You know, I appreciate art. I’m one of those guys that can look at a painting and feel good about myself, even if I don’t really know what’s going on. That kind of reminds me of my first couple hours with The Mims Beginning. At first, I didn’t really know what I was doing but damn, the game is pretty!
After a planet splits into shards, you and your fellow Mims are forced to fight to survive on various shards flying through the clouds. Mims are cute little alien dudes with six eyes and psychic abilities. You play as some sort of god above, helping guide them along as they try to build and thrive. The tutorial is great and really helps you figure out how to play, which is nice because the gameplay isn’t exactly your standard city building. You have to plant trees that literally toss fruit all over the place, and extractors that the Mims use to turn the fruits into Biomass that is stored in Silos that the Mims use for food and construction. You have to pick up the fruit quick though, because it spoils and disappears quickly.
As you recruit Mims floating in space, you can then train them for more specific military role. As you grow you attrack predators and pests, which if not kept in check can really mess up your colony. Having a few warriors in the tribe can help you repel such annoyances, and allow you to conserve your godly mana for other tasks such as burning down trees to clean up space for more buildings. You can control individual Mims if you’d like, but realistically, they do pretty good wandering on their own.
From what I got to see in this early build, the game is fun. I can see it being popular amongst younger audiences thanks to its art style and charm, and even the older crowd might appreciate its unique look. The gameplay so far feels pretty solid, and is very much in line with what you’d expect from a city builder.
The Mims Beginning is currently on Indiegogo so if you’d like to get involved, head on over there as well.