Buildings Have Feelings Too! [Xbox]
Blackstaff Games’ Buildings Have Feelings Too! is a very different kind of city management game than we’re used to seeing. Where you would normally look at the pros and cons of where to build certain types of storefront, or residential areas - here you can actually get some feedback from the buildings themselves! Ultimately, the goal is to increase the appeal of your land, and keep all of the buildings you own happy and active, by giving newly erected buildings suitable roles such as private residences, shops, factories and more. There are nine different Neighbourhoods for you to look after, that you’ll steadily progress through, gaining access as you work your way through the Quest List; and more business types will be unlocked through fulfilling requests and upgrading them into better versions of themselves. Different Neighbourhoods are better suited to certain businesses, adding extra layers of complexity to the game the further you go.
It does take a bit of getting used to at first as you’ll have to contend with buildings being unhappy about certain other buildings being too close to them, and when choosing buildings you also have to be mindful of which other homes and businesses you plan to set up in the vacant lots nearby. Appeal Goals are available, giving you certain criteria to meet to enable buildings to be upgraded, and you can switch businesses around without having to demolish anything - although this can run you into another set of problems in that now the nearby buildings might take umbrage with their new neighbours. Completing tasks will earn you bricks that can be spent on buildings and laying everything out perfectly, however it can be quite difficult to manage - particularly in the early stages - as you might find yourself unable to make any necessary changes to cheer your buildings up in order to upgrade them further to satisfy different tasks.
BHFT! has a very cute and quirky art-style, with different types of building having similar appearances, but with their own personalities and flair. Each building has little stick-figure arms and legs, with windows, doors and shop facades acting in place of faces - and you’ll notice that they tend to bobble about as you move around your plots. It’s quite endearing to look at, and along with the humour from chatting to pubs and hearing shops’ opinions on factories being nearby, etc. it definitely has some good qualities. Sadly, the downside to this is that the menu interfaces for different buildings, as well as all of your tasks that have to be completed, is unbelievably bitty - meaning you’ll have to do a lot of going backwards and forwards to check everything out and moving buildings from one spot to the next (and back again!), as well as completing all of the individual bits and bobs for each task which can become slightly tedious - especially if you’re low on bricks and can’t easily fix any problems.
The soundtrack is very charming and cheerful, with a very soothing tone to it - which funnily enough is needed, as you’ll often find yourself completely bamboozled as to how you can progress when you’ve ended up with a bunch of unhappy buildings. Sometimes tasks feel at odds with each other, requiring you to carefully work out how to upgrade one building by satisfying all of their requests, before moving it someplace else as it now doesn’t like being next to the businesses it previously refused to move away from. Right when you think you’re starting to get the hang of things, a building will start freaking out - and if you don’t deal with whatever its issue is on time, then the business will close and it’ll affect everything around it, too.
Buildings Have Feelings Too! is a far more in-depth city management sim than I’d expected, which admittedly caught me off guard. I am a fan of management games, and the slow burn of getting everything just the way you want is oddly calming, with the end result being a satisfying payoff to all your hard work; but I definitely felt myself getting quite overwhelmed with just how much there is to keep track of, and the information overload across the multitude of menus. It’s got a lot of hand-holding right through to the end, with constant instructions and very little wiggle room for what each building wants, so you’ll need to manage everything carefully to prevent buildings from shutting down or needing demolished. It’s got a lot of puzzle elements to it, with you needing to figure out exactly where everything needs to be placed - and I think this is why it feels so jarring from what you expect from ‘city management’ type games.
For the price of £14.99 on the Xbox Store, Buildings Have Feelings Too! is a well-packed game filled with content to keep you busy. It’s very rigid in what it asks of you, requiring you to follow fairly specific rules and do set tasks in order to progress - and while this keeps you on track, it does feel a little frustrating at times, particularly when moving buildings a large distance, as you’re definitely not the fastest at moving! The part you have the most independence with is Props, which are Neighbourhood decorations you can use to spruce the place up a bit, but these have no actual bearing on your City’s stats, instead just being for your own aesthetic choices. Overall, BHFT! is probably a game aimed more for city management fans that are looking for something less strategic and more puzzle based - and just doing what you’re told; and whilst it did leave us scratching our heads at times, it still offers a decent time once you’ve got the basics down!
In the end, we decided to give Buildings Have Feelings Too! the Collecting Asylum rating of 7/10.
Have you played BHFT! yet? What did you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!
- V x
Thank you to EvolvePR for the Buildings Have Feelings Too! Xbox review code!
