What if we took care of the planet? More specifically, its ecosystem? That’s what Preserve offers—a very relaxing and bucolic puzzle/management/placement game. Despite the seemingly simple concept, it will challenge your brain. A true intelligent puzzle game. Or maybe it’s just me who’s slow? Either way, I really like it.
The ultimate goal of Preserve is to create vibrant ecosystems, to make plants and animals coexist in perfect harmony. It’s a bit like being an eco-friendly god, but without the responsibilities that weigh on a deity’s shoulders. You’re just here for fun, to watch life flourish right before your eyes.
The concept is quite simple to grasp: you are given a series of hexagonal tiles and cards to play with that allow you to transform them, add more tiles, or inhabit them with animals. From there, it’s up to you to place them in the right spot, in the right order, to create the perfect symbiosis. And the best part? You don’t need to be an expert in botany or zoology to create beautiful things—it’s quite intuitive, and the game guides you. The tutorial does a great job of explaining the basics.
A bit trickier to understand is the points system, which is essential because it determines your progress. Thankfully, a button is always available to quickly reference it. You can also rewind a move or even undo an action you made a long time ago with a recycling card, though it will cost you some precious points… Sometimes, it’s worth it!
There are different biomes, each with its own rules (continental, savannah, marine, etc.), which adds variety to the gameplay. You can play in “classic” mode, where you try to achieve the highest score (and if you do well, you unlock things), or in puzzle mode, where you have to solve small challenges to reach a required score with (very) limited resources. Really cool! There’s even a creative mode where you can build without any constraints. 🙂
The atmosphere is great: the music is soft and pleasant, well-composed too. The graphics and controls are spot-on. You could spend hours just watching the little animations, following a butterfly flutter by, or listening to the birds sing. Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit, but honestly, it’s very relaxing—a little pixelated paradise that can make you forget the stress of the day.
There’s an option to activate the day/night cycle, which is SUPER beautiful, but at night you can’t see much, so it’s kind of a no-go. The game is by default in French, but the translation is quite poor… The developers have apologized for this and explain that it’s temporary, and it will be improved later. Despite that, it’s still understandable, but for readability, I prefer to switch to English.
Aside from these two small negatives, Preserve is a super charming, well-designed game that really makes you think but without any stress. If you get hooked, it’s the kind of game that makes you say, “just one more round,” until you realize it’s already 5 in the morning. 🐸
Preserve is available on PC (Steam).
