Beyond Blue Review – A Safe Dive

Thank you to E-Line Studios for providing the review code, and thanks to Cart Boy for the editorial help.

Studio E-Line Media’s Beyond Blue has enjoyed a short but colorful history. It originally graced the Apple Arcade in April of 2020, and hit the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and personal computers in June of that same year. Now, the indie studio’s single-player adventure has graced the Nintendo Switch, but is this experience one worth diving into?

Ready to dive

Altogether, Beyond Blue’s mission is to provide a quite safe and relaxing diving excursion. Set throughout the calm waters of the Pacific Ocean, this game is an educational experience, teaching budding oceanographers about the fauna found near an atoll, specifically a family of sperm whales. We’re seeing these wondrous sights through the eyes of Mirai, a marine biologist whose personal drama compliments the loneliness of the ocean. Calm and professional in demeanour, an awkward animosity between Mirai and her fellow researchers has nevertheless taken root. One of those researchers, Irina, has ambiguous ties with other industries, and their boss, Andre, is especially dedicated to protecting the ocean. Another relatable problem plaguing Miai’s life is the growing emotional distance between her and her sister, adding more spice to the narrative.

Besides this, Beyond Blue includes additional video shorts from the acclaimed BBC documentary Blue Planet II and interviews with real life marine biologists and researchers. These are extremely welcome inclusions, and they serve as the foundation behind the game’s wonderful submarine vistas. And hopefully they’ll inspire a love for the ocean in players, spurring them to take action.

The first animal you see in the game is a Chilean devil ray. It’s like they are pandering to my curiosity.

Sailing the open seas

Set in the near future, Mirai is testing new gadgets to gather information about the species she encounters. One such device is an AR headset that allows her to scan marine life, letting Mirai gather data about them. Her ultimate goal is to complete a list of “Science logs,” which can be later explored on the submarine base. Another essential of hers is a special diving suit that projects distinct types of light, a means to illuminate her way or reveal interesting details. Also, the researcher has a synthesizer that can replicate whale songs in order to interact with them.

The researching duties are assigned by interacting with a hydrophone buoy that marks points of interest. Exploring these areas is how you advance through the game, and talking with your colleagues over radio fleshes out the cast and expands the narrative. And the family of sperm whales we follow consists of a newborn, her mother, and the menace of a disturbing sound coming from deep below.

There is a lot of trash scattered on the reef floor, making it a realistic representation of the sad the status of this beautiful environments

Cool but not so deep

The game explores some pretty nifty ideas and concepts, like the Science logs table. These show you very detailed 3D models of every animal you can encounter in the game, giving you the option to see recreations of some special actions. This mode also presents you information about their size and how deep they live, but lacks other relevant data, like their conservation status and worldwide distribution.

Beyond Blue’s controls are also a bit clunky, especially the camera, which is a glaring problem in a work of this nature. It’s the main tool of the game, and though it’s not a deal breaker, having to deal with awkward angles on more than a couple of occasions is problematic, breaking my immersion. Personally, I would have appreciated a “camera reset” button. On that note, letting players access the AR scanner at all times would have been welcome. Since you need to collect scans from the marine fauna to unlock their info, you might as well have it on all the time.

Also, the gameplay feels a bit shallow, especially when there are some items that display interactivity, but the only results you get by interacting is a small line of UI dialogue. I wish we could have taken a look at some water samples under the microscope to see microplastics, or have some diegetic text manual of some of the suit actions, like the different flashlight modes, for example.

Unfortunately, the depth of Mirai’s narrative doesn’t match that of her underwater dives. While the attempt to enrich the affair is appreciated, Beyond Blue’s story is ultimately kind of shallow, feeling almost unnecessary to the overall package.

On the other hand, the audio quality is pretty good, but it feels a bit unbalanced during some dialogue scenes; for example: Irina is a bit too quiet at the beginning of the game. Despite this, the voice acting is solid, conveying a convincing sense of familiarity between the characters, and the music is enjoyable as well. Some of it is licensed, but there is a mode that disables it if one wants to stream the game.

Not that kind of Squid Game, as here there is no way for you to hurt or get hurt.

Diving simulator?

Are you a fan of “walking simulators” or “interactive movie” games? Both genres have their detractors, people who shun them and claim a game’s raw gameplay is its most important component. That’s understandable to an extent, since that’s what distinguishes this medium from every other one. However, all components of a game, no matter how “secondary,” support the complete experience. This position doesn’t take into consideration the goal of the game in question.

So, let’s take this game as an example. Beyond Blue‘s goal isn’t to be a deep or mechanically complex simulation of diving, or a nail biting action adventure full of close encounters with dangers from deep below. Instead, following the example of the documentary that inspired it, it’s focused on presenting a refreshing recreation of a reef, on which you examine the biodiversity that lives there, from small fishes to monumentally scaled whales, and everything in between. All of them are animated to recreate their natural behavior in a peaceful way, so the player can get close to and appreciate their well crafted models. In conclusion, the goal of Beyond Blue is to emulate a visit to a living museum, with scripted interactions that guide the player to take a look and learn a bit more about the wonders of the sea. And I would love to see a similar game explore different natural environments, like the rainforest or even the desert.

I was just trying to get in position to take a picture

Tips:

Adjust the audio levels, so you can hear the whale easily. Their songs are a nice treat.
If you like to stream the game, there is a “stream mode” that locks out the licensed music. Some of it is pretty good, so try to listen to it when you move around the submarine.
Don’t rush through this one! The game is quite short, so take your time checking out the documentary shorts and playing with the Science logs. This is a relaxing, informative museum exhibit, not an adrenaline-pumping rush.
Play around with the camera mode. The ingame models of the animals and ambient scenery are well made, and could provide some pretty or funny wallpapers.

Pay attention to the submarine windows, someone could pay you a visit!

Is this a sinking port?

In all honesty, even as a non-”graphic maniac”, the compromises Beyond Blue had to take to come over to the Switch make the experience feel a bit rough. And watching gameplay footage of Beyond Blue on high end platforms shows a level of visual detail there that Nintendo’s handheld simply can’t match. So if you have a more powerful gaming device, I would recommend you play this game there to enjoy it to its fullest. Overall, this is a fairly good looking game that could even serve as an introduction to the medium. This is a safe, relaxing experience, one that’d be welcoming to kids or other less seasoned players.