Apple Arcade: Beyond Blue gives you the oceans and everything in them Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Apple Arcade: Beyond Blue gives you the oceans and everything in them Whales, interactive. Feature by Christian Donlan Features Editor Published on 21 Apr 2020 17 comments Beyond Blue, which has just washed up on Apple Arcade, drops you right into the cool of the ocean with a diving suit and a couple of voices on the intercom. For the first few minutes I swam around and explored, scanning different creatures so that an AI could build up a better idea of them and travelling to buoys that allowed me to tag distant sounds and investigate. The moment a game like this has to nail is discovery. It's beautifully handled. That first glimpse! I'll be pushing through water towards a dot on the hud and a shadow slowly emerges from the blue. Whales! A pod of them! Work to be done, scanning and whatnot, but just look at them, sperm whales with those towering foreheads and laughing mouths, one of them turning on its back as it passes underneath me, huge and gentle. Beyond Blue is full of this stuff. Whale sharks, mantas, scores of little fish gadding about. I've spent a long time here already, just moving over rocks, tracking dolphins, listening to the alien clicks of communication. It's a testament to how well it's all done that I forgot for a long time that this was a game, but Beyond Blue is in fact a narrative adventure, one that comes together with exquisite slowness over the first half hour. I dived, chatted to my fellow scientists and moved from one simple objective to the next. Later on I found a hub of sorts and had various chats over the computer, choosing answers and questions and getting a stronger sense of where things are going. None of that should be spoiled. Beyond Blue is a project developed with the BBC's Blue Planet 2 bunch and E-Line, who you may know from Never Alone. I thought I'd be tempted to wait for the PC or console release with a game like this, but in fact I'm going to keep playing on iPhone. There's something wonderful about holding the oceans in your hands, swiping left and right to move, not just tracking down different creatures but trying to understand the way they coexist. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More Features Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. 12 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Feature What games get wrong about horses And what they could do about it. 34 Feature Shout out to all the Overwatch supports - where would we be without you? Merci. 55 Latest Articles Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 59 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 4 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store