Beyond: Two Souls

 PlayStation 3
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2884 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,210 out of 2884
  2. Mixed: 324 out of 2884
  3. Negative: 350 out of 2884
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  1. podesta
    Oct 9, 2013
    1
    Big step back from HR, less characters, less narrative crossroads.
    The plot is a meat loaf with boring moments, stupid and trivial.
    QD did not understand the true potential of 'interactive drama. Interactive drama should not become trivial linear film, but interactive movie sandbox. the player must be in control of the script, not a stupid spectator. Instead of hiring actors of    Big step back from HR, less characters, less narrative crossroads.
    The plot is a meat loaf with boring moments, stupid and trivial.
    QD did not understand the true potential of 'interactive drama.
    Interactive drama should not become trivial linear film, but interactive movie sandbox.
    the player must be in control of the script, not a stupid spectator.
    Instead of hiring actors of hollywood, would be better to take classes in game design    … Expand
  2. ll_po
    Oct 8, 2013
    1
    The game plays itself; you don't have control of outcomes, and you can never fail. The story is shoddy and a lot of times laughable. I had to stop playing half way because it wasn't fun anymore, so I returned it. For a $60 game I would expect to actually have a GAME, yet this felt like it would have worked just as well as a movie while saving $48. I do not recommend, this coming fromThe game plays itself; you don't have control of outcomes, and you can never fail. The story is shoddy and a lot of times laughable. I had to stop playing half way because it wasn't fun anymore, so I returned it. For a $60 game I would expect to actually have a GAME, yet this felt like it would have worked just as well as a movie while saving $48. I do not recommend, this coming from someone that somewhat enjoyed Heavy Rain. If you're curious of the story, just watch Youtube videos. You're bound to get the same experience.… Expand
  3. InformedGamer
    Oct 9, 2013
    4
    1. This is NOT a game. This is an interactive movie.
    2. TERRIBLE Controls. Far from intuitive.
    3. Nice graphics. Characters are lifelike.
    4. Strange story. Starts off confusing and is not that engaging.

    I would not recommend a purchase. This is a rental at best. I was deeply disappointed.
  4. Riskyreview
    Oct 8, 2013
    4
    Beyond two souls is a beautiful game and sadly that's the only good thing you can say about this "game".
    When i sat down with beyond two souls in my hand i did not expect ending up so disappointed as i did this is nothing but a movie since the choices you make does not matter at all and gameplay wise it's dreadful!
    If this was a 15$ game i would have been happy but for 60$ AAA game i    Beyond two souls is a beautiful game and sadly that's the only good thing you can say about this "game".
    When i sat down with beyond two souls in my hand i did not expect ending up so disappointed as i did this is nothing but a movie since the choices you make does not matter at all and gameplay wise it's dreadful!
    If this was a 15$ game i would have been happy but for 60$ AAA game i expected more then 9 hours of cutscene for a story that is dull and has been done in many movies before!    … Expand
  5. kevinshumate
    Oct 8, 2013
    2
    I am not even going to call this a game because it is flat out not a game. I was able to beat this movie incredibly early on and I am incredibly disappointing with the complete lack of any semblance of actual new game-play. So why pay 60 dollars for a movie with horrendous game-play when you can simply watch the entire thing on youtube for free?
  6. Drakensangs
    Oct 8, 2013
    0
    What a shame Willem Dafoe's great performance is wasted on this trash. Gameplay is nearly non existant and even if it were marketed as an interactive movie it's still bad. David Cage proves once again he's nothing but a talentless hack.
  7. rukia-chan
    Oct 9, 2013
    0
    This game.has lowered the bar for game narrative.If Beyond: Two Souls is truly the pinnacle of videogame narrative like PS3 fanboys claim) then I fear our standards are horrifically low. Sending out the message to publishers that this is what we consider an artistic triumph is terrible. Games can do and have done better than this, but we've now set the bar incredibly low. The high praiseThis game.has lowered the bar for game narrative.If Beyond: Two Souls is truly the pinnacle of videogame narrative like PS3 fanboys claim) then I fear our standards are horrifically low. Sending out the message to publishers that this is what we consider an artistic triumph is terrible. Games can do and have done better than this, but we've now set the bar incredibly low. The high praise for Heavy Rain has effectively sent the message that game writers don't have to try and create a tight, cohesive story. All they need to do is clumsily copy a bunch of classic movies with less than half the care and attention to detail in order to trick people into thinking their game is mature.… Expand
  8. BioDome
    Oct 8, 2013
    1
    Beyond: Two Souls is a failure on many different levels. As a movie, which David Cage clearly wanted to advertise this game as, it's plot is all over the place, it's character development almost nonexistant, and it's ending absolutely ludicrous. Several glitches during my playtime caused quite a few bugs that would have broken my immersion several times, if the wooden acting from Page andBeyond: Two Souls is a failure on many different levels. As a movie, which David Cage clearly wanted to advertise this game as, it's plot is all over the place, it's character development almost nonexistant, and it's ending absolutely ludicrous. Several glitches during my playtime caused quite a few bugs that would have broken my immersion several times, if the wooden acting from Page and Defoe hadn't already done it for me.

    As a video game, I don't think I even need to explain here. Quick Time Events do not make for compelling gameplay. The Last of Us, another recent story-based game, still had a great deal of gameplay that engaged the user way more than "press X to not die" ever will. The environments are bland, and the only good character models are the ones for the main characters on screen. "Dreamcast people" come to mind frequently.

    And although I'm not one to talk, if you take a look at the 10/10 reviews that have popped up for this game, you'll notice that very few of them have reviewed a single other game on here. Food for thought.    … Expand
  9. miszbreesz54
    Oct 8, 2013
    2
    I really wanted to like this game, but couldn't. I wanted to play a game not a movie. I didn't like the controls, the gameplay, this game bored me so much I couldn't even follow the story I was falling asleep, and I didn't like how one minute you're a kid and then the next you're a teenager with no explanation for it. I also thought I was going to like the entity, but I didn't like itI really wanted to like this game, but couldn't. I wanted to play a game not a movie. I didn't like the controls, the gameplay, this game bored me so much I couldn't even follow the story I was falling asleep, and I didn't like how one minute you're a kid and then the next you're a teenager with no explanation for it. I also thought I was going to like the entity, but I didn't like it either. I just expected a whole lot more out of this game. I was told the person who made this made Heavy Rain and I heard that game was good, but since I didn't like this one I most likely won't like that one. This is just my opinion on this there are a lot of mixed reviews about it. If you want to know how it is you have to give it a try yourself. This is definitely no 10/10.… Expand
  10. Brutalitops1
    Oct 8, 2013
    4
    David Cage captures emotions and graphically it's fine, However the story/plot is horrible and he must of realised at last second he needed to chuck a game somewhere in it. For a game so focused on story it just did nothing for me. 1/3 ain't bad?
  11. Gitgud
    Oct 8, 2013
    2
    Really awful.

    I'll try to review it objectively considering its meant to be 'an experiment', with no gameplay/interesting mechanics to speak of.

    But the story was drab, graphically you would have expected more at this late stage of hardware optimisation.

    Very underwhelming.
  12. Krichevskoy
    Oct 9, 2013
    0
    This is not a game, as absolutely none of your actions actually influence anything. You can fail anything and the game just progresses as normal. As far as a movie goes it's very poor.

    Disgusting.
  13. BeeJoe
    Oct 8, 2013
    2
    Whilst a very visually attractive game, David Cage's Beyond: Two Souls proves to be quite soulless, with a confusing, cliched story and unappealing characters. Give this one a miss.
  14. Alisson9000
    Oct 8, 2013
    0
    I'm not happy with this game, it promised so much, the demo was awesome and then, when i play, all i see is a movie wannabe game, the gameplay is so poor that in the end i was only playing for the story.
    I kinda regret buying it, if it was cheaper maybe it would worth it, but with 59,99 dollars, you can do better.
  15. gadzooks1357
    Oct 8, 2013
    1
    Terribly short. You can tell since it released today and yet so many people are already giving it 10/10s. Not worth $60, especially considering how heavily it relies on narrative and graphics to make up for the complete lack of gameplay. If you strip away all the surface elements, it's easy to tell that the last thing on Quantic Dream's mind was to make a game and they would rather beTerribly short. You can tell since it released today and yet so many people are already giving it 10/10s. Not worth $60, especially considering how heavily it relies on narrative and graphics to make up for the complete lack of gameplay. If you strip away all the surface elements, it's easy to tell that the last thing on Quantic Dream's mind was to make a game and they would rather be making movies (although there's probably a good reason why they're stuck making 'games' and not movies).

    Beyond: Two Souls is a poor attempt at mimicking the success of Telltale Game's 'The Walking Dead,' which not only released at half the price of Quantic Dream's story, but it also allowed players to buy the story in smaller chunks at even cheaper prices in case they weren't sure they were going to like it. $60 for something that plays exactly the same is almost criminal.    … Expand
  16. akxsion
    Oct 9, 2013
    0
    Whatever happened to video games being like video games? I tried the demo and it was the most unfun POS ever with some of the worst controls I have ever experienced. Beyond: Two Souls does not deserve more than Beyond: Two Sales.

    I will stick with real video games and not this casual junk that wants to be a movie. Keep your movies out of my video games.
  17. Threat922
    Oct 8, 2013
    1
    I'm generously giving this "game" a 1. The graphics are pretty good, not the best I've ever seen, not the worst. The music and sound are pretty top notch, all things considered. The story I can see as a love it or hate it type thing. I thought it was interesting, but not overly so. The gameplay is non-existent.

    Listen, when I don't even have to tap a button, I don't have to input    I'm generously giving this "game" a 1. The graphics are pretty good, not the best I've ever seen, not the worst. The music and sound are pretty top notch, all things considered. The story I can see as a love it or hate it type thing. I thought it was interesting, but not overly so. The gameplay is non-existent.

    Listen, when I don't even have to tap a button, I don't have to input any command at all, and the story just plays itself out as if I wasn't even there. Then it's not a game friends. It's a movie. Now if Beyond: Two Souls want's to be a movie that's fine, I'll buy the 20 dollar blu-ray. Instead of the 60 dollar whatever this is supposed to be.

    Just to illustrate how disappointed I am, I've got about 90 games in my collection, this will be the first game I trade-in, which is saying something, considering I have two copies of White Knight Chronicles 2 for absolutely no reason.    … Expand
  18. supersuncho
    Oct 8, 2013
    0
    In my opinion, the most overrated game I've ever seen. Another fuzzy movie from Quantic Dreams: only one scene of real action games, controls I can not even tell who is oriented on this game
  19. Strumbore
    Oct 8, 2013
    0
    It's a terrible, TERRIBLE game. Controls are even worse than in Heavy Rain. You have *no idea* what you're supposed to do half the time. You have to jump over obstacles the camera doesn't show; punch characters in a doorway you assume you're supposed to scramble past; push the right-stick towards the enemy to push when it looks like Jodie is about to duck...and then there's "Aiden".It's a terrible, TERRIBLE game. Controls are even worse than in Heavy Rain. You have *no idea* what you're supposed to do half the time. You have to jump over obstacles the camera doesn't show; punch characters in a doorway you assume you're supposed to scramble past; push the right-stick towards the enemy to push when it looks like Jodie is about to duck...and then there's "Aiden".

    First, what's with all these game characters named Aiden lately? There are fewer than 1,584 people in the U.S. with the first name Aiden. 0.0005% of the US population. I swear I didn't even know there was such a name until Heavy Rain, Just like I didn't know children to Chicago natives had accents.

    Aiden is a supernatural entity you play as from the first-person to get Jodie out of jams. She'll frequently cry, "Help me, Aiden!" and you'll be facing some awkward direction and the screen will be blurry. Now you have to float Aiden around the area with all the grace of a flying refrigerator.
    It's almost impossible to figure out what you can interact with because you have to be an inch from it to tell most of the time. To do anything, you hold R1, and move both control sticks. But you never know which direction! Sometimes you have to pull them apart, charge, and release to "zap" objects, pinch together to choke, continuously pull apart to possess enemies, rotate them...you never know what you're supposed to do.

    Finally, the oldest problem in modern games, terrible writing. This is a European fan-film remake of E.T. with all the cliche's of a Hollywood chase scene, complete with no less than 5 state troopers chasing you on top of a passenger train. Why did 5 out-of-shape rent-a-cops climb on top of a train at once? And why do all of "Bakerstown"'s finest sound like Batman street thugs? Why is the SWAT team-member flailing his arms around near the explosion when he's not even on fire??? I was frequently expecting some guy to drag a fruit cart in my path so I could crash through it. Heavy Rain had a chicken coup in Walmart, after all.

    Bottom line, this is a really horribly designed game, even if the main characters look very realistic (too bad they aren't memmorable--what a waste of Willem Dafoe). Don't buy it, or Sony might threaten us with more.    … Expand
  20. denhoffi
    Nov 5, 2013
    4
    A huge step down from Heavy Rain. This is actually the most accurate thing I can say about this game.

    First the positive things, the visuals are amazing, from simply a graphics view this is the best game on any console ever. It probably is the best-looking console game we will see on this generation of consoles and with next-gen looming around the corner I am intrigued to see what    A huge step down from Heavy Rain. This is actually the most accurate thing I can say about this game.

    First the positive things, the visuals are amazing, from simply a graphics view this is the best game on any console ever. It probably is the best-looking console game we will see on this generation of consoles and with next-gen looming around the corner I am intrigued to see what Quantic Dream can do with better hardware. But that is the most positive thing that can be said about the game.

    The story and characters are a weird mix of intriguing and disappointing. The characters seem interesting and engaging at first but the character development is hindered by the disrupting timeline which makes it hard to connect with the characters. The acting in this game is topnotch which isn't a surprise seeing as the main characters are portrayed by Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe, but at the same time I can't see them as characters of the game but I just see Ellen Page or Willem Dafoe as actors in different situations and that doesn't speak for the writing. The writing is actually one of the main problems with the game, it fails to set the tone for the great actors they got for the game and fails to make them compelling which again is probably due to the in-consequent timeline presented for the first half of the game. The story is also lacking the drive that Heavy Rain showed us, everything is riding on the main character, Ellen Page, the writers threw her in various situations that were supposed to get the gamer involved and care about here but those situations felt random and just unrealistic. For example did she seem to get only involved in very bad situations, a birthday party where the kids just randomly picked on her, after being nice to her at first or a bar where three men just decided to try to rape the under-aged girl that came in, I'm not saying that this can't happen or hasn't unfortunately happened to some people but here it just feels like filler and just a bad try to add to a weak story. The writers don't even fear to throw in the often-used and borderline insulting ....Native American family that just knows about some spirits and that guide the main character.

    The biggest problem about this game is the gameplay though, there is none. It boils down to pushing some buttons that don't matter and have no real effect on the game itself. Here we can draw a comparison to Heavy Rain or similar games like The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us, these games work well because not just the story and characters are more engaging but also because your choices matter and change the outcome of the game. In Heavy Rain for example, people die if you make the wrong decisions or it will have some other consequences but in Beyond:Two Souls you can't even fail the game, the game will find some way to not let you fail or cut to another scene where you then can escape with a few button-pushes. This takes away the urgency that you felt in Heavy Rain and just dumbs the game down.

    Beyond: Two Souls is a major disappointment, it's an incoherent sample of scenes that you can move forward by pushing some buttons but in the end it doesn't even come close to the experiences that were Heavy Rain(Quantic Dream) or similar games like The Walking Dead(Telltale).    … Expand
  21. Friendzie
    Jan 7, 2014
    0
    If you look at the 10/10 reviews for the game on Metacritic, you see such lines as "maybe a interactive novel", "Best cinematic game ever", and "interactive drama". I'm quoting this because I want to make it clear that Beyond Two Souls is not really a game in the traditional sense, and I'm not trolling by giving it a 0. What this is is a $60 movie. For my money, if I want to watch a movie,If you look at the 10/10 reviews for the game on Metacritic, you see such lines as "maybe a interactive novel", "Best cinematic game ever", and "interactive drama". I'm quoting this because I want to make it clear that Beyond Two Souls is not really a game in the traditional sense, and I'm not trolling by giving it a 0. What this is is a $60 movie. For my money, if I want to watch a movie, I'll pay about 1/10th the price to see it in a theater or 1/20th the price to rent it. I don't see the advantage to using video games to simply tell a story. I do realize that some people enjoy this "game", but I just don't understand why it had to be a game at all. Could it not have been enjoyable as a movie? Did it have to be a $60 title? I'm giving it a zero, though, because I didn't even think the story was very good.… Expand
  22. jimkun221
    Dec 9, 2013
    0
    The illusion of choice while forcing the uninspired story down a predetermined path masked by genuinely good graphics and actual actors does not make a good game. This linear visual novel banked everything on the story with little of anything that could be considered gameplay elements (i.e. a smattering of button prompts) and failed to deliver a unique experience or any actual gravity fromThe illusion of choice while forcing the uninspired story down a predetermined path masked by genuinely good graphics and actual actors does not make a good game. This linear visual novel banked everything on the story with little of anything that could be considered gameplay elements (i.e. a smattering of button prompts) and failed to deliver a unique experience or any actual gravity from the choices you make throughout the game. A more appropriate title would be "Beyond: Wasted Potential."… Expand
  23. KarthXLR
    Mar 24, 2014
    4
    What is there left to say about the games of David Cage? He's obviously passionate about games as an art form, but much like Ed Wood, he fails to understand what makes his medium truly great.

    Interactivity is the whole basis of video games. You're not being told a story, you're LIVING that story. It can provide extremely interesting situations for players and add lots of replayability.    What is there left to say about the games of David Cage? He's obviously passionate about games as an art form, but much like Ed Wood, he fails to understand what makes his medium truly great.

    Interactivity is the whole basis of video games. You're not being told a story, you're LIVING that story. It can provide extremely interesting situations for players and add lots of replayability. This is where all of Quantic Dreams' efforts fail. These stories are very linear, with Beyond leading the pack as the most linear of all of them.

    Jodie Holmes is the star of the story, possessing strange paranormal powers. We follow her through her life and explore what led her to where she is today. With the help of htis paranormal entity known as "Aiden", Jodie is thrust into adventure and drama as she tries to live her life. Beyond is another of the "Your choices matter" type of games that have been plaguing the industry ever since Mass Effect and Bioshock popularized the concept. In this, though, your choices never really feel like they impact the story. It always seems like Cage is more concerned with telling you his narrative than letting you discover your own.

    Jodie's character is never really built-up because the game can't decide where to go with its story. It's almost laughable just how silly it is to see Jodie trying to speak to a native kid over in Syria (or wherever they were). It's a shame because there are very good sequences in the game, such as the homeless section, that actually say a lot by staying silent. Other sequences, however, are just the worst they can come. In-particular, the war sequence, the birthday party, many of the child sequences, and the rape are just cringe-worthy writing that even the most exploitative of works don't attempt.

    The chronology of Beyond is strange, as it's told out of sequence for no apparent reason. All it seems to use this for is to place important plot information in a flashback right before the level where you need said information. Seems like an afterthought more than a narrative tool.

    And lastly, the gameplay of Beyond. Largely consisting of QTE's and occasional (and I do mean occasional) ghost segments, there's not much else to talk about. There are very few times where you can actually fail the mission objectives. As a matter of fact, the game crashed more than I lost on the normal difficulty, a total of three times. The game is restrictive rather than limited with its gameplay segments and once again makes me wonder why these elements aren't used in a budget game that could be produced faster and cheaper and still retain the same quality apart from graphics.

    For the third time in a row, Cage has made an uninteresting mess of game that has the foundation of potential surrounding it. If he would just listen to his critics instead of shoehorning his ideas wherever he sees fit, he may just be able to make a truly great and unforgettable game. For now, Beyond doesn't succeed at a single thing it attempts aside from graphics.

    Want games with branching pathlines and choices that matter? Try Fallout: New Vegas or Virtues Last Reward.

    Want games with excellent stories and good dialogue? Try Deus Ex or Spec Ops: The Line.

    Want a game with QTE's and not much else? Try Beyond: Two Souls.    … Expand
  24. Penther
    Oct 31, 2013
    2
    Is Beyond: Two Souls in the right category Is it a game or a movie I don't really care, in both cases it has the same defects and qualities.

    Let's start with the qualities : - The pitch is nice, with a great potential for storytelling and character development. - The character is lovable - Graphics are mostly really nice, I say mostly because some facial animations seemed very    Is Beyond: Two Souls in the right category Is it a game or a movie I don't really care, in both cases it has the same defects and qualities.

    Let's start with the qualities :
    - The pitch is nice, with a great potential for storytelling and character development.
    - The character is lovable
    - Graphics are mostly really nice, I say mostly because some facial animations seemed very unnatural to me

    And... that's it... let's check what I didn't like
    - The idea of playing scenes in a random order. even though it's "explained" later, it was pointless, and very irritating in the beginning, giving me the sensation that I was given random stories to play for a short time, before jumping to another.
    - It is soooo looonngggg... not in the good way. I have to walk through that corridor Why does everyone walks faster than me It simply makes the scenes longer (and boring), and breaks the rhythm.
    - It's often predictable, It uses schemes already seen, again and again, in too many movies,
    - Same thing for the characters, a lot of them are very cliché. Behind Jodie, most of the characters are transparent and/or irritating.
    - It's supposed to be an interactive movie, but the interactions are only pressing the button that the "game" asks you to press. Some games, behind a gameplay, manage to tell a story while giving some real choices to the player, with consequences on the scenario. Here, nothing, only a few different endings, with the choice just before, making it completely artificial.

    In the end, even with it's encouraging concept, this game/movie is disappointing.
    It is a bad movie, a succession of cliché with no rhythm.
    it is a bad game, as the player has no role at all in the story.

    Honestly, I think that is someone decides to capture a walkthrough, and makes a good montage of it, cutting boring parts etc., It might become a decent movie... with a lot of cliché, but decent.
    In it's current/official state, it's not worth playing/watching    … Expand
  25. Tubey
    Oct 22, 2013
    3
    This isn't really a game, let's be honest. This is the same kind of thing that existed when the SEGACD was in vogue and suddenly you could produce interactive movies and the public would gasp and applaud at the technological marvel of it all.

    Beyond: Two Souls is exactly that; an interactive movie. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and to be fair it doesn't pretend to be anything    This isn't really a game, let's be honest. This is the same kind of thing that existed when the SEGACD was in vogue and suddenly you could produce interactive movies and the public would gasp and applaud at the technological marvel of it all.

    Beyond: Two Souls is exactly that; an interactive movie. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and to be fair it doesn't pretend to be anything other than an interactive movie. But it isn't a game. There's no element of challenge or dynamism about the title. This is painting by numbers, the PS3 version.

    The reason they market this as a game where you occasionally press X to plod the movie along is because as a standalone movie it wouldn't sell (because of the shoddy story and poor presentation more than anything else!), so they're relying on gamers to think that by pressing the odd button every five minutes that they're involved some how.

    And that's why you're getting people using descriptions such as "masterpiece", "beautiful", "emotional" etc. because they've been conned into thinking they've played through something meaningful.

    I've heard people say that "it's a good change of pace", that somehow doing next to nothing is a GOOD thing, but you know what you could do if you wanted such a change of place? Watch an actual movie and one with a much, much better storyline than this to boot. Heavy Rain had a bit of substance, so you could arguably get drawn in to the 'whodunnit' aspect of it.

    Graphically it is lacklustre to say the least. The controls for the limited amount of "gameplay" here are a jumbled, confused afterthought.

    Beyond: Two Souls is 'game' that should be getting poor reviews on Rotten Tomatoes rather than any gaming website. It is ultimately uninspired; full of pretence and very little substance. This review will get hammered by most who have 'played' the game, because they'll be indoctrinated by the pretence on show here, but make no mistake, this is a stinker of a title that you should avoid at all costs.    … Expand
  26. Reykjavik
    Nov 3, 2013
    0
    Bad as a videogame and bad as a movie, David Cage does not deserve so much attention. And there is not even the illusion off choice like in Fahrenheit or Heavy rain.
    At least those to tried to make you feel like your decisions could change something.
  27. rito
    Feb 2, 2014
    0
    Do you want to play a game where you pack a bag for a level, push left or right to roll in bed and then push two buttons to put your feet on the floor. then this is the game for you. You can push wrong buttons all the way through and still complete. Have powers that can go through walls 10 feet away but not 1mm away. Walk in only one direction, your decissions don't matter charaters forgetDo you want to play a game where you pack a bag for a level, push left or right to roll in bed and then push two buttons to put your feet on the floor. then this is the game for you. You can push wrong buttons all the way through and still complete. Have powers that can go through walls 10 feet away but not 1mm away. Walk in only one direction, your decissions don't matter charaters forget later. Take over peoples bodies but only certain ones. This game is completely about the smug Actors (Ellen Page and William Defoe) and just like there movies over hyped and very disapointing.… Expand
  28. benHaskett
    Oct 9, 2013
    3
    When playing Beyond, I couldn't help but recall an interview I read with Amy Hennig in which she explained that the writing for the Uncharted games started with first developing their exciting, standout events, and then contriving links to tie them all together. The funny thing about Beyond, is that it kind of does the same thing, except A), the events aren't always exciting or memorable,When playing Beyond, I couldn't help but recall an interview I read with Amy Hennig in which she explained that the writing for the Uncharted games started with first developing their exciting, standout events, and then contriving links to tie them all together. The funny thing about Beyond, is that it kind of does the same thing, except A), the events aren't always exciting or memorable, and B), the writers didn't bother to create any links to tie the story together. Instead, Beyond is made up of a bunch of tiny scenes that merey fade in, fade out, and move on to the next. These scenes can last anywhere between 5 and 30 minutes.

    During these scenes, there's a very thinly-veiled notion that you're directing the outcome of the story, much like in Telltale's The Walking Dead; however, no matter what you do, everything turns out exactly the same in the end. A perfect example of this occurs very early on in the game where you're given the opportunity to wreak havoc in an office building--at first, you’re prompted by the game to ruffle some papers and knock over some blocks, which scares someone in the room. At that point, you’re given the option to continue messing with stuff in the room, for the sole purpose of freaking this person out even more. I opted not to, because, well, it would have been mean to do so. So I just sat there, and for the next minute or so, the music continued to swell and the panicking individual continued to panic. Finally, the scene ended when some people burst into the room to relieve the main character, who was... sobbing?! Why? She ruffled some papers, and knocked over some blocks. Clearly the writers assumed that all players would go to town on everything in the room, and did not bother writing an alternative; EVERYTHING in the game is predetermined.

    Worse, even the best scenes are rarely original. It’s mostly tried-and-true movie tropes designed to evoke emotional responses from the audience. The problem is that that they’e so disconnected from each other that it amounts to nothing.

    In the end, Beyond is a collection of low-hanging fruit tropes, cut up nice and neat into tiny, bite-sized vignettes.    … Expand
  29. Bluebottle
    Sep 6, 2014
    0
    Complete garbage, yet only the second worst game made by David Cage, a dubious title which belongs to Indigo Prophecy/Fahrenheit. Play Heavy Rain instead, or better yet, don't touch any of David Cage's games with a 100 foot barge pole.
  30. Khantearthos
    May 4, 2015
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is not a video game, This is not a movie ether. This "game" is not good at all. For anyone who thinks it is amazing and a masterpiece please tell me What is the Plot? I will not deny that the game looks great, and there are some good parts we're you will feel emotions. Here I will bring huge problems with the game so SPOILERS

    The first problem there is the story and the way it is told. No scenes are connected too each other what so ever, you move through the story in a timeline that jumps around from present to past. So you play as Jodie who has a ghost attached to her named Aiden via a ghost umbilical cord. So you "play" the game mostly holding forward and using the sticks to make Aiden do things. It is not possible to fail any part of the game and the game creator David Cage said not to play it twice, because if you did it shows the huge plot holes and little variations of your decisions. Ok so the government opens a portal to the "infer world" and evil ghosts come out and Jodie is the only one who can close it. You do this four times in the game because it looks cool. The Government agents have 0 reasons to open one at all. A former Soviet block in Afgan-Serb-Asian Land opens a portal in a secret under water base. The game also has at lest three rape scenes because Jodie has to be a victim. Jodie goes to a bar to meet "friends" that she doesn't have because she lives in a government building and is isolated from human contact other than Dawkins and his assistant and your never told about them... anyways Jodie goes into empty bar where two dudes are and the bartender, also a male. She has a lemonade and starts to play pool with one of the guys, then the guy decides to rape her because that's what all men try and do to women who are alone in a bar clearly. Aiden then kills all three, then Dawkins and a bunch of cops show up ten seconds later, even though not knowing where she is. So people who think this is good what did this scene add to the story or the plot? Anything? No it didn't. Another scene is called Navajo Jodie is walking in the desert down a highway, how she got there, never told, a minute into the scene she notices a ranch ten feet away that she didn't see for miles. She meets a nice native American family who take her in. there's four of them the dad, his old mom and his two sons. They eat, then night comes and a sand storm comes, she told not to leave her room and ignore what ever she hears. So you play toss and turn simulator for a third time and you have a scary dream and open the front door to see a ghost native American... ooooo scary. Next day you do chores and take a shower where ghost of native American shows up again in the shower and writes crown. The night comes, she goes outside and watches Malebolgia pound the house, then gets chased by giant ghost face and then saved by the 5 guardian sprits and Malebolgia gives up for reasons. Next day you go and investigate. Ancient spirit guardian which was a male Native American writes crown in English again and an arrow toward Fort Crown. She uses ghost fart gas to see memories of dead people from inanimate objects, and find a circle with five points where a portal was opened into the ghost world, she only finds 4 amulets. You then turn around and the ranch is 100 feet away even though it wasn't there last scene. Jodie goes inside to find the fifth amulet around Grandma's neck and she starts to speak English after decades of complete silence. Explains why the ghost is here and also knows the magic spell to open the portal. Jodie makes the five pointed symbol. One of the sons asks what she's doing by Grandma yells to listen to her. Her grandson then says "YOU CAN TALK" no joke. Now you need five souls to complete the ritual, so ether you save Paul or it can be Aiden and you seal Malebolgia away. Grandma dies in the process, from something your never told. You then go to ancient burial grounds and bury grandma and Paul, then Jodie finds drawings that predicated her coming. You try and kiss a guy because he is tall dark and handsome, that's the only reason. Jodie drives off and the hole family is standing together for reasons. So people who like this game, what did that add to the story and plot what did tell you about Jodie? What? Nothing oh ok.
    So there's this character called Ryan, the first time Jodie meets him which isn't the first scene he's a dick and mean. Next scene is them on a date and Jodie likes him. After that you go on a mission to kill a warlord. Jodie finds out after see kills him that he was actually is a President freaks out for being lied too and jumps out of a Helicopter. And that is the reason she is being hunted, see has a problem with killing a leader of a country and some kids dad, but is totally fine with murdering countless cops. Dose that make sense? The ending of the game is Jodie closing a portal for a forth time. You can chose to stay alive or die, and then the game sets up a sequel. Garbage    … Expand
  31. nerrstyBthirsty
    Mar 31, 2014
    0
    Beyond: Two Souls is a bloated mess. Amidst technically nice graphics and well implemented voice work, there are tons of technical issues, a disjointed, seemingly randomly confabulated narrative that revolves around the main character doing seemingly random things at different points of her life, which never really add up or pay off to anything. When the "movie like" experience you'reBeyond: Two Souls is a bloated mess. Amidst technically nice graphics and well implemented voice work, there are tons of technical issues, a disjointed, seemingly randomly confabulated narrative that revolves around the main character doing seemingly random things at different points of her life, which never really add up or pay off to anything. When the "movie like" experience you're paying to "play" (and I use that term very, very loosely) doesn't even deliver on being a well crafted story, you know that someone, somewhere royally screwed up.

    The story here revolves around Jodie, played by Ellen Paige who has a special ghost-like entity named Aiden attached to her since she was a child. I'll be the first to admit that this is an interesting premise, and I'd also be willing to admit that it works well inside of Beyond, if it weren't for the game's complete and utter disregard for narrative consistency, or even making contextual sense.

    Scenes pass from one to the other, and it almost turns into a bad variety show. The problem is, this isn't intended to be comedy. The game takes itself so seriously, even when it's showing Ellen Paige, ghoth'd out playing the guitar, befriending the homeless, and becoming a secret agent, that it turns into absolute comedic gold. There's no inkling of anyone crafting a well developed, fully realized narrative, here. Considering Beyond is a narrative based experience, this is inexcusable.

    I can accept that it's a movie like experience. I didn't play Beyond expecting fully realized gameplay mechanics. The mechanics that are here are pointless, though. You can literally set the controller down, not respond to any of the quick time events at all, and the game will still progress regardless. I did play Beyond expecting a fully realized narrative, and I was sorely disappointed.

    I realize I keep pointing back to this, but the story is the basis for this entire game. Beyond isn't about solid gameplay mechanics, interesting locales or any sense of achievement. It's about taking part in its narrative. Being a somewhat controlling factor of it. Which is all well and good, but the narrative here is so weak, that I can't recommend this title to anyone. It's certainly not a game in the traditional sense, and it certainly doesn't qualify as having a decent narrative.

    It's derivative, it's pretentious, it's bloated, the exposition leads to nowhere, and simply put, it's not worth your time or money. Beyond: Two Souls has zero redeeming qualities.    … Expand
  32. Pyro3000
    Oct 13, 2013
    0
    Clunky character movement, forced decisions, awkward character interaction, and an ending so bad I literally sat my controller down and laughed. This isn't the masterpiece that Heavy Rain was. Not even close. This game started out great and showed a lot of promise, but the story really plummets after the Navajo section. So many moments in the story feel like they were just thrown on toClunky character movement, forced decisions, awkward character interaction, and an ending so bad I literally sat my controller down and laughed. This isn't the masterpiece that Heavy Rain was. Not even close. This game started out great and showed a lot of promise, but the story really plummets after the Navajo section. So many moments in the story feel like they were just thrown on to add time to your playthrough, and the constant traveling back and forth through the main character's chlidhood and adulthood makes it really hard to make sincere choices when given the option. Not only that, but you see just how little control you actually have. This is by far one of the worst games i've ever played. It reminds me of when I played Indigo Prophecy and had to watch the great story turn into an awkward Dragon Ball Z LARP session.… Expand
  33. StarlessBB
    Oct 8, 2013
    3
    For all of David Cage's attempts to make games into movies, why can he not write, and why are the controls so goddamn obnoxious and horrible?

    This game has lovely visuals and pretty good acting performances, but GODDAMN the controls are absolutely horrendous in ways they shouldn't be. Just moving your character feels like the most disgusting thing ever due to how poor the controls are.
  34. Agarwel
    Oct 10, 2013
    3
    Very weak title. For a game there is basically no gameplay. For a movie, it is too slow and story not interesting. For a interactiv movie, there is not much of interactivity. (this is caused by the story structure, where you actually play the future parts before you can play the parts before them, that could affect them without linear structure the interactivity is really not working).Very weak title. For a game there is basically no gameplay. For a movie, it is too slow and story not interesting. For a interactiv movie, there is not much of interactivity. (this is caused by the story structure, where you actually play the future parts before you can play the parts before them, that could affect them without linear structure the interactivity is really not working). And as a tech-demo, there are texture pop-ups and framedrops including some short (0,5 1sec) freezes caused by the background loadings.
    I really liked the Heavy Rain. But the Beyond has basically all the bad aspect of the Heavy Rain. But unfortunately it is missing to parts that were great in Heavy Rain (interesting story and interactivity that could affect story few scenes later.)    … Expand
  35. MalcomGTX
    Oct 11, 2013
    4
    It started strong, was intriguing and held my interest. I played it two player with my wife and we had fun, but as the story developed it started to show how poorly written it was. Small details at first followed by odd reactions (apparently suicide is a-ok?) leading up to a frustratingly dumb ending and reveal. We rented it with the intention of buying if it was good to add to ourIt started strong, was intriguing and held my interest. I played it two player with my wife and we had fun, but as the story developed it started to show how poorly written it was. Small details at first followed by odd reactions (apparently suicide is a-ok?) leading up to a frustratingly dumb ending and reveal. We rented it with the intention of buying if it was good to add to our collection, this will not make it. Long story short, it wasn't worth the rental price to us.… Expand
  36. Shorak
    Mar 11, 2014
    3
    This game is "Beyond" horrible. For everyone saying that David Cage is a genius and half the gaming population can't understand what a "masterpiece" his work is, please, take a look again.

    Here's a true review: First of all, none of the choices you make in the game have much of an impact. I've watched multiple playthroughs with people trying out different options, and they all lead    This game is "Beyond" horrible. For everyone saying that David Cage is a genius and half the gaming population can't understand what a "masterpiece" his work is, please, take a look again.

    Here's a true review:

    First of all, none of the choices you make in the game have much of an impact. I've watched multiple playthroughs with people trying out different options, and they all lead to the same scene in the end of the chapter! So no, whoever says this game is worth the money is lying. Why spend $60 for a game built like a movie out of chronological order? Especially when halfway through the "game", it goes downhill like a rocket ship entering Earth's atmosphere again.

    Speaking of game, there's barely any gameplay. You can move around and interact with objects, but jeeeeeeez, the most gameplay I've gotten out of it was with the sneaking. And even then, whenever I tried to fail every single prompt to see if I could get a different outcome from things--because, mind you, according to David Cage, the point of an interactive game is to have your actions NOT determine the outcome of your future events--the game just handled it for me like a guiding hand.

    Second, everyone calls her a witch like it's the new thing. We're supposed to feel for her, but most of the time I just groaned and slapped my forehead. Seriously, who the hell uses that word for unexplained occurrences anymore? This isn't the Crucible! Of course, though, everything bad that happens can always be justified with the term "witch." And every time something happened, the blame would instantly be put on her too.
    According to David Cage, "Witches are a failure of the game designer."

    All the emotional scenes are forced on Jodie for the sake of her herself, not the stupidly wonderful storyline. I spent most of my time yelling out, "Oh, come ON! There's no way something that stupid would happen in real life!!"
    I mean, really!? She gets the option to kiss almost every guy she meets because she's a slut (and yes, I chose to kiss them all for the giggles), and even then, when most of them are such **** to her in the first place, everyone thinks it's a sweet, romantic moment.

    So apparently, just because she has this supernatural entity following her, we should feel sorry for the girl? Damn, I've met people with sadder stories about dying dogs and missing out on in-town events. This, just....this game does a horrendous way of making you feel sorry for her. One moment when you actually start to get into it, it goes back to her childhood or another part of her life.

    Don't let me get started on how horribly done the order of her life is..... Chronological would have made the game better, but not to the point of saving it.

    I could go oooon about all the stereotypes he puts in there. Hell, most of this game just yells out, "Hey, look! The white race is superior, so let's have our white girl solve a thousand year old prophecy, make an old lady who hasn't talked for years suddenly speak, and take down a warlord!! And then, after all of that happens, let's bring in more feels so the gamers can empathize with her!"
    Most of the time all the tension died down because one knew Aiden would save them no matter what happened -_ -

    I've written a short story once--a lot of people say it's the most original and creative idea they've ever heard of--and the death of my main characters sister actually made my friends cry and feel depressed, and that was only in the fifth chapter of the book. I didn't need a supernatural entity following her to make the other characters treat her bad because of her being a "witch", nor did I have the need to randomly skip to "tragic" scenes of her past to make them feel for her.
    No, I built it all up from beginning to end; she only appeared in Chapter Two before appearing again in Chapter Five. She wasn't even a main character either. That's how you make a great character, not this Beyond Two Craps that forces you to sympathize with a girl who spreads her legs for every possible guy she meets, randomly time skipped sequences and her constant yelling at Aiden, wanting his help, yelling again before wanting him to help her out again. Give the guy a rest, damn!

    I admit though, I got more laughs out of this game than intended when playing with my friends XD So I guess that's one reason to buy it.

    Trust me, if you look Beyond the so-called storyline and dwell into it, you'll see all the flaws everyone is ignoring. Take a look at all the good reviews. All they talk about is the storyline, the graphics and character personalities of the game right? Well yeah, because that's all they freaking focused on.

    This game is more racist than AC3, more jumbled up than a bunch of hyper-active kids at a birthday party, yells out "White power!" to the point that it's hilarious, slaps everything in your face to make you feel "bad", and brings out all sorts of clichés like it's a festival. Apparently, that's what this generation deems a "masterpiece".    … Expand
  37. jtroud
    Oct 9, 2013
    1
    The marketing around this "beyond a game" is far more efficient than the program itself wich is close to a serie B movie with cheap actors, cheap effects and cheap story.
  38. tenow
    Oct 8, 2013
    1
    Abysmal experience. Uneven graphics quality ranging from photo-realistic to very primitive are distracting and this is the best part of the game. Controls are even worse than in previous games, QTE during action scenes is now promtless and often not obvious, during casual interaction it's hard to aim at the required object and ghost mechanics are just unresponsive. And still this is notAbysmal experience. Uneven graphics quality ranging from photo-realistic to very primitive are distracting and this is the best part of the game. Controls are even worse than in previous games, QTE during action scenes is now promtless and often not obvious, during casual interaction it's hard to aim at the required object and ghost mechanics are just unresponsive. And still this is not the worst part. Story and writing are the worst. Game comprised of mixed memories from different parts of Jodie's life. The fact that they are mixed brings nothing to the game experience. Last third of the game is going chronologically anyway. There are numerous plotholes in the script, Jodie's powers don't add up in different episodes and made of different genre cliches, her motivations are totally unclear throughout the game no matter what decisions you make all of them seem out of place and only there to serve the nonsensical plot. Avoid this game!… Expand
  39. Kuse
    Oct 9, 2013
    4
    Beautiful graphics but just a terrible derivative story, long winded and contrite at times. The sequeuences through out the game are just repetitive and almost forced most of the time. Fragmented and lost in a sea of cliches and predictable storylines it tries to be something more than what it could have been....Very dissapointed as I loved Heavy Rain...
  40. rydenshep
    Oct 9, 2013
    2
    As a huge fan of David Cage's, I was incredibly disappointing. I'd much rather watch a movie-version of this attempt at a Quentin Tarantino storytelling. You feel passive, as your decisions don't matter, and you're invincible. You can't die. You can get stabbed, beat to hell, and knocked out, but surprise--Aidan saves the day! The ending doesn't give you any feeling of completion, and theAs a huge fan of David Cage's, I was incredibly disappointing. I'd much rather watch a movie-version of this attempt at a Quentin Tarantino storytelling. You feel passive, as your decisions don't matter, and you're invincible. You can't die. You can get stabbed, beat to hell, and knocked out, but surprise--Aidan saves the day! The ending doesn't give you any feeling of completion, and the decisions you make (do I want to make Asian beef or soup?) have no pull to the story at all. The combat is the worse the gaming industry has ever seen, and the controls are weak. I was a huge fan of Indigo Prophecy and Heavy Rain.. Beyond: Two Souls was the biggest disappointment of this generation.… Expand
  41. SKELETOR420
    Oct 9, 2013
    4
    Played a few hours with the missus last night. She had great fun picking apart the horrible writing scene by scene. There is nothing fresh, it’s all lifted from horror/paranormal movies. It’s really just Heavy Rain with a faster pace, and ALL the dialogue plot holes (ever). Ellen Page hams it up and a lot of lines just aren’t delivered well. Whole thing plays like a tutorial, so clearlyPlayed a few hours with the missus last night. She had great fun picking apart the horrible writing scene by scene. There is nothing fresh, it’s all lifted from horror/paranormal movies. It’s really just Heavy Rain with a faster pace, and ALL the dialogue plot holes (ever). Ellen Page hams it up and a lot of lines just aren’t delivered well. Whole thing plays like a tutorial, so clearly Quantic Dream have learned nothing gameplay wise. That’s always been an issue with their games most interactions are devoid of context so there really isn’t gameplay or challenge. The controller icon is forever there to tell you what to do because you’re not going to know! The Last of Us showed the future, not this interactive movie tripe. It achieved all the “emotion” and was still a highly engaging game. With that, imagine the possibilities if Telltale had this budget. David Cage needs to play The Walking Dead and understand that it’s got the right amount of interactivity for this kind of thing down.

    Oh, and visually it isn't a patch on TLOU or GTA5.    … Expand
  42. jamess
    Oct 15, 2013
    4
    In trying to redefine what a videogaming experience can be, Beyond stumbles where Heavy Rain before it, excelled. Take for instance the homeless chapter. In the sequence, you walk down a short street where the following happens. You enter a restaurant where you're told to beat it and eff off, you jimmy a newspaper machine for a few coins, get propositioned and escape from an alleyway, thenIn trying to redefine what a videogaming experience can be, Beyond stumbles where Heavy Rain before it, excelled. Take for instance the homeless chapter. In the sequence, you walk down a short street where the following happens. You enter a restaurant where you're told to beat it and eff off, you jimmy a newspaper machine for a few coins, get propositioned and escape from an alleyway, then come across another homeless person with a guitar, where you play a lovely tune for some money, which you end up beating up some young adults for after its taken. What a random, jarring series of events. Is that supposed to reflect the randomness of life? And the fight mechanics can be hard to control because of camera angles. But what does it matter, since you can't die? So matter how well or badly you react, there's no reason to do better. The motion capture and acting of Ellen Page is very well done, and it helps us get over the more "non-interactive" moments. But as far as a gaming experience, I'll take Heavy Rain over this.… Expand
  43. TheGameGeek
    Jun 27, 2014
    0
    This game is Beyond awful. First off, I hate David Cage. I just hate what he does. But I hate this "game" for even more reasons. First off, this game just jumps around the timeline for no reason whatsoever. The "gameplay" is atrocious, because it's just quick time events. There's a lot of times in the game where you're supposed to do something. If you don't, the game will carry on like youThis game is Beyond awful. First off, I hate David Cage. I just hate what he does. But I hate this "game" for even more reasons. First off, this game just jumps around the timeline for no reason whatsoever. The "gameplay" is atrocious, because it's just quick time events. There's a lot of times in the game where you're supposed to do something. If you don't, the game will carry on like you did. Like at the beginning. When you're having tests run on your ability, there's a woman. You have to see what card she picks. But, it doesn't matter which one you choose. And just after that, when you're supposed to knock everything around the room she's in. If you don't she's still traumatized. In combat sequences, if you didn't pick "I Rarely (or never) Play Video Games" as your difficulty, at least it makes sense. If you choose the alternative, it's confusing. There's a white dot on the screen, and you're supposed to either move the stick towards, or away from it. So, if someone's punching you, you might think "Do I block it, or dodge it?". Well, you have to guess, unless you pucked the easy difficulty. So, that's it. A couple reasons this game is 100% terrible.… Expand
  44. asdasd33a
    Oct 11, 2013
    0
    disjointed mess without any game play at all. It doesn't even qualify to be called an adventure game. That is actually coming from someone who liked Indigo Prophecy and thought Heavy Rain was ok.
  45. skulltulainahat
    Dec 6, 2014
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'll admit the graphics are nice and the voice acting is good, while the animations are fair. Though these are the only three 'okay' things about Beyond: Two Souls. And that's just because this is not a good game. I am aware the memories are scrambled for a reason, but the jumbled memory structure just doesn't work well for this game. You go from helping a homeless woman deliver her baby to being involved with spirits in the Navajo desert. It makes me believe that the writers just had a bunch of cool ideas and then just mixed them together and the result was a mess. The story is quite lackluster, the game is quite painful to complete, and I will ignore the lack of gameplay as I don't mind the little gameplay there is, seeing as I think Heavy Rain is a great game. Beyond though, is not. Though there are some interesting environments, and the game sounds good on paper, the execution is poor. All in all, this is a sub-par game.… Expand
  46. dusit
    Oct 14, 2013
    0
    This is not a game at all. The controls, like one reviewer said, are rubbish. You really do not have control over anything. This really brings the definition of "linear" to a whole new level. Story is bad. Playing this was both frustrating and boring.
  47. Mogwai76
    Oct 11, 2013
    2
    Visually this is a massive step forward. But the story (which seems to be it's main part) falls flat, the characters are shallow and there virtually is no gameplay. I definitely can't recommend this "game". It feels like the creative leads behind this really want to work in films, but somehow chose the wrong medium to bring their vision across. I got bored and irriated enough to not evenVisually this is a massive step forward. But the story (which seems to be it's main part) falls flat, the characters are shallow and there virtually is no gameplay. I definitely can't recommend this "game". It feels like the creative leads behind this really want to work in films, but somehow chose the wrong medium to bring their vision across. I got bored and irriated enough to not even finish half the game.… Expand
  48. BlackJackTomato
    Oct 9, 2013
    2
    A nice movie, a really bad game, I mean, one of the worst ever. Because Beyond: Two Souls isn't a game, you just press buttons and see the story happen. In "storytelling" aspect, the game is a 9/10, but Beyond it's a GAME, not a movie, I don't want to watch a game, I want to play it, and well, David Cage really need to change for the Movie Industry...
  49. doowahdiddy
    Jun 25, 2014
    0
    Let me start out first by saying that I was very late playing this game. I got a PS3 and Ps4 all just this year because i was in a 360 craze.
    I hated this game. The graphics were nice yes. But unless you like playing a movie then this game isnt for you. So much drama and no action. I fought a couple ugly zombie things or whatever - other than that it was very eventful. I dont understand    Let me start out first by saying that I was very late playing this game. I got a PS3 and Ps4 all just this year because i was in a 360 craze.
    I hated this game. The graphics were nice yes. But unless you like playing a movie then this game isnt for you. So much drama and no action. I fought a couple ugly zombie things or whatever - other than that it was very eventful. I dont understand the obsession. And no, im not one of those call of duty players - i like adventure, rpg games. This one was too corny for me.    … Expand
  50. Wesker500
    Oct 9, 2013
    3
    I really really wanted to like this game, but I was very disappointed with how poorly this games story was handled and how weak the gameplay was.
    The way the story was broken up into different pieces and mixed up made everything so confusing for me to follow and the gameplay was just not good, I made so many mistakes with the slow mo segments with Jodie because I could not read her    I really really wanted to like this game, but I was very disappointed with how poorly this games story was handled and how weak the gameplay was.
    The way the story was broken up into different pieces and mixed up made everything so confusing for me to follow and the gameplay was just not good, I made so many mistakes with the slow mo segments with Jodie because I could not read her movements half the time.
    Most of the other characters were weak and I had less options to that of Heavy Rain.
    One of the most negative things about the game for me was that the game just wouldn't work anymore, I stopped playing last night and got up this to morning to play and the game just would not load the level I left off at, I restarted the game and still would not work. The game was broken for me.
    The only positive things about this game for me was the performance of Ellen Page and of course the great visuals of the game.
    I'm sad to say this is likely my final PS3 Exclusive game I'll play before I get a PS4 and I have already returned it for a full refund.
    I hate to say this but Beyond Two Souls is on my Most Disappointing Games of 2013 list.    … Expand
  51. ChrisBirdmanRev
    Oct 12, 2013
    4
    It's basically a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG movie whilst fiddling the the sticks every now and again and im sorry if you like this game but its just not for me i cant support a game that just isnt a game
  52. Nobilis1984
    Oct 13, 2013
    3
    More movie like game

    Heavy Rain certainly had not only good sides but it was a lot better as this game. What bothers me is that it must specifically I am only in a movie, and the only player to push off and a few buttons. Even without this end the actions always good. The game offers a lot to see but it still is for me a game and the way it should be played. Conclusion: Too much    More movie like game

    Heavy Rain certainly had not only good sides but it was a lot better as this game.
    What bothers me is that it must specifically I am only in a movie, and the only player to push off and a few buttons. Even without this end the actions always good.
    The game offers a lot to see but it still is for me a game and the way it should be played.

    Conclusion: Too much film and very little gameplay elements.    … Expand
  53. cerberlok
    Mar 9, 2019
    0
    1 TERRIBLE Controls

    2 TERRIBLE derivative story

    3 A HUGE step down from Heavy Rain

    my chart: Heavy Rain > Detroit > ??? > BEYOND: TWO SOULS
  54. rickyrb
    May 21, 2014
    3
    I like to start this is from the same makers that made heavy rain, one of the little few games that really made me cry, it was a good and driven story.
    When i heard they are making another one, i was hoping it was even better or as good as the previous masterpiece..... I was wrong...
    While the visuals and scenes are amazingly implemented, its alive, and very well done, The story was    I like to start this is from the same makers that made heavy rain, one of the little few games that really made me cry, it was a good and driven story.
    When i heard they are making another one, i was hoping it was even better or as good as the previous masterpiece..... I was wrong...

    While the visuals and scenes are amazingly implemented, its alive, and very well done, The story was one big mess, it wasn't that emotional as it supposed to be, it was a great story, but the order its been told was plain wrong, horrible, and disappointing, it was more confusing, then it would suppose to suck you in, live and feel what the character is going trough, but with each new chapter, its like trowing your emotions in the bin, and start over.

    The visuals are amazing, the concept stunning, but the implementation, the order from kid to teenager to adult, was a deal breaking, it was disappointing, and confusing, and it never made it the stage of me crying of the story (what normally tells its a job well done, as i barely cry)

    They need to step it up, more game, less movie, and for the sake of future games, make the episodes blend in well... the order is a mess..

    4/10

    Pros: Good graphics, very detailed, its good story.
    Cons: The order of the chapters makes the story disappointing, boring, and frustrating, the emotions would be there if it was played in a better balanced way.    … Expand
  55. Esfar
    Oct 26, 2013
    4
    What can I say about this game? Well first of all it's not a game at all..It never feels like a game rather like poor animated film with bad story .Good graphics alone can not save this game cause there are other element like game play story ,control music and many other factors that have to be considered and in this case quality regarding this factors are just too poor.
  56. SolidFox_96
    Dec 24, 2013
    2
    One Word DIsappointing Great visuals but realy week storyline For David Cage this is awful. Compare this game with Heavy Rain and Fahrenheit and you will understand me :

    P.S. Sorry For bad English
  57. bioreview
    Oct 30, 2013
    3
    The game has a very interesting history but i cant say this is game,is a very large movie .The mecanics of the "game" are very poor ,also the combat.,its better see the gameplay on youtube instead buy it
  58. InstantReplay
    Apr 22, 2014
    3
    First off, the characters are flat and boring. There is so little realistic interaction between the characters that you are left with no reason to actually care about anyone in this game. We have no sense of who Jodie is as a person and she doesn't undergo any kind of character arc.

    Second, there is no plot. It is a jumbled sequence of events with no more to connect them together than    First off, the characters are flat and boring. There is so little realistic interaction between the characters that you are left with no reason to actually care about anyone in this game. We have no sense of who Jodie is as a person and she doesn't undergo any kind of character arc.

    Second, there is no plot. It is a jumbled sequence of events with no more to connect them together than the fact that each scene has the same character.    … Expand
  59. mbell75116
    Nov 23, 2013
    1
    This is the dumbest game I have ever played!!! There is no purpose!!! No objective!!! It isn't even fun game play! Just some stupid kid with an imaginary friend that does nothing but a bunch of stupid tricks. And SSSLLLOOOWWW!. What a total waste of time and money. Absolutely the worst game I've bought in years. I'm selling it if anyone wants it, although it isn't worth $10.
  60. bfoore90
    Feb 24, 2014
    4
    I was interested in purchasing this game after seeing the first trailer and seeing it was done by the same studio who made Heavy Rain. Overall, graphic-wise its Beautiful to look at with great voice acting performances from Ellen Page and William Defoe but it is ultimately undone by an all-over-the-place and downright silly plot and weird controls that even a casual gamer like me couldn'tI was interested in purchasing this game after seeing the first trailer and seeing it was done by the same studio who made Heavy Rain. Overall, graphic-wise its Beautiful to look at with great voice acting performances from Ellen Page and William Defoe but it is ultimately undone by an all-over-the-place and downright silly plot and weird controls that even a casual gamer like me couldn't get over. But to each his own I guess… Expand
  61. darkecofreak1
    Apr 7, 2014
    3
    The only reason this game gets a 3 is because it had great graphics. EVERYTHING else SUCKS! Jodie was boring as Hell, the game in general was boring as Hell. Easily one of the worst games I have ever played. It was such a let down.
  62. TheHonestOne
    May 22, 2014
    3
    When I saw the beyond two souls trailer I actually got pretty excited, I like stealth games and it seemed to play like a splinter cell with a super natural element, but then I saw his name, David Cage. From that moment on wards I knew it would be full of quick time events and have a 2 year old excuse of a story, aka heavy rain or just be the definition of bad, aka Two Worlds, and you knowWhen I saw the beyond two souls trailer I actually got pretty excited, I like stealth games and it seemed to play like a splinter cell with a super natural element, but then I saw his name, David Cage. From that moment on wards I knew it would be full of quick time events and have a 2 year old excuse of a story, aka heavy rain or just be the definition of bad, aka Two Worlds, and you know what, I was absolutely RIGHT. Not for one of those factors but for both of them.

    OK I’ll will start with the good for once. The presentation and acting is an improvement from Heavy Rain but that's not saying much (just to avoid hate I don’t think heavy rain is BAD it is ok). That's it that is the only good I can find in this game. The first thing you will notice is that this movie sorry I meant “game” is trying so hard to be a movie, David Cage has this strange obsession with bringing the cinematic experience to the game industry, one has to be VERY careful with this otherwise you get a game that's actually a movie. Beyond has fell for this trap, everything thing is done for you, the game play and action is nothing but quick time events and moral choices that have no effect on the story what so ever and most of the time make no sense.

    Let’s talk about the combat, what combat? When you're about to be hit jerk the joystick in that direction and you win. You're fellow ghost friend is a nice idea but he actually removes the fun for two reasons. One, when you kill enemy's the game decides what you can or cannot do to them, you may what to possess them but the game will just decide you can only kill them FOR NO REASON. He also acts as the guy that does the blight of the modern triple a game stuff, like pressing buttons to proceed. Two, he removes all tension from the combat. You see he can make some sort of ghost shield thing around Jodie that makes her immune to everything, so she now super women and you now have no tension in the combat whatsoever, not that it matters because the combat is easy and uninvolving as humanly possible.

    Ok Ok I will stop ranting and look at beyond in a story perspective…..it’s bad. The game revolves around Jodie from a child to teens and her being a CIA agent, in no chronological order, yeah it’s one of those stories. I didn’t understand anything about the CIA carer but it’s mainly Jodie trying to be accepted for what she is…huh for David that isn’t bad. HOW DOES HE RUIN IT? Well I will explain it with this one piece of story. Well the other half of the story that isn’t being mopey and depressed (though I do feel she has great acting at times) she is chasing after hunky boys. One guy who was being REAL bully to her earlier goes on a date with him, Jodie then tells her ghost friend not to kill him because she is falling in love with him. I’m sorry but THAT DOES NOT WORK! YOU DON’T HATE SOMEONE THEN LOVE SOMEONE IT MAKES NO SENCE. Also Jodie spends a lot of time wearing nothing but her underwear, it made me feel awkward.

    Overall we must all forget that this game exists, when I saw that this game scored decently I was horribly shocked, all of my friends and that metacritics i know agree with me, so why is it scoring so high? One would think that after making so many games that are movies David would at least get better at it but no he’s getting WORSE. For one he has got a really strange view of poverty, with self -control and standing as one. Maybe he is trying to not alienate the people he will have to live with if he keeps making games like this one. Thank you zero punctuation (go check that guy out he’s awesome)    … Expand
  63. Stingerbee
    Nov 13, 2014
    2
    The important thing to realize here is that you're dealing with an interactive movie here. It's not a game; it has game elements. Still, if you see it for what it is and can still enjoy the beautiful graphics and storyline, there's nothing wrong with that. Rent or get it at a good discount price.
  64. BOWi
    Jul 5, 2014
    4
    I you played Heavy Rain and liked it only a little bit, I suggest you to rent Beyond: Two Souls first. I bought the game and finished it in three sessions (took around 12 hours, I guess). I think the game is at least three hours too long. Without spoiling farther than the trailers, I think all the Special Forces missions are irrelevant and boring.

    The chapters are presented in a mixed    I you played Heavy Rain and liked it only a little bit, I suggest you to rent Beyond: Two Souls first. I bought the game and finished it in three sessions (took around 12 hours, I guess). I think the game is at least three hours too long. Without spoiling farther than the trailers, I think all the Special Forces missions are irrelevant and boring.

    The chapters are presented in a mixed order. You'll end up playing scenes at the age of 9 after some at 20-something, going back to 15 y.o., etc.. At some point, the whole chronology became unclear to me and I thought the introduction sequence would be the last scene.

    Seriously, what I'm trying to say is that the story AND the storytelling are a mess. It's an experiment, but as Kotaku wrote, "You'll probably dislike Beyond: Two Souls if you wish Heavy Rain had been more experimental, not less." I feel like the military sequences and and the Special Forces storyline were pushed only for marketing purposes.

    Nah... I can't believe I spent bucks and time on this game. I'll never buy a QuanticDream game without renting it first again...    … Expand
  65. RatedRevolver
    Jun 29, 2022
    0
    A non linear bunch of nonsense. David Cage at his worst. Telling it non linear renders most of the choices irrelevant. Making it just on big pile of set pieces, that don't fit together.
  66. chthonus
    Jul 11, 2014
    2
    Executive Summary: this game fails to exceed or even meet the high bar set by one of Quantic Dream's previous games, Heavy Rain, and even fails to stand on its own merit. Even if the opportunity to play this game presents itself to you, I would recommend you don't take it.

    Usually I don't feel compelled to write reviews, but I honestly thought Beyond: Two Souls was disappointing beyond    Executive Summary: this game fails to exceed or even meet the high bar set by one of Quantic Dream's previous games, Heavy Rain, and even fails to stand on its own merit. Even if the opportunity to play this game presents itself to you, I would recommend you don't take it.

    Usually I don't feel compelled to write reviews, but I honestly thought Beyond: Two Souls was disappointing beyond my expectations and deserved public comment.

    My expectations were high because I enjoyed Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain so immensely -- innovative control style, great graphics, and compelling gameplay. I expected the follow-on would present other new innovations in addition to high quality gameplay and a new story. Oh how wrong I was.

    The control style, while being similar to Heavy Rain, seemed dumbed down and simplified. Gone are the days of feeling like my button press was somehow important or relevant to the on screen action. For this game, most button presses function merely as acknowledgement that you're ready to progress with the story. Boring.

    The gameplay was tame. I spent a lot more time opening doors, packing bags, and tossing/turning in bed than I would care to. I occasionally, during the game, would think fondly of the relatively exciting time I normally have at my desk job. Sad.

    The story was poor, uninteresting, and unoriginal. The concept was original-ish and okay, but the story and the writing to convey the concept was boilerplate, mediocre at best. So many clichés, plot holes, unresolved questions, impersonal story arcs, etc etc etc. I'd say 90% of the story felt like filler, leaving me with an incessant feeling of incompleteness and dissatisfaction.

    The story telling mechanic -- involving shifting around chronologically -- seemed pointless and disjointed. I appreciate the idea of playing with time when telling a story, but it was very poorly designed for this story.

    The only element of the game I really liked was the graphics. But of course, this was the element that took the least amount of work, given that they had already produced a game with graphics of this caliber. Unfortunately, it takes more than good graphics to make a good game. Sorry, Quantic Dream.    … Expand
  67. Nathaniel224
    Jul 9, 2022
    3
    At the end of the day this is a cinematic movie and not a game but i buy games to play games. This was not enjoyable other than the immersive cinematics and decision system the game was boring. Also there was slow tedious movements, annoying mechanics, lack of actual gameplay control, too many quick time events, and too many moments where i felt loss. If you want a good playstation 3At the end of the day this is a cinematic movie and not a game but i buy games to play games. This was not enjoyable other than the immersive cinematics and decision system the game was boring. Also there was slow tedious movements, annoying mechanics, lack of actual gameplay control, too many quick time events, and too many moments where i felt loss. If you want a good playstation 3 exclusive play god of war 3, infamous 2, last of us 1, uncharted 3, resistance 3, the list goes on and on. Avoid beyond 2 souls… Expand

Awards & Rankings

92
#92 Best PS3 Game of 2013
3
#3 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2013
5
#5 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 98 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 52 out of 98
  2. Mixed: 38 out of 98
  3. Negative: 8 out of 98
  1. Hyper Magazine
    Dec 28, 2013
    50
    There doesn't ever seem to be any real impact of the player's decisions, actions or failures. [Jan 2014, p.76]
  2. Level7.nu
    Dec 12, 2013
    40
    Beyond: Two Souls is a capital failure as both a story and as a game. The adventure plays itself and the player is left to push the right buttons in the right order. The story you are rewarded with is a mess of odd writing and poor directing choices from a game creator that obviously wants to create great art but seems to be incapable of doing so. Even fans of Fahrenheit and Heavy Rain should prepare for what is unfortunately a monumental disappointment.
    Read full review
  3. RPG Fan
    Nov 24, 2013
    88
    A story every Playstation owner should experience.
    Read full review
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