PS5

Published on December 6th, 2025 | by Nay Clark

Bee Simulator: The Hive Review (PS5)

It turns out being a bee is harder, stranger, and far more fun than you’d think! Bee Simulator: The Hive arrives on PlayStation 5 as a refreshed and expanded version of the 2019 original, developed by Varsav Game Studios and published by both Varsav and Untold Tales. First released on PC in August 2025 and now buzzing its way to consoles on November 28th, this edition packages the full original adventure with a sizable new feature set known as the “Hive” expansion. While it revisits familiar ground, this re-release offers a broadened experience that blends exploration, light action, and now colony-building into a colorful and approachable adventure for players of all ages.

The story remains largely the same as before, centering on a young worker bee who quickly finds herself entwined in the hive’s survival as human activity threatens the colony’s home. It’s a small, earnest narrative that works because it stays grounded in the daily routines and dangers of real bees, presenting their world with a sense of scale and empathy. The tone is warm and gentle, even when danger strikes, and the fully voiced cast, while occasionally uneven, gives the bees and animals just enough personality to pull you into their tiny world. If you played the original, you’ll recognize every beat; newcomers, however, will find a simple but heartfelt tale about nature, teamwork, and environmental awareness.

Moment-to-moment gameplay follows the template set in 2019, with accessible flight controls, pollen-gathering loops, and plenty of busywork buzzing around the park. Flying feels slicker on PS5 thanks to smoother framerates and refined responsiveness, and once you get the hang of your bee’s movement, it becomes surprisingly fluid to twist through trees or weave between passing people. The familiar loop of gathering pollen, returning to the hive, and unlocking cosmetic rewards still has that “just one more flower” pull, even if its simplicity occasionally shows through. The map is still the heart of the experience, dotted with animals to meet, secrets to uncover, and plenty of room to glide freely.

The wider array of side activities helps the gameplay breathe. You’ll race through jet streams, mimic intricate dance patterns, and take on wasps in quick-time-event-based combat sequences. These QTE fights are one of the few systems that feel dated by being slow, a bit repetitive, and lacking any evolution from the original, but they’re brief enough not to weigh the experience down. The other mini-games fare better, offering simple but charming diversions that help the world feel full. Exploration, challenges, and discovery remain the game’s strongest pillars, and they stitch together smoothly thanks to clear icons, fast travel points, and smart waypointing.

Where The Hive distinguishes itself is in the new post-story building and resource-management layer. After finishing the core campaign, players unlock the ability to construct and customize their own beehive across a network of hexagonal nodes. It’s not a full-blown simulation, but it’s a pleasant addition that extends the life of the game. Gathering new types of resources such as sticks, flowers, seeds, and more feeds into building structures that generate wax, honey, or various bonuses for your bee. Outposts reduce backtracking, perk buildings offer meaningful enhancements, and new smaller zones accessed through hive portals streamline resource collection with atmospheric new locales, including a standout nighttime city area. These systems don’t radically transform the gameplay, but they provide a satisfying sense of progression and a reason to keep exploring after the credits roll.

That said, the Hive mode isn’t without flaws. Building is locked to predetermined tiles, and many structures function more like decorative upgrades than meaningful mechanical expansions. Some UI text is vague, requiring players to intuit the specifics of resource flow. And because the Hive features unlock only after finishing the main campaign, returning players will have to replay the entire story again to reach the new content. Players returning from the original may feel this content fits better as an expansion than a full re-release, but newcomers will likely find the combined package generous and worthwhile.

New to The Hive edition is a surprisingly charming split-screen multiplayer mode that supports up to four players. It’s a light, family-friendly addition that works especially well for anyone with little ones, letting everyone take flight together, explore one of the new areas, and buzz around in simple, carefree fun. It’s not deep or competitive, but as a relaxed co-op diversion, it fits the game’s playful spirit perfectly.

On a technical level, Bee Simulator: The Hive fares quite well. Environments are bright, cleanly rendered, and pleasant to explore, with the PS5 version offering sharper textures and smoother performance than any prior release. Character and insect animations retain a slightly stylized look that fits the game’s approachable nature, even if some NPC animations and crowd behaviors appear a bit stiff. I did run into a fair amount of pop-in, with trees occasionally snapping between textures in a way that was surprisingly jarring and disappointing. Outside of those moments, though, the presentation held steady and I didn’t encounter any other visual issues. The soundtrack by Mikołaj Stroiński remains one of the game’s highlights and is calming, airy, and more intense during combat or urgent missions. Sound effects are crisp, though not always consistent, and the voice acting that is a quirky mix of dramatic sincerity and comedic exaggeration, will be charming to some and distracting to others.

Bee Simulator: The Hive is a thoughtful, expanded version of a charming concept that still feels unique in today’s gaming landscape. The original adventure remains cozy and inviting, and the Hive expansion adds welcome depth that gives players more to do long after the story ends. It doesn’t fully escape the shadow of being a repackaged version of a six-year-old game, and returning players may find the repetition hard to justify. But viewed as a complete package, it delivers a wholesome, educational, and surprisingly engaging experience with a few rough edges but plenty of heart. For newcomers and for anyone looking for a laid-back game with personality, Bee Simulator: The Hive is absolutely worth buzzing into…and also, it’s just cool. An expanded return to a bee simulator I played back in 2019 was nowhere on my video-game bingo card, and it honestly feels refreshing to see a studio revisit something they made years ago and add meaningful bonus content. I wish more developers had the chance to do this with the games players already love.

Final Thoughts?

Bee Simulator: The Hive builds on an already delightful foundation with new features that meaningfully expand its longevity. The flight feels great, the world is charming, and the hive-building mode offers just enough progression to keep you coming back for “one more run.” Some repetitive missions, dated combat, and a conservative re-use of assets hold it back, but it’s still a warm, generous, and surprisingly engaging adventure. Not many “simulator” games have this amount of polish or genuine care etched into their inner workings.

About the Author

Nay Clark Gaming holds a special place in my heart and I never stop talking about video games. I really love all types of games and have an interest in games that have complicated stories and lore because I enjoy untangling the mystery of it all. When I'm not gaming, I unsuccessfully try to control three amazing and incredibly bright kids.

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