Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 66 | 11 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 64% | 63 | 495 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 83% | 77 | 1 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 4 reviews sampled · 4 total reviews in window · weighted 3 up / 0.6 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (34)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 70
“Birthdays the Beginning is highly recommendable as both edutainment and a god game. There are little issues that crop up that are annoying, but all in all, it's a great experience. There's a breadth of life to be created here, as long as you're going for what the game wants.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Birthdays the Beginning is an oddity: it's a relaxed, cutesy god game, but it also requires you to follow strict rules and pay attention to a vast array of stats, which can kill the fun factor to a degree. The free play mode makes for a more chilled out time, however, while the challenges offer more objective-based gameplay for those that want it. The creature capturing is initially compelling, but once you've seen everything, the game doesn't really have anything to draw you back in.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“I enjoyed my time with Birthdays the Beginning. It's not an action game or even much of a strategy game. It has some fun elements to it that allow players to create and relax. Finding all the life forms is a fun endeavor, and one that I think people who enjoy games like Viva Piñata and to a sense, Minecraft, will have a lot of fun with it.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Birthdays the Beginning is a really challenging game to describe in just a few sentences. It blends some genres and will undoubtedly be a divisive title as it is a slow burn that often provides more of a passive experience than an active one. The thing is - I find myself enjoying the time spent with it more often than not, despite some of its flaws.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“The designer behind Harvest Moon returns with a game that frustrates as much as it fascinates.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“The ambitious-but-flawed Birthdays the Beginning is packed with charm, but suffers from a clunky interface and confusing systems.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Despite the many obvious flaws there's a mesmerising quality to the game's artificial worlds, as the gameplay itself creates a surprisingly palatable form of edutainment.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Birthdays The Beginning can be a very fun and addictive game if only for a short while, the ‘beginning’ in the title feels very apt as the game feels like the beginning of something much larger that we’re just not being given in this game. The gameplay is a bit of a mixed bag as some features work brilliantly within the setting while others are straight-up broken or extremely frustrating to use. The positives of the game outweigh the negatives, but there just isn't enough of it to keep you around for that long. *It's worth noting that Birthdays The Beginning has received a day-one patch which, according to the patch notes, should fix some of the issues that I have laid out in this review and aims to improve other aspects of the game.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“This is for the simulation fan, or the gamer that has always had a desire to shape life and see what types of worlds they can create. Better yet, Birthdays the Beginning is perfect for anyone that has ever dreamt of visiting an alien world, and wondered just what it might like look. Because here, you have the power to make it look like anything you want. And the best part? No two worlds will ever look the same or have the same history.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Overall, Birthday the Beginnings is ok. The number of species you can create and manage promises a lot of gameplay, if you can get passed the poor pacing and intermittent gameplay. The cute animals (like that fish <3) makes the game pretty worthwhile, too.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Birhdays: The beginning is an incredible game with many hours of fun to be had and a ton to see and do.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“I'm tempted to describe the entirety of Birthdays the Beginning as ‘bittersweet'… it's equal parts massively addictive yet horrendously frustrating, but it somehow manages to always provide an enjoyable challenge.”
read full review ↗
Cubed3
Push Square
ZTGD
Chalgyr's Game Room
Eurogamer
GameSpot
Metro GameCentral
Japan Curiosity
Level Down Games
GBAtemp
PS3Blog.net
GameSpew…and 22 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Patch Reminder Update (Released 11/8/2017)Nov 16, 2017
- Patch Reminder Update (Released 11/8/2017)Nov 16, 2017
- Birthdays Update 5/18/2017May 18, 2017
- Birthdays Update 5/18/2017May 18, 2017
- 5/14/2017 Beta Branch is here!May 14, 2017