Available on PC (Windows, macOS); Consoles (Steam Deck, PS5); Mobile (Android, IOS)
I don’t think I can write a review that truly encapsulates how much I would never, ever play this game again. But in a good way.
Before Your Eyes is an emotional journey that takes on grief, illness, and life. The game begins with you as Benjamin Brynn on the boat to the afterlife, with the Ferryman– a werewolf in a yellow raincoat– explaining how things are going to go. Yep. That’s how it starts. You’re dead, and you’re on a boat.
The Ferryman tells you that you will be going through memories because you need to convince the Gatekeeper to let you in. So you need to have a good story. He will then explain how this is going to work (a nice little way to explain the mechanics in-game).
Basically, you go through memories, and you control the game by blinking. This might be something you’d be interested in, or it might be something you don’t really want to do. And if it’s the latter, don’t worry! The developers accounted for that and added an option in the settings to have it be through clicking the mouse button instead. I already have dry eyes and astigmatism, so I opted for the clicking option. I found that my experience of the game wasn’t really affected too much, and I also found that I was fully able to immerse myself in the game without worrying if the game was going to accidentally move on, even though I didn’t blink (due to lighting, camera quality, or just the fact that I usually have half-open eyes).
And that’s all there is to the mechanics. I personally would have loved to experience the game through blinking, because I do feel like that’s how it’s intended to be experienced, but as I said, I don’t want to replay it. In my opinion, it’s one of those games that you play once and never again. Not because it’s bad, but because that’s how life is. You only get one go.
Obviously, don’t let my own perspective stop you. If you want to play the game until you’re sick of it, be my guest! It’s a beautiful game that deserves all the love.
Now, how exactly do the blinking mechanic and memories work? Well, as the Ferryman explains, every time you blink, you move forward in time. It could be a matter of seconds or years. You go through different stages of Benjamin’s memories, finding and piecing things together. And you get to make choices too. Do you usually play it safe? Do you sneak out? There are all sorts of life events that make an impact on Benjamin’s story. Help Benjamin figure out love, find out what his hopes and dreams were in life, if he succeeded, if he got everything he wanted… everything that makes up a life. In this journey, I found myself so connected to Benjamin. I was nervous in his tense moments, angry in times of turmoil, and happy in the joyous ones. The first-person perspective really helps you immerse. There are also some moments where you’re asked to close your eyes and just listen, and that really gives the game more depth– although, I’m unsure if this would be the same experience for folks with aphantasia.
Before Your Eyes is a short and sweet game. You can finish it in about 90 minutes, give or take. But be warned, this is a heavy game. I had to take a break after playing it because I was sobbing by the end, and not just the dainty, little one-teardrop-slides-down-my-cheek kind of cry, no. I was literally hiccuping, hyperventilating, full-on Studio-Ghibli-tears-streaming-down-my-face type of crying. Although, it could just be me because I find the topic to be incredibly close to home. But man, what a story.
The art style is low-poly with simple cel-shading, and I feel that really adds to the focus on the narrative. It made the game feel innocent and dreamlike, which I think is a comforting way to view death. I really enjoyed the way the interactions between Benjamin and the world around him felt. Apparently, for some people, there were bugs and glitches, but I don’t remember encountering any in my own playthrough.
I do highly recommend playing this game. I think it’s a worthwhile experience that brings life into perspective; it makes you think, but more importantly, it makes you feel.
If there’s anything to take away from this game, it’s that your story, no matter how uninteresting you may think it is, matters. It deserves to be told.
