The newest independent game adaptation from Netflix that takes you on a lovely and depressing journey through life, death, and memory. I’ve been blinking like one would normally do, but this time for a video game purpose: to use my iPhone’s front-facing camera to direct a story.

Some blinks in Before Your Eyes are interactions, while others are jump cuts that advance the life of your character by days, months, or even years. And I suppose the whole game is a play on every phrase regarding eyes, life, speed, and time that comes to mind.

Like our last iOS game of the week, it’s a really fascinating game and is also free if you have a Netflix membership.

Get ready to weep

In the narrative game Before Your Eyes, you play as the recently departed Benjamin (Benny) Brynn and assist a ferryman in carrying you to the afterlife. You can only speak by blinking, and the only way your soul can rest peacefully is if you assist the ferryman in telling your life’s narrative as authentically as you can, or else you’ll be trapped in limbo for all eternity.

Your objective as Benny is to tell your whole life as it truly flashes before your eyes as you describe significant life events. Each incident serves as a brief snapshot of Benny’s life and the interactions he had with his parents and other people. In a sense, you’re playing through someone else’s memories and seeing everything go in an instant.

Truthfully, if you provide a longer summary, part of Before Your Eye’s impact will be diminished.

Interestingly, the game is played vertically. You use your iPhone’s screen as the right analogue stick of a gamepad to pan around, and you blink to interact with objects and time leaps. When your mouse is on an image or a book, you may sometimes blink to advance the action in time or to hear a character’s speech.

Join the staring competition

With its unique flashing concept, the game offers a more challenge than a standard point-and-click adventure. Although Before Your Eyes’s gameplay and story may be similar to Florence (which is free, by the way) on iOS, a reflexive action like blinking adds an intriguing twist to the game.

You’ll be asked to blink several times in Before Your Eyes to move on from a memory, but you won’t always want to. I’ve wished for moments in Benjamin’s life to linger, only to worry about my dry eyes and blink away the opportunity to capture it. This game has forced me to engage in many intense eye-to-eye battles, all of which I’ve lost.

It’s not possible to take the phone away from your face to cheat. That will help you go ahead as well.

A must-have one-seat experience

If you have access to an iPhone, a comfortable sofa, and 90 minutes to spend while doomscrolling around social media, I highly recommend giving this game a chance. In the same way that you’ll be thinking about it for days after it’s finished, you’ll be thinking about Playing Before Your Eyes. In addition to the excellent voice acting, visual design, and blink mechanics, this game’s story is excellent.

Because it’s free with your Netflix membership, it’s one of the greatest iPhone games you can suggest to someone who doesn’t generally play them.