Beacon Pines

I finally got to pick Beacon Pines out of my backlog, and I'm sad to say I'm pretty disappointed. My main gripe is that the game is supposedly about narrative choice and navigating multiple narrative paths, but in practice the game railroads you so hard you always have only one option available. The only way to play is to go through all possible paths at the order determined by the devs. There are also no other game mechanics really. You can't really miss anything important, and you never have to put any pieces together yourself, just keep going down the path that's given to you. I felt completely passive throughout. The other thing that bothered me is the narrator. The frequent breakings of the fourth wall just kept taking me out of the story, and their comments on the results of your 'choices' really rubbed in the lack of agency. That's more of a minor issue though. The art is 10/10 though. Really carries the experience. All in all I'm glad I got it a substantial discount.

Steamdeck compatible: yes Rating: 8/10; neutral rating (positive leaning) Please be mindful of the spoilers mentioned. If you're expecting a complete narrative going in, I'm sad to say that the story feels half baked. It's not so bad that nothing makes sense as some things do get wrapped up. The narrative is well written and most characters are likable, but there're so many significantly unanswered questions that should have received an extra branch or two. Questions like: [spoiler]- What exactly happened between Walt and Sharper? - What really was Joseph's role in it? - How'd they freeze the source over the town in the epilogue? - Why was it supposed to warm up in old Beacon Pines and why hadn't it actually warmed up in the 10 years later scene? - Why did Perennial Harvest age up Rolo? Why does no one seem to be worried or even try to undo his and Eleanor's aging? - What's inside the locked room in Luka's house? - How did the towns people get transferred into a new version of Beacon Pines without being aware of it? - During the 10 years later scene, Sharper finds the Source hole. What's even the meaning of that and how did he find access to that off limits area to begin with?? There's probably more questions I have, but that's what comes to mind as of writing this review. Futhermore, the epilogue for the villains was very weak, because none of the villains got punished for what they committed throughout the game (ex. murder of a scientist, plotting of murder for another scientist, creating and experiementing on chemicals that has a catastrophic consequence on the whole town in a couple of routes, committing harm to whoever finds out about their secret (even to children; age doesn't discriminate apparently)). I'm happy the town no longer accepts them, but they pretty much upped and left without any consequences. Let's not mention how the true ending allows Sharper to live and grow up again with the "hopes" that he doesn't recall his evil tendencies/ nature. Personally, I preferred the other two comedic death endings for him.[/spoiler] Another thing worth mentioning is that unlike other VN's with multiple routes/ endings, the game has a stop-and-go format. Namely where after you pick a Charm (which serves as a choice) it usually results in an immediate ending and you'd be redirected to the Chronicles to retry with a different choice. I normally wouldn't mind this format, especially as this game in particular has a specific order on which route to encounter first and I can understand the importance of keeping players on their feet. However, due to how often endings would appear just when things were getting more interesting, it sort of disrupts my immersion a bit. There is also one particular ending that really should have been addressed, but was left there for no reason: [spoiler]the cliffhanger ending where Luka supposedly met a possible time traveler???[/spoiler] Despite the unanswered questions, the characters were all well written and memorable. They had a fair amount of character development and chemistry with each other, some better in certain routes than others, but you could tell it was earned. Beck, Iggy, Luka, and Heiress were favorites. Heiress, especially, is my favorite character design. I heavily would have liked and found it to be wasted potential that there wasn't enough screen time for the Valentines as their family's history and legacy played a significant role in [spoiler] the town's establishment and downfall. Characters constantly mention that they became reserved after the fertilizer incident, but we learn nothing else new about their current ambitions or how life has been for them since. It's even implied and shown that Heiress and Gus had a strained relationship with Sharper throughout their life, based on their interaction in one of the routes. Sadly, that was the only route we ever saw their relationship come to light, since they're stuck being mysterious background characters.[/spoiler] If interesting characters like the Valentines are to be created as a compelling force to be reckoned with, especially with such a powerful reputation, they must serve a constant and in-the-flesh purpose throughout the story, besides just being a name from word of mouth. Otherwise, their intimidation comes off as fanfic shock value. Moving onto the UI, I liked and appreciated its simplicity and accessibility. For those who haven't played the game, there's only four buttons used to access the inventory, Chronicle (flowchart), dialogue, and menu. Furthermore, I liked that the UI wasn't overwhelming the screen and instead had the two primary important features (inventory and Chronicles) on the left side for players to reference for access. It's especially appreciated that the game provided small button layouts on each feature icon, in case players forget how to access them. However, I do wish there was a skip dialogue option, so it'd be easier to skip previous dialogue/ scenes when revisiting certain Turning Points. Currently, there's no option, which had me take extra time clicking through just so I can snag a missing Charm or access the fishing/ cooking mini games. Important note to players: if you want to complete the fishing and cooking mini games in one go, I'd suggest waiting until the epilogue as there will be lots of downtime then (since all the routes are plot heavy and some/ if not most of the map becomes unavailable during certain scenes). Another thing I'd suggest adding is a backlog feature, which would help for players to revisit dialogue. Sometimes my fingers would accidentally click too quickly through the dialogue, characters would info dump on something major, or I'd have to pause the game for some time. So having a backlog feature would help to reread and better digest what's being stated. Speaking of interactivity, I really liked how this game encourages you to interact with every person and object, which rewards you with key Charms that open up more routes in the game and learning more information about the characters and mystery. The dialogue reactions to a lot of scenarios is pretty quirky. Soundtrack was cozy while also keeping a mysterious vibe during serious scenes. It definitely heightened the ambiance, when traversing through the small colorful town. I also liked the crisp sound effects from the dialogue bubbles, running, and book page turning. Despite this being a neutral review, I still had a pleasant time overall, due to the beautiful graphics, well designed and written characters, and soundtrack. The story juggled a lot more than it could handle, but it still did a wonderful job building a lively, mysterious world. Since it's a chill story, I'd only recommend it, if you don't have other serious games to tackle/ need to pass the time.

I love this game, I originally played it whenever it came to xbox gamepass; I didn't think much of it other than cute art but once I played it, I fell in love with it, everything about the game and now it's my favorite game ever, I wouldn't be who I am without the game, listening to the music and hearing the story brings tears to my eyes everytime, I've bough the game for 2 other people and I don't ever regret it. Thank you devs of this game and everyone who worked on it, I'm so thankful for you and all you have done, and as much as I would like a sequel I'm happy the story ended how it did. Thank you,

such a lovely surprise! bought it during the summer sale because it vaguely interested me for a while but i didn't know anything about it, and i'm really glad i did. on the shorter side, but very impactful and unique. the best way i can describe it without spoiling too much is by saying it's a mix between gravity falls and into the woods. if that sounds intriguing, definitely give it a shot. it's worth it, trust me.

A thrilling yet cozy game with a hint of horror and a mystery hidden above all. It was a very fun game to play, I enjoyed it quite a lot. It was a unique game I thought. The thrills and discovering the hidden mystery kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the game. It was so exciting and finding out the mystery was a gem of it all! 10/10

So great kept me on the edge of my seat constantly and literally. An amazing Cozy game 10/10 from me highly recomend

severely underrated it has its flaws, but im extremely happy with my experience with the game the music i especially love

Cuter, cozier version of disco Elysium. The story is surprisingly good; spooky and wholesome and mysterious. Had a blast with this honestly, even if it is 90% story and 10% gameplay. The choose your own adventure aspect is done so well, things fit together perfectly.

Pretty short but great writing, lots of twists, and the bed ends are written into the overarching plot so it's near impossible to miss out on any content. "Hidden" (not very well thankfully so you don't need to obsessively search every map all the time) words unlock a bit of side content as well if you enjoy that sort of thing.

a cute little game with an interesting story and some weird and unexpected twists. bonus points for being short

Really good story game with very likable characters, good pacing, and a satisfying ending.

It's an adorable story with a nice bit of mystery and intrigue.

I bought this game for Christmas 2022 on my Nintendo Switch, logged [b]100 hours[/b] of gameplay on it [i](no that is not an exaggeration),[/i] and then bought it again for Christmas 2024 on Steam just for the artbook! [i]And uh, well...[/i] This game is one of the [b]best[/b] video games ever created! In fact, I’d go as far as to say that it’s the [b]NUMBER ONE[/b] [i]best video game ever created!!![/i] The story it tells is absolutely perfect, and it has its sad moments, its funny moments, and its spooky moments! The characters are superbly written and super easy to get emotionally attached to, and [b]ROLO[/b] is [b]THE[/b] [i]best boi in all of fiction[/i], and one of my [i]top three favorite fictional characters ever![/i] Their story is told with a beautiful, colorful art style, and an absolutely [b]SPECTACULAR[/b] soundtrack that captures every moment perfectly. I cannot say enough good things about this absolute masterpiece of a game! My only problem with it, however, is that… it ended. Which is why I played it again! [i]And again![/i] [b]And again!!![/b] Now, I have [i]eleven playthroughs[/i] and [b]over 115 gameplay hours[/b] spent on this absolute masterpiece, and I hope to start a twelfth playthrough very soon! Beacon Pines is an absolutely spectacular video game, and a fantastic demonstration of how [i]video games are an art form.[/i] [b]I absolutely recommend Beacon Pines to all![/b] Go play it instantaneously, and tell all of your family and friends about it! And get them to tell their family and friends about it too! [b]The whole world deserves to know about this absolute masterpiece![/b] [b]Overall Rating: 10/10!!![/b]

It has some slight issues but at its core Beacon Pines is a good game. I really hope that we see more from this world, or at least these developers, in future - maybe with the profits from this game they could make another that's big enough to fit the narrative they clearly want to make. It suffers a little bit from trying to tell too big a story in too little time. (Also, if you play this and reach a certain ending, don't make the mistake of getting excited about it. As far as I can tell, as of now, it's meaningless.)

Absolute blast. I adore the art, the story is beautiful and heartwrenching and hilarious, the gameplay is addicting, and its just an overall wonderful play. I haven't made it to the end yet, but I'm so so excited to! But I will take my damn time getting there, this journey has been the best part!

I'm a big fan of time loop games, but never did get around to this one, because of one thing - the characters are rally grating on you at the start of the game, but that does get better as you continue. One character still is, but it's mostly kept in check. The characters are really well-written as is the story and the way it's presented. The time loop aspect is handled well, although not complex. During certain key conversations (or some environmental situations) you'll acquire key "charms" that you can use to influence conversations at certain points moving the story down certain branches, most of which lead to bad endings - but you can go back to previous ones and make new choices with these new charms to reach new ones trying to reach the true ending. I enjoyed both the story and the time-loop & branching story structure.

I found this game exceptional through and through and haven't had a game make me emotional in a minute... The art, environments, colors, characters, everything was so charming and enjoyable. Visual novels are usually hit-or-miss for me, and I found the mechanics of this one (no spoilers) enough to keep me very engaged from the beginning.

Beacon Pines is just such a brilliant and beautiful game. I will be honest, I went into this expecting it to be fairly short and kinda just something to pass the time and pad my achievement library but it turned out to be so much more. Every bit of this game had me on the edge of my seat, I can't even begin to tell you how many times I just sat there with my jar slacked when a piece of the puzzle slid into place, or how many "WHAT"'s I exclaimed when things got heavy, or even the almost tears because I was so overwhelmed with emotion. The art for this is a major sell and its absolutely gorgeous. The backgrounds, the character designs, just everything is beautiful and really just pushed the storybook imagery. I greatly adored this game and I already have plans to make some of my friends play through it again with me so I can watch them go through the varying layers of emotions that I did while playing.

Cute and cozy game. Relaxing, so it makes a great game to play before you go to bed.

Delightful story, traditional adventure game, lovely graphics. I really enjoyed the twist in this story and my entire experience playing it. I recommend it for a charming adventure game. No hidden objects - a pure adventure game with a cool story.

This was a short, fun time with a really good story. Loved the branches in the narrative and exploring a world within words. Some twists were really dark, and it was interesting to see were all our possibilities led us.

Very well written. Every decisions feels like the right one...until it isn't. Art is great. Highly recommend

this is a cute interesting story game with a unique mechanic. took about 6 hours to %100

Incredible game! Rich, emotional story, lots of twists and turns. Highly recommend.

The story has stranger things vibes. I enjoyed it from beginning to end. The art was great. I did find the very last part of the game to drag a bit. I would love another story game done in this same style.

sweet short game felt incomplete to me, but it wouldn't be short if we explore everyone's story

I had a great time playing this game. The story was much more fun and interactive than I had expected and I definitely recommend this.

the best way i can describe this game is cottagecore gravity falls. 10/10

sweet game! loved the mechanic of going back and redoing choices thing, felt like i didnt miss anything.

Very charming 5.5 hour point and click adventure. This is the right way to do a branching narrative game in which each branch can be replayed. Unlike other repetition-driven games like Overboard!, repeating a story beat in Beacon Pines never felt frustrating because it played completely different from previous times.

Wonderfully creative concept with beautiful art and lovable characters. I love this game!!

I have played this game for half an hour the first 20 minutes are pretty cute, kinda sad, good story and setting, enjoying the game then it goes from 1 to a hecking 11 in a matter of seconds next ten minutes go by, pretty fun then it goes from 11 to a hecking million in another matter of seconds like what the heck the MC is twelve i was NOT expecting this Excellent game so far holy heck

One of the best visual novels I've ever played, really like the ambience and the characters. I find the main protagonist enjoyable, and his relationship with friends and family is really relatable. I’d strongly recommend giving it a try.

Love the story and music! It's not really a CYOA kinda game but more so a visual-novel with story backtracking and dead/wrong ends til the proper ending. I was a bit disappointed at how streamlined everything was but the storytelling and plot made up for it completely. Do NOT spoil yourself watching gameplay videos and get this if you love a good story.

Played more like a visual novel at times rather than a game, this "Choose your own adventure" styled masterpiece is such an emotional and immersive tale where all of its creators truly created something worth experiencing.

great game lots of choices and areas to explore throughtout mutiple layers of the story 10/10 recommend

Gorgeous little game, with a lovely narrative technique to allow you to explore different branches of the story without replaying the same scenes over and over again.

One of the best games of all time. A graphic book novel brought to life through game mechanics and rich story-telling. There aren't any words that can be said to how much I appreciated this game when it came out. It was so good, I bought it here again and played with my friends watching. It felt like I was playing the game all over again. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a good story to follow along.

Absolutely amazing! I love the multiple choices and how they all intercept for a multitude of stories in this cozy mystery!

Absolutely fantastic! The art, voice acting, and writing all came together into a really great game.

This is basically a somewhat interactive visual novel or a less interactive point and click adventure. And I love it SO MUCH! The art is great, the music is nice, the characters are awesome! And the branching storytelling is my favorite. You can only see stuff like this in Stories+Omensight and Zero Escape series. I also love the writing because some thing unexpectedly return for great comedic effect.

Loved the story!. Very cute art style and story mode. Love the ability to complete each story branch. Highly recommend.

very lovely, fully voiced, nice short game <3

Great game with wonderful art and a good story.

this is about change [spoiler](and also the unforgiving amount of grief it brings you)[/spoiler]

The art style of this visual novel game caught my eye and I loved the choose-your-own adventure mystery style of story. It's a shorter game but I really enjoyed discovering the different endings and unlocking everything. Some endings felt more fleshed out and better than others, but it didn't detract from how much I enjoyed it. It felt cozy even though the story line is a bit dark.

I love the delivery of the narrator in this game. I love the protagonist group; Luka, Rolo, and Beck. I love how the 'wrong endings' in this game are not really wrong endings: they provide more and more exposition on the town of this game or major characters,―this becomes more profound as you proceed to the latter part of the game― which ultimately and naturally leads you to the true ending. I love the bittersweet story of this game. I love how this game is less than 10 hours long but managed to get me immersed into it. This game somehow reminded of the time I played Night in the Woods; not as short as this one but almost equally immersive whatsoever.

This game drew me in with its soundtrack and cozy art style only to further pull me in with its genuinely compelling mystery, which by that point it had me primed to then cry over multiple of the character moments and "wrong" endings - not to mention the "true" ending. [spoiler]The reveal of the fate of Luka's mother in one of the "wrong" endings eviscerated me, it was easily the moment I cried the hardest.[/spoiler] Though I am at loath to compare it to other media in a 1:1 way, if you loved Gravity Falls & the first two seasons of Stranger Things you will absolutely love this game.

I sobbed more times than I cared to count. best visual novel I've ever played

Couldn't recommend this game enough--loved playing it!