarding gameplay.

While the game’s technically available for free, I would recommend that you pick it up, give it a go, and then pay the devs a fair sum for the game that they’ve clearly put a lot of love into.

Hive Time was developed by Josh Bush and Miriam Roser with music by Peter Silk. It’s available on PC.