Beacon Pines is a cute adventure game developed by Hiding Spot and published by Fellow Traveller, sitting under the ‘Visual Novel’ genre. We start the game by opening a book and that is where our story and the true journey begin, and we are introduced to Luka, a young lad who has lost his father and his mother has gone “Missing.”

There are a few mysteries happening around Beacon Pines, and Luka, together with his friend Rolo, seem to be the only people to notice what is going on, so they decide to investigate themselves. Beacon Pines has a really interesting story, and even if you stop playing for a while and you start playing again, you’ll still be invested in what is happening.

The controls are basic, easy to learn, and easy to master. The right joystick enables you to move around, and A is used to interact with things in the world or jump. Jumping is fun! Y can show you the tasks you are given, and B is how you can show items that you could use during a turning point interaction. The button configuration flows easily and really doesn’t require much effort.

During the adventures, there are times when what you say can affect and or change the outcome of the story. These are called “Turning Points,” and they can come into the story at random times throughout. We first get to experience the turning point when we talk to Gran at the start of the game, teaching you the concept of outcome-changing scenarios. There are also many different areas to investigate and multiple characters to talk to that assist with pushing the story along.

Beacon Pines has a very cute art style, looking like illustrations taken straight from a novel. It isn’t anything too over the top and it makes everything feel creative. A lot of games seem to attempt to put in an art style that is over the top, but Beacon Pines has its own art style and it works in the context of the endearing Luka’s and Rolo’s fantasy adventures. Beacon Pine’s whimsical art style even centers its gameplay around it, as it all takes place in the center of a page with script scrolled out by its sides. This gives us the feeling of a grand tale like we’re creating the story ourselves.

Are you wondering about the sound? Well, I can confirm that the music in Beacon Pines is brilliantly chosen. It’s relaxing and something that fits in very well with the energy of the game. Most of the sounds seem to fit in the environment.

Overall, Beacon Pines is a really lovely and cute game that mixes the genres of Visual Novel and RPG together nicely in this preview. If you’re looking for a quick game, you’ll be able to come back after a few days, easily remembering and understanding where you left off.

Written by: Mitchell Batchelor