E3 2015 Preview: Beyond Eyes

Beyond Eyes is trying something very unique, but in my hands-on time with the game, I think it falls flat.

In one of those ‘is it a game or is it an experience’ situations, Beyond Eyes puts you in the shoes of Rae, a ten year-old girl who unfortunately has lost her eyesight after an accident involving fireworks. She starts off in familiar surroundings, but after coming across a cat, decides to venture out of her safe space and into the unknown.

There’s no denying that Beyond Eyes is whimsical and beautiful. As Rae slowly – and I mean slowly – walks around her environment, she essentially paints it; think of a game along the lines of The Unfinished Swan and you’re not far off. The world is white – a blank canvas, if you will – until Rae walks around and interacts with it. Said encounters will give you an idea of what’s actually around the protagonist.

And there’s where it starts to fall apart.

I’m okay with the notion that Rae can ‘picture’ the world around her, as she possessed eyesight before the accident. I’m very fine with explosions, for lack of a better word, popping into the environment as Rae hears a bird chirp off in the distance. Likewise, the idea that Rae can picture a wall when she walks into one, and rather cleverly, traces her hand along it as she continues forth.

What I don’t understand is how, without the use of any sense, Rae can draw in the world around her. With each footstep, trees and tables and chairs have the potential to insert themselves in Rae’s world, and it’s not explained. She’s not seeing them, obviously, but nor is she hearing them, smelling them and so on. Neither can I understand how Rae can remember EVERYTHING that she encounters in a chapter. That’s some damn good memory she has.

Playing through various chapters of the game, there were moments of brilliance; Rae misinterprets what she thinks is a car, going off the noise it makes, only to get closer and realise it’s actually a man pushing a lawnmover. The problem is, these moments were too few and far between. Most of the time, you’re simply engaging in a slow-moving walking girl simulator. Despite being in the unfamiliar, at no point do you really feel like Rae’s in any danger, so any sense of trepidation or urgency is gone.

Instead, Beyond Eyes made me impatient; as Rae slowly – I know I’m harping on about this, but oh man, you’ve no idea – moves around, she will run into barriers like rocks and trees that essentially signify the end of the game’s world. That’s fair enough, I guess, but it does mean you’ll have to turn around and crawl in another direction. What I can’t take is continually running into invisible walls that mean the same thing. All up, the game’s flaws were more noticeable than its charm.

Beyond Eyes will be polarising; on one hand, it’s a unique experience, and one suited for those who want a (mostly) relaxing experience. On the other, it’s a half-baked, half-game, and one that won’t appease the (dare I say it) hardcore types.

Beyond Eyes will be available on PS4, Xbox One and Windows PC this year.