Before Your Eyes Reviews

Before Your Eyes is ranked in the 89th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Metro GameCentral
GameCentral
Top Critic
6 / 10
Apr 15, 2021

What sounds like a silly gimmick works extremely well at immersing you into the life of another, although the technical problems can be severe.

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8.5 / 10.0
Apr 20, 2021

Before Your Eyes is much more than a neat gimmick. It offers a wonderful method of interacting with a touching and impactful story that'll stick with you long after the credits roll

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8.5 / 10.0
Mar 10, 2023

It’s one of the few PlayStation VR2 games that takes advantage of the hardware’s eye tracking and it works great. I personally encountered issues playing with a webcam in the past, but I never encountered a single issue on PlayStation VR2. It also doesn’t require initial calibration. It just works immediately, and continues to work, letting you focus wholly on Benjamin Brynn’s story. Beyond the blinking, though, being able to look around the environments makes everything feel more impactful and real. The structure of the game, where you as the player character are sitting in one place as you move through life, is perfectly suited to VR. It’s also not a long experience, so the nausea potential is very low. You should play Before Your Eyes if you can on whatever platform you can, but if PlayStation VR2 is an option, then that is absolutely the route you should take. Plus, no one will be able to see you cry if you’re wearing a headset.

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Polygon
Top Critic
Unscored
Apr 6, 2021

Brynn's tale is told mostly in flashback, for obvious reasons, and as I watched it play out, I could make some limited decisions by putting the cursor on one of the eyeball icons on the screen and blinking to make my selection. Once the interactive portion of a moment is over, a metronome begins to tick back and forth at the bottom of the screen, even if characters are still talking. You can stay in that moment as long as you'd like ... as long you can keep yourself from blinking. Blink, and you're removed from the memory and sent someplace else.

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GameSpot
Top Critic
8 / 10
Apr 21, 2021

Before Your Eyes is a smart and moving first-person looker where your eyes are in control.

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9 / 10
May 5, 2021

I was moved beyond words by this little game. Before Your Eyes manages to be interesting and quirky, whilst also finding new ways to immerse you in a beautiful story. It is deeply sad at times, and at others fills you with an immense joy and appreciation for people and their complex lives. There is so much about this game that is better experienced for the first time with no forewarning, but if you like heartfelt stories and powerful narratives, this one's for you.

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8 / 10
Mar 10, 2023

Playing Before Your Eyes in VR brings your even closer to embodying the life and times of Benjamin Brynn. There's some quibbles from the jump to VR, but Benny's tale remains a beautiful told story that's well worth experiencing.

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9 / 10.0
Apr 6, 2021

Before Your Eyes is an emotional tale with an interesting mechanic at its core that helps to make the game so immersive. The music and voice acting is superb, and it is something you should certainly experience.

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75 / 100
Apr 6, 2021

Mechanically, it falls short of its true potential, but you can't help but get swept up in the journeys of these characters. The game's got heart, and none of its flaws can really take that away.

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75 / 100
Mar 13, 2023

Before Your Eyes is a unique and emotional narrative about a soul on its way to the afterlife and a deep dive into what is important in life. Sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking, Before Your Eyes manages to make you care for Benjamin in the short time that you have with him. Controlled using only your eyes, Before Your Eyes is a testament to what the PSVR2 can do, helping craft a story which has no need for controllers to experience. Simply sit back, watch, and blink when you're ready to progress.

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70 / 100
Apr 6, 2021

I still commend the studio for its bravery and innovation. Before Your Eyes is unique enough to try out if you are interested. It’s just that although the game is backed by many wonderful talents, it lacked that little “umph” to turn it into something truly memorable.

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8 / 10
Mar 10, 2023

Before Your Eyes left a lump in our throat, which we weren't expecting at all. The game starts fantastical, but eventually matures into a relatably human tale, which we imagine will touch the majority of people who play it. Strong writing, fantastic voice acting, and an outstanding 3D audio mix all contribute to an impressively poignant campaign, which helps showcase how impactful interactive media can be.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 10, 2023

Before Your Eyes delivers a touching story that leans into the PSVR2 hardware to do so. You can play the game while sitting, but the unabated way to play is while standing. It may not sell PSVR2 units on its own, but all PSVR2 owners absolutely need to own Before Your Eyes.

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77 / 100
Mar 9, 2023

Before Your Eyes is a unique game that deals with difficult themes. Its story is, at times, tough to digest and will keep you on the edge of tears throughout its short run time. How you interact with the game is both unique and clever. As a blink progresses the narrative, you feel part of the world and form strong connections with those who inhabit it. While the addition of choices feels like an afterthought, this is a special narrative-driven title that is a must for fans of the genre.

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7 / 10.0
Apr 15, 2021

efore Your Eyes is certainly a suggestive and peculiar experience. A highly emotional inner journey, not without twists and unexpected implications, able to strongly involve the player.

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Apr 6, 2021

Before Your Eyes is a difficult game to discuss, as so much of its appeal comes from reveals that would spoil the story. The game offers a truly unique experience that utilizes the medium of the video game perfectly to enhance its story. The technical flaws are frustrating, but they're likely impossible to avoid in a game like this, and people who can overlook the control issues will find a phenomenal story about life and death as seen through the eyes of another.

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8 / 10
Apr 6, 2021

GoodbyeWorld Games have created something incredibly special with Before Your Eyes. It’s a truly great game that explores real human stories through mechanics I’ve never really seen before. It’s a wonderfully crafted indie game that demands to be up there in your must-play list for 2021.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 10, 2023

It’s all truly powerful stuff, in spite of the game’s relatively simplistic look, short runtime and sparse interactivity. What GoodbyeWorld Games has done with Before Your Eyes is execute on a novel concept with the perfect amount of restraint and a carefully-paced emotional journey to create something truly special, something that uses the medium of VR and the unique features of its target hardware to hit that much harder. If you’ve got a PS VR2 and a taste for artsy, contemplative indie experiences then you owe it to yourself to play this.

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8.5 / 10.0
Mar 28, 2023

Before Your Eyes is a devastating journey in VR that you won’t soon forget. While the journey itself doesn’t last that long, the story is long enough to leave an imprint on the gamer for years to come. It has a very Grave of the Fireflies vibe to it, so bring the tissues.

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8.5 / 10.0
Apr 6, 2021

Before Your Eyes allows you to experience a heartfelt journey by reliving a person's memories through the power of real-world blinking. Guided by the Ferryman, a being who escorts souls into the afterlife, you're made to recall life's most happy, beautiful and heartbreaking moments.

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