I Played Before Your Eyes

After spending a good time reading on my phone I found myself bored and without much to do, that's when I remembered that I had downloaded Before Your Eyes, one of the games distributed by Netflix through their service. Until recently the games offered in the service didn't really grab my attention, in grand part because I'm not the biggest fan of the casual mobile games, however Before Your Eyes was so acclaimed by those who played it that I simply couldn't ignore it.  

So sitting down inside in an incredibly hot day while my family enjoyed the summer outside I started this adventure about Benjamin, a soul that had its destiny in the hands of a Ferryman telling his story in an interesting and fascinating way. Overall, the story was incredibly beautiful, capturing my heart with each segment, even making me shed some tears towards its ending. It's a great small experience that will only take a few hours. Now, what makes it so special?

First, the way we interact with the game is different from everything I've played, instead of using a controller we use our own eyes. We explore different memories of the life of Ben and the way we move through them is by blinking, that is such a fun new way to play and makes things a bit more immersive. One thing that really annoyed me was when I was watching a scene, and then it switched because the screen would identify a blink, now this may sound negative, but I liked how it added to the experience, memories are volatile and sometimes fragmented, so I think it fits. 

Another aspect of the gameplay that was a bit tricky, but I could still find some meaning and appreciation for was the piano segments, a little spoiler but our protagonist was heavily encouraged by his mother to pursue a music career even if it wasn't truly what he desired. These scenes led to us playing some songs and let me say that it was really hard to get it all correct, in comparison other activities that better capture the interest of the boy were extremely easy. Maybe it wasn't anything special and just a result of the construction of the game, but I like to think that it represents how activities that we are forced to do can be daunting, hard and stressing. 

Entering some big spoilers now, the course of the story was fantastic in a somewhat tragic way. I don't know what I was really expecting once I pressed start, but such a simple masterpiece wasn't in my cards. Even if not one hundred percent explicit, through the kid interactions with those who surrounded him, we can tell that Ben was special and a little different from the rest. The pressured he received from his mom was sad to follow, since we can perceive his enjoyment for the instrument decreasing with each training, going from a fun time with his mom to an almost jail like moment. That's why I ended up loving the shared scenes with the neighborhood girl even more, compared to everything else she looked like freedom, like a light in the end of a lonely dark corridor. This was most noticeable in the end of the fake scenario where after going through a tough time over his mother death, he finds her again in what looks like a happy ending. 

If the story had ended like that, it would still be an amazing tale about how hard it is when your parents try to live their failed dreams through you, and how important and rewarding it is to find your own voice in the world. I was quite happy with the resolution myself, until we are confronted by the Ferryman that it was all a big lie. Over the course of the story it's shown that we, the main character, get sick and have to stay home for a while, I didn't give it much thought in the beginning, but the twits hit me like a brick. The way they showcased the condition of Ben deteriorating was tragically fantastic, gameplay wise is extremely simple but very effective. Since most of it is controlled through blinking, it truly feels like we just get worse and worse in a blink of an eye. Like this sickness consumes us and without us noticing our strength and appetite goes weaker, the pills higher and everyone around us just walks in eggshells.  

I can't imagine what it must be like to go through something like this, I'll definitely be looking out for articles written from people closer to Ben that can give more insight to this unfair experience. However, a sentiment he shared that I could relate a little was when he ended his story describing himself as a loser that didn't even try, someone that just fell down to his sickness and gave up. That is something I feel a lot about my mental health, and seeing the ending where his mom just tells him that he didn't need that amazing outcome he created to be an amazing and inspired individual brought tears to my eyes. I'm almost crying writing this piece because it's genuinely such an unfair scenario that such a sweet and caring boy had to end his journey so soon. I hope that everyone in Ben shoes has all the support they need and remember that they're incredibly strong, even if they don't think so.

Before Your Eyes is a beautiful, tragic and special game that I highly recommend everyone trying.