Beacon Pines

With beautiful visuals and an intriguing mystery to explore, Beacon Pines lays out an incredible gaming experience for anyone who enjoys stories. By making small, butterfly effect decisions, players are given free rein to explore the hidden darkness of an otherwise picture book perfect small town and its varied cast of residents.

Overall, I had a really wonderful time with Beacon Pines. Exploring one story to its fullest from a number of different perspectives felt fresh and engaging. I was compelled by the world and its characters and was eager to reach the heartfelt ending. It is a polished, delightful experience, and I look forward to whatever Hiding Spot has in store next.

A great story lives not just on the words of the author, but on the ears of the audience. There are hundreds of wonderful and exciting tales woven every day, and, for the fortunate few who hear them, they can decide how this new information will change their lives. There are people who shape their world views and personal narration after experiences with select literature, films and music, and it becomes a brand new cornerstone in who they are and what they think. Yet not every creation is go...

Beacon Pines is a fantastic story-heavy game for anyone who is into creepy and cute stories and doesn't mind being narrated at for hours on end.

Explore concurrent realities in this extraordinarily beautiful mystery adventure

Beacon Pines is a game worth recommending to anyone who enjoys narrative games, especially ones that aren’t too long, as this one is about 5-6 hours. Do not expect to be challenged in any real way because this game isn’t about that, but instead explore a town filled with charming anthropomorphic animal characters while relishing in the dramatic irony inherent in altering time and trying out new paths. Because while you know what happened in previous timelines, the characters don’t. So, expect some interactions with bad guys where you know they’re the bad guy, but your characters don’t. It make...

Beacon Pines is a title that I will find myself recommending to people with as little context as possible – a gorgeous and charming example of unique storytelling that simply must be experienced blindly to fully appreciate its cute and quirky tale of curious conspiracy.

Along with the pleasant narration of voice actor Kirsten Mize, the Beacon Pines development team consisted of only three other people — Matt Meyer, Ilse Harting, and Brent Calhoun — who all wore multiple hats including creative director, writer, artist, audio editor, music, and sound effects. It’s an impressive feat that makes the game that much more worthy of appreciation. Unfortunately, despite its positives, Beacon Pines simply won’t be a hit for everyone. And while its story and gameplay mechanics are interesting and fun, they aren’t necessarily memorable. This is a game that will certainl...

When you imagine a quaint forest town with adorable animals, you know you are in for a fun story. Beacon Pines takes that expectation and treads the path less travelled. The story is still filled with cute charm, but you are quickly made aware that all is not what it seems. Despite the game’s short length, it manages to tell a branching story that encompasses several important themes.