Minds Beneath Us is a game that distracts you in awe-inspiring ways. Lovingly crafted animations and therapeutic soundtracks may ask you to reflect on choices you may have made in real life, but all of it attempts to keep your attention elsewhere.
A sprawling cyberpunk city may fool you into believing that you’re living in better times when the reality lies heavily in Minds Beneath Us’ subtext. You’re being watched, and that uncomfortable feeling never truly goes away.
Even with certain gameplay hiccups and a hint of untapped potential, BearBone Studio has managed to achieve a remarkable feat in art and narrative direction that few story-driven games can only comprehend.
Minds Beneath Us arrives on PC on 31 July 2024.
The World Is Your Enemy, Even if It’s Beautiful
The moment I dove into Minds Beneath Us’ storytelling, something became clear rather quickly – this was going to be a journey that would keep me on the edge throughout. That said, I also had to option to take it slower and take in the vibrant world around me.
I truly believe that there’s no real protagonist here; even though the game encouraged me to hold faith in certain characters and wish the worst for others. The story also broke the fourth wall multiple times, giving way to open-ended interpretation.
There’s AI. There are characters aware of AI’s malevolence. Then, there’s me, the player, who has a choice to make. Do I pretend to be the characters that are driving this narrative, or am I someone sitting behind a screen, monitoring everything that’s going on?
Minds Beneath Us brilliantly turns this into a gameplay loop. Through multiple dialogues and action sequences, I was given the choice to decide what a character would say next and how others responded to them.
Believable and Human Personalities Gently Cradle the Game’s Pacing
In many instances, the game prompted dialogue options for me and instinctively, I would have selected one. But sometimes, remaining silent would feel like the right choice.
To my surprise, characters in turn would react accordingly, often remembering things I said earlier. This sometimes included personality and behavioural traits about them I acknowledged frequently.
More often than not, individuals had opinions about everything that was going on around them, and my character would keep these in mind. Regardless of where I was in the story, these thoughts and beliefs mattered.
That to me, felt like an astonishing part of the gameplay. It could have been a pointer at “quality storytelling”, but it was so much more than that. When you add interactivity to storytelling, the audience’s presence can feel twice as important.
There were many points in the game where I felt like I wasn’t making the right choice, and Minds Beneath Us pointed it out. However, it never did so in a way that felt punishing.
Instead, my “right choices” often rewarded me with believable characters and story sequences that felt human, rather than a game developed around a story that exists for the sake of it.
Minimum Input, Maximum Experience
Most of my gameplay took place through simple inputs – movement keys and mouse clicks. But, none of it ever felt empty. Minds Beneath Us is a treat for those who enjoy point-and-click adventures and walking simulators that pose deeply reflective and philosophical questions.
Minimal input didn’t result in a lack of gameplay. Instead, the characters’ movement animations and action sequences felt weighted. This is a distinguishing point, especially in the case of side-scrolling games.
If you are someone who finds it a chore to read through several lines of dialogue, Minds Beneath Us may drain you a little at certain points. However, I promise you that in the end, all of those lines of text actualize into gameplay that lives in your psyche long after you’re done playing.
Thanks to the game’s clever camera angles and interactive options, there’s enough puzzle-solving and exploration to ensure that the pacing never feels mundane. I would happily find myself stuck in a lot of scenarios that were head-scratchers and asked me to take a better look at my vicinity.
Even with balanced gameplay and story elements, Minds Beneath Us may come off as a game that shows potential for further chapters and perhaps a spin-off tale that dives deeper into cyberpunk and sci-fi themes.
That being said, there’s a sinister story at play that’s absolutely worth your time, especially if you’re into a single-player campaign that isn’t afraid of exploring dystopian themes with realistic characters and twisted narratives.
Minds Beneath Us – 8/10
