Before Your Eyes is one of the more surprising games of 2021 and it’s not just a cheesy gimmick. Interacting with a story by simply blinking is nothing new, and GoodbyeWorld Games uses that input method to its advantage to tell deeply moving (and heartbreaking) stories in an intimate way. And while inventive, the PlayStation VR2 port of the game is a great way to play it, being more aptly aware of the mechanics it’s created for.
This is partly because capturing blinks in other versions of the game isn’t always consistent despite GoodbyeWorld’s best efforts. The PC and mobile versions require decent lighting, and that’s a compromise that isn’t always possible. The sun has set. The room is not always well lit. An external camera isn’t a magic piece of technology that can always interpret the right input or even capture it and the alert means it is Before Your Eyes can only be fully enjoyed in certain scenarios. It is possible to avoid this problem by playing without a camera installed, but that is not appropriate for this game.
Having the camera built into the PS VR2 headset means there’s a much lower chance of technical glitch; it will always be in the same position with more or less the same lighting. And this change is important because it’s cleaner allows the unique flashing mechanic to take center stage. It works almost flawlessly in virtual reality and seems made for this medium. However, it’s a bit odd (and a bit of a missed opportunity) that it doesn’t take full advantage of the headset’s eye-tracking capabilities, so even though it tracks blinks, the user still has to orient the reticle using their head.
VR’s immersive qualities also help Before Your Eyes delivers the narrative because it’s all about seeing the world through Benjamin’s eyes. Living his life and being able to look around more seamlessly puts the player in his shoes and given how much the story is about his perspective, that shift is another way this port proves the game was designed for virtual reality.
However, not everything is always displayed around the player, as only the essential bits materialize in the black void, which means looking around isn’t always beneficial. However, those limits weren’t a distraction, but rather something that forced players to focus on what was important. It also makes sense since players are simply reliving these memories as ethereal snapshots of the past.
That amazing concept is still a heartbeat Before Your Eyes. The natural show is strong enough to offset the grainy character models and the metaphor of having a wink that jumps through time is a really clever way to incorporate unique gameplay mechanics and storytelling. It all comes together beautifully and makes for an emotionally rich story that doesn’t overstay its welcome. However, these aspects are always fantastic and show that the game doesn’t need VR to be great; it only gets better with VR. It can be glitchy at times, as every now and then it will reset progress, soft lock, or fail to crack trophies, but this is ultimately an inconsequential inconvenience that comes with playing through one of the game’s most unique stories in the most media. suits him. .
Disclosure: The publisher provided us with a copy of the PlayStation 5 Before Your Eyes feature. Played on version 1,001,000.