Developed by Shapes and Dreams and BrutalHack and published by Assemble Entertainment, Beacon Patrol is a co-op exploration and tile-laying game that brings cozy vibes and relaxing gameplay to the table. Based on the board game of the same name, Beacon Patrol’s virtual adaptation is just as simple and captivating as its board game counterpart. Beacon Patrol is one of those games that look simple and cute, but once you start playing it, you start to understand its depth and strategy. This is our review of the PC Steam version of Beacon Patrol, in which we explore the uncharted seas with our seagull and try not to get stuck as we place down some tiles.
In Beacon Patrol, you play as the captain of the Coast Guard, navigating the coast of the North Sea. Your task is to secure the North Sea’s beacon buoys, lighthouses, and waterways. Securing these spots will grant you points, and you will need clear missions to secure points. Beacon Patrol offers both solo and co-op gameplay modes, and it also allows you to switch up things depending on your available hardware. For example, you can try out co-op with up to three other players using a single controller, a single keyboard and mouse, or a separate controller for each player. It means that there is no hardware limitation on co-op. You just need a gaming system and an attached accessory for playing it, and you can jump into the game with your friends.
Beacon Patrols offers three different game modes. These include Exploration Mode, Board Game Mode, and Creative Mode. Creative Mode is the endless mode, and it removes all sorts of limitations from the game, giving you complete freedom over how you want to play the game and for how long. The Board Game Mode allows you to play it in its board game format with all expansions and DLCs available. The main game mode is the Exploration Mode, where you play the game, earn points, complete missions, and unlock new content for the game.
The core gameplay of Beacon Patrol revolves around exploring the sea. You pick a tile and place it down next to your ship, and your ship moves on it. However, which tile can be placed next to a tile depends upon the previous tile and the tile where your ship currently stands. It must match its sides. For example, if your ship has solid land on its right side and water on its left side, the new title must have water on the right side so that your ship can move to it. It can only move to new titles through water. Land or islands block your ship movements, but you can place these tiles strategically so as not to block your path and ensure that you have space to move around.
This is where the real challenge of the game comes in. You can only score points after you have placed tiles on all sides of special tiles like lighthouses, piers, buoys, and wrecks. For this, you must ensure that there is a water placement in the tiles around them. Once you place titles all around a structure, it will give you a designated number of points. Each title has a different number of points attached to it, like a lighthouse gives three points, wrecks give 4 points, and buoys give 1 point. Basic titles do not give any points. As you gain more points, you will get new cards to play in your deck. If you are unable to score any points in a single turn, your deck will depreciate. If you lose all cards in your deck, the game will end, so you must have as many points as possible and complete missions before your deck is empty to earn more and more points in each run.
The simple UI of Beacon Patrol ensures that you build as freely as possible. There are no hindrances and no complex UI buttons to worry about. You click and place the tiles on the screen. If you want to discard a card, simply click on it and you can discard it. However, if you keep discarding cards, you will end up with too many lost cards without points, so you always have to bet whether to play a card and twist up the path a little or scrap a card in hopes of a better one in the future. You can also move your ship around the placed tiles in each turn four times. Discarding a card will give you a bonus turn. To end a turn, you must be left with a single card. Once your turn ends, your friend will play, or you will enter your next turn if you are playing solo.
The titles are designed very beautifully, and if you are good at placements, you can actually create very pretty maps of oceans, complete with islands in them, lighthouses, buoys, and piers. The inclusion of expansions adds more tiles to the game, but they also increase the difficulty because each tile comes with its own unique perks and challenges. For certain cards like wrecks, you will need submarines to explore them for treasures. You can expand to your will in the Creative Mode, but in Exploration Mode, you will need to keep in mind that your exploration is limited to your cards. Depending on your skill, you can continue playing it as long as you can manage to keep the points coming.
The game features a detailed customization section as well. You can choose your boat, your seagull companion, colors for your boat, and a flag symbol. Depending on your choice of ship, you will get a different bonus. Each ship has its own unique bonus; for example, the submarine allows you to explore deep-sea wrecks and look for treasures in them. Apart from the ships, the rest is mostly just visual customization. The color changes the overall theme of your ship and your flag. You can also unlock and change the background of the game, ranging from Deep Sea to Oak Wood, to further change the look of the game.
The flag symbol represents you in co-op games as it appears over tiles to show they are yours. Finally, the seagull companion is just there for the ride. It will help you discard cards from your playing deck that you do not want to use. At the start of the game, only a basic selection of these items is available, but as you explore and play more of the Exploration Mode and complete missions, you unlock more content to customize your next game. While Ships provide some benefits depending on their type, all of the other customization options are cosmetic only.
Due to its nature, Beacon Pine is excellent for both short-term and long-term gameplay sessions. Solo runs are always fun, but bring in a few friends and you have a gameplay session that could last for hours, especially if you jump into its Creative Mode, which removes all sorts of limitations. Colorful visuals and its overall oceanic aesthetics really set up a cozy vibe that is easy on the eyes and makes it perfect for those after-office hours. Its randomness ensures that every run is different, and you do not feel bored after sinking a few hours into it. The expansions are a value addition to the base content and give you some cool new tricks to play around with. Unlockables ensure that you always have something to chase.
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Final Verdict:
Beacon Patrol may look cozy and a simple game to play, but while it may be easy to understand, mastering it takes time, and sometimes completing even the simplest mission may take you a lot of time, depending on your hand. If you played Beacon Patrol’s board game, you would enjoy setting sail into its virtual adaptation as well, because it is the most complete experience with expansions, added features, and game modes. Even for new players, it brings a good amount of challenge and cozy exploration that will have you coming back for more. If you love playing exploration games that have a bit of strategy and challenge, Beacon Pines is a title that will fit in your library perfectly.
Final Score: 9.0/10
Disclaimer: A PC Steam review copy of Beacon Patrol was provided to us by PR Hound, on behalf of Assemble Entertainment. Read our Review Policy.
