Video Game Review: Beholder
When playing a game that takes place in a country ruled by a totalitarian regime, the player usually fills the role of a hero, a soldier who must overcome and overthrow corrupt oppressors. Beholder breaks the generic mold; instead of fighting the regime, your role is as an obedient cog in the corrupted State machine. Thrown into the shoes of Carl, it is your objective to survive and thrive this twisted world.
Carl is a loyal servant of the Ministry. As a reward for his loyalty, Carl has been appointed as the State-installed landlord of a rundown apartment building. Moving with his family into the basement apartment, it is up to Carl as building manager to complete the normal tasks and duties expected of a landlord. Apartments must be repaired and rented out, and tenants must pay their rent on time; in short, it is up to Carl to keep things running smoothly. However, unbeknownst to the tenants and even Carl's family, the Ministry has further tasked him with spying on his tenants in a manner befitting Orwellian fiction. While they are away from their apartments, Carl must break in, search belongings and install video cameras to smoke detectors. Carl must document his tenants with detailed profiles, and keep track of their actions and any evidence of possible contraband. All findings must be reported back to the Ministry with haste; if you fail your duties, the Ministry will drag you off to prison and sentence your family to death (or worse)!
Given your new post and orders from the Ministry, the game can progress in many different ways, depending on what kind of person you choose to be and how you interact with the world. Every choice you make and each action you take has consequences; if you don't have a plan, things can go bad extremely quickly. You can choose to help your tenants live better lives at great personal risk; you might feel you took the moral high ground, but you are likely anger the Ministry by failing mission objectives. Blindly following the State can also end poorly; tenants will become extremely distrustful of you as you have them beaten and taken away by police one by one (some will eventually try to kill you). Acting in you own interest can carry equally problematic consequences; if you steal or blackmail too much or too often, you will draw negative attention from both tenants and the authorities. It is important to keep in mind you are not the only one watching either; the Ministry has a close eye on you, and while they will allow you some wiggle room to do your job, it only takes a few mistakes before they come down on you. Hard.
Beholder gameplay is incredibly simple. The apartment is a two dimensional interface that allows you to see the entire building all at once. All the player must do is click to move around and interact with people and objects. The simple gameplay makes it appealing to individuals with a more casual gaming experience and those who prefer slower paced gameplay.
I've had a sort of love/hate relationship with this game since I started playing it. It is truthfully a fantastic game, but it can be infuriating to get the hang of as I found out. Success lies in your ability to toe the line between serving your tenants and serving the State; you need to be able to keep your tenants happy as you spy on them, while also meeting the demands of the Ministry. This is difficult to do because, as the game plods along, the Ministry announces more and more activities and items are illegal; in other words, at some point in the game, nearly every person in the apartment is essentially breaking the law to different degrees. You have to be able to choose what offenses require immediate action to keep the State happy, and what to allow to slide to keep your tenants satisfied. Much easier said than done.
The atmosphere of the game is bleak, grimy, grey, broken, rundown...it's a dark little narrative that perfectly sets the stage for a life under the rule of a totalitarian state. Some have said that the game has a creepy feel, but I would describe it more as an awkward feeling. As you spy on your tenants and report back to the Ministry, there is this bizarre feeling of awkwardness that just makes the game more immersive. The lines between morality and obligation are marred, and that fact only applies more uneasy pressure to the player. The characters themselves have very little physical detail when it comes to their appearance; they may be tall or fat, wear a suit, or have a cane, but they are all depicted as rather plain black and white figures. Interestingly (more like hauntingly), they all possess an uneasy level of personality despite their distinct lack of features.
Beholder is an interesting little gem of a game that puts the player in an immersive world that challenges their morality. It asks tough questions that require even tougher answers, and carries its own disturbing beauty. Unlike the fast paced action of most popular games, Beholder is a slow burning narrative that engages the player far more effectively as they make their way through the dark world. In a world where privacy is dead, what kind of person will you be?
Wow those trailers were dark and had such a constricting vibe. I have such hatred for that little girl with the ball right now. I'm going to hug my cat now.
I almost didn't notice that you did this post.
The games does carry an uneasy feel, almost as uncomfortable as This War of Mine. The actual characters in the game somehow garner both your sympathy and hatred all at once.
Haha, I do cling to a little bit of a life outside reptiles and amphibians!
Hello good post 😊
nice game.