Everything is scary if you’ve got no idea what you’re doing. Cooking is a nightmare of third degree burns, swimming is the sudden realization of how easy it is to take oxygen for granted, and even something as simple as walking can deliver all the broken bones a body can hold if you’re not careful of where your feet take you. Bees are industrious workers with a pointy deterrent for anything that might get in their way, but even a halfway decent beekeeper can avoid the stings by giving them a good place to live and letting the hive get on with business of pollination. Apico is a survival-type adventure game where you move back to the home island in response to the call of the bees, tending the hives and reaping the sweet honey goodness as home base slowly gets comfier.
The reason Apico is a survival-type adventure rather than straight-up survival is that there’s not a threat in the game. No hunger or sleep meter, despite the day-night cycle, and no real rush to do much of anything beyond what seems interesting in the moment. It’s a no-pressure approach where failure is basically impossible, although actual success is going to take a little bit of work. As usual, the start involves knocking down a lot of trees, but crafting them into usable materials is a bit more hands-on than clicking them into boards. The earlier non-automated crafting stations all work in unique ways that frequently require a bit of hands-on guidance, sliding the saw back and forth or pumping the centrifuge to separate the honey from flower seeds, beeswax, and other useful bits. Meanwhile various books keep track of your discoveries and achievements, including finding and breeding new strains of bees. The laid-back atmosphere covers a good amount of depth, and just because there’s no particular rush to get things done doesn’t mean there aren’t rewards for eventually doing it.
Apico released today on just about every PC storefront imaginable and is accompanied by the standard launch trailer. It’s a lovely little game with a lot more to do than is readily apparent, from the usual home design and crafting to creating forest glens of flowers, breeding and researching new strains of bees, exploring the islands, and relaxing in your own little bee-filled paradise. It’s a chilled trailer for a chilled game, guaranteed to be free of stings and pollen allergies, and a pleasantly stress-free island to get lost in.
