Beacon Pines is a surprisingly immersive and memorable game. It’s about a small town filled with secrets you didn’t expect. It’s one of the best adventure games I played this year. Let’s jump in.
Time for a story
Beacon Pines plays as an interactive story, a story told in a book. We all know books have a rather set ending since you can’t just change the pages once they went into production but the book of Beacon Pines isn’t happy with the ending. It looks for someone special, someone who could alter the fate of Beacon Pines and deliver a much-needed happy ending for the little town. It seems like Luca holds the key to the solution. Luca is an orphan who currently lives with his grandmother, his father died a while ago and his mother mysteriously disappeared a couple of months ago. There isn’t much to do in Beacon Pines and Luca lives a rather dull life in the village. There aren’t a lot of villagers worth talking to and if it wasn’t for your best friend Rolo, you probably be bored to death. The game opens with Rolo and Luca hooking up for another one of their adventures in the small town. Although the game is presented in a cozy colorful way, the town of Beacon Pines isn’t a happy place at all.
A couple of years ago, the big Valentine Company conducted a failed experiment which is now called the Foul Harvest, leaving the town with almost nothing to consume and endless issues with new harvests. Rolo and Luca decide to go investigate the shady company in order to find out the truth. Needless to say, things don’t go as planned and without spoiling too much, the story comes to a quick and extremely dark end. Of course, you don’t want the story to end this way so the book invites you to rewrite the ending and go back to the beginning. If you want to achieve a different ending, you’ll need to use some of the charms you’ll find if you know where to look for them.
Find the charms, change the story
In order to change the story, you’ll need to change certain words in the book. Sadly, you can’t just change the words however you want. You can only change them using charms. Throughout your adventure, you’ll unlock tons of charms by exploring and interacting with the environment. You can unlock a new charm by chilling on the sofa or by fishing for example. I love how creative the team approached the unlocking of charms, it’s never really straightforward and rewards exploration so much. Running around in the gorgeously created in search of charms isn’t a punishment at all. The world of Beacon Pines is gorgeously crafted and you’ll feel like walking around in a book instantly.
Once you unlocked charms, you can change certain words in crucial sentences. The charm will alter the way the game advances and eventually lead up to a different ending. If you’re lucky, you’ll find the right charms to unlock a satisfying ending but it won’t come easily. If you’re not happy with the ending, you’ll need to go back, search for different charms and use a different one in those crucial moments. For some, this might feel a bit too repetitive but for me, I thought it really was part of the charm (pun intended) of the game. The more you play it and the more you look for new charms, the more of the story you’ll unfold. It’s a gorgeously created adventure game with a surprisingly darker undertone that will keep you hooked for sure.
Conclusion:
Beacon Pines is a great example of a simple idea done right. If you’re into story-driven adventures games, this one won’t disappoint at all, it’s easily one of the better games I played in the genre.
