“Besiege,” the physics-based building game is probably not something of which many people have heard. This is because the title (created by Spiderling Studios), available on the Steam online game store for $9, belongs to the indie subgenre of video games known as “early access games.” Early access games are unique in that they are games generally developed by unheard of companies and sometimes individuals that often never get fully finished. Besiege is one such early access game that is not quite complete. However, the game gets full points for creativity, allowing the player to create a fully functional machine of war out of wood, wheels, cannons, blades and flame-throwers.
The main part of the game features several challenge-based levels that puts the player’s creative mind to the test. Each level gives the player an objective that he or she must build a machine in order to accomplish. For instance, one of the early levels requires the player to traverse a small meadow filled with landmines and sheep (that can damage your machine for some reason) to reach a marker on the other side. The player could accomplish this using any of the tools at his or her disposal such as making a small R/C car-like structure and traversing the mines or using the propellers to create a machine that flies. The only limit is that there is a cube that dictates how large the machine can be.
One of the millions of possible machines of war that can be created in Besiege.
Real creativity can shine in the game when the player goes into the sandbox mode to create a machine of any size and scale. Some players have even been able to create entire large plane-like machines by experimenting with how the different building materials in the game work. The sandbox mode has no objectives and only has a sampling of various ramps, magical elevator lifts and obstacles, but allows the player to exercise his or her ideas. “Besiege” also allows players to save their creations that can be loaded at any time. This can be a good feature if the player has found that a certain design has worked well in the past to accomplish a goal but would not remember how to rebuild it. By simply loading up the design the player can get right into the action.
Because the game is early access, it is inherently unfinished and is updated at random intervals. This can be off-putting since it is difficult to say what the end result of the game will be – if anything at all. In addition to the gamble of the early access model, “Besiege” is also not very forthcoming on how the tools and materials used to build the war machines work. This can be frustrating but also gives the player a chance to experiment and discover how the game works on their own.
The game is great for those with a desire to create something from nothing and solve semi-complex puzzles. Even if the player spends all their time in the sandbox mode, the seemingly unlimited number of design options will keep the attention of even the most casual of players for hours.