In this review we will cover Before Your Eyes, an indie graphic adventure created by the GoodbyeWorld Games team. Let’s find out the title
How many times has it happened to us ask ourselves about the passage of time. We have often thought about moments of our life that now seem almost like dreams. Here we are in a certain place and a moment later, just like in the blink of an eye, we are teleported somewhere else. Precisely in this sense the boys of GoodbyeWorld Games, managing to realize this little epoea almost Dantesque. Let’s start this recensione di Before Your Eyes and we discover this exciting title.
Time slips from the eyes
If they had asked me what time was before playing this graphic adventure, I would have surely answered “the passing of hours and days”. However now, having tried this title, I can affirm that time is the blink of an eye. It doesn’t matter how hard we try to live in the present, to think about the future or to look to the past. Everything passes in an instant, indeed, in the blink of an eye.
Yes, even an indie like Before Your Eyes can often hide a truth that can change our way of thinking and our way of being. We struggle so much trying to give our best in every moment, we live life moment by moment observing it carefully, only to see it “escape from the eyes”. I think this is what the guys at GoodbyeWorld Games thought when they made this video game and put their all into making it.
An Innovative Beat – Before Your Eyes Review
In the game we will make the inner journey of a lost soul ready to walk its last path. We will make our journey to the afterlife, ready to undergo the judgment of a mysterious entity. At the beginning of the adventure we will find ourselves on a boat, rescued from the waters of oblivion by a modern Charon seen in cartoon key. The strange ferryman, similar to an anthropomorphic wolf, will not only ferry us to this mysterious entity, but it will also guide us within our memories. And this is where our real journey takes place.
The focal theme of the game is precisely the impossibility of holding back time, as well as impossible to hold back a blink of an eye. This point is the pivot of the game and the keystone that will shape your adventure. The developers have moved in this way trying to mix everything and creating a rather particular technique. In fact, during the game all we have to do is blink to interact with the various points of interest.
These will be indicated by a special icon and will allow us to perform various actions. Thanks to this particular technique we will be able to take photos, draw on a sheet or a painting or simply unlock areas of a scene in our memory. Blinking eyes we will also pass from one memory to another, making more or less important leaps along what is the time strip of our life.
And here is where the focal point of this whole journey comes to life. The inexorable and inescapable passage of time that, just like the blink of an eye, it goes by without letting anyone escape. After experiencing the main theme of each memory, we will find ourselves struggling with a metronome that marks the time and the end of the memory itself. Although the skit isn’t over yet, a blink of an eye will make us jump in time, making it impossible to take refuge within the memorybe it good or bad.
In those few moments, however, we will be able to fully live the life of the protagonist, studded with a flood of feelings. The desire to excel, the various disappointments that the protagonist undergoes and the first love are only a part of emotions that can be “Feel almost physically”.
A Double Speed Life – Before Your Eyes Review
Looking at the title from a mechanics point of view, however simple it may seem in some cases, we can’t help but applaud the development team. Although the blinking technique is not a unique find – we recall for example the various software that study the movement of the face to move the camera in various video games – applying it in such a game was certainly the most appropriate move.
The calibration is done really well, especially if the face is constantly illuminated adequately. Sometimes, however, it can happen that a beat is skipped or that the video game recognizes a slight movement such as a blink of an eye. In this case you just need to recalibrate everything again and you can return to play safely.
If you don’t have a webcam, don’t despair. The title allows in fact to be able to play quietly even with the mouse, to which the left button will be associated with the blink of an eye. However, it is fair to point this out in the review, in this way, much of the magic that characterizes Before Your Eyes is lost. You will no longer have the fleetingness of time and, although it is possible to enjoy all the memories, you will lose that immersion that characterizes the video game.
Although from this point of view the title appears to be very accurate, graphically and acoustically it leaves something to be desired. Cartoon graphics by themselves do not create any kind of problem. The real sore point of the title, however, concerns the facial expressions of the various characters that are completely non-existent. It will be impossible to tell if they are angry, happy or disappointed just by looking at their face. We understand that it is an indie title and that perhaps many resources were limited, but a minimum of extra care would not have hurt from this point of view.
The acoustic compartment also leaves a little to be desired. It should also be reported the absence of the Italian language which could create some minor problems given the very speed of the game.
Everything has an end
We have now reached the end of this Before Your Eyes review and it is therefore time to draw conclusions. This graphic adventure created by GoodbyeWorld Games and published by Skybound Games looks very good. With a lasting just a couple of hours, although this data is quite subjective, we will be able to experience what is the last journey into the memories of the protagonist.
The blink of an eye does not represent a mere and derisory command. This in fact is the fulcrum of our journey and marks the fleetingness not only of memories, but of life itself. Seeing important memories slip “from the eyes”, not being able to hole up in the past and live what we have left with the anguish that time passes too quickly, making us forget the rest, is perhaps the most irrepressible message that this title can offer us.
While some small graphics deficiencies can slightly spoil the experience, Before Your Eyes will be able to keep any of you glued to the screen. The early stages of the game can be quite difficult, especially if you try to keep your eyes open as much as possible to relive every memory 100%. However, it will be almost completely impossible and you will often find yourself watering from dryness. The solution would be to use the mouse, but doing so you would lose the magic that characterizes the title.
That’s all for this Before Your Eyes review. We remind you that the title is available on Steam at the recommended price of € 8.99, although you can find it slightly discounted on Instant Gaming. What do you think about it? Have you already bought and played it or is it in your future plans? Let us know yours in the comments. To not miss further news and reviews from the gaming world, keep following the pages of techgameworld.com!
Buy in the blink of an eye
Points in favor
- Mechanics “new” and well implemented
- Main message
- Structure
Points against
- Characters without expression