Beholder is inspired by the dystopian works of George Orwell,[3] Aldous Huxley, and Ray Bradbury.

[4] The game offers the player the choice of either following the commands of the Government or siding with the people who suffer from the oppressive directives.

The player has to choose to either submit to fate and fall asleep with a "Blissful sleep" or to avoid euthanasia by various methods.

Unlike in the base game, the protagonist has no family, except for a cat, and his 30-year-old son, who works on the construction of a railway to the north.

[6][7] While praising the controls, Eurogamer's Mateusz Zdanowicz said, "Gameplay will prove uncomplicated for everyone who has ever dealt with classic adventure games."

He then said "An interesting plot setting combined with the need to make difficult decisions determine the strength of this independent production.

[8][9][10] Gabriella Petty of Push Square wrote, "Beholder: Complete Edition is a fun strategy game.

Its gorgeous yet subtle dystopian aesthetic illustrates a totalitarian world on the brink of revolution, with an interesting set of characters and soundtrack to boot."

"[14] Beholder has been nominated and won several conference awards: A sequel to the game, Beholder 2, was released for Windows, macOS, and Linux on December 4, 2018,[15] for Android and iOS on August 16, 2019,[citation needed] for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 on October 22, 2019,[citation needed] and for Xbox One on April 9, 2020.