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.