‘Before Your Eyes' Poster. Source: humblebundle.com 

Have you ever felt time fly by as fast as you blink? Have you ever heard the saying, ‘Life flashes before your eyes’? Sometimes, as we grow older, it feels like we are running out of time– as if moments in life keep slipping through our fingers, blink after blink. It is said that when death comes near, you will see your life flashing before your eyes, reliving cherished moments throughout your life.

Before Your Eyes is a first-person narrative game where you play as Benjamin Brynn, a soul on his way to the Gatekeeper, where he will be judged for his life. His soul was guided by a Ferryman in the form of a coyote, who asked Benny to tell the story of his life before he defended him in the judgment. This is where the great life of Benjamin Brynn started.

What is so unique about this game is that your eyes are the controller. Since Benjamin’s soul no longer has its physical form of legs, arms and other parts except eyes, he can only relive and move forward through his memories by blinking. You will play and watch Benjamin Brynn’s life by blinking your real eyes as the webcam detects your eye movement. The game will require you to blink, hold your stare and close your eyes as the story develops.

‘Before Your Eyes’ Gameplay.  Source: Pinterest (BestNetflix.com - Netflix Blog). 

By this distinct method of control, the game encourages you to engage deeper into the story. By blinking, you can feel how precious the moments are as it skips through the memories. By holding your gaze, the game forces you to try and stay as long as you can to hold onto the memories. By closing your eyes, you experience how Benjamin closes his eyes as he tries to recall the details of the memory. However, there is another option for control using the spacebar as the manual control.

The game evokes strong emotions from the players. This is possible due to its touching narrative and emotional twists, how it invites players to experience the story directly, the remarkable voice acting, and the melancholy soundtrack. However, the short run time (approximately 90 minutes) might not be enough for some players to feel and immerse fully into the tale.

Despite its short run time, it captures how temporary life is and how beautiful it is. We might not feel like we are doing enough for this world, and yet we are too scared of the future– how it all feels pointless, how the end of the tunnel seems like a dead end. Yet, Before Your Eyes reminds us that time will always run and slip away, but we can decide how to live that moment before it flashes before our eyes.

“So when he knew he was going to go, he was okay because he’d already lived a great life. A full life. He was everything he needed to be. Just as he was.”

-Elle, Benny’s Mother.