Beyond Blue is a brand new game by E-Line Media and has been made alongside Blue Planet II, the famous show which aired back in 2017 and concluded in 2018. Different real-world ocean experts and scientists have also contributed to the development of Beyond Blue making it one of the most authentic ocean-exploration games ever made. The game focuses on how beautiful our oceans really are and what types of different creatures are living down there. We also get a pretty good insight into what sort of human activities are actively threatening the survival of these creatures in their natural habitats. This is our review of the PS4 version of Beyond Blue in which we dive down and swim alongside some of the most majestic creatures found in our beautiful oceans.
The gameplay of Beyond Blue is all about exploring the Western Pacific Ocean and scanning different creatures living in it. Your main focus throughout the campaign of the game is on a family of Sperm Whales living out in the ocean however you will also explore a lot of other sea creatures as well including dolphins, sharks, turtles, and generic fish. The plot revolves around Mirai and her team Andre and Irina who are trying to follow the family of Sperm Whales and also deploying their brand new Ocean Sense Network. This new network will allow the team to explore the depths of the oceans that have never been explored before by humanity.
As part of your dives, you will explore the oceans, check the reliability of different new machines and drones that are part of your new system and also document the lifestyle of different mighty sea creatures living around you. While you are out in the sea, you get different tasks such as checking out scanners deployed in the ocean and checking for any irregularities in whales and sharks around you. Some of the missions do feel a little repetitive at the start but upon reaching the location, each mission is pretty much unique. You have a portable sensor that allows you to quickly scan any creature moving around you instantly while you can also deploy a much more advanced Zoom Drone to focus on different certain parts of the creatures and perform zoomed scans.
Scanning different whales, sharks, fish, and other sea creatures are not all useless in the game. Since each specie comes in various numbers, the more members of the same specie you scan in the game, the more detailed information you get about that particular specie in your Science Codex for future reference. Back at your sub, you can also view 3D models of all of these entries however I noticed that some of the entries lacked a proper 3D model. They only had 2D images that could be rotated around and inspected at different angles but they would not move around like most of the models did. Apart from some extra knowledge, you can also unlock certain behaviors of different ocean lifeforms such as fast swimming, turning, attacking, and much more. It allows you an interactive session with different creatures that you have scanned during your dives.
Completing smaller tasks will eventually lead to your main task of the dive and once you are done with all of the tasks, you are sent back to your sub where you can relax and prepare for your next dive with a new plan. During the dives, you will also sometimes livestream the events back to your HQ from where it is transmitted all over the world for people to see. This is perhaps important for securing funds for the expeditions in the game however none of such details are actually shared with is in the game. One thing is for sure while exploring these oceans, you will get to see some of the best activities happening down in the ocean such as the hunting activity where we get to see Bottle-nosed Dolphins, Orcas, and a huge Humpback Whale feasting on a bait ball.
Your sub by OceanX is the main hub and you spend your time here while you are not out on dives. You can perform different activities while you are roaming around it freely. You can change your music and listen to some of the tunes that you brought with you underwater, you can head over to the driving seat of the sub and speak with your teammates over at the command center up on the land and also with your little sister Ren who is living with your nana for the time being. During these conversations, you can make different dialogue choices however sometimes you also have to make a choice between two dives for your next dive as choosing each will have a small effect over the other one. However, these choices do not impact your story in a massive way. As a bonus of your exploration, you can unlock and watch sixteen highly-detailed Ocean Insight videos from the show Blue Planet II which let you dig deep down in how different things work in these mighty oceans.
The game ran pretty well on my PlayStation 4 Pro however there were a few graphical dips in frames while I was playing the game. These dips were most common in areas with a lot of vegetation and some other graphical intense locations. Areas showcasing vegetation were most common in these dips however these dips are only noticeable if you are swimming quickly If are you taking it slow through the waters, these dips are not even visible but still when they do happen, you do notice the game slowing down pretty much which is a little bit annoying sometimes. Another annoying bug or glitch was that smaller fish would often just swim into the rocks. This is not something game-breaking but looked weird when it happened. Apart from these two glitches/problems, Beyond Blue is in a pretty stable state and works like a charm.
Visually, Beyond Blue looks beautiful and while out in the sea, each of the creatures in the oceans looks brilliant as well. One of the things you will notice in the game is that the game features ultra-realistic sea surface topography and that is because of the participation of real-world scientists in the development of this game. The game features a stellar voice cast with some of the best names in the industry so the voice acting is pretty solid as well. The audio ensures that you are getting the most-authentic ocean dive experience as possible in the game. The underwater creatures sound amazing and everything around you make their presence felt to you with their numerous underwater sounds of movement or vocal activity.
Final Verdict:
Beyond Blue is more than just a game. It is a learning experience and if you are feeling tired after a long day’s work, it will also help you to relax as you explore the calm ocean and the different fauna residing in their natural habitat. Despite a really good story, the game offers you plenty of opportunities to dive into the ocean again and explore each and every last nook and cranny. The controls are crisp and the ocean is designed brilliantly. Each dive offers you plenty of new and unique things to do and explore in the ocean. While the video games of the current generation are getting more intense and competitive, Beyond Blue arrives and proves that a game does not need to be intense or competitive to be good. It will allow you to relax and sends across a very subtle message as well to take care of our oceans and allow the beautiful creatures to reside there in peace. No matter which genre of video games are you interested in, Beyond Blue is a great learning and playing experience and I will highly recommend that you give this game a shot and it will make you keep playing it more on its own.
Final Score: 9.5/10
