Before your Eyes PSVR2 Review
| Game: | Before your Eyes |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Skybound Games |
| Developer: |
Narrative games were always going to work well in VR, as it’s a medium that gives you extra feeling that you are in the story. The award winning Before Your Eyes is one such game, and it’s also one that makes use of the PSVR2’s fancy eye tracking technology to tell its 90-minute story.
Before Your Eyes begins as you are being shipped by a mysterious ferryman, and it’s here where we learn about the life of the deceased lead character Benny, as he tells his story to the ferryman. It’s also here where we learn about some of the game’s clever mechanics.
Before Your Eyes uses eye tracking to a commendable degree, and it’s actually a game that can be completely controlled with your eyes, meaning that it is a very intuitive experience. With the story quickly flitting from one scene to another by simply blinking, and doing this everyday eye action to help form further clarity in some of the scenes, this is a clever use of one of the PSVR2’s most unique features. You’ll even find some scenes where you are forced not to blink and others that have you closing your eyes.
It’s hard to talk about Before Your Eyes’ plot without spoiling things, although I will try my best. The well-constructed narrative explores a number of themes including love, loss, family and expectation. It’s an emotional and wholesome plot that really made me feel as if I was in Benny’s shoes, and this is in spite of the character being a silent lead.
Full marks must go to the voice acting as well as the music, which help add so much to the experience. As simple as they are, the visuals also have enough character to carry the weight of the game’s themes.
Flaws involve a flaw of the human body, and that is not wanting to blink, but accidentally blinking anyway. This can move you on to the next scene when you wanted to remain in the previous one, but you could consider this part of the game’s challenge. £12 is also quite a high asking price, but there’s definitely a meaty and memorable 90-minute story to be devoured here.
Before Your Eyes is a thought provoking and well-made narrative game. There’s a tragedy at the center of its plot, and many will really want to fight against blinking to see as much as the story as possible. It only lasts 90 minutes, but it feels as complete of a story as possible, meaning you won’t necessarily be wanting more of it, but it might very well live on in your memory for quite some time.
