The recently released indie Minds Beneath Us has absolutely nothing to do with the multimillion-dollar project Cyberpunk 2077. It doesn’t exude the same graphic design as that one, nor is it an open-world action game with RPG elements and, of course, wasn’t developed by the team behind The Witcher. It has nothing to do with it. But nothing. Nothing at all. Nothing to do with each other. And yet, while I spent hours playing this game, I couldn’t stop thinking about the missed opportunity that was and always will be the advancement of the general concept of science fiction and, above all, its cyberpunk vein by the long-awaited blockbuster of 2077. Because the truth is that this game basically has nothing to say. Yes, there are a few little things out there that give the impression of a cliché repeated as often as possible, but on the whole: it has no message and it contains no sharp social criticism, no satire or any addition to the hot debate about the technologies of the future and how they will affect us.
Minds Beneath Us is the exact opposite. The game and its creator have a lot to say, it’s controversial and provocative while pointing out things that are immensely obvious. It’s subtle and thought-provoking, but it’s also disturbing and moving. Not only is the picture of our future that they paint bleak, uncomfortable and sometimes even disgusting, but it’s also written with a great understanding of human relationships, with a depth and empathy that few games have or have ever had. Minds Beneath Us isn’t a masterpiece of game mechanics and its simple graphics and limited interaction suggest that it will be completely forgotten by the end of the year. A sadness. But in a perfect world, there wouldn’t be anyone who wouldn’t play it, if only for its great story and the clever way it tells it.
The future is very, very bleak. The available energy is no longer enough to run the hypercomputers of the future in the scenario they present to us. For the server rooms to function, the processing power of a human brain is required, so several humans are enslaved, kept in a vegetative state, barely alive and producing only the necessary level of thought to power this park dystopia of computers. The authors make a sharp commentary on how today’s AI uses our thoughts, opinions, stories and even our logic to train itself, using many of the fears created by the rapid development of artificial intelligence as a means of criticism, deepening and analysis. Plunging me as a player into deeper abysses than I expected when I installed the game. There is humanity in this story. Much of which is why I stayed and continued instead of closing and uninstalling the game. The people in this adventure seem real. His behavior feels natural to me and I feel like his feelings are genuine. And for that alone, Bearbone Studio deserves a lot of recognition.
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Minds Beneath Us is organized as a graphic adventure to say the least, although with a little more freedom of movement than is usual in this genre. The scenes in which the game takes place are three-dimensional, extremely beautiful and partially hand-drawn, while all the people and characters are two-dimensional hand-drawn sprites. The contrast between the two creates a perfect symbiosis with the contrast that occurs between the different themes explored both in tone and concept. The mix between the naked people, the intrusive technology and the enslavement of humanity in contrast to all the emotions present is simply incredible.
In some places a certain level of interactivity is lacking and at times the dialogue sequences are so long that the game seems to stand still. But if you pre-commit and are looking for a thematically brilliant text adventure, focused on its story and full of social criticism and dialogues written with great naturalness… Then there is no doubt that “Minds Beneath Us” is the surprise of the summer that you should not miss.
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