Beyond Blue

by Aethyna Jun 12, 2020 | 1 Votes | 12 Played | 0 Reviews

10 rate

Genres:

Simulation , Adventure

Graphics:

Labels:

Storytelling , Educational , Underwater

Platforms:

Publishers:

E-Line Media Join deep-sea explorer and scientist Mirai as she dives into the ocean to track down the family of sperm whales she has been following via live stream in this educational and narrative-driven adventure game that’s inspired by BBC’s documentary Blue Planet II, Beyond Blue. Play Now Similar Games

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Summary Plotline Gameplay Community Graphics/ Sound Conclusion

Summary

Join deep-sea explorer and scientist Mirai as she dives into the ocean to track down the family of sperm whales she has been following via live stream in this educational and narrative-driven adventure game that’s inspired by BBC’s documentary Blue Planet II, Beyond Blue. Swim with the sharks, the fishes, and the whales, explore every inch of the atoll, as well as document and scan every sea creature you discover!

Plotline

A routine check-up on the family of sperm whales that she has been tracking for years turned awry, not because the pregnant female whale gave birth early to a healthy baby whale, but because of the more threatening dangers of the man-made sort – Toxic algae bloom (as a direct result of climate change and/or nutrient pollution) and deep-sea mining.

The characters here aren’t 2-dimensional as well. The game will let you know the characters; relate to them, and understand why they do what they do despite the sacrifices they oftentimes have to make.

So, to claim that Beyond Blue is merely a diving simulator would be doing this game and its creators a huge disservice. It’s so much more than that.

Gameplay

Beyond Blue is very similar to a walking… ahem, diving simulator, and it is very relaxing to play. It has a bit of adventure in it that’s directly linked to the main storyline where you simply need to follow the objective indicators and complete the quest. Most quests involve getting you to find dislodged tracking sensors, placing new trackers, and collecting samples for analysis, in addition to locating the family of whales you are tracking.

However, if you play the game only by following the quest instructions, then you’re playing Beyond Blue wrong. The game has plenty for you to discover and explore even though the game is framed by its story and hence, you are limited to exploring only the atoll albeit at different depths and time of day.

In fact, most of the time, you’ll be swimming about scanning various sea creatures to unlock more scientific data about said creature. You can then read all about it later once you’ve returned to the submarine via the tabletop computer. The computer also contains 3D models of these creatures that you can admire at your own time.

There are plenty of video clips from the Blue Planet II documentary from BBC that you can unlock and watch as well, where you can listen to bona fide marine biologists, and other scientists talk about the sea, the creatures in it, and how important it is for all of us to do our part to safeguard all of this for the future generation.

The game is also painfully realistic in some aspects. When I first spotted trash on the atoll, I was devastated. The worst part is that I still see man-made stuff like a shipping container or deep-sea mining equipment the further undersea I go. For someone who has always loved the sea, it’s really heartbreaking to see all the negative impacts humans have left on nature.

Like many players who have greatly enjoyed playing Beyond Blue, I would love to see more from the developers. Perhaps a DLC that will allow us to travel to another undersea location to explore and maybe even another story to experience?

Community

Beyond Blue is a single-player experience and may not be like a typical diving simulator, which may allow you to dive and explore the “alien” worlds beneath the waves along with your friends. That said, the game has a Steam discussion board that you can make use of if you’re looking to talk about the game or the story with your fellow players.

Graphics/ Sound

The graphics here are absolutely breathtaking. I frequently found myself gasping in wonder as I play this game. That said, I think it’d be nice to have a photo mode since many of us would so love to humble brag about how we get to swim with some of the coolest and most majestic sea creatures, albeit virtually, in Beyond Blue.

The music is incredible in this game as well. The game features a simple tune in the background while you dive just so you can better hear the sound that various sea creatures make, but while you’re onboard your sub, you have a nice selection of soundtracks to play on the speakers. I personally really enjoyed several of the tracks so much so that I’d be very tempted to buy them if the devs do decide to release a DLC for the game’s soundtracks.

Conclusion

I truly believe that gamifying education is the way to go and Beyond Blue proves my point. The game is obviously designed to educate and inspire, and this feeling is perfectly conveyed through the story and the game itself. Of course, there are also some players who just like to dive and swim around with the fishes and this game is able to provide that enjoyment as well.