Puzzling Nature: Preserve
Create natural harmony with a dash of puzzles and cards.
‣ Preserve
From: Bitmap Galaxy, Grindstone
Platforms: PC
Release: Q3 2024
Steam Page • Demo Video • Developer Site
Relaxing music drifts in the background as you pick a card from your hand, a few rain clouds, and tap on dry dirt blocks floating in front of you. They become lush and green. A few more cards spread green terrain, then you start on the plants. Tree cards get a forest going, and natural pastures leap up where you place the grass cards. Now, it's time for animals—a boar in the woods, some bees among the grass, and the goat seems comfortable in the mountains.
But this is not an idle design game. You didn't plan out the grasslands, and now you can't chain enough patches together to unlock a spot for the bee card in your hand. A rocky mountain ridge blocks your way, and you planted forests on the side, so there's no way around it. Whatever cards you can play won't give you enough points to progress. It's time to restart.
Success in in the puzzle/card game Preserve depends on chaining biomes together to play all your animal cards—group three biomes to host one animal, up to twelve biome tiles and three animals. Animals can only live in specific biomes, and the elevation of map tiles also limits where biomes can go. Each successful move awards points, which you use to access new cards and more map tiles. Cannily using your cards, which include special effects and reversals, can get you out of a jam. With enough smart moves, your paradise will start to grow and expand. Just make sure you can place those animals.
Despite the occasional challenges, Preserve's demo is a relaxing and enjoyable experience. Once you grasp the gameplay and apply some foresight, you'll expand comfortably. The underlying design, which could potentially become quite challenging, is balanced towards relaxation and fun. Preserve’s soothing music complements the world of lush pastel art, complete with charming animations and delightful animal noises. You can even zoom in and inspect your tiny eden up close, adding to the immersion.
That's what makes Preserve interesting. You play it for the lush visuals and relaxing mood while adding just enough mental power to not corner yourself. Developing a little preserve is very captivating and creatively satisfying. The game's ‘classic’ mode is a mix of puzzle and creativity. It also has two other modes: a full-on puzzle mode where you must fill a limited-size map with a specific hand of cards and a creative mode where you can do what you want. The final release will also have different environments, presumably with new plants and animals.
📽 Demo Moment: A forest springs up in the mountains
Down the line, the classic and puzzle modes could become very tricky. There is a noticeable shift in challenge between the difficulty modes, as past choices can come back to haunt you. But the more difficult choices are what give the worlds their organic resonance, so even that is an inviting aspect of the gameplay. At its core, Preserve is about choice, balance and enjoyment, and it delivers all three beautifully.
Preserve is scheduled to launch in Q3 2024, on Steam.
Explore The Game with Youtube Chapters:
📽 01:00 Let's start a preserve!
📽 03:40 Expand the land
📽 06:15 We need more bees
📽 08:54 A full field of grass
📽 10:00 A little forest valley
📽 10:50 A few ponds
📽 12:05 Level won!
📽 13:42 Let the river run
📽 15:50 A few animals
📽 20:30 Expanding the wetlands
📽 26:10 Running with wolves
📽 34:55 Release the eagles!
📽 37:32 Puzzle mode
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