Bee Simulator: The Hive Review

Bee Simulator: The Hive on Xbox returns to the sunlit paths and oversized blooms of its original playground with a gentler, more purposeful buzz—this time centring on hive building, cooperative play, and a handful of new mechanics that aim to deepen the cosy simulation without losing the game’s family‑friendly charm. Whether you’re guiding a curious child through the basics of pollination or slipping into a relaxed solo session to explore the park at your own pace, The Hive expands the original’s appeal with tangible progression and a few welcome quality‑of‑life touches. It doesn’t try to be a hardcore sim; instead, it leans into accessibility, bright visuals, and small moments of discovery, making it an easy recommendation for casual players and kids while leaving more demanding sim fans wanting a bit more.

Gameplay

The gameplay loop is essentially exploration and collection: you fly through a park, gather pollen, complete short objectives, and dodge hazards such as wasps. The controls are intentionally forgiving—flight is simplified so that players spend more time enjoying the world than fighting the camera, making it ideal for younger audiences and casual players. Missions tend to be short and focused, which keeps the pacing brisk but also means the experience can feel very repetitive once you’ve learned the basic tasks.

The Hive expansion gives the package a stronger sense of purpose through hive‑building and resource management: collect materials, expand combs, and customise your hive while unlocking achievements that mark milestones and encourage completionist play. Progression is satisfying because it ties exploration to visible rewards, but the systems are intentionally light—there’s enough depth to keep younger players engaged and to provide short‑term goals, but not the layered complexity a hardcore sim fan might expect.

Visuals & Audio

Bee Simulator: The Hive presents a warm, stylised world where art direction does the heavy lifting: oversized flowers, saturated colours, and friendly character models make the park feel inviting and easy to read at a glance. Textures and foliage are simplified rather than photorealistic, which keeps the focus on exploration and makes navigation intuitive for younger players. Small touches—soft particle effects for pollen, lively wing animations, and dynamic lighting through tree canopies—add charm and personality, though on larger screens you may notice occasional texture pop‑in and modest draw‑distance limits. Overall, the visuals prioritise clarity and atmosphere over technical fidelity, delivering a consistently pleasant, family‑friendly aesthetic

The game pairs gentle sound design with a warm, melodic score to create an inviting audio landscape: soft ambient hums, rustling leaves, and delicate wingbeats make exploration feel alive without ever becoming intrusive. The music leans toward light, whimsical themes that underscore discovery and calm moments, while impact sounds—stings, wasp buzzes, and collision cues—are punchy enough to signal danger without startling younger players. Voiceover and narration are clear and friendly, used sparingly to explain mechanics and objectives, and overall mixing favours clarity, so pollen collection and hive‑building feedback are always audible.

Final Thoughts

Bee Simulator: The Hive is a charming, family‑friendly expansion that refines the original game’s strengths—accessible flight, warm art direction, and gentle educational moments—while adding a satisfying hive‑building loop that gives players a clearer sense of progression. It rarely challenges veteran simulation game fans, and some mission variety and visual fidelity could have been deeper, but those shortcomings are outweighed by how well the game delivers on its intended promise: a relaxed, enjoyable experience ideal for kids and casual players. If you value approachability, cooperative play, and a pleasant pace over mechanical complexity, this game is an easy recommendation; if you want a fully fledged simulator, you may want to look elsewhere. You can purchase a copy on Xbox HERE.

Thankyou to the ID@Xbox team, developer VARSAV Game Studio & publisher Untold Tales for the opportunity to review this one on Xbox