Beyond Blue

I loved my time with Beyond Blue. It’s incredibly relaxing being able to swim through the ocean, and mesmerising to reach depths that many of us will never see in real life. From its interesting story, fantastic soundtrack and admirable inclusion of educational elements, Beyond Blue is an excellent title that a wide gamut of gamers will enjoy. It isn’t free of issues, but they don’t deter from the magic of diving into an unexplored underwater world.

Beyond Blue might lack gameplay variety and an absorbing plot, but it balances it with a fascinating and realistic depiction of the underwater world, letting us explore and discover the sheer beauty of dolphins, whales and sperm whales.

A very immersive experience with simple gameplay.

Although Beyond Blue might not stand out from a gameplay perspective, it hits all the right spots as a remarkable educational tool about the planet’s underwater world.

Beyond Blue is a relaxing experience that will appease players who cannot get enough nature documentaries on Netflix. I loved taking my time and scanning creatures and just exploring the ocean. There is a lot of interesting info wrapped around a solid gaming experience. Beyond Blue is the kind of game that players will just know they will enjoy by looking at it.

The closest thing to Beyond Blue currently out in the wild is the brilliant Subnautica, but where they differ is that one is an absolutely open, alien sci-fi fantasy and the other one is Subnautica.

Beyond Blue is a relaxing underwater adventure with a big didactic focus. If you want to learn more about sea creatures and just unwind while gaming, give it a try.

This wonderful experience is cut too short. There are only eights dive to perform, each taking only about half an hour or less even if you spend your time exploring outside the mission objectives. Beyond Blue can be easily played through in one session and there is little replay value if you already explored everything in your first go. Of course, the game is labeled as a single-player narrative experience, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s insanely short. I would have liked it to last at least twice its current running time as it’s such a beautiful and soothing experience with an important environmental message. Still, Beyond Blue is worth a try for those who respect life instead of taking it in video games. Who knows, the next time when browsing through a store for a game to buy, you may go for something more peaceful and tranquil than the latest first-person shooter!

It’s hard to criticise Beyond Blue too much, for it comes to market with the express intention of highlighting the ocean’s magic, hammering home a different type of message to most other gaming experiences. As a game it could do better, but as a journey into what is the unknown for many, then it most certainly works.

Really though, it’s all about the sea exploration, and even though the act of playing is repetitive and quite dull, there’s a good range of information in both scanning the various animals and the short documentary pieces that accompany the adventure. A little more interaction or life to sea creatures might have been nice, but if you fancy educating yourself and perhaps your kids on how important the oceans – and the life within them – are, this is a great resource.

Quotation forthcoming.

If you’re looking for an optimistic documentary-esque game about diving in the ocean, you’ve come to the right place. It’s family-friendly and just a straight outlook at the various species. If you want both sides of the story, you might be disappointed to know that the real dangers involved with actual deep-sea diving are nowhere to be found.