Beyond Eyes

This is slow, dull game with almost no interaction, puzzle-solving, or challenge of any kind. And I love it. Not because it’s beautiful, not because it’s atmospheric, not even because it’s full of wonder and surprise. I love it because it made me think differently. It made me wonder what it’s like to be someone else. It made me contemplate what I take for granted. It made me admire an ordinary person’s courage. It was a new experience, but rather than just a novelty, it felt like an experience worth having. The game uses visuals to try and give you an idea of what it’s like to have no vision. Things only reveal themselves when they make noise, and I was stunned more than once when I finally reached a sound only to discover it was something I couldn’t have expected. I’ve never played a game that made me doubt my senses the way this one has. The people who voted this game down are right, Rae moves very slowly. Infuriatingly slowly. Anyone who hurries to reach the end will only be aggravated. But that’s the point: she’s blind. She CAN’T hurry. Running around without being able to tell where you’re going wouldn’t make any sense, especially for a timid little girl. If I had to criticize, I would say that the story about the cat could have been fleshed out a little more before the hunt began. I realize that it’s not really the point, but it would have been nice if there was a bit about Nani helping Rae reengage with the world after her accident or something. All you do is walk around. There are no challenges, no failure states. The entire game is just slowly traversing an extremely simple maze, where you can only see a few feet in front of you. As a videogame, that’s terrible. I knew I loved it when I realized that all the vibrant colors, all the lush plants and chirping birds and flowing creeks, weren’t real. My character didn’t, COULDN’T, know what any of those things looked like. That’s why the color drains from the world when she gets scared. This is a story about a little girl, whose whole world is completely blank, and she chooses to fill it with color. And I think that’s beautiful.

While visually this game is phenomenal, the mechanics are frustrating enough that I don't recommend it. I loved it for a while because what it's doing with sound and perception are unique and immersive. I love the idea of it and think that the imagery and idea are well executed. It also has this storybook-like whimsical atmosphere that is beautiful. The watercolor style and text that comes up to convey the story work well together. However, the main character walks so slowly that the game becomes monotonous and painfully annoying after playing for a while. Eventually I gave up on the game and never finished it. I think if they sped up the walking a little bit they could have sustained the idea of it, her tentative walking because she is sensing her surroundings, while also making the game more playable. I don't think I'll come back to it but if they ever change it up a bit it would be worth playing, even if just the beginning, to experience it.

This is a perfect example of an idea that was too big for the team that came up with it. It's a great idea: a game from the perspective of a blind girl, where most of the world is white and is revealed as she hears noises and explores. But the execution is extremely lacking. The game has a small handful of interesting mechanics, but even the best of them never live up to their potential. So much more could have been done with the idea of seeing what she's imagining, then discovering what it really is. More could have been done with the way she interacted with the world around her; how cool would it have been if instead of just revealing the environment in a perfect orb around her by merely walking around, you had to reach out and touch things, or actively use sound? And even when you're being pleasantly surprised by what the game does right, you're bored to tears by its most basic goal: walking around and slowly, SLOWLY revealing things at a snail's pace. It's very obvious that the developers came up with the premise, planted a few small things to do then stretched the whole thing as far as they could. I mean seriously, you move at an absolute crawl with no option to move faster, 90% of your time AT LEAST is spent simply walking and trying to find your way through the story path, and still the game is something like two hours long. Overall just a disappointing experience that I can't even recommend for the tidbits that I mildly enjoyed. The concept is a great one, but someone else with a bigger budget and/or more creativity needs to have a go at it.

Beyond Eyes is about a blind girl looking for her best friend, a cat. The most successful part of the game is how it conveys her blindness. Often she’ll hear something ahead, and from her limited experience she’ll think it’s one thing, but when she gets close it turns out to be something else. At one point what she thinks is a fountain turns out to be a drain pipe, or what she thinks is scary birds turns out to be cuddly hens. At the start her frames of reference come from the environment she grew up in. But over the course of the game you see her learn what the world is really like through experience. The animations are superb, as the girl gropes and feels her way through the world, and the art direction is wonderful. Other parts of the game like the voices and music are merely good. They do the job, but are a bit blunt. It’s the same with the sound design. I don’t think a blind person will be able to play this, as many of the queues a blind person uses to navigate the world aren’t here. This is generally a problem with games, as sound designers only tend to aim for movie realism, and never true realism. If you have sight you might not think about it, but you can hear how big a room is, and you can learn to hear where objects are by subtle wind sounds or echo location. I’m ok with Beyond Eyes lacking these things, because no games has those, not even blind games. The girl walks slow, which gives the game a slow pace. This felt appropriate, as the environments are quite detailed, and it’d be easy to miss things if it was faster. The story follows a reasonably good dramatic curve, with a few scares, and moments of joy and wonder. How it wrapped up made the journey feel worth it. A strong payoff will always give the whole experience a rosy tint, and that's definitely the case here. It’s not a long game, but because of the deliberate simplicity of the story it’s the right length. I couldn’t ask for more.

This game moseys along at a leisurely pace, so it's not for the impatient. :V That being said, it's pretty interesting if you ARE patient. The graphics are facinating, like a watercolor painting come to life, and the protagonist is totally adorable. Oh, yeah, and this game will smack you in the feels too; so if you're a weepy like I am, grab a tissue or three.

Spoilers: [spoiler]I cried. I thought she'd find the cat in the end, but it turns out the cat stopped visiting her because he died. As someone who has cats and loves them a bunch, I couldn't handle it. That's just too sad. She went through so much to find him only to find out he was gone.[/spoiler] You have to have patience to play this game. It's about a blind girl trying to find a cat. She's [b]blind[/b], which means she can't run around and move fast. She's going to walk slowly throughout the whole thing, because that makes sense. This game is about enjoying the visuals and feeling a small fraction of frustration that actual blind people go through. Blind people have to use their other senses to get around, so throughout the game, Rae (the protagonist) listens for certain sounds, feels her way through areas, and even uses her sense of smell to find flowers. Don't play it for easy achievements. The achievements aren't that easy or quick. If you don't like cats, don't bother with the game either. This is a bittersweet story that takes patience and relaxation to enjoy. Bonus points: People of color representation.

[h1][i] Beyond Eyes[/i][/h1][i]Is a game about exploration, it tells a story though the eyes of a young 10 year old blind girl called Rae.[/i] [i]Rae lost her eye sight as a very young girl a toddler actually, so now she must use her sensorys, like hearing and touch to find her way through the enviroments she lives in. Rae also made a friend a ginger cat called Nani.[/i] http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=498383930 [i] In this story Rae's cat wonders of and is no where to be seen, so Rae decides to wonder of in search of her best friend. All Rae can see is white and as she progresses, the enviroment she is in starts to open up, we then see the beautifully painted enviroments painted in pastel water colours. Also remember Rae is blind so she wont be running in this game, she only walks and it is a rather a slow walking pace.[/i] http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=498465477 [i]This game is very interesting with many surprise's to discover and also predators that are rather scary for Rae, so you have to find another way around them, as things are not always as they seem. I found an interesting article to read regarding this game [/i] : [url=http://www.kotaku.com.au/2015/08/beyond-eyes-is-a-video-game-about-loss/]kotaku[/url] http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=498386548 [i]While I have played and enjoyed this very unique and colourful game, it may not be for everyone's enjoyment. The game is NOT a platformer, or a shooter or any other style game. This game is solely a game about exploration, a walking simulater with a wonderful story to go with it.[/i] [i]The game is suitable for all age's, but Im sure the younger generations will enjoy this game quite well [/i] ;) [i]I think the price is fair and reasonable, but Im sure you can pick it up at some point in time much cheaper[/i]:) http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=498465318 [i]I want to say thank you to the developer, for using your imagination and really putting your heart and sole into this little gem, it must not have been easy to make a game, through the eyes of the blind. I would love to see a guide dog added, this could be a way of making the girl walk much faster, with the help of the guide dog and us the player.[/i] ;D [i]Thank you for making this remarkable game.[/i] :)

"Beyond Eyes" is a little walking simulator where you explore your surroundings as a little blind girl called Rae. Walking on a white "canvas", the environment is revealed in flowing water-colour graphics as she discovers by hearing, smelling and touching - a visual treat for the player. Some things she encounters will delight her, other things will unsettle her. It is cute. It is gentle. It is very slow-paced. A relaxed playthrough could take around five hours. The game has simple controls. It auto-saves at the end of each chapter, which can be replayed individually from the menu. TAKE NOTE: This game is not for Rambos, Chuck Norrises, Lara Crofts, bikers, lumberjacks, ice-road truckers or chain-saw maniacs (unless you want to die of acute cuteness).

Amazing hidden gem: pace, art direction, gameplay, soundtrack, characters, story - everything constantly flirts with a minimalist Zen perfection. Blindness is an all-pervasive white, from which the world comes into being and into which it fades to nothingness at each step you take, trembling in gentle aquarelles as an unique emotional, heart-wrenching story gently unfolds. [b]Beyond Eyes[/b] needs patience, a certain state of mind, some maturity and - last but not least - a definite sensibility for all thing cats. Do not use walkthroughs, do not get bogged down in achievements, just live the game and it will reward you. It's a quite unique gaming experience and, to be honest, I pity those who don't get it (*hint: focusing on something for more than 3s might really help).

This game's visuals are beautiful and the atmosphere is for the most part very relaxing, but they dropped the ball when it comes to the story in my opinion. I patiently slugged through the game despite the excruciatingly slow movement speed and constantly getting stuck on invisible boxes around bushes and fences, but then, [spoiler] they killed the cat. [/spoiler] I believe in giving games a fair chance, so I could put up with the slow movement and getting stuck on stuff that became visible way later then they should have, but a bad ending can still ruin a game for me, and this was the worst possible ending to an otherwise cute story. Some people may be impressed when something makes them cry, but I'm not. Grief comes easily, it's joy that takes work.

I got this game because the visuals were nice and the story seemed intriguing. I started off enjoying the aspect of discovering the surroundings while listening to the relaxing music. But the longer I continued, the more repetitive everything got and once the rain set in, it became frustrating very quickly. I was stuck in loops of walking where I'd already been because the visuals would start to fade. The ending had me just about done with ever playing the game again. The good parts of it all including the music and visuals could not make up for the frustration and slow pacing for the game. I can tell this was a passion project and had a lot of heart in it, but I just can't bring myself to recommend this game.

On that beautiful summer day Rae was playing with her friends. It was her 10th birthday and she was as happy as can be. And after dinner, when night fell, fireworks went of to celebrate the event. But something went wrong and a rocket exploded in Raes face, blinding her forever. Later her only remaining friend was Nani the cat. And when Nani seemed lost Rae took all her courage to find her. Beyond eyes is a slow game. A walking simulator, simulating the world of a blind little girl. She moves slowly and you see what Rae thinks to see. And sometimes when you move closer it turns out to be something else. The noises of the world generate your view and most of the time huge parts of that world remain white. Invisible until you touch it and realize it's a wall, a table or a tree. Beyond eyes will not win prices in terms of game-play or fun. But it's very unique and a great idea and we should give the developers credit for taking this approach. But what's outstanding is the story. It's brutally sad and reaching the end of the game is worth the trip. In terms of game-play the game does not deserve a recommendation. But regarding the story and the uniqueness of this piece of art, because that's what it is, the game clearly deserves a recommendation. Pros: - beautiful watercolor graphics - extremely sad heart-breaking story - that end - slow, emotional music that matches and enhances the experience Cons: - slow game-play - can be frustrating for impatient players - difficult achievements, you need a guide in order to find them all - makes a grown man cry

Isn’t it kinda funny, that game about blindness is so gorgeous? From a technical standpoint, it’s not that impressive, but the style is awesome! I wouldn’t say it can fool you to believe you playing in a painting, but it’s close. There are a couple of awkward animations, but the majority of them are great. I like how Rae (the main character) tilt her head listening or extend her hand towards walls she walks by, Nathan Drake style. Music and sound are very good, too. But that’s a little bit less impressive, ‘cause we used to good audio in our entertainment. That you do in this game, is the “uncovering” of the world (actual goal: you trying to find a little chubby four-legged red friend — cat Nani). I can’t tell you how good it represents any visual impairments, if at all, but it’s simple, yet very compelling mechanic, akin to “Unfinished Swan” or, to some degree, “[url=http://store.steampowered.com/app/252150/]Grimm[/url]” (you “repaint” the world in that one). There are bits of interaction here and there, tasks you need to complete to progress, but nothing complicated. And it’s a sweet little story. It’s tricky to talk about it, without spoiling anything, but I know some people like to know those things: so, is this game gonna make you sad? [spoiler]Most likely.[/spoiler] And that’s it. Simple, sweet, beautiful. P.S. [strike]They promised to fix slow walk speed.[/strike] Many months later, slow walking speed, which they promised to fix, is still not fixed. I wasn’t bothered by it, and I’m not going to say it’s a minus, but if you promise something and then don’t do it… So, if you have some technical difficulties, you better get a refund, than wait for a patch. P.P.S. Crows are loud jerks!

I bought this game because I remember hearing some of the folks on The Co-Optional Podcast talk about how cute, inspiring and [insert compliments because it's a game about someone who disabled], etc... this game is. Well. That was a mistake. I am a fan of walking simulators, I enjoy almost all of them, but this one just isn't good. It is good on the surface until you realize there is nothing new to the game after playing for 10 minutes. The first 10-15 minutes it was kinda good, it was new, it is certainly a unique and original game. The first minutes I spent enjoying the nice concept, the beautiful colours and other miscellaneous things I picked up on, for example if you hit a wall and start walking a-long side the wall, she, the person you play as, starts tracing the wall with one of her hands. Just small things like that. Once I had played for a bit and got the base concept of the game in my head I started waiting for something to happen as I was looking for this cat until I realized... this is it? Just... walking and getting interrupted every 20 seconds because this girl is very unique and has a small panic attack every time she hears a bird or a bell in the distance? [spoiler]Hint: Blind people don't work that way.[/spoiler] There's more or less no story, nothing to make you care, nothing to make you attached, nothing that makes you hope to find the cat. No dialogue, lack of of sounds. There are a bunch of sounds until you realize that it's just the same few sounds playing on repeat. You walk extremely slow, and yes... I get that she's blind, I get that a blind person won't really want to run around, but this is a game; you have to keep the player interested. Walking at the speed of a snail and getting interrupted every 20 seconds and listening to the same sounds on repeat over and over and over is not a good experience, it is dull, boring and makes you long and hope and wishfully anticipate something new to happen, but that anticipated bit of something new never comes. In conclusion... Beyond Eyes is something that looks great on the surface, it looks beautiful, it looks like it has a great story behind it and looks like something that might make you feel emotional and last but certainly not least it looks like something new, something unique and original. Then you play it and realize it is indeed an original game but contains nothing to carry it forward, nothing that makes you feel like this is worth it. It is dull, boring, lacking in dialogue, soundtrack and story. [h1]Curator page[/h1] [i]If you liked this review or otherwise found it helpful in deciding whether or not to buy this game, feel free to follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/29162366/]my Curator page[/url].[/i]

A rare gem in the gaming world that distinguishes itself with beautiful graphics and a simple but memorably story. Others have commented that the girl walks too slow, and she does -- for a game. But this isn't really a game so much as an experience. To truly enjoy it, you have to take a deep breath, calm your mind and accept that this is the world of a blind child. Don't rush. Take it slow, and enjoy each step. In the end, you'll be better off for it.

I've seen a fair few negitive reviews for this game and i would just like to say in response to those (rather than write out a proper review myself) that this is a short indie game with a simple premise and basic interactions. I do not feel it's fair to judge it by the same standards you would judge larger and more complicated games. I believe that this game achieves what it has set out to do, providing a simple, beautiful and emotional experience. It is true that the pace of the game becomes a problem towards then end, the speed Rae walks is quite slow but this does make narritive sense and i only found it a particular problem in the last two chapters, that is not to say you won't earlier tho, and out of all the critisms put towards this game it is probably the one i most understand and could agree with. None-the-less this is a beautiful game that tell's it's story in a truly unique and (i found) powerful way. I rarely feel as contented to what a character is feeling as i did with Rae, and i was at certain points overwhelmed by the emotions of this tale, i even cried heavily at the end. I know this game won't be for everyone. I know many will become frustraited with it's pace, that some will find it's short span and ease of completion pointless, and others may find the lack of action boring. However, for me, this game (which costs less than a tenner) provided a rich and worth while experience, and i cannot think of higher praise for any game, film, book or peice of music than that. I deffinitely recommend!

I recommend this game to people who love the artstyle and games who focus mroe on the story than on gameplay. However because of the short playtime I would buy it when it's on a sale. So I finished this game today. And I'm honestly still baffled by it. The art is beautiful and stunning. The gameplay is like a walking simulator, but since you cannot always see what's ahead it is interesting none the less. Sometimes the game get's a bit slow, because Rae is not able to walk that fast, or finding a way around a problem takes a while. But I personally think this does not make this game less recommendable. Lastly and most importantly. The story. I instantly fell in love with the little girl Rae and her cat friend. It was fascinating to see how she experienced the world and help her overcome any obstacles on her search and experience new and exciting things. The bravery that she shows while searching for her cat is motivational. And the ending is bitterweet. All in all a wonderful story. With around 3-4 hours of playtime. I cried at the end. It was wonderful. I recommend it whole heartedly.

Beyond Eyes set out to accomplish a lofty goal, create a game that would give the player a taste of what it would be like to go blind. Not only did it accomplish this goal via very creative game concepts, but it tells a simple and endearing yarn of a blind child in search of her feline friend that really made me feel for the main character, Rae. From a technical standpoint the gameplay is simply walking and exploring, but as you can imagine walking and exploring without sight would be anything but simple. Beyond Eyes world is beautifully colored and rendered, think watercolor painting, but most of it is shrouded in white except for your near vicinity. As you move thru the landscape your world literally pops into existence out of the white, often with annoying reality like a fence right where you are trying to walk. Sound is a key part of the experience too, not only in the stellar game audio but in distant visual bubble that becomes a beacon in the unknown for Rae to navigate towards. Smell is also represented visually by wind waves, but be warned, both smell and sound can be misleading. Beyond Eyes not only gave me a “glimpse” into the world of a blind person, but it succeeded in making me feel for Rae. The frustration of another dead end, the confusion of thinking you hear or smell something interesting that turns out to be something completely different, the sadness of loss, the joy of succeeding at simple tasks previously taken for granted. Beyond Eyes requires patience, empathy and a sense of exploration, but will reward you with a one of a kind experience and a charming fairytale that will stick with you long after playing.

Beyond Eyes has an interesting concept, which is what convinced me to play it, but it doesn't do enough with that premise to make the game enjoyable or interesting beyond the first 20 minutes or so. As others have mentioned, Rae walks slowly; this wouldn't be an issue if the game made it clearer where to go or how to progress the story, but I found myself looking up walkthroughs because I got frustrated with having to backtrack so often to find the Nani experiences. The plot itself is very simplistic, and while that might have worked if the gameplay was more engaging, it just didn't do it for me. I think it's also an odd decision to make a game that revolves around the experience of being blind, yet communicates with the player almost entirely through images. It seems to me that this game would be completely inaccessible to blind people, which is disappointing. I think it would have been more interesting and innovative if the game actually relied more on audio cues to guide the player, with any visuals being nonessential for completing the game, since it seems like that would have given a more accurate representation of blindness, while allowing blind people to actually play the game. Then again, I knew going in that the premise of the game was representing blindness in a visual way, so I'm not basing my negative rating on that (though I do think the lack of accessibility is a flaw in the game). Overall, I wouldn't really recommend playing this game.

This game has an interesting concept, but is executed so poorly.. The gameplay is lackluster and boring. The main character moves so slowly I could cry, and you have to backtrack quite a bit ESPECIALLY in chapter 5. I appreciate what they were going for but since you literally can't see, the game needs to make up with that with an abundance of other sensory experiences for the character. They had a bit, but it just needed so much more. The achievements were so odd and the slow movement was so obnoxious, that I had to force myself to keep playing and just get them all to be done with it. This game was AGONY to play, not enjoyable at all.

This is a really unique experience. The visuals are super and make the whole world completely uncertain and ambiguous. Things pop up on screen when they make a sound and disappear when the sound stops, and you can only "see" the world when you walk close and feel it. So, for example, it's common to be walking towards a sound when suddenly a wall or fence appears in front of you (and you have to slowly feel your way around it). Or you hear a noise which shows something on screen, but when you walk towards it you realise you misheard and the object changes to something else. This makes a very atmospheric experience. The game is very, very, very slow - lots of walking around very slowly and slowly becoming aware of the world around. The way the world is presented is super - the graphics are surreal and magical, and you really feel Rae's emotions, for example when she gets scared or happy. Progress is slow, and often frustrating, but I guess experiencing that is the whole point of this unique creation. This game is about experiencing life without sight and it really makes you think. It is unique and thought provoking. Don't expect a thrilling game, but do expect an experience which makes you feel.

I really like this game, could not stop playing. The story is about Rae, a young blind girl, and her friend Nani, a cat. Nani goes missing and Rae goes searching for him. Very cute and immersive story with great looking visuals. Very relaxing music. After the first playthrough or during, you have the option to replay different chapters, this greatly helps if you have missed any achievements. Recommend for people who like exploration games and have patience with slow paced games.

[h1] Beyond Eyes [/h1] An interesting game about a young blind girl meeting a new friend in her time of need. After not getting visited by her friend in a while, she decided to go and look. As she slowly steps forward in this harsh world, she gets in situations that are, let's say, less fun. The story itself was easy to figure out yet, it did something to ya. Guessing what could have happened in the back of my head, i continue'd playing along. Surely a game right in the feels. Truely a kind of game i've never played before.

[quote]THRASH: Though visually exquisite, its rushed plot ruins its message; dispensable puzzles are painful chores; an unbearable walking speed wipes out the delight. It's wasted in the hands of wrong devs.[url=store.steampowered.com/curator/36549724-GEM-or-THRASH/] Click here to follow the curator: GEM or THRASH[/url][/quote] [quote]QUICK TIP: If the walking speed is your only complaint and the reason you can't play the game, use Cheat Engine's Speed Hack feature to walk faster.[/quote] [u]Full review:[/u] Beyond Eyes falls victim to two things its developers suffer from. First is their obnoxious belief that they could make exquisite, exciting games out of five-minute brain-storming sessions, without sacrificing any substantial amount of time and money. They're wrong, as Beyond Eyes' painfully and offensively rushed plot screams none of them were intellectually qualified for the concept. Writers don't always necessarily write in-game dialogues; sometimes they're hired to make sure the story works, aligns well with the game and it actually makes sense. They need to learn to hire one. Second is the inessential obsession with the suspension of disbelief. "This is a blind girl, so she should walk really slow, otherwise it won't make sense, because she can't see." What the devs don't realize is that the blind girl exists in a video game; and this video game has a tremendously big map which simply is not possible to be explored with the walking speed they saw fit. [b]They could've easily implemented a 2x, or 4x button to speed up the walking, because this is actually a video game and it's okay to fast-forward without trying to make sense of concepts.[/b] The problem lies in that they did not play the game they developed: they would've known it was unacceptable. There are no decent puzzle mechanics implemented, whatever they half-way coded is sloppy; but you're expected to complete some puzzles to unlock new chapters, which is the result of the lack of a clear vision of the game from its developers. This should've been an artistic manifestation that could be completed in one hour, now it's unclear what it can amount to. It would otherwise have been a fine project with stunning visuals had it not been for its developers' unjustifiable mistakes.

Beyond Eyes let's you play a ten year old blind girl searching for her cat. That sentence sounds so ordinary, but for a videogame - a medium which lets us explore space, fantastic worlds and other dimensions - it's still something very special. It's not trying to "simulate" blindness nor tries to players feel pity for Rae. There's no need for that. Beyond Eyes shows a creative approach to show the [i]feelings[/i] of a character and does so with the world that looks like a painting, with colors and sounds as well as with Raes body language. And it mostly succeeds. Sure, Beyond Eyes could have made more of its idea. But what it is is still unique, beautiful and worth being played.

WARNING: THIS GAME IS [i]NOT[/i] FOR IMPATIENT PEOPLE The movement in this game is a little clunky and very slow. If that sounds like it would drive you nuts, give this game a [b][i]pass[/i][/b], as it [i]demands[/i] patience to be played. Now that [i]that[/i]'s out of the way... Beyond Eyes is a very cutesy game about a blind girl, Rae, looking for her cat, Nani. In order to accomplish this mission, she has to stray farther from her home than she's ever been, brave the unknowns of her neighborhood, face dangerous situations and meet new people. The game is all about the jorney, as the gameplay amounts to no more than "find your way around the level, occasionally bringing an object somewhere". To reflect Rae's blindness, the world is hidden from the player, and is only revealed as the player walks around and finds things out. Sometimes, also to reflect Rae's blindness, she will perceive things differently than they really are, based only on how they sound or feel, and only upon further inspection will it be revealed to you what that thing truly was. Rae will interact with other animals she meets in her jorney to find her cat, and those interactions can be very cute, which could help you better enjoy the game if you're an animal lover. However, some animals are scary, maybe even dangerous, and Rae will refuse to approach them. [spoiler]Are they really dangerous, though?[/spoiler] The graphics are not very impressive on the technical side of things, but the game is visually beautiful, with gorgeously colorful buildings and forests, and the effects used to reveal the world as you explore it further compliment the game's artistic presentation. Overall, it's a very short game that doesn't overstay it's welcome, it's pretty, it's cute, and it may give you warm fuzzy feelings. [spoiler]Until the bittersweet ending where it will attempt to tearjerk you.[/spoiler]

White blindness is being unveiled through the senses, revealing close objects by contact, and more distant ones through smell and noises. This is how Rae looks for her new friend, a cat she calls Nani. With that pretext a surprising, colorful and full of beauty experience is revealed in a very original way. Not everything is a it seems. ----------------------------- Here is a commented list for the achievements if you find yourself really enjoying the game, like I do: http://www.xboxachievements.com/game/beyond-eyes/achievements/

‘Beyond eyes’ is the main creation of ‘Tiger and Squid’ (AKA Sherida Halatoe https://twitter.com/SheridaEH ) a Netherlands developer and ‘Team 17’ https://www.team17.com/ a UK developing team consisting of 140+ employees. ‘Beyond Eyes’ is all about a 10 year old girl who became blind at an early age thanks to fireworks nearly blowing her head clean off. (What artists can do with pixel graphing is amazing these days as there is hardly any scarring on Rae). Growing up alone, fearful and isolated, Rae eventually makes a new friend from a frequently visiting ginger which she calls ‘Nani’. However Nani (probably not neutered) goes missing causing Rae to muster up courage and start exploring the world outside her yard in the hopes of finding her missing feline hussy. Now I can only assume that the main reason for this game was to evoke empathy, tolerance and understanding out of each gamer for those who are visually impaired. While the concept itself is noble and a refreshing, somewhat up-building experience. Personally I still felt that it failed immensely to produce any long lasting statements of goodness which would really stay with a person. I state this for a number of reasons. 1) I myself went blind for about a year thanks to a boomerang accident and I assure you that this game doesn’t even come close to the tragedy that comes from losing one’s eyesight. The sheer anger and hatred you’re suddenly plagued with or the paralysing fear that even your own corridor of your house will bring you, this game doesn’t even come close to illustrating that. No matter how bad you imagine losing your eyesight would be, believe me when I say this, it is MUCH, MUCH, MUCH WORSE than you could possibly even imagine. 2) For me to empathise with a character it is crucial that I am able to respect that character. Rae unfortunately seems to have nearly zero in the common sense department. While most people would simply lay out some cat food or even give up on Nani chalking that Nani has made new friends with the local Chinese restaurant. Rae instead seems to go on a pointless Allah suicide mission through dog infested parks, across sea shanty towns and walking inside railway lines. Her adventure is so out of this world that I’m really surprised she didn’t leave orbit and look around for Nani in zero gravity and a spacesuit. Hence, any earned respect is immediately lost on me due to her careless nature and wild shenanigans. 3) Rae seems to have a sixth sense which doesn’t actually always make a lot of sense. While some mental imaginations are due to her being able to smell or hear, other wild imaginations seems to have no logical reason to them at all. For instance she at one point is able to see ‘Nani’ sleeping on a wooden barrel from a distance though its nowhere in reaching distance. How? The last chapter makes me conclude that she is some sort of Haley Joel Osment and I can only hope that a dead child psychiatrist (Bruce Willis) is around to be able to help her. Could Rae be some sort of divine prophetess? Doubtful. Throughout the six chapters you’re treated to various truth achievements where Rae envisions one possibility only to have a reality reveal itself the closer she gets, often showing that her initial assumptions were way off. The six chapters are further hindered by the fact that Rae due to her blindness can’t see the watercolour filled world in which she lives. Instead you’re granted with the same thing she sees just pure white and only through moving your main character does the world painting start to be filled in. This means that you will be forever walking into things even though Rae moves slower than a granny on a zebra crossing. The revealing story miraculously is even slower than her moving ability. While chapter 3 undoubtedly is the most exciting due to the frequency of a grumpy dog encounter. After that the remaining chapters seem to go downhill in excellence fast. Chapter 4 is just an annoying rabbit warren, Chapter 5 is even more hostile preventing you from colouring in the world at all and Chapter 6 the big conclusion, are you serious??? That’s the best you could come up with? Were you running out of character ideas? Other than a grumpy dog and some ‘mine, mine, mine’ squawking sea gulls there are very few other novelty encounters. Also thanks to the fact that a lot of the maps are similar in appearance, the hostile disappearing progress of chapter 5 and the fact that Rae moves slower than a weekend on a Monday, you will surely lose all ‘colouring in’ interest that initially pushed you forward in the game. Lastly a poem contained within the end credits reveal that the main inspiration to this adventure is the sad revelation that the Developer’s father died when Sheridae was just 9. So the whole visual impairment adventure and ‘Nani’ herself/himself was the developer’s personal metaphor about loss of a loved one and the need to move on. Still it’s beautifully animated like a French Monet, the sound of the bird calls and the instrumental ambience hidden within will tickle your ears. Your emotions will be juggled between smirks, frustrations and bittersweet sadness. A unique walking simulator that might be worth your purse’s attention during the odd seasonal sale. Below a sample from me… https://youtu.be/6rZ34CawDaQ If you enjoyed reading this review feel free to subscribe to my curator page. Thanks... http://store.steampowered.com/curator/6843548/

A beautiful, delicate, and touching little gem of a game. An adventure playing Rae, a young girl who has lost her sight, and befriends a small ginger cat named Nani. One day, Nani goes missing, and Rae goes on an adventure to find Nani. Controlling Rae in third person, you must familiarise yourself with the environment by moving near to items to bring them into visibility (otherwise everything is pure white). Some items make noises and Rae imagines them in the distance, making them visible - but they may not be all they seem, such as a fountain being a dripping water pipe, or a car with a running engine being a man mowing a lawn. Rae also avoids danger and uncertainty - some things such as roads, barking dogs, etc, become a problem, and leave the player requiring a solution to work around them (she won't approach them, and holds her hands to her chest in uncertain fear, and the colour seeps from the scene). The world (once explored to be visible) is modelled beautifully, textured with watercolour effects, and seems to live itself, the music is unintrusive and touching (piano pieces), and the entire experience is purely positive. Don't go extracting hidden meaning and touching moments from games and characters that aren't there - buy this instead - a fun, meaningful, touching, funny, sad little beauty.

Moving around the beautiful, constantly expanding and changing world of Beyond Eyes is agonizingly slow. Every step is taken so deliberately, even a small protrusion can be a trap, and anything that sounds remotely threatening requires a very wide berth. And yet, as much as that stifles exploration, it's all completely justified thematically. I can't help but appreciate that, frustration and all. The fact that the premise is exceptionally sweet, the environments are charmingly lush, and the music is equally calming doesn't hurt this game's case either.

I think the art is pretty, but oh god it's not an experience. It's a walk around at breakneck slowness getting stuck in corners to unlock the ground around you. I thought I might be rewarded for walking around to see all of the map, but, no. It gets generic pretty fast. Do not recommend.

Well....I absolutely loved this walking simulator. It really touched me. You are a blind girl looking for your cat. Obviously, you're walking at a snails pace, because you don't know the terrain. As the girl walks along, her surroundings are shown.....otherwise it is just whiteness in front of you. It is a journey of discovery, love and courage. It is beautifully done. The graphics are like watercolour canvas, much of the sound effects are natural and the piano music is lovely. Be sure to watch after the credits because there is an epilogue. It took me 3 and half hours and I only got one achievement. Occasionally I got frustrated, but decided to relax and let her roam. This games requires patience and a sense of selflessness. It is not about us, but the character we are guiding. I used the keyboard and had no issues. You learn that she can't go to some areas. I bought this game when it was on special. 9/10 for me.

Being blind comes with such challenges, and this game illustrates just that. It does very well in revealing the landscape as you come into contact with it, and things like signs are mostly blank frames. I love how things appear as soon as they make a sound, and the colour palette matches whether she feels confident or intimidated in her environment. The art style is beautiful, but the story is harsh with reality.

I was a big fan of the artistic style and the story. the choice of white for the unknown and the way the character imagines a colorful world around her was also charming. It is a new experience I never felt in a video game. But Unfortunately, it was a little too slow, and hard to believe in a lot of cases. The ball fetching that makes you go all around a very looong detour really killed me (and i did find a ball in a field while being blind. That's a weird choice to create a link between the characters involved... It is ambitious in a way, I can't imagine how much courage it would require for a little girl who just lost her sight to go on such an adventure... but she is not walking with a cane, or not even using a stick, yet she goes along rivers, in a city with cars, and even with a harbour without any kind of fence. No other human being seems to be around worrying as well. I cannot imagine it to happen.. Literally. I didn't have a bad time and do appreciate such projects, but I know i won't replay it, and will hardly recommend it to my friends.

It's a short (although it should have been shorter!) third-person walking simulator about a blind girl looking for a run-away pet, and slowly but surely uncovering the world with her remaining senses. The graphics are nice (well, very suitable, let's say.....we're not talking high-poly, AAA game graphics, they are just very apt, like a slightly muted water-colour painting that slowly emerges from the mist of visual impairment), the music is tolerable, the plot is sweet (and a bit sad too....), and it is enjoyable to play through. One caveat (and it may be a complete turn-off for you) is that the walking speed is EXTREMELY slow. This is understandable from a perspective of realism; blind children trying to make sense of and navigate their environment are not going to be racing about at top speed. The problem is that it does eventually subtract from the fun/enjoyment of playing. IMO, it was never annoying enough to obliterate my positive feelings about the game, but I can certainly see how some might find it INTENSELY frustrating. YMMV. Ultimately I can recommend this game, despite the (critical) drawback of glacially slow protagonist movement speed. The water-colour graphics are just so lovely and the plot so sweet/touching, that my enjoyment level trumped my frustration level.

This "game", just no. A walking simulator I could not bear walking through. It is neat, yes, it runs smoothly, or rather walks AHAHA, yes. However, it is absolutely illogical, if not completely absurd. Now, I do get the idea of this whole thing but... A little girl wandering around all alone is something people would frown upon but of course this would not be enough, and therefore she's also blind. She's LOOKING for her cat. She's also asked to help another girl LOOK for her ball. She's pooping her pants whenever birds are around. She could have just passed a couple of sea gulls but no, guess what, she pooped her pants, resulting in me losing my s*** in another way, angrily yelling these would just be some darn sea gulls, woman, come on. This game had me raging more than any AAA-title. On top of all that, it is just so slow. If you like to get angry about illogical, absurd story lines, this game might just be perfect for you.

I gave this game a negative review however this does not mean that is a bad game or that their is anything mechanically wrong. With it the game functions fine mechanically and visually . It also auto saves at certian points. The negative review is based upon personal preference . you may in fact like this game and want to purchase it . This game is about a little blind girl named Rae who lost her pet cat the games goal is to find the lost pet cat . you move Rae around using the w s and d keys ( most of my game was spent with one finger on the w key ) . the way the game works is you enter a game map. Then you wander around the game map . Until you find the part of the game map that will trigger a cut scene and load the next game map . Rae walks very slowly and objects and scenery will move quickly away from view once Rae moves away from them . . Barriers in the game are physical. Such as walls and streams and things Rea is afraid of such as dogs and crows .Both act as barriers in the same way . In summery this is a very slow paced game .If you feel that by looking at the game page you will enjoy spending a great deal of time. Wandering around in circles on a game map . Looking at the pretty scenery and listening to the pretty music. while you try to figure out how to exit the game map. Then this game is for you . There is never any real danger in this game Rae simply will not go where she will get hurt . If like me you become more goal oriented trying to find the cat. Rather than enjoying the scenery and music then you probably wont like this game as much.

Vote: 6/10, This game is a poetic visual experience: you play as a blind girl exploring the world around her house while searching for her lost cat. The way the world is slowly revealed to you as you walk and get near things is very interesting, and even if your character is blind, your surroundings are vibrant and full of colour thanks to the girl's imagination (and get darker and darker when she's scared). The graphics are simple but very pleasant to the eye. That was the good stuff. Now on to the bad stuff: your character walks around very slowly. It makes sense, since she's blind and has to be careful around unknown obstacles, cars and so on, but when an area has been revealed and explored, it would make sense for her to move around it a bit faster. Slow can be atmospheric when you are exploring a new area and eliminating fog of war, but when everything is revealed and you're just wandering around to double check for achievement stuff and secrets, running would be a plus. The girl stops completely in front of an obstacle, nevermind if that obstacle is a wall, a clothesline or swing as hard as concrete. Not very realistic, breaks the immersion a bit. Another thing that's not very realistic: a... what, 8, 9, years old blind girl, wandering around the city for hours on end completely alone, crossing streets, walking on piers, no walking stick, no guide dog. And no one stopping her to ask "kid where the f* are your parents?". But what made me decide for a Not recommended vote, in the end, was the ending. Had it been different, a bit brighter, a bit happier, I would've recommended the game, even with the flaws I've just mentioned. But I'm too much of a softie. So, if you like walking simulators, slow paced poetic games, and an artistic (albeit short) experience, this game could be right for you, if you can overlook its flaws.

This is easily the best "walking simulator" I've played. I hate to be one of those people that gets pretentious about artistic video games so I'll try to remain as objective as possible but it is a very beautiful, well crafted game. More importantly, it needs to be a game. A lot of "walking sims" catch flak because some people think they would make better books or movies or are otherwise unsuited to the video game medium but Beyond Eyes has a very dynamic way of presenting the world and even though it doesn't have any traditional gameplay, it does have plenty of mechanics. First a little about the story. You play as Rae, a young girl who is currently blind but was not born that way. You have a little orange friend by the name of Nani who happens to be a cat. One day Nani neglects to stop by to visit. After not seeing him for awhile you decide it's time to venture out and find him. Now this is where things get interesting. Being blind, Rae's world begins as a blank slate, a white canvas. She adds things to her world by experiencing them with her remaining senses. This means things you have to touch like walls, trees, etc will only be added to her world when you're right on top of them. Things she can hear like a flowing river or a bird's song are added from further away since she can hear them before being able to touch them. It sounds fairly basic but the game has a number of mechanics that are delivered to you each chapter. If you want to know about them, read the next paragraph or skip it if you want to experience them firsthand for yourself. I'll keep from spoiling anything specific, though. The first chapter presents you with two mechanics, the touching VS hearing one I just explained and the difference between permanence and impermanence. As Rae senses permanent objects like trees and walls, they remain in her world even when she walks away from them. They're in her mind's eye. As she experiences impermanent objects like animals that can move around of their own accord, however, they only appear briefly while making sound. The next chapter presents you with the mechanic of misunderstanding. You may hear something far away and Rae adds it to her world as what she imagines it to be but upon closer inspection it may turn out to be something else and so she may react to the difference and change the object in her mind's eye. The next chapter presents you with impermanent permanent objects. Just because an object can't move on it's own doesn't mean it can't ever move. You find out that maybe a box or gate that was barring your passage and added to your world was changed in your absence and only upon re-examining them will the change be reflected in Rae's world. There are more mechanics but you can experience the rest for yourself. In addition to the dynamic world, though, the game also has a dynamic atmosphere. The world of a blind person could have been represented as a dull gray world devoid of features but Rae is a young girl, full of imagination. The empty world starts off bright white and as you fill it with objects, they're very colorful... while she's happy. She also has her own fears, though, especially since she's trekking out on her own for the first time. Certain encounters will color her world dark. The world literally reflects her feelings in the moment since it's all being seen with her mind's eye. It's one thing to see Rae moan and shrink away from things she fears but to see her entire world painted black because of it is rather powerful. In summary, I think this game does an exceptional job telling the story it set out to tell. Just judging it on that alone, I'd give it a 10/10. There are a couple things people might not like, though. Firstly, you have to walk everywhere. Hey, you're a little blind girl. You shouldn't expect to sprint around the place. You have to be prepared to take this game at a slow pace. Secondly, it's about a 3 hour experience for $15 but you could probably complete it in 2 hours if you just bee-lined it to the exit every chapter. As such, the price might be a little off-putting. I highly recommend this but you might want to wait for a sale.

Extremely slow, no gameplay, you just follow what it tells you do to from one place to another. I love walking simulator, this one is just not good enough!

A very peaceful game. It's incredible how it forces you to think like a blind girl. The game will slowly show you how everything we "see" is completely fabricated by imagination. Now, just imagine that you are blind and that you're walking somewhere you don't know. You can remember the way, walk with your hands stretched, feeling everything and making a 3D map in your head. That is surely the first action plan. But... What if part of that way was a closed space when you passed it for the first time, but the second time you went through it, it was open? Like a door that was closed when you passed through but since then someone opened it. What if you give the wrong face to a sound? Like a bell that is actually someone's cellphone alarming. What if you can feel danger ahead but can't say exactly what kind of danger? Like the sound of an animal you don't know. The game puts you inside all that, and in a very beautiful way. And to everyone angry because the walking is slow, here is what I have to say about it: I loved it. It got me really annoyed sometimes, just going to the other side of something took ages. A blind person can't exactly run to the unknown, though. And guess what, they almost certainly didn't choose to be blind. In this game, you also don't. If you really wanna put yourself inside a blind girl's mind, you will have to walk slow. And I think that all the annoyance it causes is part of the beauty of this game. That is just me, though. One thing I'm sure no one disagrees with. This game is freaking beautiful. And the soundtrack to it is just perfect. The right music at the right time.

Beyond Eyes is an absolutely stunning game, both visually and story-wise. The art is beautiful (I love the watercolour effect of it) and the story of a young blind girl trying to reunite with her beloved cat who went missing is so sweet, and overall the events you experience during gameplay really make you feel like you are a part of the story. Props to the creators for making such a lovely game with such an interesting and captivating story.

The art is beautiful. The world is the same, yet still foreign, as we walk in a way us able-bodied people have never walked before. However, not recommended for ppl with motion sickness. Not recommended for people who get bored easily. The walking is slow and you have to look around too much. I'm sure this is a beautiful game if you have the stomach and the patience.

I understand why kids don't like this one - but understand - this is more of an emotional experience than a game. I'd compare it to the Stanley Parable - minus the sense of humor. That aside - WOW! What an experience! It's beautiful, emotional and amazing.

I want to like this game. I mean, its gorgeous, its simple yet deep... and yet... I dunno, I played it for half an hour and I find I just don't want to keep playing it. Its very pretty and a total treat for the eyes, but... its a game I think I'd rather watch someone else play on Youtube than play myself. No challenge beyond 'keep walking' and very little dialogue. Something that would be good for gamers looking for a slower pace or something different, but I wound up requesting a refund from Steam after half an hour and feeling somewhat guilty about it. Oh well.

[b]This story, for it is a slow paced story more than a game, is as unique as it is gorgeous with its dazzling palette of water colours that make this [i]world[/i] appear so vividly alive it really does make the exploring awe inspiring. Much like Sid Meier's Civilization, walking opens up more of the surroundings while relaxing sounds accompany the nature setting in a serene harmony.[/b] The story is of Rae, a girl you see suffer an accident that blinds her during the introduction's cut-scene, who is still adjusting to her disability spending most of her time in the garden until her pet cat Nina escapes prompting Rae to set off exploring the world outside the garden in search of her missing cat. The game's controls are UNITY WASD movement with [i]spacebar[/i] for interacting and [i]escape[/i] brings up a settings menu that also offers a Chapter selection to accompany the Autosave that happens at the end of each Chapter. There is voice acting prompts by Rae to hint at stages in the game when you are close to where Nina had passed and there are coloured swirls that hint at actions or progressive points within the Chapter levels. I especially liked the use of darker colour changes (and circle shape to prevent Rae walking close to the threat) when Rae is in a frightening scene of animal or bird sounds that scare Rae. There are cutscenes that also occur where Rae's mental image of the surroundings visually change which I felt was a superb way of showcasing Rae's reliance on sounds and how her imagination interprets it before getting close enough for Rae's other senses (touch and smell) to discover it's true form. There are Achievements to unlock that can be challenging as it is very easy to miss them during the first playthrough (unless you use a guide) but, after completing the game, you can skip to the chapters from the menu to seek out the missing achievements. There are also card drops throughout with a glorious background setting after getting the Badge. The calming experience you get from this game makes this so much fun, add to that the childhood innocence of Rae alongside the hours of exploring that seems to pass by so fast due to immersion and, to complete this, the story's an emotional rollercoaster. The journey you share with Rae truly does make this a heart-warming walking simulation story. It excels in capturing the magical bond a child has with its pet at a tender age and the life lessons that accompany that. ~~~~~Liked what you see? You can find more at [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32839633/]Have a Word[/url]~~~~~

I really want to recommend this game, but there are a few things about it that are sub-par. Pros +Amazing Atmosphere, I think they did a great job of showing the player what it would be like to be blind. +Visuals are good, the water colored scenery fits really well with the story. +The music does a great job of setting the tone Cons -The character is very slow, which most of the time is fine, it fits with the story and character, but becomes excruciating if you go the wrong way or in some levels have to double back. -Too short in my opinion for a $15 game, it only took me about 2 hours to finish the story and nothing extra is opened up by doing so(at least not that I am aware of) -There are 10 achievements for this game, one of which is for completing the game. The others, however, are hidden achievements and the lack of mobility does not make me want to go back in and explore every corner of the game to attempt to unlock the remaining 9 achievements. Despite my griping, I really like this game, but it isn't something that I can recommend someone pay $15 for, it just isn't worth it. Buy it on sale if you are really interested.

A touching story about a blind girl looking for her cat. The character animation in reaction to the surroundings really helps connect the player with the girl's experiencing, and the art style (in addition to being beautiful) works very well for the 'mechanics' of being blind in an a play-along short story. I found myself becoming frustrated at times with the slow movement and backtracking, but attributing it to the experience of the character as a blind and lost child pulled me back into the story. Definitely recommended.

Artistically, I like it a lot and the concept is great too. The story is quite predictable but I still enjoyed it. But the gameplay... what were they thinking? Like all the other reviews say: it's slow as hell. It is made worse by the fact that Rae doesn't slide against walls. If she hits one at an angle, she just stops. Then some objects (flower pots, trash cans, ...) are usually revealed after she bumps into them, so you can't avoid getting stuck. And scary things (crows, dogs, ...) have mostly invisible boundaries. So expect a LOT of stop-turn-go. Last, there are the gimmicks added for drama: rain causing memory loss in chapter 5 so Rae forgets what the world looks like beyond the immediate 2m/6ft radius, or the maze like walls in chapter 6, which are frustrating at first because they don't make sense, which gets replaces with anger when the truth is revealed because that frustration could have been avoided if Rae had figured out it immediately like for every thing else. So in the end, at this price point ($15) I can't recommend it. If it was less than $5, I would but barely.

Extremely beautiful game, awesome to actually see a blind girl featured prominently in gaming, and a delightful space for exploration. But the game hobbles itself with extremely slow, plodding walking speed and a incredibly simple premise. The game isn't very long, and the story can be meaningful for some. But it also leaves a lot to be desired.