Do you have any idea how stressful it is to manage a pack of wild animals? To see them starving, injured, or sick? To care for their well-being, their offspring, and, ultimately, their survival? Niche - A Genetics Survival Game pulls no punches and casually teaches you about evolutionary genetics along the way.
Starting out with a small pack of animals on an unexplored stretch of land, your task is to ensure their survival not only by finding nourishment and protecting them from predators, but also from expanding your pack by breeding and - lest there be incestuous complications further down the road - finding more potential mates out there.
This is where it gets interesting: not only do outsiders add to the gene pool and allow new mutations to proliferate, spontaneous mutations are also possible, if less likely than the former method. This allows you to develop and purposefully breed more defensive capabilities, such as horns to fend off attackers. On the other side of the spectrum we have the option to turn our species into peaceful gatherers, improving their food-collecting talents. With a lot of varied traits - most of which are not available due to Niche being an Early Access release - this allows for some interesting choices and adds replayability.
Well, I have to admit that all of this is merely theory right now, because the wildlife is not easy and I'm still struggling with the way it all works. There is no tutorial yet, so your first few rounds will be spent grasping the game's concepts and trying out different things - most of which will probably spell an early doom for your species. The game is turn-based with limited actions, which are further restricted by the fact that every action requires food. Thus, every move matters, and you can waste precious time just by moving an animal from one point to the other. And there's so much that can go wrong. Starvation, predators, old age, accidentally stabbing yourself on a prickly plant while gathering food... lots of ways to die, so you better make the best of each animal's limited lifespan.
Underneath the cute exterior, there is actual science to back it all up, such as the five pillars of population genetics and whatnot. However, this is not a dreary educational tool but a clever game, with the genetics being interwoven into the general gameplay fabric. If there's one thing to be said in these early days, it's that Niche doesn't quite feel like a fully-fledged strategy game yet, more like a survival sandbox with intriguing breeding mechanics. However, if things continue has they have so far, it will be a wonderfully tense, utterly unique game by the time it leaves Early Access early next year.
You can purchase Niche - A Genetics Survival Game from Steam Early Access for $18.99. For more information, visit the game's website or follow its progress on Twitter.
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