Beacon Pines

Beacon Pines is an original adventure game, enriched with elements taken from the metroidvania genre (albeit implemented in a rather unconventional way). The game was developed by an independent American studio Hiding Spot, and its development was possible thanks to, among others, a successful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter.

Plot

Beacon Pines takes us on a journey to the mountain town, which is inhabited by anthropomorphic animals. Their peaceful life started to get complicated after the old fertilizer factory was closed down. As if that wasn't enough, strange things started to happen in the town. While earthquakes may not be anything special, mysterious disappearances, monsters lurking in the shadows, and puddles glowing in the darkness can be worrying. The appearance of mysterious people dressed in spacesuits in the area adds to the residents' fear.

The main character of the game is Luka, whose childhood is slowly coming to an end. During his last real holiday, the protagonist not only makes new friends and cultivates relationships with existing ones, but also tries to unravel the secrets of the town. Luce is helped by Rolo, who gets him out of trouble as often as he gets into it himself, and a friend named Beck, whose family moved to Beacon Pines from the big city.

Game mechanics

In Beacon Pines the gameplay takes place inside a magical book, and during the game we play as both its main character - Luca - and as its reader. The adventure takes us through the various nooks and crannies of Beacon Pines. Observing the action from a top-down view, we explore locations, talk to encountered characters, solve puzzles and complete tasks, as well as acquire various items.

Among the latter are the amulets of words, which serve us to fill empty spaces in the content of the book. In this way, we decide what Luka will say to a particular character, what the weather in the town will be like, or even who (or what) the protagonist will encounter on his journey. Amulets also allow us to influence the past; by going back to specific events and changing their course, we determine the future, and thus shape the course of the story told in the game ourselves. As in metroidvanias, backtracking is often necessary to move the story forward.

During breaks from the main thread we can take part in various missions and side activities, such as fishing or cooking.

Technical aspects

Beacon Pines has colourful, hand-drawn graphics by Ilse Harting. It is accompanied by a soundtrack composed by Matt Meyer, and the story is told by a narrator.