Opinion one — Zombietron
Quantic Dream does so much right with this game, it’s hard for me to say that it won’t be GOTY. Like every game that Quantic has developed, it is heavily focused on story and you are guided through it with minimal distractions like invasive H.U.D’s.
Photo: Willem Dafoe as Doctor Nathan Dawkins
Willem Dafoe and Ellen Page’s performances are absolutely top notch. The bond between those two is completely believable from beginning to end, and Ellen portrays Jodie as a lost soul beautifully. The bond created between Jodie and Aiden is also a testament to how good the writing behind this game really is. Without any words, and entirely through a players gently guided actions we are shown this incredible bond between these two. The most emotional moment in game was the realization that they may be separated due to my choices. (Trust me this doesn’t spoil anything.)
Without mirroring the usual 3rd person shooter Beyond provides just enough run and gun to remind you that it’s an action game. Moving from cover to cover while utilizing your invisible partner to remove or distract enemies is exciting and challenging. (Not to mention heart-breaking when you’re forced to meet the enemies family.) Although I don’t rank this game above “The Last Of Us”, it does offer many advantages including the heart warming endings, as opposed to TLOU’s one humanity breaking finale.This difference is what makes Beyond the incredible piece that it is.
Uncovering the characters rich back-story, and creating an ending that is truly yours sets this game apart.
Multiple friends have experienced a completely different path, and even experienced different scenes because they lost a fight or didn’t make it through a scene the same way I did. This provides multiple opportunities for replay and plenty of incentive to do it. Thematically I also have to tip my hat to the writing crew for addressing the question of God without slapping any one belief in the face, it is simply presented as is, and then set up for what could be a mind-bending sequel.
Photo: An unexpected companion
Referring back to the opening statement I do feel that this will not win a Game Of The Year award, even though it will be nominated by multiple parties. Something that gave Heavy Rain an edge over this title is the finality of the ending. Heavy Rain had no sequel potential and the story could end with no cliff hanger, wrapping up every character. The ending to Beyond (depending on your choice) tied back to almost every interaction Jodie had throughout the adventure, all of these endings regardless of choices eventually converged on a single point in time. This point, however amazing it was ( and believe me, it was awesome.) Forced the writers to take a bit more of a gentle turn with characters, although I must say, the character they chose to bring into that final convergence was genius.
Beyond is definitely in this years top ten, and you’re missing an incredible story of love, companionship, combat, and the supernatural if you skip this one.
Opinion 2 — Sithbot
Beyond Two Souls is an astonishing game, and I love almost every aspect of it. It takes everything that was wonderful and amazing about Heavy Rain and kicks it up a notch. From the jaw dropping graphics to the incredible performances by the leads (Willem Dafoe and Ellen Page),
this game is a vast improvement on every story-driven game that has come before it and sets the bar stupidly high for what is to come.
Photo: Visually the bar is set so high
The drawbacks? Well, the plot does meander a lot, and I would have rather have enjoyed it as a straight play through instead of bouncing around the timeline. I can appreciate the attempt used to tell the story, but it wasn’t executed as well as the rest of the game surrounding it. Also, I really missed the way your choices impacted the story the way they did in Heavy Rain. Sure, there are multiple endings and you do decide how to get there, but for the most part, the decisions you make are locked into the individual vignettes and don’t affect the overall story. So you can be a cold hard bitch or a complete angel, and it will change how that section plays out. but the consequences don’t bleed over into the rest of the story.
Lastly, this is very much more of an interactive movie than an actual game. True, you do control Jodie and Aiden, but much of the experience is spent watching and passing QTEs instead of directly interacting. Personally, I like this approach as it more fully drew me into the story, but this may not be up everyone’s alley, so if you’re expecting an action game instead of a story driven adventure, you may want to pass. Which would actually be a shame because this is one of the most moving, intense and emotional gaming experiences I’ve ever been privileged to enjoy.
Quantic Dream continues to amaze, and I can’t even begin to fathom what they will come up with next. They are truly on the edge of interactive storytelling, and I hope that other developers will take some cues from them on their upcoming projects.