Preserve Switch Review

Preserve Switch Review
Version Reviewed: Nintendo Switch

Every so often, I receive a key to review a game that’s a bit left of field from what I normally play, which usually makes me come out of my gaming shell a little and experience something a little different. Preserve, a tile-based tabletop game by a small Slovakian development team, Bitmap Galaxy, is one such game that aims to avoid violence and stress, instead tasking you with balancing nature by creating a viable world in which many creatures (including Dinosaurs!) can survive. What’s it Like? Kick back, put on some headphones, and prepare to lose your afternoon as we review Preserve on Nintendo Switch.

No added preservatives…

At its core, Preserve is a tabletop-style puzzle game that asks you to build a balanced world. Using a deck of nature-themed cards, you’re tasked with constructing habitats that can sustain life from dense forests and wetlands to sprawling plains that eventually become home to everything from deer to dinosaurs. The game gives you the choice to pick from Continental, Marine, Savannah, and Jurassic biomes, each adding its own unique gameplay mechanics. Savanna offers a starter experience, gently guiding you into the world, while the marine biome offers more challenges by making you raise and lower terrain to make a range of habitats for crustaceans to turtles.

The Jurassic biome combines all of these mechanics to create a more challenging and in-depth play style. Preserve offers a polished experience that quietly pulls you in, one game at a time. It’s a game that invites you to slow down and think a few steps ahead, with multiple modes tailored to different moods. Classic mode gives you room to experiment, pushing for high scores through smart tile combos and adjacency bonuses. Puzzle mode, on the other hand, challenges you with limited cards and strict goals, asking you to hit a specific score target. There’s even a sandbox mode for when you just want to let your inner ecologist roam free. Whether you’re after a laid-back afternoon or a tougher challenge, Preserve has a mode to match the pace you want to play.

The rogue-like nature of classic mode proved to be the most addictive for me, as it challenges you to go as far as you can with thoughtful placements and careful strategies to create the most bonuses and unlock the next land expansion or set of creatures. Failure led me to take some trial and error approaches, but it was never frustrating and rewarding seeing you hit the next milestone and filling your hand with a fresh set of cards.

The beauty of nature

Preserve pairs a simple playing field with a surprisingly detailed and charming presentation. While the grid-based layout keeps things neat and tidy, each tile you place adds a splash of life to the world, blooming forests and flowers when you combine 3 tiles together. There are other wonderful details like the forests that sway gently in the breeze, rivers sparkle, and animals that roam naturally through their habitats. It’s polished in a way that makes the game feel thoughtfully handcrafted and almost… alive. The interface does a great job of keeping you immersed, and visual cues help keep track of things like hovering over a tile highlights your placement area, and the clean design avoids clutter. These small touches go a long way in keeping the focus on the relaxing nature of the game. There’s even a photo mode included if that’s your sort of thing, and the game does have lots of moments of beauty to capture.

On Nintendo Switch, Preserve runs smoothly in both docked and handheld modes. Load times are quick, and I didn’t encounter any frame drops or technical hiccups. Notably, handheld play gets a boost thanks to full touchscreen support, which makes selecting and placing tiles feel intuitive and natural… although I couldn’t figure out how to zoom. It’s the kind of game that feels right at home in your hands, perfect for zoning out on the couch or while travelling.

Music to my ears

The visuals are backed by a gorgeous orchestral score with gentle piano tones and hopeful woodwinds that elevate the experience, while your ears are treated to ambient noises of nature that lull you into a relaxed atmosphere. There are birds tweeting, animal calls, and the sound of the breeze gently whooshing by as soft African vocals and chants sound while playing the Savanna biome. It’s beautiful, calming, and the score is paramount in building immersion and ambience. Zooming in draws the sounds of the forests closer, and I had my headphones on and sank into my couch and lost hours in the game, it’s all done very well. For my environmental Rangers looking into accessibility options, there a no additional options to speak of, so as always, I recommend further research into seeing if Preserve suits your needs.

At just over the price of a movie ticket at $22 AUD, Preserve provides hours of chilled-out challenge. It’s a game that will draw you in with its clever strategy and design, immerse you with its excellent production value, and keep you going back for more. It’s as challenging as you would like it to be with its game modes and biome settings, each bringing something unique to the table, and it is the perfect game to lose anywhere from 2 minutes to 2 hours with. While I haven’t played too many tabletop games in my time, Preserve has helped make me more one with nature.

So, What’s it Like? Preserve is like Match Village, crossed with Islanders.

In the interest of full disclosure, a review copy was provided by the publisher, but this doesn’t influence my score.

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