Niche - a genetics survival game

this game is amazing, i bought it after watching Jessimew's videos all so long ago, and while I don't touch steam often I do play this every once in a while and it's always just as good as I remember. I'm not good at the story aspect like she was, which devastates me beyond words, but I do still enjoy the gameplay it provides every time- although I do wish I had a less forgetful memory,,always makes me restart because I can't remember what I'm doing unless I take notes 😭


but if you do play, i heavily recommend not insulting your nichelings right off the bat when you play! i have so many spiteful stories of them taking silent revenge on me in their unique ways, and id argue the most recent is the cruellest theyve been in that regard.

i was playing a new storymode save after losing my last one, saw Eve and audibly went "oh."
continuing on like i didnt just insult her in the worst way possible was clearly the wrong move, because she proceeded to almost cause the death of my run by giving me 8 children- not a SINGLE girl.

this save is only still going because of my lord and saviour, a perfect nicheling named kotara who could actually pair with my many many males before i died of Eve's cruel revenge.
the anger i felt when she died that turn and left her last child, ANOTHER male, is indescribable

nostalgia

it a vary relacxing game.

this game makes my science loving brain make excited monkey noises

Like, I've played this game on multiple steam accounts and I lovee this game, would recommend to anyone who likes animals and has any interest in genetics

Same thing over and over and it kinda sucks but i have an addictive personality and I can't stop. Its fun for a while but ya know. eventually it becomes like minecraft and you just constantly restart to feel something. 6/10.

Played this game since some of its first betas in 2014/2015 range, when they first added water features, with this game had more clout because I aboustely love it so much 10/10

great gam

This game is really fun! I enjoy the strategy in keeping creatures alive and unlocking so many new features and parts to my creatures!

Eeeek, I'm in love! Danger, ,danger, I may stop eating and going outside. And it's hard, they aren't lying, it's hard. My tips to you. Don't try to be pretty right out the gate, lol. I think I had to restart maybe 30 x to get enough experience and a set up I could run with. But this is exactly what I was looking for Why did I keep scrolling by it for so long!

things cute

I have a strange love for genetics in particular, and I don't quite know why. Games like Creatures/Creatures 2 have always fascinated me, as evolution has. And here we have a game that's all about evolution and genetics.

I love that as you move through the world, you *have* to adapt to it to get anywhere - it's not a choice, it's mandatory for your nichelings' survival. On some islands you'll have an abundance of food and nesting material, on others you'll be struggling with one or both as well as the weather and predators. Unlocking certain genes requires you to breed with creatures you befriend, others by simply surviving on certain maps for a set amount of days. It's all about correct resource management, patience, and tactical planning. And once you find Adam's tribe, over a thousand years after his very timely passing, you can stick around or keep going. It's a game that lives in an endless loop with only one goal - survive.

If there's anything bad to say about the game, I really can't tell. I suppose some of the achievements are excessively hard to trigger, but for a game I enjoy as much as Niche, they're really inconsequential. Yes, I'll chase them, of course, but they're less of the point and more of an additional pool of challenges.

Overall, if you like genetics, tactical rpgs, resource management, and exploration - this game is for you.

i've never had to read the phrase "breedable siblings" until i was searching guides for this game

10/10

This is a super fun game to pass some time. I don't get obsessed with it like with some other games (probably because I don't know enough about genetics) but I think one could really get into it. To me it feels mostly like a cozy semi-idle game, I enjoy playing it during boring classes or meetings.

It's a turn based strategy game about adapting to new environments. The sandbox mode is pretty fun, and while the gameplay loop can be pretty repetitive, it's still interesting. I don't know if this is just me, but there seems to be a bug where the title theme plays on top of whatever other music is playing and it bothers me a bit.

yup

Pretty good game its just kinda hard lol or maybe im just bad at it

it's so hard to get to the home island and it's a great challenge tbh. while you're too busy worrying about food, predators, island threats, you realize you don't even have the home island gene anymore haha!

awesome sauce

its a good game but i wish there was more updates and stuff like that instead of bux fixes

its a fun game and it interesting i feel like im learning about genetics even though im probably not its adorable and cute

i love it

a very good game i love playing it

know what youre buying because this game is pretty niche (hahaha) but i like it alot!

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I love just chilling and playing this game. The musics so calming. It actually requires more strategy than you might think which makes it really interesting.

Would recommend if you got it on sale. It is very much a 'create your own fun' sort of game, rather than having definite goal. However, it feels more like a well polished demo than a full release, and seems to completely overestimate its depth (particularly in Story Mode). The genetics system is quite basic, and you can see every gene your creatures have (unless you're in sandbox and disable it). Mutations are based solely on player input rather than occurring naturally. For a game in which the physical traits of the creatures is the main focus, the creature models are quite underwhelming, even considering the graphical style of the game. If this game had mod support or still received updates I think it would be much easier to recommend it at full price, but it has neither of those things.

Story Mode
Story mode is intended to be a sort of tutorial for new players. The (unskippable) tutorial does a good job of explaining the game, but really didn't need a whole game mode for it. This game mode has several genetic mutations unique to it (I *think* you can get the same genes in sandbox, just not as mutations). Which is a bit of an issue if you want to complete everything in a sandbox world. There are two main goals: get home, and keep a certain gene in your creatures the whole while. The game does not explain how to get home, and it does not point out the unique gene or its significance. I believe the intended way to play is to move to each new island, completely conquer it while adapting your creatures to it, and then move on to do the same to the next island (which you've probably chosen at random). If you choose to play that way, even if you know the fastest path home, don't die and restart, don't lose the special gene and restart - you're going to be spending many hours playing this way. Far too many for what this game has to offer. And you *are* going to die, and you *are* going to lose the gene, potentially *many* hours in to a run. And once you 'win', you get to keep doing what you've been doing this entire time, minus the stress of the special gene. There is also zero customization to this game mode's settings unless you want to use console commands.

Sandbox Mode
Sandbox Mode really illustrates the lack of features and depth of the features the game does have. You can customize what type of island you start on, the genes of your starting creatures, their lifespans, and the resources/animals that spawn. Most of these are an on/off switch, or a slider with a too limited range. A win condition can be set, but your options are very limited. Despite being the 'main' game mode, you are unable to get several mutations (locked behind story mode). Meaning you need to find outsider creatures that have those genes (if that is possible, I'm not sure), and invite them to your tribe. If you wanted to 100% the mutations menu, you're going to have to play Story Mode. I mentioned above that this is a 'make your own fun' game, but Sandbox really doesn't give you the options to make your world just as you want it.

Applying to both of the gamemodes
It just gets repetitive and boring. Pick food, cut grass, breed, maybe move to another island that may or may not be mostly indistinguishable, die, repeat. And very little other than the breeding is interesting. Even that is shallow - choose two creatures with the traits you want, and if you don't want the baby, drown it. The genetics and mutation menus look a lot more complicated that they really are. As for food: gathering from anything is about the same. It's all about what your creature can gather, not its diet. Hunting is time-consuming and just not worth it unless you have extra creatures with good attack. Predators are dangerous, but you can just run away (or hide, if you clicked the appropriate colors and patterns in the mutation menu and got it to pass down). Moving to another island is risky, and often leads to undesirable creatures staying by berry bushing and harvesting them while everyone else travels. This gets old very quickly. The islands are also pretty bland. Other than a few different creatures and plants, they're mostly the same. Sometimes almost identical.

Another review said this as well, but: Look at the screenshots. That's what you're playing. That's not a part of the game, that's pretty much all of it. What you see is what you get.

Despite all I've said above, I had some fun with it. I might go back to it in the future, but I doubt my thoughts will change on it. The creatures are interesting and cute, and while the gameplay isn't too complex, it can be punishing if you are unaware of the dangers, take too many risks, or are just unprepared. I haven't run into any bugs, and the game runs smoothly. Once you've figured out the interface, it's quite easy to use. Just get it on sale if you can wait.

Cute game idea marred by bad UI. Multiple tries needed just to move one animal to another spot because it's so hard for clicks to register. Plus, I don't get the quest interface. The quests just pile up and I have no idea what's completed or not.

Strange, cute, simple, funny. Goodie

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Niche is a very fun, complete, game. The story mode is a "story" in a very loose sense of the word, but it is quite challenging.

BEST GAEM EVER!!! I love this game, its so fun when your bored but i'm really bad at making sure my neiche-lings don't die lol, i love this game, def reccommend it

Good idea, bad execution. The UI and everything is simply becoming unmanagable and gene unlock criterias has taking all the fun.

so much fun!

Niche is a relaxing, fun game that I love playing while listening to audiobooks or watching my favorite TV shows. It goes at your own pace, it's wonderfully creative, and the more I play the more I discover. One of my favorite games to play on the regular!

I find it relaxing to play this game. Its a fun way to see how animals can evolve. I would like to be able to register and/or have acess to the whole familly tree, even when all animals have died, to have a way to look back into that familly history.

I love this game so much and it is one of my childhood favorites. i used to watch siri play it all the time. still love it to this day and i give it a 10/10

"Stunned" what? why? whats happening?

Great game with a pretty novel concept, not the genetics survival aspect but the world of niche, soudtrack, the creatures, and every other little thing about it is so refreshing to experience! But I have to say I quite enjoy the original betas the game had put out rather than the current version. It's just simpler to follow and less stressful in some way? - when playing with the genetics and mutations. Also graphics are much nicer to look at (a lot brighter!). All of which drew me to this game in the first place, just overall more enjoyable! So I hope they update the current game to be more like the older beta versions- at least the graphics aspect. Regardless it's a great game and I am at least glad that we have the option to play the older beta versions on steam! :]

,kk

The genetics system is really fun, and I loved watching how bizarre my mutant cats became (I <3 my black shark kitties).

its pretty fun wayyy better than fort knight ugh i hate! fort night

I like this game

best game ever and heres a challenge for it so you do this in sandbox and start with a male that has megaleceros horns peacock tail and blue eyes he CANNOT have derp snout by any means and by the way before i continue thank you so much for having a seri bixel biloligist vid as a trailer im not allowed to watch yt anymore and it brings joy to my heart to hear her voice and see her gameplay im so happy but anyway back to the challenge and have the rest of the group females of any gene pattern and make rules and have a derp snot female this is the derp police who brings justice if a nichling did something wrong and have him\her correct or punish the rulebreaker and i agree with bonobo it also helps with my atisum and etc but back to the seri vid ad someday il ask my parents to let me watch her channel again C:

creating my fucked up dog clans. and by dog. i mean. well. yu could say. my nichelings.

The concept is great but execution could be better. There are quite a few grammar mistakes and the only input is essentially clicking. Only having three actions a day makes the short lifespans of story mode more of a headache. If you do wish to get this game, get it on sale.

really fun!

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weird gameplay, innovative!

I think I inbred my animals a bit too much and now they look like pugs