I was very excited to see this release on Steam, as it is inspired by Spore, one of my all-time favorite games. However, after playing for some time, I can say that I was thoroughly disappointed.

For one, the game’s tutorial is not all too helpful. It teaches the very basics, like movement, camera controls, etc. It does also describe how to add animals to your pack, but it does not describe the genetics system at all, which is what the game is built around. I just found that rather odd, having to learn how to manage my pack’s genetics through trial and error.

It felt like I was not reaching for any particular goal when playing as well. Sure I could breed my pack in such a way as to get the perfect genes, but what do I look forward to beyond that? Moving to a new island is not particularly exciting either. There is no real clear goal in mind other than surviving, and that in itself is not all that fun, as its just a repeat of the same actions over and over.

Overall, I do not think I can play this game for more than an hour at a time. It just gets too repetitive past that point with no clear objective in mind. If anything, I believe that a younger crowd would find more enjoyment out of Niche and it may even prove educational with regards to genetics.

You can buy Niche – A Genetics Survival Game here on Steam.

I was provided a free review copy of the game. Read more about how I do my game reviews here.