Sections of the game involve using replicated animal sounds and such, and hearing the recorded audio on playback is not just super-clean sounding and easy on the ear, but also adds an extra layer of education. Sea creature sounds and rumbles are very true-to-life and lock in the player’s immersion, ten-fold. On the submarine player-hub, there’s more pop-ish music with electronic, indie-styled tunes that are actually pretty entertaining to listen to. You’ll be hearing a lot of mellow, chord-based piano ambiences and pad-synth sounds when swimming around, and they do sound quite fitting for the tone and setting. ![]() The music and sound, much like certain aspects of this game, is very minimalistic in it’s approach, but actually works in Beyond Blue’s favour here. It really does start to feel a little hollow, the more you progress. That being said, you can unfortunately notice at times that this game seems like it was produced on a tight budget, filling out it’s visuals and story with just enough to get by. This game would look really sweet in Virtual Reality with a first-person mod, now that I mention it. I gotta give props to the graphics modelling team though, the level of detail in the animals’ textures could almost fool a passer-by into thinking you’re interacting with a David Attenborough, sea-life special. Compared to the amount of time spent staring at an almost blank LCD screen, when having submarine conversations – it’s just not an engaging aesthetic and comes across as almost barren-looking. It does feel a little empty at times wondering through the ocean and there’s just not enough of those cinematic cutscene stills that are utilised. That effort could also have been focused on the actual game-specific details. The voice cast portrays their characters particularly well, and it’s quite frustrating to see actors with such great passion and nuance in their performance, not be given enough scenes to grant the story a more profound impact. It’s a bit of a shame, as I felt that extra efforts could’ve been attributed. Because of this, the main themes don’t exactly resonate to the extent E-Line Media might’ve expected. Discussions of a struggling sisterly relationship, a grandmother that’s diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or an illegal sea mining and pollution operation, all fall a little flat as they’re no way near as fleshed out as they could be. Basically the game’s method of introducing other characters to the plot, but there’s very little substance in the candid conversations to be had here. ![]() During her down-time on the group’s submarine, Mirai will take phone calls from family and friends. Mirai and colleagues live-stream her diving sessions and follow a group of sperm whales throughout the adventure. Being voiced by YouTube megastar, Anna Akana, you can definitely expect some of her comedic mannerisms to shine through here. The story follows a trio of researchers and scientists, portrayed through the lens of lead character and diver, Mirai. ![]() It’s more a slow and methodical glide through the ocean, learning about it’s real-world inhabitants and soaking in the tranquil atmosphere. This game isn’t anything like Tripwire Interactive’s, Maneater, where you’d need to actively fight off enemies and threats. It does feel a little thin and repetitive for conventional gameplay standards, but it’s flow of movement and edutainment-esque vibe combine well, to keep it’s audience hooked on knowing what’s around the corner. You’ll mostly be scanning things with your hi-tech gadgets and collecting bio-samples for analysis. The core gameplay loop essentially involves receiving assignments from your Research team, then examining a specific area, environment or marine animal – pretty straightforward. Beyond Blue’s presentation is of a relaxed, narrative-based exploration, traversing expansive oceans and the mysteries that they house below. If you’re wondering, there’s no need to stress out about health bars and oxygen levels air is constant and any attempt to run into a predator, like a shark for instance, will just result in a weird, physics glitch – you can’t be harmed. ![]() “Embracing the same inclusive development process that was used to create Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna), E-Line’s BAFTA award-winning game about Alaska Native culture, the company partnered with BBC Studios (developers of the acclaimed Blue Planet II), OceanX Media, world-class game makers, and some of science’s leading ocean experts to craft an experience that reflects the awesome wonder and unbounded mystery that infuses our planet’s beating blue heart.Beyond Blue is a deep-diving simulator, where you’ll encounter a host of sea creatures and aquatic lifeforms to be researched and interacted with, whilst dealing with some real-world relationships issues and strife that the characters face.
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