Beyond Blue's storyline (because there is one) is set in the Western Pacific and features a small team of oceanographers. Irina is concerned about the proliferation of toxic algae, André is passionate about turtles, while Mirai, whom we play, seeks to reconnect with a family of sperm whales already encountered in the past. The encounter happens very early in the game, and allows you to discover that a baby female sperm whale, which Mirai will mischievously baptize Andréa, has recently seen the light of day. A little later, the scientists will suspect the presence of mining extractors in the zone, however protected. The various points of the scenario are approached essentially through lines of dialogue between Mirai, who will remain permanently under water, and her acolytes who have remained on the surface. If the American voices are very successful, we still regret the absence of a French dubbing. Subtitles tend not to remain displayed long enough, which means that you can miss some of them when you are busy observing this or that sea creature.
This point does not concern passages in Mirai's personal submarine (the game alternates between diving sequences and returns to the submarine), since we can then concentrate on the dialogues. These are also vaguely interactive. Indeed, it is sometimes possible to choose between several answers during phone calls with the surface. Well, to tell the truth, we tested the different branches by playing several games, and these are actually true-false choices, which lead to the same result. In addition, the topics covered are not very exciting. Instead of focusing on environmental issues, the game dwells on small arguments between André and Irina, and even introduces an additional character: Ren, Mirai's little sister. Then follows some discussions about the university exams of the latter, and the state of health of their grandmother, who sinks slowly into senility. These moods happen a bit like hair in soup, and bring almost nothing to the adventure. We understand that they are there to humanize the characters and make them more endearing, but the sleight of hand doesn't really work.
"UNDER THE OCEAN, UNDER THE OCEAN"
The real raison d'être of the game obviously lies in the diving sequences, which allow you to admire many sea creatures. From this point of view, everything is fine. We move with ease and ease in the three dimensions of the ocean, the quasi-realistic graphics effectively reproduce the different animals, while the lighting effects manage to sublimate the rather simplistic decorations (a few rocks here, a few clumps of vegetation there, and the big blue as far as the eye can see). This stripping is not unpleasant, because it contributes to the relaxing atmosphere of the diving sequences, and accentuates the sometimes majestic character of the ballets started by dolphins, sharks, whales or sperm whales. Forty-three species are represented in the game, from the smallest to the largest, and we therefore have the opportunity to observe seven-armed octopuses, giant clams, leatherback turtles, starfish up close. Or orcas. As far as actual gameplay goes, each of the missions pretty much follows the same pattern. We move towards a hydrophonic beacon, we activate it, we move a targeting circle to detect and mark sound sources, then we move towards these waypoints to scan the animals spotted. A drone makes it possible in particular to carry out "zoomed scans". Concretely, it is a question of turning the virtual camera around the animal to unearth particular points to be scanned. On the way leading us to these particular objectives, we can also scan in a faster and more elementary way all the creatures that we come across, in order to enrich the database that can be consulted in the submarine.
ET TU SCANNES, SCANNES, SCANNES ...
As you will have understood, there is not much else to do but scan, scan and scan again. The adventure asks us on two or three occasions to collect plant samples in specific areas, but this remains anecdotal. Repetitiveness is therefore essential, especially since the game does not just make us scan a representative of each species. To complete the encyclopedia, it is actually necessary to scan several dozen individuals! As a result, we walk around with the scanner permanently activated, which has the effect of displaying a hexagonal grid at the edge of the screen and therefore reducing the beauty of the view. Once a dive has been completed, you can fortunately return to the region in free mode to explore it quietly. It is also possible to admire the creatures in peace with each passage in the tiny Mirai submarine. A tool allows us to display the 3D model of each animal, to zoom in on it and rotate around it at will, and even to display different animations… as long as we have scanned enough representatives of the species concerned.
This last point also makes it possible to obtain more scientific information on the animal. At the same time, it is also possible to enjoy sixteen small, very well-made documentary videos. The images (real therefore) are very beautiful, the comments quite interesting and, above all, the length of the videos is adapted to the video game framework. Each of them lasts only two to three minutes, which encourages them to peck, while a long documentary would surely have discouraged a good part of the players, eager to quickly return to the gameplay. In addition, we can specify that the adventure is completed in only two to three hours (alas), and that it would surely have been inappropriate to offer more video content than interactive content... Let's end on a positive note: the tablet present in the submarine gives access to around twenty pieces of music, some of which are really very good (Love that never by Tokimonsta, Driftwood by Vanderocker, Tangaroa Whakamautai by Maisey Rika, Suzie Noma by Muthoni Drummer Queen… ).
