Beacon Pines (Hiding Spot) is another indie game that has been been in my backlog for quite some time. It’s also about dark themes and a mystery surrounding a sleepy little town. It came out to rave reviews, and people who like it really like it. I remember the ravings, so I was cautiously hyped when I decided to try it out.
A note: I am a visual person in that if I don’t vibe with the look of a game, I’m going to have a hard time getting into it. Same with the audio to a lesser degree. If a game is harsh on my ears, then I am not playing it. This game was pleasing to my eyes and easy enough on my ears.
The basic premise of the game is that you’re a kid, Luka, whose father died in a terrible accident six years ago and whose mother disappeared…I want to say several months ago. His grandmother comes to live with him, and this is where we start.
Side note deux: I have created the new category of A Quick Review for games I’ve finished in less than five hours. I’ve actually put more time into this game, but that was for cleaning up the trophies. There were a few that were a pain in the ass, and my god, I was not happy to be doing them. But since I only had two of ten left, well, I was going to do it, wasn’t I?
In addition, I probably won’t give a number to these shorter games because it doesn’t feel applicable. Or rather, I don’t think it’s fair to give a number to a game that’s only a few hours long in playing time. I may give up numbers altogether, but I’m not willing to go quite that far yet.
The main gimmick of the game is that you can make different choices at certain important points in the game. You do this by choosing a charm to put in the slot. Each charm has a word on it with the appropriate emoji/item/whatever on the charm. So if it has a picture of a pile of shit, well, then the word/charm is shit. And, yes, that’s an actual charm in the game. As are fight, flight, struggle, crooked, weep, and many more.
It’s a neat concept, and I really enjoyed being able to change what I did at certain points in the story–and those choices actually mattered. Except, they really didn’t. I’ll got to that in a second. And I will say that in trophy hunting, I really wish they had a skip button once you heard a dialogue for the first time because my god, some of the dialogues go on foreeeeeeeeeever.
At the beginning of the game, you’re at your father’s grave and musing about how it’s been exactly as long that he’s been gone as it was that he was alive in Luka’s life. (Six years and six years). Things quickly turn into an amusing romp, and this is the tension that continues throughout the game. Sadness and grief battling with snark and humor. I liked the vibe, and it never felt too heavy-handed in either direction.
The characters are cute, vibrant, and mostly one-note (with shades of gray). Oh, and everyone is an animal. Luka is a deer. His best friend, Rollo, is a tiger, and his other new bestie, Beck, is a blackish/gray cat. I really like most of the characters. Even some of the ones I don’t like at first grow on me.
And that’s part of the problem I have with the game. I will get to that later as well.
The illusion of choice is just that–an illusion. Or rather, yes, you can make choices at certain points, but there is only one true ending, really. All the rest end abruptly, and you have to go back to the last turning point (I think it’s called). Also, it doesn’t tell you which choice you made last, so if you want to choose a different one that you’ve already done for reasons (trophy hunting), you may have to waste several minutes in trying to figure out if you chose the right one or not. Nor are the turning points labeled on the map so you can’t tell which chapter they are in.
I didn’t know it was going to be aliens (it’s not exactly, but it’s close), and my interest dropped drastically once I realized that something otherworldly was involved. Especially as it was done in a very trope-y way that did not interest me at all.
I never cared about the bigger story, quite honestly. I found it to be tedious at best, and I only really cared about the characters and their day-to-day life. In one memorable branch of the story, the town bully does something quite heroic, and it really touched me. I shed a tear! But it wasn’t even considered one of the turning points, and it felt bad to shrug it off and simply make another choice.
I think that’s the frustrating thing with this game to me. It could have just been a visual novel without the illusion of choice. I would have been perfectly satisfied with that–more so than thinking what I chose actually mattered.
I also feel like the game was made beacuse the devs came up with the gimmick of the turning point and then created the story around it. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but they might have been too focused on the gimmick and not enough on the story.
I also think that I have to stop being so hyped for these games. I have to remember that just beacuse these are indie games, it does not mean that they are going to be deeper and more emotionally satisfying athn a triple A game. I can hope and wish for it, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to get it. Or, if I do, it doesn’t mean that the gameplay is going to be scintillating.
I realize that it sounds like I’m putting down yet another indie game. I don’t want to be mean because the game has heart, and as I’ve said before, I’d rather they reach for the sun and fail than just stay firmly stuck to the ground. And this game did give me a few moments of emotional response, especially the one ending I mentioned earlier. That’s not nothing, and I think the game is wroth playing. As long as you go in not expecting to be blown away or expecting your choices to matter in the end.