Like any great mystery novel, my favorite moment in Beacon Pines was know what is going to happen
Early on, protagonist Luka Vanhorn tries to stop his best friend’s sister from dragging him home for household chores. That strategy failed spectacularly, but it was my only option at the time. In later scenes, I collect the new Mad-Libs-like word choice “shit” and quickly realize that being “a little bit of shit” works much better for Roxy.
This is the first big decision to split the choose-your-own-style adventure Beacon Pines in the middle. It’s a little more interactive than a full-blown visual novel (mostly walking, talking, and examining objects), but it has the intensity of a cozy horror level. The stakes of the plot probably go a little over the comfort line by the time it’s said and done, but come on.
Beacon Pines looks cute off the cuffs full of animal characters and their paintbrush storybook aesthetics, but like the town itself, it has a dark layer underneath. But it’s undeniably a story about early teenage swearing, grief, bullying, and the sticky insecurities of friendship. An accomplice, Beck, is always angry at being the new kid because of his mom’s job.
Beacon Pines is a farming and former mill town in the middle of vague North America. And, as happens in an old factory town, a shiny new enterprise, Perennial Harvest, swooped in to rebuild, rehire, and slap its name at local festivals. . And the old Valentine Manure Warehouse glows with an eerie green light at night. This is not the only hidden secret.
Story is the main draw here, as there is no combat and few true detectives. As you progress through the conversation, you’ll unlock new “charms,” or words, to use at key turning points that split the story into real branches along the Chronicle Book’s visual story tree. However, it is not particularly complicated. Often there is only one option to choose from, leading to a path to a story that picks up another attraction in the main conversation, allowing another fork to open a new path. It’s not a traditional adventure game of pixel hunting and solving riddles, it’s a guided tour of a non-linear spooky story.
As a result of its tight control, Beacon Pines has structured its story in such a way that it is almost guaranteed to unfold in a satisfying order. I couldn’t ruin the twists by shoving it all the way to the end before coming back to find a new path. Layered reveals. It does a swell job of teasing twists, one I proudly guessed and one I never guessed.
Throughout, the non-omniscient narrator, voiced by Kirsten Mize, absolutely sells the storybook experience. Calming points and getting excited or frustrated by the many false endings.
Beacon Pines likes to put their dialogue in all caps and has a style of witty teenage banter that hits or misses based on personal taste. Behind that cunning and self-aware veneer lies a more relatable story than I expected, of 12-year-olds navigating friendship and loss.
I spent about six hours back and forth with Beacon Pines and may have left a secret or two on the table, but I made it past the major endings and finally got to one true twist. Your best bet is to try the demo Beacon Pines Steam Pagewhich takes you through the first half hour or so of the story to make sure the blend of teen heartbreak drama is right for you.Beacon Pines officially launches tomorrow, September 22nd.
