Besiege (video game)

Besiege is a vehicle-building sandbox video game based around medieval siege engines, developed and published by Spiderling Studios. The game was released for Windows, macOS and Linux in February 2020 at the conclusion of a five-year long early access phase that started in January 2015. A console version for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S was released in February 2022, and an expansion pack titled The Splintered Sea was announced in April 2024. The game has received widespread praise, citing the wide range of experimentation available to players.

Overview
Besiege allows the player to build various vehicles and contraptions within an outlandish medieval fantasy setting with few limitations beyond a player's own skill and creativity. Basic components include wooden blocks and wheels, with further options including complex mechanical components, cannons, bombs, or hot-air balloons. Later updates would also introduce components such as timers, logic gates, or proximity detectors to automatically simulate player inputs. In addition to an open-ended sandbox mode, the game features a single-player campaign with a total of 55 levels spread over four themed islands; Each level features a unique environment and objective, ranging from puzzles based around manipulating magical artifacts to combat encounters requiring the player to defeat enemies or destroy buildings.

An update in December 2017 added a level editor and multiplayer capabilities, such as pitting the vehicle creations against each other, or other players attempting to knock down a castle created by another. With these additions, players developed systems to run tournaments similar to the television show BattleBots, pitting their Besiege creations in one-on-one matches with others to try to take the other out.

The game was first released for Linux, OS X and Windows via early access on 28 January 2015 before officially releasing on 18 February 2020. A console version is set to be released for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on 10 February 2022. It features reworked user interface, photo mode, and a different Workshop for sharing user creations. However, it does not have the multiplayer or level editor functionality of the PC version.

Spiderling Studios announced Besiege: The Splintered Sea, the first ever expansion pack for the game, on April 9, 2024, slated for release on May 24. The Splintered Sea adds water physics and buoyancy mechanics to the game, with 10 new maritime levels and new blocks allowing players to build sailboats or submarines.

Reception
Marsh Davies of Rock, Paper, Shotgun praised the "robust" alpha version of the game, comparing its "bouncily caricatured" science to a 12th-century version of Kerbal Space Program. Davies also praised the game's stylized graphics and sound, as well as its "weak-at-the-knees beautiful" user interface.

Rock, Paper, Shotgun later published a review of the release version by Jay Castello, who admired the game varieties that kept her engaging and trying to construct the new better siege engines. Jay criticized the lack of guidance in the main game, but noted the game's strong community support with mods, guides, and tricks available online.

As of 2024, Besiege has "overwhelmingly positive" all reviews on steam with a 95% positive score, compared to a "very positive" recent reviews with a 93% positive score.

PC Gamer article by Rick Lane gave the game 85 out of 100 and said: "Besiege lets you build siege weapons in a medieval fantasy realm. It contains four kingdoms, with each kingdom having many levels in it. The level is nicely crafted, with objectives for you to do in order to pass the level. Each level is designed to make you come up with a new mechanic with different tasks for you to do. You will be given a building area at the start of the level. Besiege provides a toolkit that's easier to understand compared to Kerbal Space Program, but lacks a good tutorial to guide the beginners. The toolkit contains a lot of objects for you to use and work with. You can build from cranes to flying machines with it. Besiege allows you to adjust individual object parameters such as power, speed and even binding it to do certain actions."