yes and no
yes in so far that you are a growing organism that has to eat to become bigger and stronger
no in so far that you have more stats, different 'species' to choose from, supporting different builds and can build more complex shapes

It is similar to the first stage of spore, but there's way more variety and the way you grow is fundamentally different and way more cool than it is in spore. The entire game has a lot of room for creativity and many possible playstyles.