{"id":129236,"date":"2022-10-26T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/#article-139652"},"modified":"2022-10-26T20:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-10-26T20:00:00","slug":"review-beacon-pines-an-endearing-engrossing-explorative-adventure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2022\/10\/26\/review-beacon-pines-an-endearing-engrossing-explorative-adventure\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Beacon Pines – An Endearing, Engrossing, Explorative Adventure"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/div>\n
\n
\"Beacon<\/a>
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld\/Undocked)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Playing Beacon Pines<\/a> feels a bit like early winter nights, where you\u2019re surprised by how quick the darkness creeps up \u2013 yet comfy and warm under a blanket.<\/p>\n

Coming from indie developer Hiding Spot, the setting might look like your usual cute woodsy town populated by anthropomorphic animals, but there\u2019s a dark terror lurking beneath. Like its colourful story, Beacon Pines doesn\u2019t belong to just one genre. The game is visual-novel-meets-exploration, with sparks of choose-your-own-adventure.<\/p>\n

It fits snuggly in with the Switch\u2019s other cosy offerings. There are cute characters who speak in similar warbles to your Animal Crossing<\/a> neighbours, and even a minigame that reminded us of Spiritfarer<\/a>\u2019s fishing function. We say the game is like a novel because the story is literally within a big book. Sprinkle in some spookiness, and you\u2019ll keep on turning pages…ahem<\/em>, pressing buttons.<\/p>\n

You play as Luka, a 12-year-old deer who has been through a lot for his age: the death of his father, the disappearance of his mother, and a new guardian in the form of the unfamiliar yet kind Gran. Not to mention a takeover of the town by a conglomerate called Perennial Harvest Co. with an unsettlingly happy CEO at its helm. It\u2019s no wonder Luka just wants to enjoy the spoils of being a kid: hanging out at his best friend Rolo\u2019s treehouse, and getting into mischief. Trouble is, that mischief turns from hijinks to horror real quick. It might have something to do with the strange goo leaking from the abandoned factory, or the upcoming festival, but things are not quite right in Beacon Pines.<\/p>\n

\"Beacon<\/a>
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld\/Undocked)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The format is a story-in-progress told through excellent voice-over, by a self-referential author, who is, herself, a character. She needs your help figuring out how it ends. You do this by picking words to put in her sentences. The game calls these \u2018Charms\u2019 \u2013 cutely illustrated trinkets with a single word on each. You find them as you interact with items and villagers. The Charms tutorial is inconsequential (\u2018We were just gonna go HIDE \/ CHILL \/ PONDER\u2019 for the day\u2019), but you\u2019ll soon find that choosing certain Charms over others will lead to chilling and thrilling \u2018The End\u2019s. These are Beacon Pines\u2019 version of dying: dead ends. When you reach one, the author will offer some colourful commentary and encourage you to try again.<\/p>\n

Make no mistake though: this game is not repetitive. You\u2019ll play through these many different endings, from suspenseful to humorous to heartwarming, until you finish because, despite the many \u2018The End\u2019s, there is one true ending and you’ll want to see it.<\/p>\n

Uncovering Charms is the main form of exploration and it\u2019s exciting to have one pop up onscreen as a reward for your curiosity. Also at your disposal is a literal story tree, the branches of which grow as you progress. It\u2019s called The Chronicle, and it helps you tick off the Charms you\u2019ve used.<\/p>\n

New Charms will have you flipping back to the Chronicle to reactivate a previous turning point. Try these, and the game presents you with secrets that you might not have uncovered otherwise. You\u2019ll find little gems that pay off if you’re the attentive type, which further expand a deceptively small world. All this is accompanied by a soundtrack that is wonderfully sweet and calming, until it crescendos with dramatic flair. The music drives the emotion here, from warming your heart to giving it a workout.<\/p>\n

\"Beacon<\/a><\/figure>\n

Beacon Pines’ flaws are few, and mostly things that are a matter of taste. We felt the Chronicle needed more detail on our choice outcomes. At a glance, we could only see which charms had been used, not which ones had led to our immediate demise. We also found there was a lack of player interaction, with long stretches of pressing ‘A’ to move the story along. There\u2019s little involvement in solving the puzzles, too \u2013 often the characters will reveal the answers before you get to figure it out. The lengthy paragraphs can also be a little draining when you\u2019re reading small script in handheld mode.<\/p>\n

Overall the hands-off play and long stretches of text might hamper action fans, but cosy players will be too swept up in the cliffhanger tale to notice. This is a strong arrival from the small yet talented team at Hiding Spot. The storybook imagery, layered characters, and gripping plot will have cosy gamers on the edge of their couches \u2013 but wrapped in a blanket.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

Beacon Pines presents a rich world filled with deeply considered, not to mention adorable, characters. The beautifully crafted art, paired with a soundtrack that both captures and sets the mood, make for a wholly enjoyable experience. It might not be for those who prefer action, but it is a lovely and compelling story that sees Luka, Rolo and Beck delve into a bevy of unique situations. You might finish it in less than a work day, but it\u2019ll stay with you for much longer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld\/Undocked) Playing Beacon Pines feels a bit like early winter nights, where you\u2019re surprised by how quick the darkness creeps up \u2013 yet comfy and warm under a blanket. Coming from indie developer Hiding Spot, the setting might look like your usual cute woodsy town populated by anthropomorphic animals, but there\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129236\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}