Niche – a Genetics Survival Game, recently released on the Nintendo Switch, is a a turn-based strategy game combined with simulation and survival elements. Now, Niche by Stray Fawn Studio isn’t a new game as it’s been on PC since 2016. But for me, it’s a new one and I love it! (Find my review here) There is a tutorial in the game, but I feel a little extra information on the genetic part of the game is needed. So, time to make a guide to help fellow enthusiasts!
Genes and combining them in the offspring your Nichelings have are important. A tribe with the right abilities and traits will survive longer and will make it easier to amass a stock of food, fight of predators and not catch diseases.
First, the DNA in your Nichelings is explained and below is an overview of various variations you can strive for that will enhance your hearing, smell, strength etc. (with many thanks to the awesome Wiki for Niche). If you’ve played for a while you will notice that you’ve already had an animal with a peacock tail without the needed 40 calls to attract wild animals.
The requisitory conditions that are mentioned are needed to unlock the gene in your mutations roster, so you can breed for that trait yourself without leaving it to chance.
DNA in your Nichelings
The DNA string has 21 gene combinations in it. Every pup inherits one copy from their mother and one from their father. Which gene is passed on is random. When the gene is highlighted in the parent animal, it’s active and dominant and only one copy is needed to be expressed in the pup. If it’s not, then the animal has that gene but doesn’t show any outward signs of it, it is recessive. In the case of co-dominance and incomplete dominance, both genes are expressed.
Ears:Â Ear genes affect Hearing, Heat Resistance and Cold Resistance.
Horns: Horn Genes affect strength and weather prediction.
Eyes: Eye genes affect Eyesight, Smelling, and Hearing.
Snout: Snout genes affect Strength, Smelling, Cracking, Collecting, Underwater Breathing, Feeding from the Bottom, Digging, and Venomous.
Body:Â Body genes affect Strength, Speed, Heat Resistance, Cold Resistance, Spikiness, Swimming, Underwater Breathing, Poisonous, Stealth, Flight, Appearance, and Smell.
Paws: Paw genes affect Speed, Flight, Strength, Collecting, Cracking, Swimming, and Digging. The genes are co-dominant.
Legs:Â Hind Leg genes affect Speed and Swimming.
Tail: the tail can influence cold resistance, fishing, strength, scent, poison resistance etc.
Albinism: Albino Nichelings have white fur and red eyes
Melanism: melanistic Nichelings have black fur, tinted with a little bit of midnight-blue
Fur color: the fur color is a mix of both genes, as the gene are both dominant (or you could say they have incomplete dominance). So an animal with a white and black gene for Fur Color will be grey. The color of the animal has an effect on the camouflage of the Ninheling, depending on the biotope.
Eye color:Â changes the color of a creature’s eyes. It is a cosmetic gene and has no other effects.
Horn color: Horn Color genes affect the color of the horns and claws on creatures. Due to incomplete dominance, the Horn Color is a mix of the creature’s two genes. The colors are White, Black, Brown, and Red.
Pattern color: Pattern Color genes affect the color of the mane on male creatures and pattern on all creatures. Due to incomplete dominance, the mane and pattern color is a mix of the creature’s two genes.
Mask: purely cosmetic
Pattern shapes: There are 3 patterns, Dots, Stripes and Mask as well as No Pattern. Each pattern has 4 types A, B, C, D, and these types influence how the pattern looks. Patterns also have density and size, also which influence how the pattern will look and it effects the camouflage as well. If you want to know more about patterns, colors and see examples, please visit the Niche Pattern Project.
Haemophilia or Blood clotting: affects how long the Nichelings bleed after being injured. It is a sex linked gene; females have two copies and males only have one.
Fertility: Each creature has 2 copies of the fertility gene. A creature’s fertility will be the sum of both copies of the gene. Breeding success depends on the fertility of both partners; infertile animals (0 fertility) are unable to breed at all.
Imunity: The immunity genes are A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, and Home Island Immunity (marked as a star). Immunity J is the rarest immunity you can get in the game, as it is almost always found exclusively in the jungles.
Hearing, Smell and Eyesight
Ear genes
These affect Hearing, but they also offer Heat Resistance and Cold Resistance. Not all genes are unlocked at first though. Here’s the effect and unlock conditions:
Medium Ears: +3 Hearing, auto unlocked
Round Ears: + 3 Hearing, invite animals with this gene in your tribe (only in Story Mode)
Big Ears: +4 Hearing, +2 Heat Resistance, spend 30 days in hot climate
Bearyena Ears: +3 Hearing, invite animals with this gene in your tribe.
Snout genes
These affect smelling, but it also has other benefits:
Short Snout: + 2 smelling, auto unlocked
Derp Snout: + 2 smelling, +1 distasteful appearance, auto unlocked
Big Nose: + 3 smelling, explore 100 days on grass lands
Cracker Jaw: +2 smelling, +2 cracking, perform 50x cracking nuts
Bearyena Snout: +2 smelling, +2 strength, +1 strong voice, +1 distasteful appearance, invite animals with this gene in your tribe
Digging Trunk: +3 smelling, +3 digging, unlocked when found in ice block
Gills: +2 underwater breathing, perform 50x swim
Platypus Beak: +1 smelling, +1 feeding from the bottom, perform water dig 50x
Poison Fang: +1 smelling, +1 poison resistance, +2 venomous, unlocked when traveled to the Sleepy Reeds island
Saber Tooth Fangs: +2 smelling, +2 strength, +1 strong voice, +1 distasteful appearance, unlocked when found in ice block
Bird Beak: +1 smelling, +1 collecting, +1 digging, +1 insect collecting, perform fly 50x
Purr Snout: +2 smelling, +1 healing purr, perform lick 3-X
Bat Head: +2 smelling, +3 hearing, +2 insect collecting, disables Ears! Perform collect insects 40x
Sticky tongue:Â +2 smelling, +2 insect collecting, perform insects collecting 20x and spend 20 days in hot climate.
Eyes genes
These affect not only eyesight, but also smelling and hearing. Eye color doesn’t influence that at all, it’s only cosmetic.
Blind Eyes: 0 eyesight, +2 smelling, +1 hearing
Eyes: 2 eyesight
Shortsighted Eyes: 1 eyesight, +1 smelling.
Strength, Defense and Abilities
When traveling the island a couple of genes are also important, determining how fast you can travel, how much food you can gather and how you can cope with predators.
Horn
Horn Genes affect strength and weather prediction. The color of the horns has no effect.
No Horns: no effect, is available from the start
Antlers: +1 strength, Spend time 30 days in cold climate and perform 50x attack
Megalocerous Horns: +2 strength, unlocked when found in ice block
Antennae: +1 weather prediction, invite animals with this gene in your tribe
Savanna Horns: +1 strength, spend 30 days in hot climate and perform 30 attacks.
Body
Body genes affect Strength, Speed, Heat Resistance, Cold Resistance, Spikiness, Swimming, Underwater Breathing, Poisonous, Stealth, Flight and  Appearance. The color has no effect here.
Medium body: +1 strength, +1 speed, +1 stealth, +1 scentless, +1 heat resistance, +1 cold resistance. is available from the start.
Big body: +2 strength, +1 defence, -1 heat resistance, +2 cold resistance, -1 flight, spend 50 days in cold climate
Lean Body: +2 speed, +3 heat resistance, +2 stealth, +3 scentless, spend 50 days in hot climate.
Armored Body: +3 defence, unlocked when found in ice block
Spiky Body: +2 strength, +1 scentless, +1 spikyness. Disables tail, unlock after 30 attacks
Toxic Body: +2 poisonous, +1 distasteful appearance,.Disables fur color, to unlock collect 50 x from Poisonous Berry Bush
Water Body: +2 swimming, +1 scentless, +2 underwater breathing, perform 50x swim
Heat Body: + 4 cold resistance, +1 heat radiation, spend 35 days in cold climate.
Paw
Paw genes affect Speed, Flight, Strength, Collecting, Cracking, Swimming, and Digging. The genes are co-dominant.
Deformed Paw: no effect, auto unlocked
Runner Leg: +1 speed, +1 collecting, +1 stealth, auto unlocked
Claw: +2 strength, +2 fishing, perform 50 attacks
Bearyena Claw: +3 strength, +1 fishing, invite animals with this gene in your tribe
Digging Paw: +2 digging, perform 50 dig
Nimble Fingers: +2 collecting, +1 cracking, perform 70x collect
Mammut Foot: +1 cold resistance, +1 defense, unlocked when found in ice block
Velvet Paw: +2 stealth, + 1 collecting, travel to a jungle
Webbed Paw: +1 swimming, perform 30 swim
Wings: +8 flying if genes are identical, invite animals with this gene in your tribe
Bat Wings:Â +8 flying if genes are identical, invite animals with this gene in your tribe
Hind Leg
Hind Leg genes affect Speed and Swimming.
Hind Leg: +2 speed, +1 swimming, auto unlocked
Bearyena Hind Leg: +1 speed, +1 swimming, +1 strength, invite animals with this gene in your tribe
Webbed Hind Leg: +1 speed, +2 swimming, perform 30x swim
Tail
There are various tails in the game, that will affect abilities too.
Medium Tail: +1 cold resistance, auto unlocked
Fishing Tail: +2 fishing, perform 30x fish
Hammer Tail: +1 strength, +1 cracking, unlocked when found in ice block
Stinky Tail: +1 distasteful scent, collect 30x on Smelly Fruit Tree
Swimming Tail: +1 swimming, travel to new islands (Oasis)
Peacock Tail: male +1 attractiveness, for females no status effect. Perform 40x call to attract wild animals
Scorpion Tail: +1 poison resistance, +1 poison damage, spend 50 days in hot climate and perform 40x attack
Tailfin: +2 swimming, -1 cold resistance, perform 100x swim
Thanks you very much!!!