Apico is like...

Year by year, the simulation genre library expands. Whether by the continuation of veterans like Marvelous, indie developers like ConcernedApe, or through hopeful Kickstarter campaigns, this once-niche genre is branching out in different directions with each title hoping to stand out in some way from the rest.

New entries may sometimes keep classic elements such as the scythe/hammer/axe/hoe toolset, but some minimize the farming aspect to focus more on crafting, while others dive into completely new mechanics such as building houses for fellow residents or sailing to far away lands.

Apico, the beekeeping simulator, leans more to the mechanical side of the genre, focusing on efficiency, crafting, and material organization.

To get a feel for this game, I find it easier to describe how it's similar to other simulation games (and also may encourage people to try these out as well).

List items

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  Littlewood

  --GRAPHIC STYLE--

  The top-down minimalist pixel viewpoint is the closest to Apico's graphical style and layout. Apico is zoomed out a bit more (which gives me a bit more eye strain when playing it on the TV), but it helps to keep track of the open world.

  --SANDBOX ELEMENTS--

  In Apico, just like Littlewood, all trees within the play area are up for chopping. Houses, roads, plants, animals, etc. can be placed anywhere on the map to the player's liking and the 2D pixel graphics help in reducing the lag of such customizable features.

  Any tree or shrub cut is permanently removed (they don't grow back after a few days nor are any areas designated solely for them like Stardew Valley or Graveyard Keeper). Though, the player may choose to plant a seed or shrub to take its place, and seeds/shrubs/flowers are plentiful.

• 

  Graveyard Keeper

  --MASSIVE AMOUNT OF ITEMS TO KEEP TRACK OF--

  Graveyard Keeper's DLC included a new backpack item to hold within the main character's backpack so that they can carry the 40+ alchemy ingredients along with the numerous wood products, metal products, furniture, body parts, food, etc.

  Apico certainly does not beat Graveyard Keeper at quantity game, but it is comparable in the sense that it, too, offers a backpack within a backpack system to separate the main character's tools, raw bee products, processed bee products, building materials, flower seeds, etc. The amount of items denotes the amount of crafting options and can feel overwhelming at times.

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  Bit Orchard: Animal Valley

  --MINIMAL STORY OR CHARACTERS--

  Like Bit Orchard, Apico is purely task-oriented. The game has no story to move forward, so the goal is to check off tasks from the visible (and invisible) lists so that items/locations can be unlocked... to check off more tasks from the list.

  The (very mild) flavor story starts off with the common trope of "Grandparent invites grandchild to inherit legacy/land/etc." Though Grandma is alive & kicking (which is nice for once), she does not have much to say, nor does she really do anything. You can steal the items from her house though, I guess, as well as anyone else in the town.

  Each character has different personalities and on an individual level, they have unique dialogue from one another. Does it add to the game's overall tasks or purpose in any way? Not really. After a milestone is completed, they will have an exclamation over their head to indicate new text. The dialogue is mildly charming but ultimately skippable.

  --SHOPS ARE ALWAYS OPEN, CHARACTERS DO NOT MOVE--

  Bit Orchard has a sleep cycle, but up until midnight strikes, all characters can be spoken to and all shops can be patronized.

  The player character AND NPCs in Apico can be awake indefinitely with no penalty. This allows for round-the-clock shopping or chit-chatting and 24/7 availability from everyone and everything.