{{Lead too short|date=July 2025}} {{Short description|2020 video game}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{distinguish|Before We Go}} {{Infobox video game | collapsible = | state = | italic title = | title = Before We Leave | image = Before We Leave cover.jpg | alt = | caption = | developer = Balancing Monkey Games | publisher = [[Team 17]] | designer = Sam Barham | programmer = | artist = | composer = | series = | engine = [[Unity (game engine)|Unity]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.balancingmonkeygames.com/before-we-leave-presskit|title=''Before We Leave'' Press Kit|work=Balancing Monkey Games|accessdate=5 April 2022|archive-date=5 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405185449/https://www.balancingmonkeygames.com/before-we-leave-presskit|url-status=dead}}</ref> | platforms = [[Windows]]<br/>[[Xbox One]]<br/>[[Xbox Series X and Series S|Xbox Series X/S]]<br/>[[PlayStation 4]]<br/>[[PlayStation 5]] | released = '''Windows'''<br/>May 8, 2020<br/>'''Mac'''<br/>August 18, 2021<br/>'''Xbox One & Series X/S'''<br/>November 22, 2021<br/>'''PS4, PS5'''<br/>April 5, 2022<br/>'''Nintendo Switch'''<br/>August 2, 2022 | genre = [[city-building game|City-building]] | modes = [[Single-player]] }}
'''''Before We Leave''''' is a [[city-building video game]] developed by Balancing Monkey Games and released by [[Team 17]].
== Gameplay == ''Before We Leave'' is a non-violent city-building game with elements of [[4X]] gameplay. Players control a group of people, called Peeps, who leave a bunker. After exploring the area, players guide the Peeps as they rebuild on the ruins of a fallen civilization. Maintaining happiness levels by providing for the Peeps' needs increases their efficiency, decreasing the amount of time required for actions taken. The game's ultimate goal is for the Peeps to build up their society enough to launch themselves into space and colonize other planets. To do this, the Peeps must contend with space whales.<ref name=pcgamer>{{cite web|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/before-we-leave-review/|title=Before We Leave review|last=Evenden|first=Ian|work=[[PC Gamer]]|date=11 May 2020|accessdate=5 April 2022}}</ref>
== Development == Developer Sam Barham previously worked in the New Zealand software industry on educational tools. When one of his games competed in a fundraising competition run by the [[New Zealand Game Developers Association]], it attracted funding from an investor, which Barham used to hire a team. In 2019, Barham transitioned into working on the game full time.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.odt.co.nz/business/balancing-monkey%E2%80%99s-dunedin-success |title= Balancing Monkey's Dunedin success |last= McSweeny |first= Jacob |date= 14 December 2020 |website= odt.co.nz |publisher= [[Otago Daily Times]] |access-date= 2 August 2022}}</ref> The game is not strictly non-violent; players pointed out that the space whales could be considered violent. Barham did not intend for the game to be a comment on violence in video games, but he wanted to use his game as a vehicle for social change.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/irl/23-03-2022/inside-the-dunedin-studio-making-a-nice-video-game|title=Inside the Dunedin studio making a 'nice' video game|last=Mathias|first=Shanti|work=[[The Spinoff]]|date=23 March 2022|accessdate=5 April 2022}}</ref> The game was released exclusively on the Epic Game Store in May 2020 with 50 000 sales by December 2020, and was released on Steam on 14 May 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/688439/before-we-leave-non-violent-kiwi-game-releases-steam/|title=Before We Leave: Non-violent Kiwi game releases on Steam|last=Bayley|first=Dominic|work=[[PC World]]|date=17 May 2021|accessdate=5 April 2022}}</ref> It was released on the Xbox Series X and S and Xbox One in November 2021,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.gameinformer.com/product/before-we-leave|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815114846/https://www.gameinformer.com/product/before-we-leave|url-status=live|archive-date=15 August 2020|title=Before We Leave |magazine=[[Game Informer]]|access-date=5 April 2022}}</ref> on the PlayStation 4 and 5 in April 2022,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2022/04/govern-peeps-in-sci-fi-city-builder-before-we-leave-out-now-on-ps5-ps4|title=Govern Peeps in Sci-Fi City Builder Before We Leave, Out Now on PS5, PS4|last=Croft|first=Liam|work=[[Push Square]]|date=5 April 2022|accessdate=5 April 2022}}</ref> and on the Nintendo Switch in August 2022.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ign.com/videos/before-we-leave-nintendo-switch-announce-teaser-trailer|title=Before We Leave - Nintendo Switch Announce Teaser Trailer|work=[[IGN]]|date=21 July 2022|accessdate=6 August 2024}}</ref>
== Reception == ''Before We Leave'' received mixed reviews on [[Metacritic]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/game/before-we-leave/critic-reviews/?platform=pc|title=Before We Leave|work=[[Metacritic]]|accessdate=5 April 2022}}</ref> Ian Evenden of ''[[PC Gamer]]'' called it a "cute little city-builder with big ambitions".<ref name=pcgamer/> Nicole Carpenter of ''[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]'' said the game was initially relaxing and fun but became increasingly stressful, for both her and the Peeps, as expansion caused pollution and unhappiness in the Peeps' society.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/2020/5/12/21256331/strategy-4x-indie-game-before-we-leave-epic-games-store|title=A chill world-builder for questioning our impact on the planet|last=Carpenter|first=Nicole|work=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]|date=12 May 2020|accessdate=5 April 2022}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{Official website|https://www.balancingmonkeygames.com/before-we-leave}} [[Category:4X video games]] [[Category:City-building games]] [[Category:Video games developed in New Zealand]] [[Category:Video games set on fictional planets]] [[Category:Single-player video games]] [[Category:Indie games]] [[Category:Windows games]] [[Category:Xbox One games]] [[Category:Xbox Series X and Series S games]] [[Category:PlayStation 4 games]] [[Category:PlayStation 5 games]] [[Category:Nintendo Switch games]] [[Category:2020 video games]]