Adventure · April 8, 2021

Before Your Eyes (2021)

trophy11 achievementsextension1 DLClocal_offer-80% current discountgroup100k–1M ownersrecommend18.4k recommendations
Before Your Eyes is a first person narrative adventure which tells the story of a soul’s journey into the afterlife using a new and innovative form of interaction—your real-life blinks. The story begins after your death, aboard the ship of a mythical Ferryman tasked with shepherding souls to the afterlife. In order to help you pass on, he must first learn the story of your life. And so, he sends you back to relive your most important moments. The game uses your webcam to immerse you in this story in a way you've never experienced before. You will learn to control the flow of the narrative with your actual eyes–blinking through precious memories of family, first love, and the rise of an artistic career. But soon the Ferryman will suspect you aren't showing him everything he needs to see. So he will force you deeper into the dark recesses of your most repressed memories, ultimately revealing a heartbreaking truth. By combining its innovative blink interaction mechanic with a charming world and a fully voice-acted story, Before Your Eyes is a deeply emotional and relatable journey—one about the impossible expectations we place on ourselves and the regrets we carry with us. An earlier version of the game, titled  Close Your , received the Game Developers Choice award at Indiecade and the Student Award at the Independent Game Awards (IGF), before receiving funding through a successful Kickstarter campaign. CW: Before Your Eyes deals with themes of death, illness and grief

Adventure releases from 2021

87 Adventure titles launched in 2021 — top 6 by review volume.

Position in Adventure

MetricThis titleGenre position
Review volume17.5k Steam reviewsTop 14% in Adventure
Positive rating98% positiveGenre average: 87% — this title sits in top 8%
Metacritic77/100Genre average 77 — top 59% of Adventure titles
Engagement hours2 h averageTop 89% for session depth among Adventure

Peer Adventure titles

Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.

Community Tag Signals

Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.

  • Emotional · 193
  • Narrative · 188
  • Story Rich · 174
  • Indie · 137
  • First-Person · 124
  • Interactive Fiction · 104
  • Walking Simulator · 97
  • Singleplayer · 94
  • Adventure · 92
  • Cartoony · 87
  • Colorful · 80
  • Hand-drawn · 74
  • Psychological · 72
  • Philosophical · 70
  • Surreal · 69

Reception Metrics

Steam community

98%Overwhelmingly Positive · 17.5k reviews

17.1k positive · 350 negative

Metacritic

77/100 critic aggregate

Metacritic user score

8.6/10

Curator recommendations

18.4k

Localization Coverage

Interface / Subtitles (8)

  • English volume_up
  • French
  • German
  • Spanish - Spain
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Simplified Chinese
  • Traditional Chinese volume_up

Full audio (2)

  • English
  • Traditional Chinese

Press Quotes

“BYE's unique mechanic matches its narrative so perfectly, that you won’t want to play it any other way.” 8/10 – GameSpot “One of the most original and inspiring games in years.” The Gamer “A memorable journey worth going out of your way to play.” 8.5/10 – GameInformer

Engagement Profile

All-time avg

2h

brief (under 5 hours)

Median

2h

Typical completion time

2-week avg

2h

Current engagement

Achievements

11

Steam unlocks available

Release & Availability

Release dateApr 8, 2021
DeveloperGoodbyeWorld Games
PublisherSkybound Games
Base price$1.99 -80%
DLC / Add-ons1 released
PlatformsWindows, macOS
Estimated owners100k–1M
External linksOfficial site · Support

Content Notes

Before Your Eyes deals with themes of death, illness and grief.

Features & Capabilities

Community

  • Steam Achievements
  • Steam Trading Cards

Other

  • Single-player
  • Family Sharing

Editions & Packages

  • Buy Before Your Eyes