The buildings are alive in the strange city management sim Buildings Have Feelings Too

YouTube

City simulators have been around for decades, and while they run the gamut from massive metropolises to tiny hamlets whose inhabitants are able to heap scorn upon your managerial incompetence on a one-on-one basis, they all have the same underlying goal: Keep your people happy. But what about the buildings?

Buildings Have Feelings Too promises to reverse the formula by bringing the buildings to life. Ranging from the Victorian Era to the modern day, they walk, they talk to one another, and they have their own hopes, dreams, and fears. Each of them must be encouraged to grow and thrive as they struggle to come to grips with the changing world, or they risk being demolished and lost forever; as the city grows, new industries, specialized neighborhoods, and "architectural marvels" will open up, but so will world events that can cause businesses and buildings to fail.

"Players must discover new ways to attend to their city’s needs," developer Blackstaff Games explained. "This could involve refurbishing a building or simply grabbing it by the hand and moving it to a nicer part of the neighborhood."

It's a long way from SimCity, but it sounds cute, and maybe a little sad, too. I don't know how much of a meditation on the nature and value of "things" it will ultimately become, but the thought of ol' Pete being demolished because the economy has shifted and the dock yards just don't get the traffic they used is kind of a bummer. Buildings Have Feelings Too is listed on Steam and expected to be out this summer.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.