Before We Leave is the next comfy city-building game to watch

Rebuild across the universe

With such pleasant art direction, they had me at “non-violent city building game.”

Coming to Steam later this year, Before We Leave is a game about staking your claim in the solar system, one quaint planet at a time. Even though you’ll eventually be able to establish a “multi-planet network of colonies,” this isn’t standard sci-fi fare – you’re harvesting potatoes and building wooden huts. Your denizens have resurfaced after an extended period underground and they need guidance.

Balancing Monkey Games is striving to create a mostly chill experience, but there are threats.

“Ancient guardians, remnants of your ancestors, will demand your attention and challenge your cities,” according to the game’s Steam summary. “The planets you inhabit are scarred by the disasters that forced your forebears underground, and those disasters will still plague you if not managed properly. And most of all, watch out for vast planet-eating space whales coming to graze on your planets.”

Before We Leave will release “once it’s done baking,” which right now is looking like late 2019. This is the type of laid-back, just-engaging-enough strategy game I could easily lose a Sunday afternoon to.