The best activity on the sub is the viewing of some high-quality mini-documentaries that unlock throughout the game (the tunes fade away while watching these). There is next to nothing to do on the sub, beyond browsing your fish data and launching the next dive, so most of these quality songs just go unheard unless you make an effort to listen to them. The story just kind of craters, and the tunes are only heard while on the submarine. It is interesting that the team behind Beyond Blue went to such efforts to get good actors and assemble a quality soundtrack for this game – because in the end, the game does very little with either. I’m passive-aggressive about the fact that you left me with our dementia-ridden grandmother while you go out to pursue your career. These calls continue the slight etching of a storyline, but for the most part, they are skippable. In between missions, Mirai hangs out on her submarine base, listening to some shockingly good soundtrack tunes and making calls to her co-workers (and her sister – who offers some background on Mirai’s life and grumps around about her life but doesn’t really have a compelling reason to be in the game). Beyond that, its mostly just swim, scan, and chill. Revisiting this group of giant mammals serves as a touchpoint throughout the game and leads up to the only emotionally resonant moment in the entire game. Many of the dives are narrated for the sake of an audience watching at home via a public video steam, which serves as a convenient, if somewhat clumsy, device to allow the characters to chatter on about what’s happening on screen.Īll of this adds up to a nice, relaxing gameplay loop, with an overarching storyline about Mirai tracking a newborn sperm whale and her pod being the primary narrative thread. The writers clearly didn’t want to ruffle the super-chill vibe they had established, so mostly these peripheral characters are in charge of sending Mirai on her next mission and explaining to the player what their motivation is. The environments in Beyond Blue can be truly striking – even the bits where you are simply swimming in the endless blue. ![]() In the end, these folks are all on the same team, and any story threads that might lead to tension are quickly dropped. There is a bit of push and pull between these two, but most of it boils down to a bit of good-natured banter. Mirai is performing dives for two researchers, one devoted purely to science and conservation, another that is more motivated by the commercial applications of their shared discoveries. These diving missions are connected by a loosely formed story delivered through some surprisingly good voice performances. There Is A Story (Of Sorts) In Beyond Blue I purposely dangled my delicious-looking body in front of various sharks and toothy fish, but nope. In fact, Beyond Blue might have slapped a “don’t try this at home” label on itself, as Mirai cheerfully swims among many giant marine animals that could easily kill her, with nary a thought for her own safety. ![]() None of the animals encountered in Beyond Blue present any danger to Mirai, beyond the occasional inky close encounter with a surprised octopus. This provides just enough motivation to keep players scanning happily away, even though doing so is mostly inconsequential. Once compiled, this data provides a rudimentary overview for that fish (or dolphin, or whatever) that you can peruse between missions. The more she scans a lifeform, the more information is transmitted back to her submarine base. Of course, since Mirai doesn’t need to worry about running out of air, she is free to explore her surroundings at her leisure, scanning merrily away at whatever lifeforms she happens across. The only two real mechanics in Beyond Blue are swimming and scanning, and that’s fine. Swim out to a buoy, scan the nearby ocean for points of interest, swim out to those points, scan whatever she finds there. Each dive takes on a quickly established routine. Over the course of eight dives, Mirai ventures out into different areas of the ocean, scanning sea life with her scanner (for science, of course!). Check out the glow-y future suit! Mirai doesn’t even need air tanks! ![]() Mirai’s scuba suit and rebreather will keep her safe right down into the midnight zone – the depth of the ocean where bioluminescence provides the only light. As the intrepid and fearless marine biologist Mirai, players need not worry about the crushing weight of the water above them. In this world, diving tech has progressed to the point where divers can free-dive in the deepest depths of the ocean without the assistance of a submarine. ![]() Beyond Blue PS4 Review Beyond Blue Is A Relaxing Cold Drink On A Hot Chaotic Dayīeyond Blue takes place in a near, somewhat sci-fi inspired future.
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