I’m big into sim games. I reviewed a few of them here on WhatIfGaming – well, more than a few. Something about overseeing a virtual world and chilling around in it is extremely satisfying. City management simulators though? I have a little less domain knowledge there. I had some fun back in the day with SimCity 2000, but that’s about it. So, I’m really excited to review the weirdest city management sim out there in this Buildings Have Feelings Too review.
What is Buildings Have Feelings Too?
Buildings Have Feelings Too is a weird one to describe. At the base level, these Buildings Have Feelings Too review is a review of a city management sim game. You build neighborhoods, making sure to place the right buildings next to each other and expanding the city.
But, from here on it gets weirder. That’s because you play as a building in a 2d side-scroller. You go around talking to the building “citizens” of your city seeing what they need to feel better. So, it is also a bit of The Sims competition – not really.
In Buildings Have Feelings Too, your main objective is upgrading and balancing neighborhoods by talking to different buildings and seeing what they need. “Appeal” plays a big part of the game, too. You need to satisfy certain circumstances by placing the right buildings next to each other to get more appeal and upgrading your buildings. But it’s not just buildings, because you have to assign businesses to every building and what the business is matters.
There’s a good amount to learn when you start the game, but it is not overwhelming at any point. The most accurate description could be that Buildings Have Feelings Too is a micro-city management sim.
A Very Charming Experience
From the very first minute, there is a lot to love about Buildings Have Feelings Too. From the art style, to the polished menus, to the silly self-unconscious dialogue – the developers put a lot of love in the game.
After that, the charming experience continues as the game guides you elegantly through the game’s core mechanics. The tutorial is short and sweet and by the time you are done with it you are already in the main game.
The game also tackles the problem of aimlessness in a lot of simulation game by giving you tasks and quests. The tasks, however, can sometimes come in an order different to the order you’ll do them in. So, it is not exactly linear – and that’s a good thing.
I played a good amount of hours to write this Buildings Have Feelings Too review, and there was still a bit for me to do. After hours, I was still unlocking new buildings and businesses. There is no shortage of content in the game. New buildings said new things and gave new advice – if you were still willing to read at that point.
But What’s Next?
After hours of playing Buildings Have Feelings, I had to stop and ask: am I having fun? The answer to that was not very obvious, unfortunately. After learning all of the game’s mechanics and getting into a rhythm, the game quickly turns into a puzzle.
After a while the gameplay changes from managing your resources and monitoring your city, to a simple puzzle. Which buildings go next to which ones so you can upgrade the neighborhood and go upgrade more. In an attempt to make the game more accessible and charming than your average simulation/management game, the developers might have accidentally made the game too simple.
The gameplay is fun and all, but it gets very repetitive very fast. What kept me going at that point was the rhythm of the game. Doing the same actions over and over in a fairly polished environment is relaxing and comforting, but a bit boring.
Verdict
Buildings Have Feelings Too has been a long time in the making, and it shows. Besides a few hiccups here and there, the game is absolutely charming. Blackstaff Games put a lot of love into this one.
I thoroughly enjoyed Buildings Have Feelings Too, but the game was not able to maintain the fun as long as I’d hoped. It’s a fun game that will appeal to more than just hardcore city management sim fans. However, it had to sacrifice a bit of what makes the sim genre playable for weeks on end.
This Buildings Have Feelings Too review does not cover everything, however. Going from the Victorian era all the way to the modern era and more, there is a lot to see in this game. So, if you’re interested in this charming experience, make sure to check Buildings Have Feelings Too on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PS4.
This review is based on the PC version of Buildings Have Feelings Too! The key was provided by Merge Games
