There’s something about simulators that has captivated me in recent years. Whether it’s the effervescent relaxation that Powerwash Simulator brings me or the way MudRunner activates a part of the brain I rarely use, I find these titles as rewarding as they are innovative. So the prospect of Bee Simulator was an easy purchase when I found a PS4 copy at my local games store for $11.

Even though it has been on my wishlist for years, one gander at Howlongtobeat.com noted that this is a 3 to 4-hour affair. Which I didn’t mind as I had an open weekend to blaze through it. So how does Bee Simulator fare?

Right off the bat, it feels wrong to call Bee Simulator a simulation game. While you take control of a honey bee from start to finish, it’s more of an action-adventure affair that sees you explore a massive city park complete with a zoo and waterfront. Bee Simulator has a brief story that only lasts two to three hours. Still, when you put things into perspective that a worker bee’s average lifespan is a month or two, it puts things into perspective as to how impactful every moment is for each bee to serve the hive.

As something more of an educational family-friendly game that’s rated E for everyone, don’t expect Bee Simulator to be edgy or gritty in any way. Instead, an optimistic presentation follows your bee that can seemingly take on anything, from gathering pounds of nectar to defeating four wasps in a row in a rhythm-styled fighting minigame. Even though I’m nowhere near the target audience for a title like this, I came to appreciate learning a few tidbits here and there while I focused on how great it felt to navigate the giant park with succinct flight controls that never bogged me down.

If you can look past the atrocious voice-acting – that doesn’t even list its actors in the credits – and braindead-easy difficulty in Bee Simulator, there is still plenty of fun to be had in flying around and accomplishing tasks. Throw in some easy-to-earn cosmetics and I had my bee decked out in a cyberpunk gas-masked flair in no time. Side quests and minigames padded the length some, but became monotonous in short order. Nevertheless, making it through to the end in two hours felt worthwhile enough as I’m a sucker for any game where I can fly with it feeling good, whether it be an aircraft or a honeybee.

Bee Simulator didn’t really show its age at five years old, as I finished my playthrough in a weekend as expected. The textures are fine enough even if there’s a lot of pop-in, and the controls felt right at home in the enhanced PS4 Pro version that played on my PS5. This is a prime example of a game to get on sale due to its brief length and limited scope of appeal, and while it didn’t rock my socks off, it was serviceable enough to beat.

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Bee Simulator

$19.99

6

Score

6.0/10

Pros

• Excellent Controls
• Nice Mission Variety

Cons

• Worst Voice Acting Ever
• As Buggy As A Bee
• Insanely Short