The government is corrupt. No, not our government, though that’s always open to debate, but the one in Beholder, specifically the one you’ll be working for as landlord in this dark game of decisions and morals.
As a new landlord with a family to support it falls to you to keep an eye on your tenants and choose whether to help them or turn them in to the state if they’re doing something wrong (or even if they’re not, in some cases). At the same time you need to manage your own wayward family and keep the peace and the commands of those who must be obeyed. It’s a juggling act that Beholder gets just right but will have you running in circles to keep up with.
Thankfully there’s a useful menu system and rules are always on hand to check against while the side-on graphics help to keep things fairly simple in terms of movement and checking your actions.
The Switch version of Beholder comes with all the DLC and is a perfect fit for Nintendo’s hybrid. The side-on view works well in both handheld and docked and the graphics help to keep things clear, though menus can look a little cluttered on the small screen.
Beholder’s strengths lay in the way it makes you choose whether you need to be on the side of the people, holding out against a totalitarian Government, or on the side of the state, doing their bidding and getting rewarded with your job and your life. It isn’t always an easy decision either way, especially when you start needing favours to keep your own family safe.  Understandably, things do get complicated and some may be put off by the lack of hand-holding at the beginning, leading to a few puzzling moments as the game asks you yo do something you’re not sure how to do, but stick with it and you’ll find a decent game of morals and survival underneath.
Beholder Complete Edition
Pros
- Great premise
- Abandon your morals or keep to them
- Great atmosphere and graphics
- Simple menu system helps
Cons
- Overwhelming number of things to juggle
- initial actions are unclear due to a lack of tutorial
