Hype is sufficiently through the roof following our latest interview with Matt, Ilse and Brent from Hiding Spot – the developers of the newly released Beacon Pines. If you have ever sat there watching Stranger Things, and thought that it would be made all the better with animals instead of our courageous protagonists, well just sit yourself down…
Releasing right now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Game Pass, Switch and PC, Beacon Pines is an animal-swapped homage to all things creepy and eerie, from the classic Twin Peaks, to Netflix’s aforementioned box office giant. You assume control of our main character Luka, who just so happens to adopt a magical storybook, and then everything well and truly hits the fan. By exploring the titular town of Beacon Pines, slowly will Luka and yourself uncover the mysteries behind this town.
Whilst the devs are keen to stress this is not an out and out horror, the mix between ‘cute and creepy’ is one that has coloured us intrigued, making for an incredibly unique tone. A tone, in fact, that you can have some influence on when making choices to shape where the story leads. However this isn’t just your run of the mill narrative adventure, as Hiding Spot have implemented a cool new mechanic in which you pick out specific words from a list of ‘charms’ found in the world, and place them into a sentence, drastically changing its meaning.
In fact, such is the magic of said charms, you can even jump between different paths of the story, allowing you to see how other decisions would have played out – a real must in the world of narrative gaming.
This mechanic can see Beacon Pines turn from utterly dark, to action-packed, to a lot more chilled out, emphasising the replayability on offer. Whilst this may look and feel initially like a tale to tell the kids as you put them to bed, adult themes and forest animals blurting out some less than friendly language, suggests otherwise.
Oh, and yeah, we gave it the big 5/5 in review – honestly, you’ll want to play Beacon Pines right now.
Beacon Pines promises to be a truly new experience as it releases today on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC. For all things Xbox, you can make a purchase on the Xbox Store for £16.74, and let the story whisk you away! It’s on Nintendo Switch and PC too.
Game Description:
Beacon Pines is a cute and creepy adventure set within a mysterious book. You play as both the reader of the book and its main character, Luka. Something strange is happening at the old warehouse, and Luka and his friends seem to be the only ones taking notice. Sneak out late, make new friends, uncover hidden truths, and collect words that will change the course of fate!
