Before We Leave cover art

Before We Leave

A nonviolent, cozy city builder about rebuilding civilization across hex-tile islands and planets.

On Steam ↗
Here's the argument for where this game sits - disagree freely.
Match your experience?
EXECUTION0 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE1 /10OPTIMIZATION8 /10

the cheat-test profile

The four axes - the argument

Each axis is rated on its own - how far one cheat would trivialize the game here. They don't trade off; low on all four means the game is an experience, not a contest.

  1. Execution

    cheat: Aimbot - perfect inputs

    0/10

    Relaxed pace; no combat or timing pressure.

  2. Reads

    cheat: Out-predict an adaptive opponent

    0/10

    No opponents at all; space whales are scripted hazards.

  3. Variance

    cheat: See what's hidden / map the RNG

    1/10

    Hex planet layouts vary slightly between runs.

  4. Optimization

    cheat: A perfect solver / coach

    8/10

    Supply chains across hex islands and planets are the entire test.

How to read this

Each axis is named by the cheat that would break the game along it. Execution is the hands. Reads is out-thinking an adaptive opponent. Variance is hidden information & RNG. Optimization is the solvable systems layer. A game's region is the top one or two axes.

These four aren't one rating split four ways - they're independent 0-10 questions. A 9 on one axis takes nothing from the others, and a game low on all four isn't missing data: it's telling you there's no skill here to cheat.

The basis is how the majority actually plays this game - not a niche mode or a personal run. For a game with very different modes (a story campaign versus ranked multiplayer), that's the version most people mean.

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Game details

Released
2020
Developer
Balancing Monkey Games
Platforms
Series X|S, PS4, PC, PS5, Mac, XONE, Switch
Modes
Single player
IGDB critics
84/100
IGDB users
70/100
SimulatorStrategyIndieScience fictionSandbox