Beyond Blue for Nintendo Switch Review
Release Date: November 11, 2021 (Nintendo Switch), June 11, 2020 (PS4, PC, Xbox One)
Developer: E-Line Media
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch (Reviewed)
Price: $19.99
The beauty of our little blue dot in our solar system, known as Earth, is that it's carried with it billions of years of history that has been responsible for a vast number of organisms both macro and micro that have simultaneously reached a point of history where they became extinct and evolved into the very life we know today. As land began to form, so did the cells that comprised so much flora and fauna and saw life slowly but surely make its way onto land, and as the years and eras went on the life on land became just as important as that beneath it, but the focus and interest of life itself leaned heavily towards life on land and its various biomes as homo sapiens built civilizations alongside their need for oxygen (and obvious lack of gills). Because of such a heavy focus on what's happening on the surface, underwater species continued to form and create a history of unknown life - much of which we still don't know about and continue to discover to this very day. Also due to the heavy amount of water pressure the deeper one goes underwater, this can affect not only the human body, effectively crushing their bones after a point, but can ruin machinery as well. This limitation of how deep we can go before being forced to come back up means there's still a large portion of Earth's deep blue that has gone undiscovered - approximately 80%, in fact - which, to me, adds to the fascination of what's beneath sea level.
Ocean history aside, that 71% of water covering Earth's surface is the reason why games like Abzu, Subnautica, and even more "grounded" underwater games Bioshock have continuously fascinated me, as we're able to tell flexible and engaging stories that take advantage of those mysteries and pique your curiosity while playing, leaving the imagination to run wild as to what's beneath. Beyond Blue doesn't necessarily go into the insane territories of the aforementioned titles, instead being one of the more realistic experiences you'll find in the gaming space, but for what it's trying to accomplish there's no need to create sea monsters, instead relying on providing the player a serene experience underwater that we wouldn't typically be able to do outside of a planned vacation. Playing as Mirai, she's a freediver who studies whales and works with a company called OceanX, looking to bring the wonders of the deep blue to a wider, more massive audience by streaming the wonderful habitats and nature of all that inhabit it. It's a story that sounds simple on the surface, but its slice-of-life take of touching on real important topics, as well as a poignant story happening in Mirai's personal life as well, give the game a very natural feel that complements its entire structure and aesthetic.
While you're underwater and talking to a few other characters you work closely with during your streaming and studies, the core gameplay will mainly center around scanning and attaining information with all of the fish and sea-dwellers you're surrounded by. Marine mammals, fish, and invertebrates swim by as you simply hold the trigger buttons to aim and scan, and with each type of species comes a certain amount that the game has total for you to gather. Some roam around in schools, while others swim individually, but all manners and movements of each species underwater stays true and authentic to their nature in real life. Outside of scanning there's not much to offer in terms of gameplay, as you'll really just be going from waypoint to waypoint as you scan as much sea life as you can during your time down there, but having an unrestricted approach to how you reach each point and the conversations that happen between them gives a sense of freedom that's appreciated and I think taken for granted when it comes to life underwater. With little to block your path outside of the rock formations, coral, and physical species, the vast body of water allows you to move just about anywhere with solid animations for both your character and sea life. The only real place you can’t really go to at will is up to the surface as you're eventually blocked by an invisible wall, but I didn't mind as my interest in the surface was mainly to see what it looked like above water, but despite this the real magic is underwater, so even if you could reach the surface there wouldn't be much point or enjoyment to it anyways. The entirety of Beyond Blue isn't just spent underwater though, as typically at the end of every dive you'll head back to your personal submarine for some downtime and catching up on notifications and calls from the people you know, talking about plans, what to do with the studies, interruptions from unknown sources, and personal matters. It's a neat little follow-up as you have downtime, and the rest of the ship sort of acts as an interactive menu with tablets and the sort laying around for you to engage with that effectively take you to the same section of a menu you could get to manually at any point by pausing the game.
Interestingly one of the most fun points of the game, though, is its photo mode that really get you up and close with all the wonderful sea life you'll come across. Admittedly, however, is that even though it's one of its best things to do and many beautiful shots can be taken, it's a bit unfortunate that the options made available in the photo mode are fairly barebones and don't offer much in the way of proper photography. It has features like cinematic framing to give it black bars at the top and bottom of the screen to simulate a 21:9/2.370:1 ratio, on/off toggles for Mirai, and the ability to tilt and zoom the camera, but the offerings are scarce after that. With a game as serene as this with such beautiful sea life - and the model are all rather high quality even when zoomed in on Nintendo Switch - it's a huge shame that you can't really show off just how beautiful Beyond Blue can really be, but it's possible that maybe the beauty lies in the life underneath and doesn't need all the bells and whistles of a fancy compositional shot. Either way, it's a big letdown when I find myself constantly going into photo mode to take in the environment and life around me as I dive, only to have to take basic shots that wouldn't be much different from simply using the screenshot button.
Beyond Blue's overall port and presentation on Nintendo Switch is certainly one to be commended, and while it's far from perfect, the overall integrity, message, and atmosphere of the game stays intact as you spend your time below sea level. TV mode and handheld mode work well for the game, so either play style should suit your needs when going for a dive and spending time below, but there's no denying that Beyond Blue certainly prefers the TV to showcase its large ocean, but the big problems stems from the game will end up looking mucky on the Nintendo Switch version compared to other platforms, so while the *game* is better shown off on the TV, Switch is more comfortable with its handheld mode to hide some of its more obvious downgrades, but even with these downgrades it's a humble port that still looks appealing and plays well with little to no issues with frames except for a few rare occasions where any number of things could be going on, not just the usual busy screen. Draw distance and pop-in can be fairly egregious also if you're paying enough attention to it, but the immediate surrounding area that you'll mostly be looking at is luscious enough with coral and fish that you'll likely be distracted enough to forgive it.
Beyond Blue is an exceptional game that really highlights the beauty of the deep blue sea and its marine life without forcing the player into random acts of survival, and instead opting to have them experience the tranquility and freedom of the vast world underwater that houses all sorts of fascinating sea life. What really takes Beyond Blue to another level though is that it feels like your own personal Planet Earth or Mission Blue in how you explore and traverse underwater, being complemented hugely by the fact that you can watch mini documentaries and videos containing discussions with real life divers and marine biologists through its Ocean Insights menu in the game which unlock videos as you progress through the story and scan new lifeforms. Beyond Blue may not be at the level of audio and visual fidelity on Nintendo Switch as it is on other platforms, namely PC, but Beyond Blue still very much gets its point across in a competent manner and remains immersive despite the toned-down graphics, which otherwise look stunning elsewhere. Experiencing a humble yet deep underwater sandbox with fish, mammals, and its plant life and microorganisms with Beyond Blue gave a sense of satisfaction that undoubtedly puts it up there with the likes of Abzu and other serene titles of that nature, and even with its technical shortcomings it's still worth a dive whether Switch is your main platform or not.
PROS:
Gives a sense of tranquility as you go through the ocean floor and swim alongside all of the fish life.
Its ambiance and sound give a bigger sense of immersion alongside its myriad fish
There's an odd addictive factor to swimming around uninterrupted and scanning everything you see
CONS:
Extremely low draw distance with some pretty egregious pop-in can sometimes take you out of the immersion.
Photo mode could use more features
Gyro controls on the Switch would have been appreciated for better aiming while scanning since so much marine life is constantly in motion
(All screenshots provided have been taken by myself, the writer, in handheld mode on Nintendo Switch)
Our sincere gratitude to E-Line Media for providing us a copy of Beyond Blue for the purposes of this review!