Beyond Blue

I'm a little late on this one so I'll probably keep it relatively brief, but after spending the last couple of months chipping away at Beyond Blue, a mission here and a mission there, I thought it was worth telling you a bit about it. I've been playing this game with my son, and together we've been exploring a vast ocean of environments, finding out more about the nature that lives under the waves as we went.

One of the best things about Beyond Blue is its complete lack of violence. Indeed, peril is in short supply here, so don't dive into this one if you're expecting a harpoon gun and a big adventure filled with sharks and snorkels. This is not that sort of game. Instead, E-Line Media's peaceful scuba story is all about exploration, experiencing a short and limited narrative, and cataloguing the sea creatures that you encounter along the way.

There's a story in there, with characters who muse on the environment and their personal lives while trying to help preserve the balance of the wildlife all around them, but it's mostly just a vehicle for all the exploration and scanning. That's really the heart of the experience right there, and in truth, I was hoping for something with a bit more substance, something a bit more involving. Despite the freedom you have to explore, the narrative itself is not so open-ended.

Still, we took a lot of enjoyment out of swimming around the game's various stunning underwater environments, scanning shoals of fish and getting up close to some truly magnificent-looking creatures, with sharks, dolphins, whales, and many more just waiting to be discovered. For all its limitations and despite a distinct lack of drama, it's so peaceful to explore knowing that at no point will a great white shark turn up out of nowhere and rip your head off.

Beyond Blue is a calming and intriguing game, and if you're interested in life underwater and don't mind the prospect of methodically scanning everything you encounter on your journey, it's worth investigating. There's a lot to discover down there, and the gentle nature of the content makes it suitable for gamers of all ages to explore with confidence.