Beyond Blue: After The Storm Review (Meta) – Shallow Waters

Before we begin with this After The Story review, I feel compelled to share this disclaimer: The original Beyond Blue is among my absolute favourite games from the previous console generation. Combining gorgeous aquatic environments, a plethora of nature facts that wash over you while you play and an engaging narrative, it earned a place in my heart despite its few flaws. With a ‘Very Positive’ user rating on Steam, I certainly wasn’t the only one that enjoyed it.

As you can imagine, I was ecstatic when I discovered that a follow-up was in development from E-Line Media and Chaos Theory Games. I was even more excited when I found out it was to be a VR game, releasing on the Meta Quest. The thought of being totally immersed in a similar title, learning about aquatic animals while taking in the oceanic beauty was an intoxicating prospect.

These opening disclaimers are important because, despite my feelings about the original and my excitement for its follow up, Beyond Blue: After The Storm couldn’t meet my expectations and is a bit of a disappointment. While this game addresses some of the criticisms that were levelled at the original, it loses something in the process. Lets slip into a wetsuit and dive into it.

The Second Wave

Beyond Blue: After The Storm sees the return of the sassy and strong-willed marine biologist Mirai and her support crew as they once again head beneath the waves. The game opens with a pretty straightforward MacGuffin presented via static images and some dialogue; An automated research base on the ocean floor has gone offline, and seeing as though you’re in the area, you agree to go and check it out.

The narrative for the game barely bubbles up to anything more interesting than that. What transpires over the 2 to 3 hour length of Beyond Blue: After The Storm can be simplified as a list of chores that you need to complete in order to find out what’s going on in the depths, and eventually stop it.

Because of its length and shallow nature, it’s also very difficult to share any more details in a review without completely undermining the games narrative. What I will say is that, like its predecessor, After The Storm has a message and is a warning of what could come to pass in the future. That message is central to its impact on you, as the player, but that impact will be limited by your own interest in the subject manager. If you care about the future of our oceans already, this game will certainly hammer home the importance of protecting our seas from emerging threats. After The Storm won’t be the game to convince you to care about the ocean if you don’t already, however. It’s simply not that powerful.

A Whale of A Time?

Whether you care about the future of our oceans or not, there are elements of Beyond Blue: After The Storm that almost everyone will enjoy. The first of these is the way that it controls. Following the industry standard for first-person VR games, via the Quest 3 headset you can see your hands. On those hands are your method of propulsion through the water – powerful propellers. Point in a direction with one of your arms and with a push of the button, you’ll be gently pushed in that direction. Use both hands and you’ll jet along much quicker under the power of both propellers. Waving your arms around in order to accurately navigate the depths makes you feel like Aquaman and is a definite highlight of the game.

Unlike her first adventure, Mirai will be doing a lot more than simply exploring and scanning sharks or fish too. On her utility belt (accessed by reaching your hand down to your waist), are tools that can help her to overcome obstacles. Need to get into a sealed metal structure? There’s a cutting tool available that’ll slice right through. Got a few leaky pipes? Utilise a polymer sealant to sure them up.

My personal favourite of the tools is a foam spray which miraculously cures oceanic occupants of their ills. You’ll find a number of sick sea creatures during Beyond Blue: After The Storm, highlighted by a purple haze that surrounds them. Spray a layer of this healing foam on the unfortunate shark/fish/coral/turtle and they’ll quickly recover. While there’s no mandate to do so in the game, you certainly do get a hit of dopamine when you find a shark that’s obviously in distress and manage to nurse them back to health, simply by spraying them with some foam.

Beyond Blue v2.0.9878

Mirai isn’t scouring the depths of the ocean alone this time either. Joining her on her adventure is a robotic drone called Kanaloa that’ll tackle the jobs she’s incapable of doing. This drone is the deep-sea equivalent of the Incredible Hulk. Super strong and physics-defying, you can switch to take control of this drone at any time to grab hold of heavy objects and simply lift them out of the way.

The interplay between Mirai and Kanaloa quickly become the core to the experience with Beyond Blue: After The Storm. Picking up heavy broken objects with the drone, moving them to the correct spot, and then switching to Mirai to stick them in place is something you’ll become very familiar with. Towards the end of the game, the drone gets a new ability (that I won’t spoil here) that makes it all the more useful. Here, switching quickly between Mirai in order to complete an objective adds a little more tension to the play.

It’s unfortunate that most of the interactions between Mirai and her drone feel like little more than busywork. Picking up things, cutting rubble, sticking things together; compared to the first game that had the exploration of the deep sea and examining its inhabitants at its core, this game focuses on simply doing things that you can do in many other VR games. In fact, outside of a few scripted events and animals that patrol around on set trajectories, the exploration of the deep see creatures feel like it has taken a back seat here. You won’t be watching for unique behaviours of Whales here, like you did in the original Beyond Blue. They’ll simply circle around on their predefined path. These sharks and Whales are a wonder to behold the first time you see them, but that sheen quickly washes away.

Getting The Blues

The lack of dynamic interactions or variety with the wildlife isn’t the only disappointing element of Beyond Blue: After The Storm. There have obviously been concessions made with the visuals in order to portray this game in VR. This game isn’t ugly, in fact, it’s quite pretty in places, but there’s elements that brought the original Beyond Blue to life that are missing here. The sea feels far less natural in After The Storm, looking flatter and less polished. There’s also some significant pop up with objects when moving quickly that somewhat spoils the immersion.

The most disappointing element of Beyond Blue: After The Storm for me however is the ending. I won’t spoil it here, but it’s abrupt and underwhelming. The pacing of the game builds in the last hour, and it feels like the game is intensifying towards a crescendo. What actually occurs lands like a fart in a wetsuit. With more time to explore the characters and build a connection with them, it might have been improved, elevating the whole experience.

Developers: E-Line Media, Chaos Theory Games

Publisher: E-Line Media

Disclaimer: In order to complete this review, we were provided with a promotional copy of the game. For our full review policy, please go here.

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