Before We Leave is a city building simulation and strategy game. Humanity has been living in bunkers after a great calamity, and are emerging to start a new life by building farms, industry and trade routes throughout the solar system. It's an unusual mixture of both medieval architecture and steampunk spaceships to create a strategy game with no warfare, and where the emphasis is on exploration, learning and trade.

Before We Leave has a lot of complexity to it which is gradually revealed through the tutorial levels. The world is divided up into hexagonal blocks which may be grass, sand, ice, sea or rock. You need to plan out your towns carefully, using the natural resources and the abandoned ancient machinery that is scattered around.

This starts with a single island but gradually develops industry and sailing ships which enable you to explore the world and find new islands to colonise. As you progress you manage trade routes between your islands and discover broken spaceships that can be repaired and used to reach more distant planets. Managing more than one planet with multiple islands is tricky, but there are constant notifications to help you prioritise what needs to be done.

An interesting moment is after you have a second planet you can encounter troublesome space whales. In other games you might expect the solution would be to blast them out the way. Before We Leave takes a more pacifist route with feeding stations and defensive shelters.

Before We Leave has a lot of information and menus to deal with, but gradually unfolds into a streamlined challenge. For those who enjoy building villages, and playing god, this strategy game is one of the more gentle experiences, as you are not controlling armies or attacking neighbours, and you can concentrate on making efficient communities and keeping your inhabitants happy instead.