Beyond: Two Souls

Great storyline with a great control. Real actors makes the game better. Game feels like a movie and the dialogues are awesome. With the great graphics, it was an amazing experience that you would like to play again

Your mileage may vary, but for me, the game is transcendent.

It transcends both video games and movies to become something greater than either medium would ever be by themselves. I'm an avid gamer (I have 400+ Steam games, 400+ iOS games, and 100+ console games). Yet–to speak for myself–*I* found this game far more moving, thought-provoking, meaningful, and entertaining than many other games (including Super Mario Galaxy 1-2, Grand Theft Auto 4-5, The Last of Us, and others).

I can only compare it to Heavy Rain, The Walking Dead, or the Metal Gear Solid series: deep rich stories that have themes and messages that convey something of lasting meaning; something beyond the mindless (but fun) shooting and platforming of other titles.

I will remember this game for years to come. There are few works of fiction of any medium for which I can say the same.

If you like a rich deep story line and don't care about a lack of "agency" (it's always illusory in video games, anyway–there are always incredibly restrictive rules on game play), then this is *the* game of the seventh generation. The comparably minor errors in execution and direction can be ignored, when viewed in light of the whole.

Indeed, the question of whether this qualifies as a game is, like Dear Ester, a largely irrelevant and pedantic: It entertains. It provokes thought. It is emotionally moving. And it illustrates that games–like cinema or literature–can be taken seriously as a medium to both entertain and enlighten.

It seems to me that most reviewers of this game have profoundly and tragically missed the point.

I've tentatively come to the conclusion that most people who dislike Beyond do so because they cannot (or will not) accept the game on its own terms: They have certain expectations of video games, and deviation from well-established norms vexes them. So, for instance, they demand interactivity, even when accepting passivity allows a far more compelling and moving narrative.

In contrast, other people are, perhaps, more flexible (at least with regards to their expectations of the medium). For instance, the "passivity" of playing Beyond did not bother me in the slightest (except, at times, the second play-through; but I passed it the first time a day ago). I knew what I was getting into.

I believe that many reviewers, given their larger than average exposure to the medium are even less tolerant of certain deviations from game play norms. This, I think, explains the large divergence of opinions on metacritic, and the (to me) inconceivably low average the game currently has (a mere 73!).

Like the criticism that the game strips the player of freedom/agency, I do not think the others have merit:

I consider the script to be impeccable. I have noticed no plot holes, and very few problems with the dialogue. It is telling that David Cage took a year of 12-14-hour days to write it and that it is 2000 pages in length.

I consider Page's acting to be truly and deeply awe-inspiring. I cannot praise her highly enough. She memorized 30-40 pages of dialogue each day. She had very little time to prepare and rehearse. She often had to juggle different emotional responses to the situations (e.g., playing the part one way in a scene and playing it another way in the same scene). Yet, despite these challenges, her acting is consistently of the highest professional quality. I have noticed no flaws in her performance; it is (along with William Dafoe's performance) very much in keeping with her Academy Award for Best Actress. I consider her to be the most talented actress I've seen.

I also think that the myriad ad hominem attacks against David Cage are entirely unwarranted. He does not try to impose his views on others. Rather, he is merely passionate, has a vision he believes in, and is outspoken in his beliefs. He believes that gaming can, like cinema or literature, change the world (or try to). This is not arrogant; it is noble.

Moreover, the game has other strengths that seem to be overlooked by many:

• The social commentary is entirely warranted, and appropriately biting. - The graphical quality of the game is the best of any on a console. - The story is incredibly moving and thought-provoking. The narrative was very easy for me to follow, despite the non-chronological presentation. - There is a wide range of different locales and gameplay dynamics employed. Variety is the spice of life.

To put it succinctly (and a little melodramatically):

For me, the game is both a reminder and illustration of the many challenges and the triumphs, the sadnesses and joys that life has to offer. For me, it's life affirming, and I consider it deep, rich and meaningful. There are almost no other games (and few movies and books, for that matter) for which I can say the same.

Take a chance; play this game.

From video game developer David Cage, maker of Heavy Rain and Indigo Prophecy, comes one of the most amazing and most entrancing video game experiences I have ever had in my entire life. Without mentioning any spoilers, I'll just say that this game carried me emotionally the whole way through, and gripped me the whole time.

Unlike most video games, this game stars actual actors, Ellen Page & Willem Dafoe. Page plays a girl names Jodie Holmes, a girl linked to a supernatural entity. Dafoe plays a man named Nathan Hawkins, a scientist assigned to study her case. There's not much else I can say without giving away major plot details.

Since the game plays out on a very large scale, it makes sure the player is invested by jumping around to different points of time. If the game followed a linear storytelling method, the segments would drag on. But this system gives the player a lot of flexibility, since no level is similar to the previous one.

I don't usually look at performance by a mo-cap actor or voice overs, but this is a rare exception. Both Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe deliver exceptional performances, both should win some award at the GOTY shows this year. This is also on a large part due to the phenomenal tech team Quantic Dream was working with that allowed the actors to show every facial expression, and every detail of the world around them to further captivate the player.

The gameplay is fluid and rather exciting. Quantic has really stepped it up a notch with the gameplay, allowing for a control scheme that is easy to adapt to, and subtle. In the game, there are segments where you get to play as the entity Jodie is linked to, and these are very fun to play. The entity (which Jodie calls Aiden) can control various things in the world. In some levels, it adds a puzzle game feel to it, giving Jodie a situation where Aidens abilities are used in creative ways.

The soundtrack is beautifully composed, as with Quantics latest venture (Heavy Rain). It's also very emotional, bringing a very powerful reaction out of me.

As to be expected from a Quantic Dream game, the shining quality is the story. This is by far, the best storyline I have ever followed in a video game. You're captivated and involved in the story, and there are no levels I would classify as "filler". Every section serves the story, and the story takes twists in ways I couldn't expect.

Overall, Beyond: Two Souls is a rare game. One that came to me as a large surprise. And while the action oriented fans of the shooter genre will not be impressed by the strange thing called "plot", It's an amazing narrative, one I will easily play again & again.

Polarizing reviews from players for Beyond: Two Souls. I can understand why, as many serious gamers may be disappointed that it's more like a play-through novel than a game. For me and many others however, this is a captivating story that's both unsettling and refreshing. I'm a fan of Choose Your Own Adventure books, so this has enough variability to make it intriguing, yet keeps the story moving along a cohesive direction. A few revelations are predictable, however there are a lot of surprises. The ending has a riveting crescendo followed by very important options for endings. So much of this game is art: directing, action adventure, drama, sci-fi, thriller, music, and a whole lot of heart.

What happens after death, what is there in the beyond? These are the questions that Quantic Dream's new title tries to ask. Beyond Two Souls is an incredibly beautiful game with a very beautiful and emotional storyline with a few surprising twists thrown into the mix. Is this game really worth your time? Well... it really depends on what your looking for these days in gaming. If you expect some AAA gameplay in this game, its not here (The Last of Us is a great alternative of storyline and gameplay). Also if you hated David Cage's previous title Heavy Rain due to the QTE's and slow gameplay then chances are you won't like this title either, this is stuff you should expect in a Quantic Dream game.

Beyond tells a story of girl named Jodie Holmes through her life ages 8 23. All her life she is attached to an entity named Aiden that protects her throughout the entirety of her life she tries to understand her entity's purpose here and understanding more on what lies beyond. This game is purely made for its story and the story here is exceptional, in addition, the performances by Ellen Page as Jodie Holmes and William Defoe as Nathan Hawkins are both amazing. The storyline here doesn't have as many plot holes like Heavy Rain does so that's relief. The story is very emotional and even more so with Heavy Rain and touches on a lot of sensitive subjects such as death, losing loved ones, and reconnecting with those we have lost (which I'm sure will make many shed some tears, I sure as hell did). It has an awesome plot that will keep you hooked for hours until the very end. However the only problem I had with the story was the way it is told. The game starts out in medias res and from there the story starts to jump around the place. For example, you would start out with Jodie in her childhood then jump into her in the military, then back to a kid, then teen and then suddenly you're wanted by the police. I kind of understand what kind of direction David Cage is going for doing a Tarantino style of direction, but all that does is make the story a little bit inconsistent. The connections between the story line is comprehensive yet I feel that the story being told in a linear format would've been a lot concise.

Beyond Two Souls was meant to be played as an experience and not for its pulse pounding gameplay which I'm not sure why people expect this from someone like David Cage. You have everything you expect from a game like this: linear structure, QTE's and button prompts to do certain thing around you. My favorite addition and mostly everyone else's favorite addition to the gameplay has to be Aiden. You are able to switch between Jodie and Aiden at any time during the game and as Aiden you are free to travel through matter, move objects, possess things and even suffocate people. This leads to test your morales in this game, for example, I was given a choice to get back at some kids that were bullying me. You have the option to get revenge or simply stay out of it. I chose to get revenge, while it was power inducing at first, let's just say there were a couple fatal and unfortunate events that have occurred. Even with Aiden's freedom you can't travel too far or else it hurts Jodie because of the entity connection and all that (I guess everything had its limits, right). Also the quick time events have been changed, everything has been moved to the right stick of the controller. The scheme is that you follow Jodie's movements with the right stick. At times it is hard to tell where Jodie is moving at time and can be frustrating for some but it didn't bother me the least because even if you fail all the QTE's the story still goes on. Since this is a Quantic Dream game, your actions can affect the entire story so there is some replay value within if you're interested in finding out what happens in another way of playing the game. There are also confirmed 12 different ways you can end this game (which is the same amount in Heavy Rain) and if you're a trophy hunter, good luck with a lot of playthroughs and grinding.

If you pre-ordered this game at Gamestop (or wherever you pre-order your games) you were promised to receive extra content, right. Yes we did let's list what we got: Additional gameplay, PS3 Theme, Avatars, and a Soundtrack (containing four songs, umm....) kind of a lackluster pre-order if you ask me and the soundtrack while beautiful and haunting but really...only four songs. I remember in heavy rain there were at least sixteen songs and that's four times the amount than in Beyond. I expected a bit more from my pre-order other than a steelbook case.

Overall, Beyond Two Souls is well polished game with only a few bugs and texture pop-ins that isn't enough to break me out of the experience. Amazing and emotional story, memorable characters and haunting score. If you love games with a rich emotional story, I recommend Beyond Two Souls.

PS: Please provide feedback and like this if this was helpful.

I plan to make it big as an entertainment reviewer / critic, much love would be appreciated. :D