The very first images from Beautiful Desolation will make you either warm and fuzzy with nostalgia or will leave you scratching your head wondering why a game looks so archaic in 2021. Nicolas and Christopher Bischoff, the two brothers who founded the studio aptly named The Brotherhood, cannot deny their passion for the original Fallout games or Planescape: Torment. But why should we care for a game built as an homage to the old classics?
If you are an old rider like myself, based on the info snippets above you will already start to have a feeling that this is a game for you. If we add the fact that the soundtrack has been produced by Mick Gordon, who became well-known thanks to his work on Doom, the clues will point to a hidden gem. If you still have doubts, because Beautiful Desolation did not show up on your personal radar, your doubts will be vanquished by the testimonials of numerous PC gamers, who will confirm this is an adventure you do not want to miss.
Beautiful Desolation visually takes us back to the pinnacle of the isometric RPGs, that so many of us have grown up playing. But the DNA of this game is a lot more complex since it inherits traits from the previous games developed by the tiny studio. You will be able to recognize some elements hauled over the sci-fi horror, Stasis, but also a bit from Cayne. The result is a game with its own personality, that although reminds us of arguably the best RPGs in history, remains a pure-blood point-and-click.
This is the reason why I was so happy to see the game released on consoles as well. The unique atmosphere of the game is now available to those who prefer the comfort of a large-screen display savored from a couch using a controller. The hand-drawn backgrounds, combined with the nostalgic isometric perspective, the dark humor embedded in a post-apocalyptic world filled with bizarre creatures, seasoned with the unmistakable accent of South African people results in a truly unique adventure game.
The immense boost in robotics, cybernetics, medicine, gene therapy, space exploration, and of course the military technology, make people forgetful about how and why they have received such a gift. But our hero, Michael, driven by personal loss, makes it his life’s mission to uncover the secrets of the Penrose.
The surreal dark story that will stick with you even after you finish Beautiful Desolation, starts in the 70s in South Africa. We meet our main hero, just as his life is turned upside down by the grandiose entrance of an alien spaceship. Named the Penrose, the object of unknown origins will yank human technology to a level that could not have been imagined before.
Convinced that things are not as convenient as they seem he enlists the help of his brother, a helicopter pilot earning his living by using the Penrose as a tourist attraction for the wealthy. The short expedition to gather evidence turns into a nightmare. The brothers after an inexplicable moment find themselves in the distant future, separated and confused. Guided by the player Michael will have to find a way back to a normality that may not exist anymore.
Although at first the size of the game world may seem gigantic, you will learn quickly that the over 100 locations are quite small, and many times quite empty. The hand-drawn environments are beautiful and extremely detailed, but many of them seem to have been included just as proof of artistic mastery. There are locations that you can fully explore, but in reality, you will visit just to pick up one specific item. This is proof that the gameplay has more of a support role for the beautiful scenes pictured all over the game.
For the most part, the gameplay mechanics are typical for any adventure game and involve gathering all the useless junk around you. You cannot be sure where or how, but you know that they will come in handy one way or another. This feature pushes you to explore every nook and cranny of the game, especially that not all interactive points are easily seen. In the end, this approach to the game design leads to a bit of disappointment, when you realize exactly how empty your surroundings are. They are indeed beautiful, but the number of interactions is extremely limited. The second major component of the gameplay is much harder to explain or overlook. The combat system that will be forced upon you in some key moments is the biggest shortcoming of the entire experience. Although you cannot die, no matter what the circumstances or how unintelligently you play, these occasions remain the main source of frustration throughout the game. The reason is that the outcome of the battles is more dependent on luck, rather than the useless skill system. At least you can save anytime, using one of the three slots available, so you can try again if the results are not to your liking.
You will meet a lot of colorful characters, but you will get to know better only your companions. The same as with the empty environments, many of the NPCs seem to have been included as building blocks for the atmosphere of the game. Despite the brief encounters, somehow the developers managed to incorporate a lot of heavy topics about morality, philosophy, religion, transhumanism, immortality. I have really liked the approach of bringing up the topics and questions but letting the players find their own answers. Being a dystopic world, the borders between good and wrong are completely blurred, the big picture presenting not just a flawed society, but an utterly depressing one, stripped of any hope.
Visually you will either love the game or you will hate it. It is a game clearly targeting those who not only lived through the golden days of the isometric perspective but are nostalgic about it. As already mentioned several times, the visual style is beautiful, but the graphics are old-school, pixelated, with dialogues presented in a 4:3 aspect ratio. All these deliberate choices contribute to building a peculiar atmosphere, supported by the soundtrack as well. The work of Mick Gordon this time around is much less aggressive than what we come to expect of him, the artist playing around mainly with almost tribal music mixed in with natural sound effects. The only thing that pulls down the acoustic experience is the voice acting. Despite the cool Afrikaans accent, it varies from spectacular to empty and fake.
Conclusion Beautiful Desolation is a mature game for mature audiences. If you like dystopian stories, classic point-and-click adventures, and you miss the magic of hand-drawn environments it will be right up your alley. On the other hand, younger audiences will have a harder time with the game, since it does not offer instant gratification, and the action scenes are utterly useless.
Beautiful Desolation raises a lot of questions but leaves the answers open for most of the time. It is an experience that makes you wonder about humanity and what the future will bring. It is fun only for those who are looking for deep-reaching experiences, that will stick with you long after you finished the game.
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