Beholder: Complete Edition

Pure NintendoJemma Casson

7.5/10

Beholder: Complete Edition is a dark simulation game about spying on your neighbors. It’s got a satirically political edge that borders on being gloomy, yet i

As a game, Beholder is really well made. It has an interesting aesthetic, clever, challenging mechanics, and plenty of paths through the game. Its real struggle is in getting you to genuinely care about what’s going on, and it’s hard to get there; the gameplay too often makes it too clear that you need to make decisions that have little to do with your moral core.

Nintendo World ReportMitchell Parton

7/10

All in all, Beholder will certainly capture your attention for quite a while with its dark premise and complex relationships. Keep in mind, though, some of the controls don’t work as intuitively as you’d expect, and some of the actions you have to do can be a bore. If you can see past that, this is a fantastically-designed management-sim with layers of art and complexity.

COGConnectedPatrick Anderson

65/100

It’s certainly not a game for everyone. In fact it might have been an irredeemably depressing experience, except that it does have some interesting elements. There’s a fair bit of spycraft to the game, as you set up surveillance on your targets using devices like hidden cameras. Probably the most enjoyable element is the collecting of clues and evidence using these cameras and your own searching, and then putting together a file that connects the evidence together into a case. During these parts, Beholder reminded me of great titles like Papers, Please.

TheSixthAxisStefan L

6/10

Beholder is an intriguing concept and thematically rather strong, as it twists and exaggerates a Cold War totalitarian surveillance state into the form of a video game. However, with a sequel on the way, we hope that Warm Lamp can improve on an idea that’s rather rough around the edges but is dying to be fleshed out further.

Jump Dash RollElizabeth Lovatt

6/10

Small character moments and mechanics make for an enjoyable take on surveillance and spying, but its grander political message is lost in the shadows.

MonsterVineSpencer Legacy

My issue with Blissful Sleep comes from its abundance of instances where nothing happens. If you mess up a few questlines, you have almost nothing to do for long stretches of time. Though you can fast forward time, it would sometimes feel like you’re just waiting for Hector to get shipped off, as there was nothing to do in the meantime. I wish there were more missions or activities to partake in throughout Blissful Sleep, but overall, it’s still a great extra story that works perfectly alongside the base game.