Beyond Blue

Subnautica ruined all underwater games for me

Eng:

Soft version of Subnautica:
A simulator of watching killer whales and a dying whale.

Visually it looks quite nice: whales, fish, seaweed and all that.

Controls: Everything except wasd is intuitively on the wrong buttons and constantly flies off somewhere, control of anything, either on wasd or on the arrows. "Selective scanning" is the most infuriating mechanic in the game, a real challenge of not-getting-your-mouse-sense.

The way the "call" looks, the list of tasks, the list of studied animals, the phone itself, or the player, or the tablet, or whatever it is - everything looks like in a children's Flash game in the browser. Some unreadable fonts, lines that overlap each other, colors merging with each other. Thank Cthulhu that the font is at least comic sans, that would be a complete mockery. All the time that you are not swimming, you want to gouge out your eyes.
It's a pity there is no character customization, they could have at least let me choose gender of the game character or something.
There is Russian language, in places the translation catches schizophrenia, if you do not read carefully, then it is not noticeable. There is a plot, not particularly interesting, and in total it takes about 15 minutes of the total game time. In the end, everyone died, naturally.
There is no open world as such. Only a re-pass of previously completed "levels". On one of which, by the way, you can swim underground and swim to the other end of the map and swim out through the textures.

There are no mechanics associated with the end of the map: no character phrases, no "high pressure" inscriptions, or at least a giant shark that attacks, or the tentacles of Cthulhu.

There is no Cthulhu in the game, and the underwater city of R'lyeh. In general, there are not many underwater caves, and those that are there are the size of a cell.

(Maisey Rika song in the player and Douglas Adams reference in the achievements)

Cthulhu fhtagn!

Rus:
Софт версия Subnautica:
Симулятор наблюдения за косатками и умирающим китом.


Визуально вполне симпатично выглядит: киты, рыбки, водоросли и всё такое.

Управление: Всё кроме wasd, интуитивно не на тех кнопках и постоянно куда-то слетает, управление чего бы то ни было, то на wasd то на стрелочки. «Выборочное сканирование» - самая бесящая механика в игре, самый настоящий челлендж не-сбей-себе-сенсу.


То как выглядит «звонок», список задач, перечень изученной живности, сам телефон, или плеер, или планшет, или что это вообще - всё выглядит как в детской Flash-игре в браузере. Какие-то не читаемые шрифты, строчки что налезают друг на друга, цвета сливающиеся друг с другом. Слава Ктулху, что шрифт хотя бы comic sans, это было бы совсем издевательством. Всё то время что не плаваешь хочется выколоть себе глаза.
Жаль нет никакой кастомизации персонажа, дали бы хоть пол игрового персонажа выбрать что-ли.
Есть русский язык, местами перевод ловит шизу, если не вчитываться, то это не заметно. Сюжет имеется, не особо интересный, и суммарно минут на 15 от общего игрового времени. В конце все умерли, естественно.
Как такового открытого мира нет. Лишь пере-прохождение ранее пройденных «уровней». На одном из которых, кстати можно вплыть под землю и доплыть до другого конца карты и выплыть сквозь текстуры.

Отсутствует какая-либо механика связанная с концом карты: ни фраз персонажей, ни надписей «большое давление», или хотя гигантской акулы, что нападает, или щупальц Ктулху.

В игре нет Ктулху, и подводного города Р’льех. В целом не так много подводных пещер, а те что есть - размером с келью.

(Песня Maisey Rika в плеере и отсылка на Дугласа Адамса в ачивках)

Ктулху фхтагн!

need more like this, i love diving games. I still havent found one as good as the game on the Wii tho...

Beyond Blue is a huge disappointment in the ocean-gaming world, after having completed the main story and trying out the newly released content, it is easy to say that this game flopped in many aspects. The coral reef environments in-game severely misrepresent what actual coral reefs look like in life, here they look lifeless, baron and boring, not to mention some incredibly strange coral-like structures that look nothing like actual species of coral. This game is just filled with boring dialogue and a ton of back and forth missions doing the same thing over and over. There was a severe lack of structure and closure in this story, coming to a "close" with Ocean Doomism, leading players to believe the ocean is hopeless and is inevitably going to die and perish. While it is nice that the bonus content is free, this game would've been better left untouched; The free content is difficult to find, you have to access it through the Main menu under the "Activities" category. There is only one activity they provide and it is nothing more than a huge disappointment, it is just a swim-through hoop "race" with a myriad of bugs, it took over 6 minutes to complete the "race" because of a lack of a sprinting function. It seems like this content was sloppily slapped together as a response to the release of Endless Ocean luminous which is also an awful ocean game, however it is miles better than this one. If you are planning on purchasing this game for the new content, DONT, you will regret it.

As a marine biologist, I loved swimming through the ocean and discovering species. I absolutely discovered everything lol. Overall, this game is pretty cool. It's hard to get to the beach since being in a wheelchair so it's nice to live vicariously. Though I have swam with orcas, humpbacks, dolphins, jellyfish blooms, rays... all kinds of things that are in this game!

I think this game does a great job at teaching about the ocean without being boring. You get to swim around in the ocean with animals, which is the fun part of marine biology, and can look further into facts about the animals if you want to in the menu (but don't have to). There is a main story line about research and endangerment that is interesting, but no choices to make. Also, for anyone that is stressing, you don't have to worry about anything attacking you in the ocean.

I have only one complaint: they should have made you explore in the sub in the deep ocean, not freediving. I can get on board with the idea that we've invented some kind of breather (although I don't see why we couldn't have just had oxygen tanks) for shallower ocean dives, but it's simply never going to be reality that we can just swim around freely in very deep water. The pressure at the bottom of the ocean is too big of a hurdle for a suit, but add to that the heat of hydrothermal vents? I've seen the equipment that goes into hydrothermal vents and it's no joke- it's hard to make anything that survives that temperature. Just given that the rest of the game is so realistic, it felt really odd to have just the suit technology not be realistic. Why not show people what it takes? It's actually really cool science. The ingenuity is impressive.

Also, just for anyone that is finding the ocean interesting, this game is skewed toward "characteristic megafauna", which means big things with recognizable faces that people can see and more easily feel for. I get it. Most outreach does that. It's a choice and that's fine. But as a researcher of tiny things, I suggest looking at all the invertebrates and non-animals that were left out, which are imo, the most interesting creatures with the most diverse ways of existing.

TLDR: Worth it for swimming around with ocean animals

It has plenty of animals and good graphics. There are also many areas to play in.

glub glub fish

WTH happened to this dev team?
They created a 3D engine to tell a story and give knowledge about ecology, it was linear and very tutorial like but it was fair.
Now, they decide to create a lot of things, give us game functions and bring us a lot more of underwater experience and pleasure.

I don't get it! It's generally the other way around... Kudos for managing to do this!

This recommendation comes with a caveat. Technically, I found it pretty good - graphics is nice, animations too. Environments are convincing and immersive. Fauna is varied and interesting. And I am fascinated by underwater games and diving (not diving IRL).

I feel that they have achieved what they set out to do, hence my recommendation. I just wish they had been a bit more ambitious.

As a game there is just not much too it. No risks, no challenges, no rewards. You can explore, and follow the (very linear) story. The story is bland, the dialogue unnatural. There is just too little to DO. Very few gameplay mechanics, other than walking/swimming around, clicking things, and read about them. No replay value, at all.

I would LOVE a more open-world style diving game, where you can explore and learn about different biomes and lifeforms. But with actual challenges you have to overcome - with real risks and rewards and skill/gear progression.

This isn't it, except for the exploring and learning part. But I feel a documentary would do a better job at this. Why choose a videogame as your medium, if you don't utilize the features that makes it so unique - choice and challenge?

Great idea, good visuals, but as a game this is a disappointment.
The female protagonist looks like unisex being in the suit, instead of freedom there is constant orders and the tech plays bigger role than the nature. Such a misunderstanding.

TL;DR - If you are looking for a GAME, don't bother. If you hoping to be scared, don't bother. The game takes 3 hours to complete, and is a learning experience, rather than a game. It can also be a good relaxer or destresser post-game, but the price is too high for such a short duration, so get it on sale.

Okay, now for the review. I played this during a charity marathon stream where the charity we were supporting was an orca based charity. This game was perfect, because it wasn't too long. However, with that comes the price tag, which is too steep when not on sale.

If you are looking for gameplay, this isn't really for you. It is an adventure, it is not subnautica. As an educational tool, I think this really works, and nearly everything in the game is factually correct, with high attention to detail on cetaceans (whales and dolphins) especially. It even had orca sounds that were taken from real orcas in the same region that the game is set. I wish the game went more into detail with other animals aside from charismatic macrofauna. The game also touched on numerous conservation issues that are very relevant and prevalent. The game also showed what a biologist's work life is like, with the main protagonist getting attached to certain animals, and the rollercoaster ride that comes with that.

If the developers read this, I do wonder on one inaccuracy I found though, in that there were atlantic football fish, when the game is set in the pacific. I don't know if this is factually accurate or an oversight.

The game also missed a trick. It is fully third person, and I feel the option to be first person would have made the game more immersive, and this kind of game would have been amazing in VR.

I recommend this game as an educational experience for both adults and children. I would also recommend this to educators trying to teach about cetaceans. However, I would also recommend it on discount.

After completing the game you can freeplay the dives, and some of these can be calming and therapeutic.

If there were to be a sequel, id love that, but id love to see more dives, and more diverse locations in the world. I would love to see more focus on lesser known species and perhaps a touch more gameplay options.

best three hrs my life short story but wonderful expirience

THIS GAME IS SO FUN AND CALMING YOU SHOULD PLAY IT!!!

Fun little ocean exploration game that helps scratch the itch when you can't go for a dive yourself

While this is a shorter game, I 100% completed it in about 4 hours, it is a very fun game none the less. The story is immersive, fun and informative. The characters are fleshed out and have personality, and problems, making them seem more realistic. They banter and interact with one another well, and the additional dialog you can go back and do before starting your next mission really insures you can look at the game from every angle. It deals with love and loss. As well as heartbreak, grief and understanding. You can really feel the passion the characters have for their chosen fields, through both the voice actors and story line.

The graphics on this game are beautiful, the water movements are fluid, the animals interesting and fun to find. The swimming is great, the camera being off to the side takes some getting used to, but once you are it's super easy to play. It's nice to just float in the water while the fish swim on their paths and watch them. The info videos are also super fun and interesting.

An absolute recommend to all those who love the ocean!

from what i remember about this gamne, it was amazing.

5.5/10 An ok game with nice visuals and a broken-up story (or at least it felt broken-up). With a focus on drama with our coworkers and family life we spend our time diving as an escape from it all as well as a journey for adventure, education, and preservation.

Great game! Beautiful moments with the discovery of an unknown world: ocean.

This game is a great way to learn a little about oceanography. Sound advice--don't click Continue to reload where you left off. Instead, load from last autosave. It saves lots of time and frustration, because you're going to want to go back again and again.

As someone who studied Marine Biology, I absolutely adore this game!

Just being able to swim around and scan fish while also having an important story-line going? LOVE IT!

I doubt it's possible for anyone to play this game and not fall in love with the ocean afterwards!

Beyond Blue is an amazing adventure game where you explore underwater and discover and learn more about fauna and flora... The graphics are really beautiful and the ambiant is so relaxing. It worth it and I highly recommend it!!! 🩵🐬🩵

Lovely game. Would recommend

Beautiful, relaxing. And best of all - educational.

I gotta say I love the concept of Beyond Blue! It's such a beautiful game with amazing graphics, and I will always admire the details the developers and the game project as a whole put this masterpiece together. I recently replayed after a few years since my first run-through, and it was as amazing as my first experience! I totally recommend to anyone interested <3

This game has a lot of potential... However there haven't been any updates since January of 2021. Visuals are gorgeous, but there isn't anything of much substance here.

I love this game alot kinda sad that there wasnt more too

Good writing

fun game

This is a really good game! If you are looking for a challenge then this is not the one for you, but if you are looking to experience the ocean and it's wild life under a few different conditions, and especially if you are interested in learning more about the ocean and the research that is being done in recent times, I can definitely recommend this game for you. There is a story about the ocean the game tells, as well as a story about the character you play as, both are short but sweet. I had a lot of fun with it and would love to see more games like this!