Beeswing

Beeswing
N/A
Metacritic
89
Steam
61.415
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$1.99
Release date
8 May 2015
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
89 (105 votes)

Beeswing is a game set in a small village in rural Scotland, the village I grew up in. Visit the places and people who shaped a life and discover their stories. Represented in hand painted, water colour graphics with a unique, acoustic soundtrack.

Show detailed description

Beeswing system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows 7/8
  • Processor: 1.8 GHZ
  • Memory: 2 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GT/s 4xx or equivalent
  • DirectX: Version 9.0c
  • Storage: 300 MB available space
Updated
App type
Steam APP ID
365580
Platforms
Windows PC
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☾.⁧⁧Zubumafu
☾.⁧⁧Zubumafu

I am 32 years old.

My ex-wife and I have a daughter together, and we adopted our son together. Both are now 4 years old.

When we were going through our separation, I felt lost and unhappy. I was self-destructive. One day, I was so angry with everything spiraling out of control that I punched a concrete wall in a moment of overwhelming emotion. This resulted in breaking my fifth metacarpal in my right hand—the hand I worked with, played games with, and used to carry my children to bed—the hand I desperately needed to ensure I could continue providing.

Upon learning the severity of the self-inflicted damage, I became almost suicidal. Keep in mind that just a few months before this, I was the happiest man, with no history of depression or anxiety. I had never experienced anger outbursts, nor was I the type to break down and cry, but I was in a tough situation that truly prevented me from seeing the light on the other side.

With nothing better to do, I looked for a game I could play WITH ONE HAND while recovering. Somehow, I stumbled upon this game and read some of the comments. I decided it was worth a try... I must admit I didn't beat the game, nor did I play as much as some of you. In fact, I may have played this game for only a day or two. That being said, after doing so, I had a new joy and hope for life. I managed to leave behind the pain and suffering that had been thrust upon me. I could experience the joy and happiness of other people. I relaxed for 5 ♥♥♥♥ minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.

After realizing this, I turned off the game and went back to work. My hand hurt a lot, but I was motivated. I stopped feeling so sorry for myself and became the father I needed to be at that moment, not the weak boy I was behaving like.

Today, I am close friends with the mother of my children. We don't fight, argue, or say hurtful things to each other. We are parents and friends.

Now I have 3 children. My third child is, wait, ALSO 4 YEARS OLD. The woman I am with was going through a very similar situation at the time of my separation, and we just unexpectedly stumbled into each other's lives. We have been dating for a year and are very happy together.

Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today. This silly little game helped me realize that.

Thank you.

Snort Cannon
Snort Cannon

A slice of life.

Story:

Unless I missed something you play as an unnamed character which is supposed to represent the developer J. King Spooner. Set in a rural Scottish village you go around and interact with weird and surreal characters that shaped his life, some sad, some funny, but all of them real.

I'll begin by saying that this game is definitely not going to be for everyone. It's a surreal tale and a very deep tale that you have to appreciate the artistic way it's told. If you like a story to be a told in a more linear manner then you're not going to get it here. There will be tons of reading an a lot of it will be slow, so that's what you have to keep in mind.

When I first started playing, I hated it. But the more I let the experience sit with me, the more I appreciated what it tried to do and I found the experience quite somber, but very much the time it took to explore and talk to the characters inhabiting the village.

Graphics:

Before Beeswing, J. King Spooner made a series of games called Will You Ever Return ? These games were a mix of different art styles, claymation, Jpegs you name it it was likely there. It looked like an acid trip. Beeswing also mixes different art styles, but in a more mellow tone.

There's a few different art styles and for the most part the game uses water colors to create it's world and I genuinely love how it looks. It's a visual trip and I loved exploring my surroundings, however sometimes it's very hard to understand where you can go and what you can interact with, which I will cover in a bit.

Audio:

The audio design is also really good. There's no voice acting here and the main audio you'll be hearing is music and it matches the tone of a very somber experience. There's some absolutely great tracks that I loved listening too, especially the main menu theme.

I don't recall there being many sound effects throughout my playtime, maybe interactions like doors opening and interacting with items, but they're not really important for the experience and the main focus, which is the music is really strong so I'll give it a pass here.

Gameplay:

There's not really any gameplay in Beeswing, all you really do is walk around and interact with characters and items and read what they have to say to you or you about them. Best way I can describe this is it's an walking simulator, but there is some semblance of "puzzle" gameplay.

I use that word very lightly cause it's not really puzzles, but more or less a dialogue tree that you'd need to see to advance. Sometimes you won't spot a character that you need to talk to and he his dialogue is what opens up more of this game. I myself got lost a few times trying to figure out what to do because I simply didn't understand what I was missing.

This could be annoying to some, considering there is quite a bit of ground to cover and a walktrough might not be able to help all that much. Although I think some might appreciate the fact that the game is designed in a way that allows you to experience a lot the game has to offer.

Verdict:

Beeswing is not going to be a game for everyone, it's very much an art piece that many might overlook due to it's slow pacing and crazy amounts of text, but for those who are willing to take the plunge will be rewarded with an intriguing tale of life.

Final Rating:
8/10

Pros:
+ Unique visual art style
+ Great soundtrack
+ Story is an interesting experience

Cons:
- You can get stuck not knowing what you've missed
- Sometimes it's not clear what you can interact with and what's background material

If you liked this review please consider joining https://steamcommunity.com/groups/completingthebacklog and https://steamcommunity.com/groups/ImperialReviews

StrongestNerd
StrongestNerd

Cool, but lame. A very original game that is very flawed. Extreme variety in the art and music which although novel is really what drives this game. Each portion having a seemingly original look and sound turns an irritating song into infectious and likewise the art. I found myself excited at what each new area would bring.

However, the writing is pretty 'I'm 14 and this is deep'. No matter where you go there is always a didactic message, an informal informing, or just an I told you so. And it isn't particularly done well. The writing is all over the place stylistically and grammar is inconsistent. While again I could see this as being infectious; 'a hallmark of a true indie game with one mans soul poured into it'. In contrast It just really brings down the excitement of each area. Some things are interesting, and some things should certainly be said. But what effectively occurs is the attempt to funnel rhetoric that is discussed over decades and decades into a few paragraphs. If sussed out it might be brilliant or it might be terrible. But currently in this form it cannot be properly discussed and in general just feels the dialog wasn't reviewed and reworked much. My time doesn't feel as valued and thus I am less than eager to participate in the discussions the game is prompting.

I recommend it for being extremely original. But it just isn't a well made game. Watch a 'lets play'.

Aters
Aters

It crashed on me three times during my brief playthrough.

Slime King
Slime King

This is now one of my favorite games. In a nutshell it is a walking sim where you explore Jack's home town. There are some really great conversations and moments, some that almost made me cry. I think this game has one of the best soundtracks and is truly a work of art. Deff not a game for many people, but I am very happy to have played it.

Acid-Seltzer
Acid-Seltzer

Most emotionally raw and true-feeling piece of art I've ever experienced.

CJ HUNTER
CJ HUNTER

I don't see how someone could enjoy this without suffering from some kind of mental disorder.

CrazyDave
CrazyDave

A very nice Game designed to be simple to navigate. I have only played the game for 20 minutes and will be playing this over and over again.
I can see the shadowing as exiting a room as being a good way to help the brain to remember from room to room.
The simple graphics are easy on the eyes and appear to be child friendly. Joystick support was available and makes movement easier. The only thing that wasn't working at the time of install, was the ability to take screen shots in steam.
But that's trivial. But don't let my review deter you from playing this either way. After some time, I will update this as I add more game time accrues. Get your game on.

tenavosi
tenavosi

Beeswing is a thought-provoking game that really deserves praise. I would classify it as a work of art, especially given the original soundtrack and handmade graphics. Exploring the rural town of Beeswing was such a surreal experience, it is hard to find the words to do it justice. Beeswing confronts topics through its citizens that people don't like to talk about & gives the player a look into these peoples' lives and problems -- problems that oftentimes unite many people, such as losing someone or trying to see the point in life.

katiegreen444
katiegreen444

The art style, use of different media textures, and the original score were incredible. The writing was dark and funny and sad and honest. I was afraid it might be kind of twee, but it isn't at all. I highly, highly recommend this imaginative, gorgeous game. I was deeply engaged in my experience for the five hours that I stretched it out to be. Completely charmed. Tell all your friends to buy it and donate to Jack King-Spooner's patreon account while they're at it, so he can make more like this. https://www.patreon.com/user?u=341990&u=341990&ty=h

bottled water
bottled water

Wow. I love this. If you know where my avatar is from you will love this as well. Kudos to the developer for the world created here. Need the soundtrack in my life right now.

lukacola
lukacola

Holy hell this game is deep. Definitely one of the most artistic games I've ever played, crazy to think that it isn't more popular. If you're fan of unique indie games, I strongly suggest Beeswing. If I had to describe this game as best as I could, I'd say you play as man named Jack who is revisiting his hometown nicknamed, "Beeswing". As you begin you are allowed to leave right away if you please, ending the game. It is entirely up to you to explore as much of this town and the characters in it as you please. The game will give you a list of objectives, my guess is it's telling you all the important things you can do/discover. The game itself is bizarre to say the least. At times it feels nostalgic, other times it feels spine-chilling. Probably the most admirable quality of this game is it's graphix and how it takes on all different shapes and sizes, my personal favorite being real water color pictures as the blueprint of certain areas of the game. But my favorite part of the whole game has to be the characters and there unique dialogue, leaveing you questioning your life and the world more than you might like to. Oh and the music certainly leaves it's mark, being some of the creepiest loops I've ever heard from a video game. In the end this game is just an art piece with some depressing vibes where you learn a lot of truth about how things are.

P.S. This game really likes toilets.

bowserlevels
bowserlevels

A nice little game that's really wholesome and nostalgic and beautiful and kinda sad and weird and bizarre at some points. It's these games that make me glad that game development is so accessible these days, so that anyone can make poetic and personal stuff like this.

Also, the soundtrack just might be one of the most tear-jerkingly beautiful things I've ever heard, and I guess it's no surpise since it's coming from the guy that made Sluggish Morss!

apothecarrie
apothecarrie

It's kind of funny. I've been a fan of Spooner's work since Mittavinda but I didn't find out about this game until way late, had I known earlier I probably would've backed it, and I don't really back Kickstarters. The timing of me picking it up was brutal, though, as I had actually been in a bit of a slump after watching a film called 'Ratcatcher' by Lynne Ramsay, another Scottish auteur and DIY kind of artist, the kind of director whose hand is on the camera just as much as it is in the score selection and casting. Similarly to this it's a very personal film about Scotland, this game about rural, small town of interchangeable time frames, and the film about Glasgow of a very particular era. It's not a happy film, and this isn't a happy game either, but after watching that I confided in friends how much it kind of tore me up inside for days. This game did me one better and mid way through I began tearing up. Not for any of the dialogue (of which there is much, and all of it is fantastically intimate), or the atmosphere or the metaphorical artistic direction, but because of the soundtrack. I actually repurchased the game on itch.io to get the songs separate as well, mildly disappointed it's not all inclusive but definitely understanding of the choice.

I really love this game, but it's hard to be like 'hey pick up this game that's low-key depressing and also has no real traditional gameplay' without waxing poetic about the games charms. But with that you run into the fear of ruining a lot of the games personality and charm. It's surprising and full of secrets, and those need to be experienced personally, and unironically.

In the description, Jack adds two reviews, and the pull from the Kill Screen article is hilarious, and having read the review, I can see how people would come to that conclusion but it's kind of a dumb one. As curated an experience as it is, Jack doesn't make it about himself, not really. You play as him ostensibly but you're not a character and neither is he really, your/his neighbors are and the town is and the stories are, and from earlier interviews you get the distinct impression he really wanted to make something artistically and personally reflective of an environment he knew dearly. It's cute and glib and there's toilet jokes, but there is the pulse of a heart in its world of paper, paint and playdough, and it can be sad and profoundly honest with itself in a non exploitative way.

Also it's literally five dollars USD, and if bought on itch.io it's three pounds, so that's less than a movie ticket, it's less than Redbox or renting too, really, and it's about 2-3 hours long so any questions of value are silly, and this is a much more riveting experience than two boxes of Oreos could ever be.

I definitely would recommend a purchase and have already shared links to the game with friends, but I really can't say anything more without hurting the effect of the game.

Radiofloyd90
Radiofloyd90

Lovely game. My favourite part was the Mabie Forest - where you walk through the sunlight and change between a boy and a man. And I loved the musical theme.

Edit: And I love the title screen!

saitcheson
saitcheson

I first played this game a long time ago, got a copy on itch. Bought it again recently on Steam to give it another whirl and support the developer. It's a beautiful, artistic thing, that is full of warmth and emotion, such a treat of sound and vision. Made me think alot about my own younger days and my hometown. Hugely recommended. Beeswing really is a piece of art, it deserves a lot more exposure.

cells interlinked
cells interlinked

A complete little game. Some conversations are a trifle self-indulgent but on the whole there is a feeling of authenticity and humanity to the characters. I enjoyed exploring the world for the most part. The "DIY" art style doesn't always work but is used effectively on the whole.

fortress of KLAHUKLEH
fortress of KL…

I myself am a fan of art and other forms of interpretations. I was once taken to art university with my mum to check out the cool artwork that all these interesting people have made, which she tells me because all I remember is being dragged clawing the floor into a horror show to be one of the headless men coming out of the empty packet of crisps and, feeling like I'm going to be slaughtered by the nudists drenched in animal blood everyday. But she says "that not what happened", tell that to the lady in my dreams chasing me with a Styrofoam cock.

But this situation hasn't been helped by 'Beeswing' as when I took interest in the developer after playing the game, I looked up his site and checked out 'The stage'. It was like reliving my childhood nightmare only with satirical humor, like it was mocking me. I will never forget the Jesus is my boyfriend song (thanks Jack King-Spooner). But about the game, if you have been reading the other beeswing reviews, you would have noticed that they are trying to be deep and depressingly meaningful, like the freak show I went t...NO.

Me, I'm just a twit who likes playing video games and have an open mind. Not surprising because I think postal 2 is one of my favorite games coming from a country that forgot they banned it. And your most likely a twit as well, dribbling onto the keyboard as you read this review. So try to keep your chin up and stop looking at the keyboard, because I'm going to tell you about my thoughts on this game.

Gameplay
The game itself is really simplistic in controls. All you do is move around the world and interact with the environment and people around it. Most of the residence have the disease of "random sentence outburst" commonly seen in top down adventure games. The whole game is open world and lets you leave whenever you want to, but there's a checklist, so if you leave without finishing you'll miss out the activities you could do, and you might hear the developer calling you "wankeeeeeer" at a distance. The activities mostly boil down to, go there, interact with that to finish this, etc. There is so little gameplay that it hardly counts as a game. It's more of a sightseeing tour where the only battles are fighting the text overlay with one button.

Atmosphere
The games design is literally what you would see in a scrapbook. It's one of the most crud hand drawn environments I have ever seen in a game, well a purchasable game. And the other environment that turns into clay still does not give it any justice. But I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it actually helps make the world interesting to explore. the whole world is chock full of interesting places to visit. It even helps with the random philosophy stuff the NPCs violently throw at you like a fascist teacher. It made me sad, it made me scared and not because it reminded me of the mental institution I escaped from. Sorry i ment to say the "lovely people with great talents". It also made me feel at peace. The art style fits with the tone very well and some of the music you hear is very fitting, like the time i watched fottage made by 'very special people'.

The negatives
You would have noticed in the description that there are no puzzles, well let me just tell you that IT'S A STINKING LIE. there's this one puzzle with a girl in a wheelchair that shows up in various places and is a task on the checklist. The puzzle is that you have to interact with her in specific places to hear her life story, but because the map is so large, it's better to look up a guide then to do it yourself. If your interested in the ost, well bad luck because you can't get it in the game files. This may sound very dry but when you want to play something in melody's escape from the game and there is no access to it except to get it emailed to you by the developer personally, you may want to think twice when putting in good music into the game. Not saying it's not a really bad thing but if your interested, wait in line with all the other Plato look a likes who made the other Beeswing reviews.

Conclusion
The gameplay is like a walk into a large botanical garden, you might be dazzled by the weird and wonderful stuff that the gardeners have pillaged from all over the world. But you might also feel at peace with mother nature and probably yourself because you've found yourself accidentally in a weed bar in Amsterdam, don't know how you got there but you still like it, and that what this game is. The price is a little steep but if it's on sale you might want to check it out. It's an experiment of a game and I applaud the developer for every life experience he put into the game and I hope he goes on with his career as a man who defies the stereotype that the Japanese are weird.

but seriously, its a damn charming game that i never want the developer to get scared to make. these games that the developer creates are really interesting, if not enjoyable.I never want it any other way.

Spooc
Spooc

Highly enjoyable, poetic story that really stopped and made me think
As with many of Jack King-Spooner's games I found this one great

Don Pedro De La Muerte
Don Pedro De L…

You get a checklist to solve... this game is exactly like Postal 2!

Judging: 7/10

Fauxy
Fauxy

When I read my diary, I understand every reference I make to various events that have happened in my life, various ways I've felt or feel about subjects or other people. I understand the value of the things I have deemed to be worth recording, and I understand the context of the words I have used to record them. If I were to show anyone else my diary, perhaps they would feel a sense of me and my life, of my feelings and of the experiences I've had, but they definitely not understand my diary the way I did. This isn't some grand statement about how people can never really know one another, this is simply me pointing out that I would never narrate my life in the style of a novel or a diary of some 80s teenager in a movie, listing exact details and long florid descriptions of actual events and people. I doubt anyone does.

What I do instead is write shorthand. Feelings first. Minimal exposition, explanation, and structure. It's my diary, I didn't make it for anyone else. Why would I need to explain to myself what my life is like?

Beeswing, if you haven't caught on, is a nonfiction video game from a certain Jack King-Spooner which feels very much to me as though I am reading someone else's diary. Someone else who apparently feels the way I do about the need to make your innermost thoughts traditionally readable. This of course, is an intentional choice, because this isn't someone's diary leaked to the internet, this is a game on Steam which is being sold for money to a public audience. So I have to accept that this is all as manipulated as any old three act story, a trick that the dev has used to make me feel a certain way, but I'll be damned if it hasn't worked.

The game is mostly a trip through various fragments of writing, small stories that are self-contained and often have the nature of either a subversive modern parable or meditations on particular themes (recurring ones being the fear of death, the alienated feelings of immigrants, the dispossession of the physically and mentally disabled). They have the thin premise of being things said by NPCs to the protagonist, Jack King-Spooner, who is taking a trip to visit his hometown Beeswing, but frequently enough the game breaks the fourth wall by talking about the background music or giving you tourist tips if you are ever in the actual area the game is set, to remind you that the game is really just a collection of memories that don't exist in a temporal or physical space that makes real world sense. You're guided through the game not by a feeling of accuracy to reality, but by the raw intimacy of the dev-author's nostalgia.

To that end the game is very successful. The "handmade" graphics, from water color to claymation to actual childhood photos, strengthen the feeling of intimacy, of looking through someone's box o' memories. Which is of course very appealing, because humans are snoops who love to get into each other's business.

So do I recommend? Yes. Would I like to see more games like this? Yes. Which is my favorite story? Probably Beatrice. Maybe the flour lady. Maybe Danny. It's a good game. Lots of good stories. That'll be the toilet then.

Bueno Bear
Bueno Bear

A soothing experience with an aesthetic approach to game design. Not much of a game though - it should be tagged as a novel or a similar genre.

(AB) vehemently
(AB) vehemently

The work of Jack King-Spooner is strange, beautiful, unsettling, and hilarious all at once. It is all these things and more effortlessly. I played Dujanah, and, while a good game, is very jarring and bizarre. I have trouble recommending it to people due to it's overt strangeness. Not many people would enjoy it, despite the fact that it is a singular experience.

Beeswing, on the other hand, I can recommend without any restriction. Beeswing is a short visit home to the small eponymous Scottish town. It is quiet, subtle, and unique. The gameplay mostly consists of conversations between you and townfolk, neighbors, old friends, old people. They will tell you their thoughts, and their fears, and how they feel. They'll talk to you about family, about television, about their job, about dying. The most clear theme in the game is dealing with death, and so much of the game asks you to confront those thoughts. Sometimes, it's sad. Sometimes, it's funny. Sometimes, it's confusing. But it is always engaging. I dare not say much more about what else happens; I truly want you to experience it yourself. It is an earnest, lovely experience that I think everyone should try.

You can find this game in a free browser version online, and it's under two hours long; there's no excuse not to play it! But better yet, buy it, to support fantastic art and its creators!

guyal
guyal

Melancholy, fun, sad stories from the author's reallife hometown in rural Scotland, set in a water color, paper, 2d way. Interactive, free roaming memoir.

erikwb
erikwb

If you are into a game where you wander around town and people tell you their sad stories this is a total gem, with shifting artstyles and a portrait of distressed england that wouldn't be out of place in the best of the small press comics scene-although maybe try the browser version because this crashed multiple times on me.

7 4 17 0 17 _twelvetwenty-one
7 4 17 0 17 _t…

Waking Life but more sad than (")profound(")(/crazy)(though there is a fair amount of that too).
110 minutes to knock everything off the checklist (cheating a bit with the two hidden, sequential narratives), this game deserves more time to fully appreciate everything.
wander around a diversely drawn/assembled world, speaking (er being spoken) to (by) the residents on everything from philosophy to mundanity, with ample amounts of heartbreak.
as with Unfinished - An Artist's Lament, this is a game with sparse gameplay but nonetheless one that provides a unique, worthwhile experience. i bought Beeswing on sale for $.99 - would have gotten my money's worth if i'd spent $3.
recommended to those who enjoy weird-yet-banal (or maybe the reverse) narratives; not hard to take lessons and see parables in the ramblings of the random folk.

Ryan Dorkoski
Ryan Dorkoski

Indie game enthusiasts should make a point to play everything that Jack King-Spooner makes. Everything I've played by him puts some seriously profound knowledge in the air. They all feel very specifically and carefully crafted. They don't seem to care about reaching a specific market, or anything like that. The goal seems to share feelings. It's all quite magical.

Brew a pot of coffee, turn down the lights and get comfy, and let Beeswing wash over you. You are guarenteed one memorable evening.

AlligatorBytes
AlligatorBytes

This game is really comfy. you get to learn all the interesting things people have to say and in a realistic way. reminds me a lot of Tiny Echo. also reminds me of a short film by Don Hertzfeldt called "It's Such a Beautiful Day.", i definately recomend giving that a watch if you like this kind of stuff.
as for the game, it has a lot to say but doesnt end very well, you just look at everything and leave. but the game is worth it for its price.

Master DodaFet
Master DodaFet

a relaxing video game that reminds you that we are all going to die one day

+Music
+super relaxing

solace
solace

love the soundtrack, the story is quite nice.

L/\NDL/\DY
L/\NDL/\DY

Simply beautiful little game. Only wish I could take screenshots using F12. Luckily, my boyfriend is a wizard and created a program in python that allows me to take and save multiple screenshots at a time. :)

Micho
Micho

Night in the Woods but with a stronger feeling of guilt.

Soren
Soren

Wonderful narrative piece with a beautiful acoustic soundtrack and an abundance of lovely watercolor landscapes. Made me want to produce more art. Nearly cried in the corner of the cemetery. Recommended.

[Boon-Z] Guwibaer
[Boon-Z] Guwibaer

https://store.steampowered.com/news/?appids=365580&appgroupname=Beeswin…

play for free.
if you like it, throw some money to the dev.
totally worth the fullprice!

wcc
wcc

Feels a bit like a better paced Yume Nikki. The game is a basically the developer remembering the past and musing a bit about, live, death and humanity. The presentation is well done and full of melancholy.
If there something to critize it's first that there's lots of backtracking involved and second that while most of the soundtrack is really well done and carries the atmosphere, some songs are not – which becomes even more apparent when the music changes suddenly and with it the whole tone of the scenary. But these are minor flaws.

agrio_kiato
agrio_kiato

A very talented creator delivers a sincere and emotional experience. Definately worth playing!

rfdshir
rfdshir

This is a unique game, you won't find such a wonderful atmosphere and music anywhere else.
The way it looks on the screenshots does not convey the charm of lively children's drawings and plasticine figures.
It's an adult's dream about childhood - the game magically combines adult thoughts and a wonderful atmosphere of childhood.
This game is like a way to live another life in a couple of hours - in its entirety, both with happy moments and with tragic ones.
Don't miss it, such jems appear very rarely.

lostchild14000
lostchild14000

its better than a ton of things I've seen on greenlight and through direct. i'm up voting for the functionality and the creativity and that is it.

this is not a game.

this is a playable art piece of a person coming back to their home town. you walk around, remember the days of youth,and try to make a difference in these peoples' short lives they seem all miserable over. along the way, you meet the god of death, walk around some spooky places, remember a surprising circus performer, and watch an old woman die in a pretty horrifying way...
and when you come back with a new lease on life of your own, ready to fix your friends, a majority of them are fine anyway, and they say that they were just in a funk, and that's their normal state... i just lost 12 hours to the cloudy void of depression and now your "fine"? and i'm the idiot because i wanted to help my friend? no way Son! now you get to listen to me cry and dance for my amusement!

if my best friend did that to me i'd start throwing pamflits for psychological help at their face

i know its a short unique journey that we all go on in life. we all seek and/or create our own meaning. some lives are cool, some horrifying, and some even boring...

to the developer: next time you go back home and your friends are just not feeling their best, have a pint and have a time for me. i *toast* to you Dev/Writer because sometimes you just need to have some easy highs and creative chaos to distract from... the journey's more pointless moments. just don't forget the relationships/people that mean something to you ;)

berv
berv

Tender and textured. A really lovely escape for a couple of hours.

Walton
Walton

Short game but totally worth it! You can feel the passion gone into it when you play, each of these games is a work of art.

Billy Mayonnaise
Billy Mayonnaise

An incredibly artistic game and an experience worth your time. It's cheap too, so that's always a plus.

manuelsuarezpena1993
manuelsuarezpena1993

Neat Game, Jack needs the help. Go Buy it.

Norgg
Norgg

The most important thing to know about this game is that every toilet in it has a unique line of dialogue.

Other than that there are a lot of good words in here. Musings on life and death and nostalgia and belonging, with (mostly) chilled art and music to keep you company along the way.

Kingangus
Kingangus

Not my kind of game, lots of dialogue and no clear objective. But its ok. Played for a little over an hour and a half before quitting for good. My only gripe really is the dialogue. Insignifigant characters in the middle of nowhere word vomiting their whole life story unprovoked. Probably took up 90% of the gameplay. And some parts of the game that are just you walking around while some sappy song plays in the backround, unable to leave until it finishes. I really like the drawings though. But take my review with a little bit of whatever scottish people eat. (flake? Lucasade? Fish and chips?) Only been to scotland twice and its either short dudes smoking outside or a 2 hour car ride with nothing but grass and cows.

Annie Bonny (it's me dude, wtf)
Annie Bonny (i…

I couldn't play to the end. It's too real.

Jack Herer
Jack Herer

This is what I want to show to people if they think that "video games can't be art"

stardustsunday
stardustsunday

Mind-numbingly boring, with no real goal

Yes, the graphics are hand-drawn, the soundtrack is pleasant, but this isn't a game. It's some sort of 2D walking sim where you go around looking at stuff, reading what the author has to say about them, talking to people, and going to places. You are just thrown into the game, with no introduction, and just expected to go walking around and clicking on anything that can be interacted with. There is no discernible goal. There are no puzzles to solve or mysteries to uncover. No choices to make.

One of the captions tells you, "This is my cat..." and goes on to drone about what it's like, blah blah blah. Another caption tells you more about a potted plant. And yet another waxes lyrical about a guitar. There is no purpose. It's just aimless chatter. There is no motivation or incentive to make you care. I ran out of patience very quickly. After the game told me to "meet the neighbours", and I was met with more inane dialogue, I knew I had to stop.

The right place for this "game" should be Facebook, or Instagram, where you can post all you like about your life, your pets, your belongings, etc etc, and other people can pretend to be interested.

Volkovoy
Volkovoy

An absolute joy, smeared with existential dread.

dimdoum
dimdoum

I cried playing this game. Sometimes I reinstall it only to listen to the song that can be heard at the take care home : Television, my new family.

Arale//Zero
Arale//Zero

The notion of just making a game of your hometown, without much needless ambition beyond that, is wonderful and how game dev should be I think. A game is a world and this game just makes a world for you. Some bugs.

pm
pm

Beeswing is a very pretty game. It looks very pretty and has a lot of things to say. Unfortunately, the act of playing Beeswing is nothing short of a pain due to various reasons.

    • It is not clear what can and cannot be interacted with. This combined with the fact you can interact with many benign objects like paintings and windows makes sure that you have to meticulously scan every single room for dialogue. There is originally an icon in the bottom right to indicate when something can be interacted with but this quickly goes away.
    • Some doors just don't work. I frequently find myself unable to enter areas of the game.
    • At one point during gameplay, I just completely lost the ability to move and had to restart the game and reset my save.
    • Some areas are far too vast for their own good (specifically the Loch and the snow forest) and have little to no content to justify the glacial process of scanning through these areas.
    • The save function does not always work.

This game looks and sounds so so pretty, and has a few beautiful experiences, and it pains me that it plays so poorly. It's tolerable but if it was a better experience to play it could have been great.

SirMacBravePoo
SirMacBravePoo

I played for 15 minutes. It is a combination of eastern europe, childrens drawings and som mindblowingly potent mushrooms that will send you down to the gates of hell. I am terrified, but i cant downvote since i am convinced i will be punished for doing so. I can feel the bee crawl under my skin, should i cut it out?

Bigichungi
Bigichungi

I really liked this game the art style is different from normal games, And their is a lot to do in the game I have been playing for about 2 hours and fell like I have barely scratched the surface but I really enjoyed it definitely worth the 50 cents.

Brock's Penis is Jointed
Brock's Penis …

Going through my library to support and recommend the games I enjoyed but I don't have time to write reviews.

Lemmks
Lemmks

I think this game should be an exhibition of some museum of modern art. The art, the music, the writing, everything is very unique and, at times, really really intense. It made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me think and, most important, it made me _feel_. It's very much recommended to anyone that's looking for this kind of experience.

Oh! And thanks, Jack!

ToastyTime
ToastyTime

Without a doubt one of my favorite games of all time. Charming, heartwarming, quaint, relaxing, interesting, eye-opening; All are valid words with which to describe this game yet none truly capture the emotions that come over you upon play. This is one you cannot skip. However, I would recommend buying on itch.io instead, you get the full OST that way, which is a masterpiece all on it's own.

Yulelé Palacios
Yulelé Palacios

Beeswing is one of the most free and refreshing games I've ever played.
The sincerity and the honesty behind the developer's approach to every aspect of the game is inspiring.
The spirit in which the game's music, visuals and writings were made makes it so that every little detail is meaningful even when imperfect.
This game made me feel good. Buy it for it's full price.

maopilled(ㄇㄠ丸)
maopilled(ㄇㄠ丸)

played for an hour before it crashed.... i didnt save. a similar thing happened with dujanah and the thought of going through everything again esp considering how slow the walking speed is and how janky it feels to play- its just kinda ugh.

the art, music and writing is just gorgeous. i normally hate dialogue but the writing in this is sincere and heartfelt. great stuff,. but the typography (important because most of the game is reading) and gameplay "feel" is some of the worst ive ever had to tolerate. its just annoying to play and not for everyone. you should still buy it though/

*edit: also it wont stop running.............

Nerdie
Nerdie

Hard game to rec, given how much of it doesn't have a real sense of direction or purpose. Which is kind of the point. You're just exploring a developer's hometown and interacting with the world he remembers. Its a gorgeous and bizarre and I would understand if someone didn't like it. You kinda have to learn to approach it like an art show rather than a game and I think that's fine? Sometimes its just about getting the personal vibes of a storyteller's life.

amiablehacker
amiablehacker

This is too much of art to be a game, it's too much of a game to be art. I usually like games of this nature, but this isn't a game. And I don't mean that like it's an "experience." I mean, this person doesn't know how games work. It should be a short film instead. Or maybe a point and click game.

First off, there's absolutely no direction. I had no idea there were goals on the pause menu until I went to the bus stop and almost ended the game. One of the goals is "talk to my neighbors" but I thought I did but it's not crossed off? One character thought he was turning into a number. The game said to help him, but I didn't understand what helping him implied. There were no dialogue choices or items to interact with. I was lost. I shouldn't need a walkthrough for a game this simple.

Secondly, the walking mechanic wayyyyyyyy too slow for this kind of game. WASD controls should be for walking simulators with scenery to look at. The graphics are literally pictures of watercolor pictures, sketches, clay figures, etc. It's all very raw and whatnot, the artistic style doesn't bother me. But having to hold down a keyboard key for a minute straight to get from one location to another is ridiculous. Program the game to be point and click. I got bored of walking.

Speaking of the style, it's distracting that the watercolor paintings are pictures of said paintings. Sometimes I can see the floor in the background, or the rings of the sketchpad. This is a video game, there should be *some* level of immersion. There was none. I couldn't focus on the dialogue.

The dialogue was the last straw that made me quit the game. To me it read as stream of consciousness stuff. It wasn't coherent and I didn't understand what the point of it was. At one point someone told their story about how they had an ugly baby and they always apologized for how ugly it was. Ugly Baby grew up, got married and had a beautiful baby, but neglected Beautiful Baby because he was embarrassed to have a baby so beautiful. It just made me sad, and that didn't add anything to the game. I understand that's the point, but considering the other factors presented earlier, it was too much.

This reads more like a game that only the creator would be able to enjoy since it's their hometown. That's completely fine, and I appreciate them sharing the stories. But, I cannot finish this game. It's not a game.

zaphodikus
zaphodikus

How much should you pay for a game where all of the graphics were drawn by a size year old immigrant? If you don't know, then I will ask you what a child is worth, or maybe how they see the world is worth? What price, to be transported entirely into your own childhood through the honest re-telling of a childhood. Beautiful as the drawings, and enchanting simple soundtrack are, the simple mechanics create an immersion that is otherwise impossible in the busy of our day. A keeper, which will chill you out.

Barusu_Fan
Barusu_Fan

The game has inspired me and given me hope for a better future.
Its an amazing game.
I wish everybody could understand that games can be art too.

somebody sometrash
somebody sometrash

This game truly is one of a kind. From its lovely graphic style, to the bunch of characters and themes they approach, to its unique soundtrack... everything fits so perfectly to make Beeswing as moving and inspiring as it is, while remaining so heartfelt and human. Enjoyable from start to end, including its most demolishing segments. I'd dare to say it's been cathartic for me.

I wish more people knew about this game. I can't recommend it enough to anyone willing to try something that we are not accustomed to.

**I suggest buying it on itch.io. Besides the direct download and the steam key, it also includes the soundtrack.

melerk
melerk

For you are the one
Remaining loyal to me.
Television,
My new family.

DonkoDonson
DonkoDonson

Interactive poetry. Beeswing is a conglomerate of ideas and philosophies, of loves and fears. The town is full of people but it's clear they are all one person: the world viewed by the it's author. It explores it's ideas in the shapes of different people. Is there a "point" to Beeswing? Probably, but it'll vary between players. Beeswing asks you to think about it's ideas, but offers no solutions, no "grand vision." It is in it's abstraction that those who play for ten minutes and those who seek out every thought this piece has to offer might come to the same conclusion. I recommend to play and contemplate.

grafica
grafica

if i were to solely review the games performance i could not recommend it, i was not able to play this on my main computer. managed to boot it up 4 times and the game crashed on me 3/4 times. otherwise the game just wouldn't boot beyond 96%. however on my laptop it worked fine and it only crashed once.

i wish the game had a save function other than save & quit. every time i wanted to save my progress in case of a crash i would also have to reboot the game.

game itself is very charming, it has lot to say about lots of things. art is pretty. i like how it played with different art styles in different sections. i also enjoyed most of the music. i recommend it but i hope your experience isn't as full of technical difficulties.

i forget to drink...