Por que sí:
- Así es como deberían de hacerse los videojuegos educativos
- Varias opciones de personalización incluyendo especies de abejas
- Te sentirás como una abeja de verdad

Por qué no:
- Quitando de lado los controles, de simulador de abejas tiene muy poco
- Salvo por las flores, hay muy pocos elementos con los que interactuar en el mundo
- Los minijuegos que son casi todo el juego se volverán sumamente repetitivos.

Veredicto final:
Un juego corto, pero divertido, y sobre todo que enseña acerca de las abejas. Lo recomendaría más bien para pequeños. Ademas le cambiaría el título al juego, pues siento que de simulador se quedó corto.

As a Beekeeper, I saw this game as a humble monthly game and decided that what the heck I'll claim and play it.
Unfortunately the "Simulator" is very misleading, as 30 min into the game I had too many "This is not how its supposed to bee (pun intended)".

What I saw was cute and all, but really too many misleading aspects of hive infrastructure and bee behavior. 2 of the major things that bothered me was the way the Queen's role has been portrayed, and how the inside of the hive has this "castle with multiple chambers" effect.

I did like the facts on the loading screens with how accurate they were though.
It can work as a kids game to cultivate an interest in bees and maybe keep them entertained for a while. I've read some of the other reviews and saw similar issues and a lack of more content. I understand that a 1 to 1 ratio of real life to game is impossible, and that in the end to make a game some aspects needs to be changed or ignored.

The game was not tagged as "Simulation" , but the "Simulator" in the title gives the wrong impression at face value. Overall beautiful artwork and environment.

Apart from one huge, glaring, and omnipresent error, it's actually a pretty good game. (The error is that they persistently refer to bees gathering pollen to make honey. Bees gather nectar to make honey, the pollen sticks to them in order to benefit the plants, not the bees.) I wouldn't really call it a "simulator", though, it's more of a "bee rpg". There's lots of little side stuff to do if you're into that, so while the story is pretty short you can play it for quite a while if you like.

It's extremely family-friendly but the actual game mechanics are well developed so even an adult could enjoy this game if they're in the right mood.

Love this game I really do, but as a hobby entomologist, I just wish it was not based around Honey Bee propaganda, it's exaggerated misinformation :( native pollinators are extremely important, the eu-honeybee is a disaster for the ecosystem and native bees sadly. that aside, great game, really lovely and insightful on the hard work honey bees do and how it goes.

Just finished playing the main story on hard mode all the way through as soon as the game came out and haven't finished collecting everything the game has to offer.

First off, I think the game has potential to appeal to more hardcore gamers especially with the different mechanics (fighting is honestly super fun, but gets boring as it becomes repetitive). I can imagine some sort of skill tree or stat progression so you can potentially fight another hornet or another species. There is also room for online multiplayer, but that may be asking too much.

Second, I bought the game while it's on sale for $20.99 and I think I had to reach to justify this purchase while it's on sale. I can only imagine how poorly this game would sell when it's not on sale (I've seen it's going to be listed for $40 and I would never buy it for $40).

Lastly, if you find yourself justifying this game's purchase, the main story takes 2-4 hours to complete depending on how fast you're trying to complete the game and if you decide to avoid side quests. The skins are super cool (I got the CyBee one) and I'll take time to go back and complete side quests to see if it helps justify the pricing.

The game is made for children and if you go in with a childlike mindset, it's enjoyable. However, this is only after you justify the game's price and take a dive into Bee-dom.

Overall a solid 6.5/10, I slightly recommend.

P.S. I forgot to mention some of the issues with the camera when you fly close to objects (ground, rocks, trees, etc.) so you might have an issue with trying to fly too fast.

This game is full of bee misinformation. Everything from the hive structure, to behavior of the bees is incorrect and most of the "facts" presented are inaccurate.

Beyond that, the gameplay is cumbersome, boring, and repetitive with far too many notes taken from Superman 64.

Beyond being not worth your money, it is not worth your time.

Saw this game on steam before it was available for purchase, and put it on my wishlist, because it looked amazing. But, after playing through the whole thing, I'm very disappointed, it's not what I thought it would be :( It's ok, but definitely a disappointment, not anywhere near as good as I hoped it would be, it is good enough that I can recommend it, but only really to kids, mainly because of the first con below:

Cons -
1. The voiceovers in this game, for the bees and other animals, are very baby-ish; from an adult point-of-view, this is a minus, for kids, though, I think this would be appealing. The voiceover for the bee you play as is pretty good, though, so it's not too bad. But, still, as an adult I'm very disappointed that they brought a baby-ish theme into it, I was expecting better from this game :(

2. Humans sound really weird....there are humans everywhere in this game, in free roam, but they're a disappointment, because:
1. They don't talk, whenever you fly close enough to them, you hear them just making these really weird mumbling noises, it's a really strange thing to listen to....to give you an example, ever watched the old TV show 'Chowder,' about that purple kid that loves eating and cooking? Well, there's a character in there called Schnitzel, and the only way he talks is by making noises like 'Rada rada rada.' Well, that's a lot what people in this game sound like.
And 2. Coupled with that first one, they just make robotic hand movements or move in a way that doesn't make them look realistic. I mean, the way they look is good enough, but considering this game came out this year, where game developing in general has come a long way, I really think they could have done a little bit better of a job than this, at least with their movements and sound....

3. Story is too short. There's nothing better in a game than having a good long story that keeps you entertained for a long time. The story plot in this game is good and engaging, even teaches you some good life lessons about the bees, and why they are so important, but it's too short, it should have gone on for much longer.

4. Steam achievements are totally bugged. I know without a doubt that I've done a lot of things in this game that should have given me the steam achievements, but it says I haven't even completed a single one of them. Not the worst problem out there, but still annoying...

Pros -
1. Flight. The flying in this game is just stunning. Panoramic views as you fly up down, forwards and back in all directions (you can even crawl around up walls and upside down on the ceiling, and fly upside down), making it a great little game to come to, for all ages, if you feel you need to de-stress; flying around as a little bee in free roam is very relaxing :) And it's fun, too, you can fly so fast, too, especially when you make sharp turns! ^_^

2. You wouldn't think there would actually be the option to customize the look of your character in a game where you play as a bee, but there is ^_^ Not only can you change the look of your bee, you can also choose what pattern trails out behind you when you fly fast (or choose not to have one at all), or give your bee cute little hats (like a little pirate hat, mining hat, or headphones, etc.), it's adorable ^_^

3. Good storyline. Even though the story is short, it's, again, good and engaging. It teaches you good life lessons on why bees are so important, and just leaves you with a good feeling inside, by the end of it :) You, as the bee, start out as a pollen gatherer, but when the existence of your home is threatened, you defy orders requiring you to be a pollen gather to go out in search of a new home for your hive, before it's too late.

4. Side-quests, discoveries and collectibles to find in free roam. There's exciting things to do in free roam, even when the story ends. From different types of side-quests, like fighting hostiles like wasps and hornets (there's no blood in combat, which is really good), to gathering pollen, and chasing away and even stinging obnoxious bullies that stomp on flowers :D Completing these quests gives you 'knowledge points,' which you can spend in the character customization, to unlock looks for your bee :) There are also lots of animals and plants you can find in free roam, that, when interacted with and discovered, unlocks interesting info about them in a book called the 'Glossary.' And also, free roam is MASSIVE, which is a big bonus :)

5. Beautiful soundtrack. The soundtrack when flying around in free roam is just beautiful and very relaxing to listen to. And when you go into 'Beemode' (when you go into this mode, your eyesight changes to a hexagonal view, the way a bee would see things, and all plants that can be gathered are highlighted in a specific colour, depending on their rarity, making it easier for them to spot and identify), the soundtrack becomes more subtle and muffled, making it sound dreamy and beautiful :)

Overall, my recommendation for this game is 50-50: I wouldn't really recommend it for adults, due to the majority of voice-overs being very childish, too childish for adult liking, but I would for kids. This game is way too overpriced, though, it shouldn't be the price that it is, around $40. I waited till there was a sale, and got it at half price, around $20, and that's really more like what this game is worth, it's not a terrible game, but not good enough that it should be $40. Just too little content.

bzzzzzzzzz

Another instance of wishing Steam had a side-ways thumb option. This would be a fine game for young kids, and as a bee keeper myself, I appreciate the devs obvious enthusiasm towards honeybees and attention to detail when it comes to the pleasant art and information during the opening cutscene. The models for assorted insects are also pretty sharp.

But as far as a game goes, theres not much here, and its far and away from a simulator. I think the subject at hand would have been better served as a real time strategy game playing as a colony considering hives behave as super-organisms. There would also be a lot more justification for disseminating cool information about bees and their social structure throughout the game instead of just dumping it all in the beginning and opting for an arcade experience for the rest of it.

I'm not recommending this for four reasons:

1) It's not a simulator. The main task as a honey bee is to find, land on and extract nectar from the flower. This is completely missing. You fly through bubbles representing flowers instead. People and animals are stationary. They don't try to swat you or run away or chickens don't try to eat you. As you're doing your tasks there isn't even the ambiance of other bees collecting honey too. Not a whole lot here made me feel like I was living a bee's life.
2) Not only is it not a simulator, it's an awareness campaign disguised as a game. I'm all for awareness and love honey bees. I want to do more for honey bees based on playing this. Maybe I missed the fine print.
3) I bought this on a deep sale for $1.99. Personally I would refund as I'll never play it again. It could be a good educational tool for teachers or parents. I'm not going to refund and consider the $2 a "donation."
4) It's more of an interactive documentary about bees than it is a game. The game-play wasn't fun for me. It was very shallow. Fly through this many colored bubbles to fill the honey meter. Get in proximity of a honey comb and all honey is depleted. They could have made a fun game and a documentary at the same time.

I would have liked to know these details before buying, so hopefully this helps somebody make an educated decision.