The first example of awful writing is when Jodie goes to a house party with some evil teenagers. I thought the writing in Heavy Rain was "hilariously ham-fisted," and that it couldn't get any worse. The "entity" that possed this scientist just had to call her a bitch, because, you know, evil.īeyond: Two Souls and Beyond Ham-fisted Writing There are other chapters that feel equally superfluous, and if not for Ellen Page's superb acting, most chapters would look completely pointless. Not to mention that it borders on disrespectful to Native American heritage and culture. For instance, we follow Jodie through a whole vision quest of sorts in the desert with a Navajo family that just doesn't really add anything to her story arc. The game does give you the option to play it chronologically, but even then I don't think the story arc structure would feel any more coherent. That's not even going into the writing itself it's just a lack of focus in basic narrative structure. Instead, we follow Jodie's odyssey through a chaotic and digressive narrative design that lacks focus and often fails to keep the player engaged. Probably because of that, most of the choices feel meaningless, and I didn't notice much in the way of significant consequences. Beyond: Two Souls boasts a nonlinear and meandering narrative without a clear structure. Both The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us, which are the apex of Telltale adventures, had a linear five-act structure in five episodes. While it does add some replay value, I think it fell flat in the sense of pacing. Anyone can see that Beyond: Two Souls tried to ride that wave by displaying your choices at the end of each chapter, and how they compare with the choices of other players. The original The Walking Dead by Telltale Games from 2012 had a compelling formula that revitalized adventure games. I doubt you'll care enough to try the unplayed paths.īeyond: Two Souls and the Telltale Adventure Model
Beyond: Two Souls fails monumentally in that sense. You need some element of improvisation and plasticity to make it compelling. It shouldn't be boxed-in and scripted in a way the player feels like a rat in a maze. There should be much more to proper action gameplay than just triggering the right animation. That's why I say it would be a much better game if it focused more on its interactive drama. You should also expect a lot of QTEs along the way, making you feel like a trained monkey, just pressing the buttons you're told to press. The switch doesn't feel seamless at all, and you sometimes can't tell when you're back in control. There's also the problem of transitioning from cutscenes to action-adventure segments. I guess it depends on how you feel about being put in that position as a player. There's also a camera lock in several segments, which I really dislike in games like this. That can be a real nuisance in confined environments when you're trying to get into that sweet spot for a particular interaction. The third-person movement still has that infamous issue with the character model running into objects and walls. Halfway through the game, it became irritating, getting in the way of enjoyable gameplay. These abilities include moving objects with great force, jamming or triggering electrical signals, possessing people, and communicating with the dead.Īt first, the camera seems intuitive enough, with movement animation that looks very lifelike. She becomes a CIA agent and special ops commando using Aiden's special abilities. We follow Jodie's life from her early childhood through adolescence and adulthood. She calls it Aiden, and it acts as her guardian angel as well as a haunting and sometimes vindictive daimon. She was born with a ghost-like entity that's permanently linked to her through a spiritual cord of sorts. Jodie Holmes is a girl with a cursed gift. Purely as a game, Beyond: Two Souls is severely flawed in terms of gameplay, structure, controls, and, especially, writing. Ellen Page's performance as Jodie Holmes is among the best acting I've ever seen in the gaming medium. The motion capture on display here is truly impressive, even for a six-year-old game. I'd say Beyond: Two Souls is definitely the latter. In practice, you usually end up with a great game with poor acting or great acting in a poor game.
In theory, if you like games and you like movies, you should love the seamless combination of both. From the earliest experiments with FMV in the 80s and 90s to the latest motion capture technology, cinematic games seem like a great idea.
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