It’s surprising how games centered around checking documents and finding errors can evoke strong emotions and provide entertainment for hours. Especially when the tasks are mixed with tough choices that put your morality to the test. And while Beholder: Conductor is a spin-off that replicate themes, mechanics and design choices from the main entries of Beholder series, the demo of this game left me truly impressed with its creative gameplay and story filled with tension.
Various mechanics that will keep you busy
You begin your new job as a conductor of the Determination Bringer train. Your responsibilities include maintaining order in the carriage assigned to you and providing assistance to passengers along the way. To do so, you’ll need reporting, intimidation, searches and ejection. Your decisions will determine the fate of passengers and your colleagues, as well as what kind of person you’ll be at the end of the journey.
Our journey starts with a short memo that combines the policy of the railway with the message from the developers in a clever and fun way. We then meet our protagonist, Winston Smith, whose actions will depend on our decisions. During the tutorial, we learn the basics of our job: checking the tickets of the passengers, preparing their carriages and executing orders from our supervisors.
At least that’s the official part of our job, but in reality, we can spy on travellers through the keyhole, sneak into their compartments and secretly search their belongings, as well as report activities banned by the state. It means that with each station players need to keep their eyes on new passengers and their behavious, but at the same time make sure that their own risky actions won’t be noticed by bystanders or the authorities. This addictive blend of strategy and simulation does great job at keeping you on tenterhooks.
The graphics and environment really create the impression that you are just a cog in a totalitarian system
Another thing that helps with creating tension is an atmosphere. This game practically screams Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell – the references are apparent since the very beginning, starting from the main character’s name. The graphics and the setting really make you feel like you’re just a cog in a totalitarian machine: people are perceived as shadowy figure with no faces, you’re placed in a closed space under constant pressure and supervision, andn o top of that, have to carefully manage your budget and reputation. I really admired how you could see the difference in treatment of those favoured by the system by exploring different parts of the train, which shows how you can use limited space for storytelling.
As I mentioned in the title, this game reminded me a lot of Papers, Please, as both these titles present the struggle of surviving in the totalitarian country. However, they also have another common aspect: allowing players to choose the side. In the demo we caught only a quick glimpse of the importance of our decisions for the story, but they still managed to show us various outcomes and routes.
Whether you help your colleague, do stranger a favour or follow the orders of the higher-ups, it’s up to you. I can just say that the way the demo ended at the most unexpected and intriguing moment made me immediately interested in the rest of the story, which I hope we’ll have a chance to learn this year.
You can play free demo of Beholder: Conductor on Steam.
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