Don’t get fooled by Niche’s cute appearance because nature is your most dangerous enemy in this genetics survival game. You’ll have to overcome sicknesses, climate change, and various predators lurking in the tall grass. Luckily you don’t have to overcome these alone. You can find others of your kind and befriend them, and breed with them to create a legacy and mutate your kind to adapt to your surroundings to increase your chance of survival and overcome the dangers of nature together. Do you have what it takes to be the head of the pack?
Genetics and breeding
One of the key features of the game is its genetics system. On your adventure, you will most likely encounter a partner, and you will have to option to breed. Breeding is what makes building your pack fun because of all the genetics and combinations, and see all kinds of new species emerge in the family tree. As you do certain achievements in the game you will unlock more genetics and mutations that you can pass on to your legacy. Oh yeah, if you see a big hawk patrolling above your pack make sure to hide the babies somewhere because they will be taken.
Islands and nature
One of the other fun parts about this game is the different amount of biomes and islands you can explore. It’s always exciting when you encounter a new breed to add to the pack, but it’s less fun if an angry bear pops out of the tall grass to attack your clan. You never know what’s hiding in the bushes, but luckily our animal friends are equipped with different senses and let you see, hear or smell to discover food or predators lurking in the tall grass. Predators aren’t the only dangers nature has to offer, you also got sickness and immunity to take into account. Breeding animals with the same immune system will make for a weaker baby and it will catch a disease more easily.
Conclusion
Niche is definitely a fun game to play around in and explore the various biomes and genetic lines. It’s not the easiest game but it surely isn’t hard to play either. It’s a cool game to relax with and build out your pack and take them on a journey to the unknown. There is also a story mode that you can explore for yourself, or you can start up a random world to create your own story. Graphics-wise you shouldn’t expect the most stunning and animated animals, the visuals are pretty static. The game its strategy aspect was a nice balance to keep the game flow slow and steady but also challenging. I wouldn’t say its worth the full 20€, but I would definitely recommend it when it is on sale.
