If 1984 and V for Vendetta had a love child, BEHOLDER would be its name.
This situational strategy creation by Alawar and publisher Curve Digital packs a powerful punch to such a small game. BEHOLDER won’t take up much memory on your PS4, but it will take a gargantuan amount of your time and patience. This game will suck you down an unscrupulous rabbit hole of espionage, deceit, and exploitation.
There is something to be said for the simplicity of the storyline. You play as Carl, a family man and newly-appointed landlord of a depressing tenement in a totalitarian dystopia. Carl is employed by the State’s ‘Ministry’ — the ones who make all the rules and enforce all of the oppression. Carl’s instructions from the Ministry are to maintain the autonomy of the State at all costs. This game will take you down a variety of avenues based on your choices in fulfilling these instructions. Whether or not you want to fight for the State, the resistance, or your family, Machiavellian tactics will be advantageous to you on any road you choose to go. Extortion of your tenants is not only permitted, but encouraged, so is spying, planting of evidence, and subterfuge.
Avoid the expectation of befriending or aligning with any of your tenants. All NPCs have very little depth; they offer minimal scripting that serves only as means to your survival (or demise). Prospective tenants range from little old ladies to slimy hustlers, each will give you different avenues to explore. There’s not much of a sense of morality in this game. Because the characters don’t have enough substance for you to grow attached to, screwing them over is a pretty guiltless endeavor.
Now, as I’ve said before, Carl is a family man, but taking care of said family is a difficult and expensive task. Your wife is the most likable, but definitely the most demanding; she constantly wants you to get presents for the children, hunt down arbitrary items, and fork over mass quantities of money for bills. Many of her demands might seem silly, but pick your battles very carefully, as she is unforgiving of your neglect. Carl’s daughter is the hardest to keep alive, as she falls ill early on before you can acquire the exorbitant funds for her cure. If you find yourself wishing that the son would just die already—you’re not alone; he’s a whiny, anti-government teenager who will bleed you dry with his excessive and unnecessary financial desires. If everyone in your family dies, it’s game over, so while it might be tempting to thin your brood, make it a priority to fulfill a good portion of their demands.
For what this game is, a 3GB strategy simulation, the graphics are fantastic. The shadowy characters and the permanently dark sky never let the player forget the bleakness of this oppressed little world.
BEHOLDER is ripe with unexpected twists of fate that are logical and illogical at the same time. Forgiveness is nonexistent in this dystopian society—any and every wrong decision will result in your incarceration or death and then it’s game over. Restarting at the bottom is tedious and infuriating, but the addiction to the pursuit of victory will keep you coming back again and again and again. The learning curve in BEHOLDER is a mighty beast to overcome, but every failure adjusts your logic and brings you closer to completion. Keep the faith, take some blood pressure medication, and refuse to put the controller down after losing. There are multiple ways to win, but just as many (if not more) ways to die.
SCORE: 7/10
Check Out the Beholder Complete Edition Launch Trailer:
Beholder is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Steam for PC, Mac, and Linux, the Windows Store, Google Play, The App Store and Facebook Gameroom.
PlayStation 4 Review
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Overall Score - 7/107/10
Kendra grew up in the era where playing Donkey Kong in the dentist's office was a thing. Her creative mind enjoys the imaginative genius that goes into the intricate worlds and enticing narratives that have become the new wave of gaming. Forever a devotee of Crash Bandicoot and Spyro, Kendra has stepped into the next generation of gaming with favorites like God of War, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Spider-Man. She is always looking for the next gaming challenge and utilizes her fancy English degree to articulate her detailed reviews for hungry gamers like you.
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