The phrase “If these walls could talk” wasn’t ever really meant to be taken literally. However, I think every single one of us has wondered at one point or another what old historical buildings would say. Buildings like Big Ben or the Empire State Building have seen so much over the years and hold so much history inside them.

In Buildings Have Feelings Too (Stylized as Buildings Have Feelings Too!), you actively get to see (in some small part) the effect of time weighing on buildings and businesses. A linen mill that once served an entire town may no longer be profitable, thus requiring the building to either be turned into something else, or demolished entirely. This is the idea at the core of Buildings Have Feelings Too! Adapting is vital in regards to cities, towns, and neighborhoods.

At its foundation, Buildings Have Feelings Too is a puzzle game in the city-management genre. You have to deal with the desires and needs of the buildings in a neighborhood, resolve tasks, and even manage the placement of said buildings. There are different types of buildings, each with attributes and requirements.

Factories for example negatively affect certain types of housing and cause a penalty to their upgrade requirements. On the other hand, some businesses may positively thrive near factories, because they depend on workers. Building, demolishing, repairing, or renovating (demolishing and rebuilding) a building usually costs Bricks. You earn bricks from doing tasks and upgrading your buildings.

Buildings Have Feelings Too has simple controls. You move your character/building left or right, interacting with buildings, placing buildings, moving them around, etc. The tutorial gets you involved with the introductory mechanics and can be referenced as you play. However, I would argue that the tutorial leaves out some information that is necessary.

For example, one of the tasks/quests I was given was to turn the “Workhouse” into a “Lawyer” building at rank two. What I didn’t know (because the game doesn’t really explain) is that the workhouse was a specific residential building, with a different coloration.

Now, maybe that was just me not being observant, but it took me well over an hour to realize that it was a specific building I needed to renovate. The hints system didn’t help at all, and there was no way to really know other than it being a different color. Despite this complaint, I went and looked over the Steam reviews to see what people were saying, just to see if I was the only one with this issue.

Steam users were reporting all sorts of bugs that I haven’t encountered at all, so if you want a more stable version, the Switch version might be your jam. Granted, the trial-and-error aspect of figuring things out when you get stuck is somewhat annoying, so that may turn you off.

All the same, I think that Buildings Have Feelings Too is a really interesting city-management game. Aside from the story implications that really make you think about history and how time ravages things, it also has a very similar vibe to the city management in Dark Cloud from the PS2. That’s an obscure reference, but essentially in that game, you rebuilt towns by following the requests of residents in regards to placement and orientation.

Having to arrange businesses and residential areas in Buildings Have Feelings Too is no less engaging and fun, even if there are some frustrating parts. If you like puzzle games, city-builders, or are just looking for a relaxing game without time limits or stress, this is a good option.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Buildings Have Feelings Too! was provided by Merge Games for this review.

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Buildings Have Feelings Too!

$19.99 USD

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Fun, Thoughtful Premise
• No Time Limit
• Relaxing Gameplay
• Less Buggy Than Other Versions

Cons

• Frustrating Trial and Error Moments
• Hint Function Doesn't Help Much
• Tutorials Could be Better