The game is the book and you are the narrator but is this narrative adventure game an enticing novel or should this just be shelved?
When it comes to video games, a good story can be just as important as strong gameplay and enticing graphics- obviously game dependant. I don't think you need lore or story driven depth with games like Powerwash Simulator but when your game relies solely on a story and the overall gameplay being that it's a story, played out and read by the actual player, then yeah, it's very important.
Welcome to Beacon Pines. As the player, you control Luka Vanhorn and narrate his story as he tries to uncover the sordid mystery of his rather quaint little town. You explore several locations, striking up conversations with the locals and uncover various charms which can be used to fill in the blanks during key moments in the story, thus changing the direction of the story altogether.
There are many moments where you may only have one charm which will yield in a bad ending, cutting the story short, however the game will backtrack to certain points for you to try again to progress differently, and ultimately further than you did before. This is an interesting aspect of the game, allowing you to experience many different scenarios and gut wrenching scenes that are more chilling than the previous. The game's plot isn't exactly unique to each player, like you're probably made to believe, however it tries to point you in the direction of its true ending.
Not only is the story really engrossing but the characters themselves are interesting and diiverse in personality. There are many moments in the game where characters who you assumed were nice, actually harbored a darker side to them and ones who you hated due to their initial, rotten attitude start to become more endearing.
Aesthetically, the game gives off this cozy but dark vibes, almost as if Roger Rabbit met Stranger Things, the clash of those very different worlds come together to create this narrative driven game. The art style is very reminiscent of a childrens book, which I assume was the direction that the developers were going for, considering that this game pretty much takes place in a book.
Overall, the game is very unique in its genre. Although, having to keep going back to certain points of the game may come across as repetative and dull but the way the game alters the storyline each time, is very clever.
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