Beautiful Desolation

 PC
Beautiful Desolation Image
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 33 Ratings

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  • Summary: BEAUTIFUL DESOLATION is a 2D isometric adventure game set in the distant future. Explore a post-apocalyptic landscape, solve puzzles, meet new friends and make powerful enemies, mediate conflicts and fight for your life as you unravel the secrets of the world around you.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. Gameplanet
    Mar 17, 2020
    95
    Beautiful Desolation is an essential entry in the Adventure Game genre and should not be missed. Gorgeous visuals, and evocative sound design compliment an exceptional sci-fi story filled with mystery, pathos, and good old-fashioned adventuring with some modern flair.
  2. Ragequit.gr
    Mar 12, 2020
    85
    Beautiful Desolation is a idiosyncratic, multi-themed journey, bringing some interesting gameplay ideas to the table. Its story and distinct setting are its strongest assets and it will definitely take you places. Be aware though, there is no hand holding at all. You'll need to pay attention to the conversations with the cast of delightfully bizarre characters you meet, if you don't want to backtrack and fumble for clues constantly.
  3. Multiplayer.it
    Mar 13, 2020
    85
    Beautiful Desolation is a beautiful point and click adventure full of interesting situations and themes to be experienced.
  4. SpazioGames
    Feb 27, 2020
    80
    Beautiful Desolation is an old-school 2D isometric adventure, but like Stasis it's the story the true focus.
  5. Eurogamer Italy
    Feb 27, 2020
    80
    Beautiful Desolation is an isometric adventure that makes wanderlust, cutscenes and visual art its strongest and stunning points. Enigmas and dialogues are surrounded with weird, tribal-punk and futuristic vibes. The gameplay brings some of the issues of oldest point-and-click-games: vagueness and backtracking. Anyway, the overall experience is magnificent, non-linear and original.
  6. Meristation
    May 6, 2020
    75
    Good point and click adventure game set in a retro futuristic apocalyptic world. It looks gorgeous on screen, and builds a complex and detailed world, but it has problems with the flow of information and what we must do next, along with pixel hunting issues. It is worth a try for the most experienced followers of the genre.
  7. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jul 22, 2020
    60
    Beautiful isometric adventure game with interesting story and characters. If you love Fallout and Die Antwoord is your blood type, Beautiful Desolation is a game for you. [Issue#302]
    All this publication's reviews

See all 14 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 6
  3. Negative: 1 out of 6
  1. EvgeniLinuxUser
    Jun 21, 2020
    10
    A classic isometric postapocalypse quest with a stunning poisonous-rusty colored graphics. The game should be used as a guide "How to make aA classic isometric postapocalypse quest with a stunning poisonous-rusty colored graphics. The game should be used as a guide "How to make a true ending". Works perfect on Ubuntu 18.04 (AMD Ryzen 7 2700X + Nvidia GTX 1080 with driver version 440.82 + QHD + 32 GB + Intel SSD).… Expand
  2. Tuxs
    Jul 25, 2020
    10
    This game so good and thanks for supporting Turkish language. I recommend this game.
  4. TwoEars
    Oct 25, 2020
    9
    You know that feeling you got when you watched Star Wars IV: A New Hope for the first time and they walked into that bar? That feeling ofYou know that feeling you got when you watched Star Wars IV: A New Hope for the first time and they walked into that bar? That feeling of something new, unexplored and unexpected? Well, here's more or less and entire game which feels like that. I've been playing adventure and role-playing games for +20 years and this has to be one of the most original and unique games I've come across in a long, long time.

    If you're tired of the gaming industry churning out generic copies of the last title that sold +20 million, if you want to experience something truly unique, if you want something which feels like "taking the red pill", if you've been around for a while and miss the raw edge that some older games had.. then Beautiful Desolation is for you. It's a world brimming with originality, strife, passion and memorable characters and it's a journey you won't soon forget.

    It's not perfect though. The puzzles can be vague and hard to complete, if you manage to complete this game without a guide.. you're a better player than me. Some of the big solutions are also very binary it feels like, choose either this big thing here or that big thing over there. Many of the conflicts in the game lack a middle-ground or truly diplomatic or pacifist solution. Which can be frustrating since these are fairly big and world altering choices to make with relatively limited information. Perhaps our role in this universe as "kingmaker" is a little too strong, we might have too much say.

    And while the game isn't completely linear it's mostly linear. You'll have to complete objectives x and y to open up area z and so forth, speak to person x and y then speak to z etc. This is hidden decently well while playing but in hindsight it becomes clear that this isn't an open-world game with free and dynamic choices, so don't expect Fallout 2 for instance. Approach it like an adventure game rather than an open-world RPG and you'll be fine.

    The story is also very ambitious, and intriguing, maybe too ambitious and intriguing. Because when the time for the big finale comes they don't really know how to tie it all together. The game has massive amounts of lore, mystique and build-up but the ending seems a little tacked on and doesn't really fit the rest of the game if I'm honest. It's not that the ending was unexpected, it was hinted at and is logical. But it doesn't really explain or resolve the bigger questions, we're mostly just left hanging.

    Some positive and negative points:

    + Gorgeous graphics
    + Great music (Mick Gordon!)
    + For me very fitting and passionate voice acting
    + Very ambitious world-building and lore
    + Truly original story and fantastic characters
    + Classic RPG and adventure game feel
    - Binary choices, maybe too binary
    - Unresolved ending, more questions than answers
    - Pretty oblique puzzles spread out over a big world
    - Lack of questlog or in-world hint system, if you're stuck you're stuck

    I think as a pure puzzle adventure game this would probably be a 7, the puzzles are only so good and can be pretty unintuitive in places. And if was to give it a completely straight score, all things considered, this would probably be an 8. But I feel that just for sheer originality and creativity I have to give this a 9. It's not often these days you stumble across something which is so unique and has a flavor all of its own, and for that alone I think it's well worth your time. If you're a jaded gamer, bored with the majority of mindless mainstream games, then Beautiful Desolation might be the red pill you need.    … Expand
  5. iseeall
    Sep 20, 2020
    5
    I played Fallout 1 and 2 as well as Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, Planescape Tourment, even Arcanum, so this one feels familiar. However, BeautifulI played Fallout 1 and 2 as well as Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, Planescape Tourment, even Arcanum, so this one feels familiar. However, Beautiful Isolation's main problem is that's just just an "impenetrable" game. It's unclear what's going on. So much that in the very first location I couldn't even understand what genre it is or what I'm supposed to be doing. It doesn't get better later on. Got stuck after the crashed troop transport, with no desire to continue.
    Sad, especially with so much great art wasted here. There are tiny little environmental animations everyone, and animated 3D dialogs with voice-overs. Gee, so much work for a boring point-and-click adventure or whatever this is.. You should fire your game designer. It's just criminal to waste artists' work like this.    … Expand
  6. bancandrei
    Apr 11, 2021
    5
    While the backgrounds are beautiful and the atmosphere is novel, I don't feel it works well as an adventure game. And the mechanicalWhile the backgrounds are beautiful and the atmosphere is novel, I don't feel it works well as an adventure game. And the mechanical limitations (I can't even figure out where I can walk) make the moment to moment gameplay completely unsatisfactory. Also I cannot understand why they copied the interface from fallout (imperfectly). It can only lead to dissatisfaction and unfavourable comparisons.… Expand
  7. Vasot
    May 26, 2021
    4
    WARNING THIS IS NOT AN RPG except from a similar post-apocalyptic world this game has nothing to do with Fallout games. This game is mainly aWARNING THIS IS NOT AN RPG except from a similar post-apocalyptic world this game has nothing to do with Fallout games. This game is mainly a boring adventure game made for casuals the gameplay is about solving stupid puzzles and reading texts very disappointing got bored with it and uninstalled it… Expand

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