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. Kicka55
    Oct 8, 2013
    7
    Th game looks absolutely stunning (hats off to the modeling/animation/design team), but story- and gameplay-wise is just a hodgepodge of various ideas. It's almost as crazy as Indigo Prophecy.

    One moment you are little girl with super powers, then you're in Somalia sprinting from one chest-high wall to another in order to assassinate a warlord, then you live with some native american    Th game looks absolutely stunning (hats off to the modeling/animation/design team), but story- and gameplay-wise is just a hodgepodge of various ideas. It's almost as crazy as Indigo Prophecy.

    One moment you are little girl with super powers, then you're in Somalia sprinting from one chest-high wall to another in order to assassinate a warlord, then you live with some native american family in the desert trying to fight off some evil-Vendigo-type-of spirit, then you're in Siberia infiltrating Korean underwater secret base in a submarine in order to blow up a ghost portal to another world..
    All main story twists are highly predictable, since its just a mix of several overused clichés.
    Gameplaywise, this game has an identity crisis. It tries to be so many things at once, but fails at most of them. Game's controls can be very unresponsive at times, especially when you ride a horse. Sometimes it doesn't matter what button or direction you push, the game just does its thing for you. Also there is no game-overs. It like playing Dragon's Lair game, failing all QTEs and you still progress in the story and still get to see the ending(s).
    With this game David Cage once and for all proved, that he is indeed M. Night Shyamalan of video games.    … Expand
  2. Raiden94
    Oct 8, 2013
    5
    It's pretty sad that the game has no critic reviews.
    Anyway, here's the deal. The game is okay, but the developers showed way too much footage and spoiled way too many scenes in all the trailers they released. We ended up with a story that we know 80% of what happens in it. For a game that strives on story, it sucks that there wasn't much story to be told. By now i've used the word    It's pretty sad that the game has no critic reviews.
    Anyway, here's the deal. The game is okay, but the developers showed way too much footage and spoiled way too many scenes in all the trailers they released. We ended up with a story that we know 80% of what happens in it. For a game that strives on story, it sucks that there wasn't much story to be told. By now i've used the word "story" quite a lot, but that's just what Beyond is: A story. An interactive one.
    It is way too linear. None of your choices influence any outcomes, unlike Heavy Rain, where every decision you made created a difference.    … Expand
  3. distractonator
    Oct 8, 2013
    6
    I went in believing this might be the next big blockbuster akin to something like aliens but it's rather disjointed and pretentious

    wait till it comes to Netflix
  4. killergranny100
    Oct 21, 2013
    7
    Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain pushed the boundaries on what a game can be during it’s day. It showed that game can make us become emotionally attached to the story and the characters. So Quantic Dream’s latest game ‘Beyond Two Souls’ has some boots to fill, but does it live up to the highly praised Heavy Rain? You bet.
    The game stars Hollywood heavyweights Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe. The    Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain pushed the boundaries on what a game can be during it’s day. It showed that game can make us become emotionally attached to the story and the characters. So Quantic Dream’s latest game ‘Beyond Two Souls’ has some boots to fill, but does it live up to the highly praised Heavy Rain? You bet.
    The game stars Hollywood heavyweights Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe. The entire cast does a great of job playing their characters, but Ellen Page in particular deserves huge praise for her performance as she plays the role perfectly. I cannot praise her highly enough.

    Page takes the lead as Jodie Holmes, a young girl who is born tied together with an invisible supernatural entity called Aiden. The game spans 15 years of her life, from age 8 to age 23. The game’s narrative goes back and forth to certain parts of those 15 years.

    The gameplay in Beyond Two Souls is difficult to talk about. You will either love it or hate it. The game lets you switch between Jodie and Aiden. When playing as Jodie you interact with objects marked with a white dot. Her fighting mechanics are not very impressive. Time slows down in combat, you then have to move the right analog stick in whatever direction Jodie is moving to block, punch or kick. This is the games weakest aspect as it can sometimes be unclear which direction Jodie is moving, causing you to fail.
    Playing as Aiden is very different to playing as Jodie. You fly around interacting with objects marked by a blue dots. This includes possessing people, opening doors or even bringing down a whole building. Playing as Aiden is fun but as everything is pointed out to you, it doesn’t present much of a challenge.
    The gameplay in Beyond Two Souls has caused quite a stir amongst gamers. Many people are saying that Beyond Two Souls isn’t even a game. I can see why people would think this, as the game is basically an interactive movie. Sometimes it would take a while before I could carry on with the gameplay. I wish there would have been more player interactivity. Personally I am fine with this as the story makes up for the lack of interactivity.

    The best way to describe Beyond Two Soul’s graphics is next-gen graphics on current-gen systems. The graphics are very impressive. Every scene in the game was filmed with advanced motion capture. Everything from facial expressions to body language was recorded and used in the game. Depending on the situation, Jodie’s walking animation will be different. For example when she’s a child, her arms will wave around like she’s skipping.
    The story in Beyond Two Souls is truly a memorable experience. The 2000 page story is the games strong point. It will make you feel a lot more emotional than most games or movies. It is captivating, well written and you are never bored. The choices in the game are extremely well done. The choices you can make vary from deciding what to cook on a date to deciding to save someone from dying. It gives the player a great sense of control. This gives the game a massive amount of replay ability. Many of these choices can result in consequence. I would say most of the big choices in the game happen near the end.
    The conclusion I have come too is that this game is not for everyone. If you enjoy brilliant stories and you liked Heavy Rain, then definitely give this game a shot. Beyond Two Souls can be described using one word only, unique.

    Pro’s
     Fantastic story with branching narratives
     Extraordinary graphics and animations
     Quick Time Events are fun and challenging
     Top notch acting performances
     Lots of replay ability
     You never want it to end
    Cons
     Gameplay can be unintuitive and confusing at times    … Expand
  5. Daniel_the_Jew
    Oct 13, 2013
    7
    It's not for everyone. Like Heavy Rain before, and Indigo Prophecy before that, this is a game that will bring mixed opinions. So here's mine: This game pushes the PS3 to its limits. Some scenes do tend to show the PS3's age, but for the most part the game is near photo-realistic. I'd often forget that I was playing a "game."

    As for the "game" part, this definitely plays a whole lot    It's not for everyone. Like Heavy Rain before, and Indigo Prophecy before that, this is a game that will bring mixed opinions. So here's mine: This game pushes the PS3 to its limits. Some scenes do tend to show the PS3's age, but for the most part the game is near photo-realistic. I'd often forget that I was playing a "game."

    As for the "game" part, this definitely plays a whole lot better than Heavy Rain. Where Heavy Rain felt clunky and cumbersome, Beyond feels great and controls fine for the most part. There were a couple of parts where I tried to explore a certain area and the camera got all wonky, but that was only because the game was trying to lead me somewhere with a fixed camera angle and I was trying to ignore it. Mapping the fight scenes to the right stick actually feels great and natural. It certainly limits the amount of buttons you're mashing. The UI is also simple and attractive. My only issue being that the small white dot is easy to lose on screen sometimes.

    Moving on, the overall performances in the game are fantastic. Ellen Page is magnificent and Willem Dafoe is amazing as always. However, in the end, I felt like this game doesn't come close to the amazing story in Heavy Rain. The biggest issue with this game is that you are in control of just one character the entire game. So death isn't really an option. Which means that, one way or another, your character is going to make it out of any sticky situation. Whereas in Heavy Rain, I actually felt like my decisions carried some weight to them. But if you enjoyed Heavy Rain despite it's control issues, then I'm sure you'll enjoy Beyond: Two Souls despite it's own set of issues. Regardless, I'm definitely looking forward to what David Cage has in store for us for the PS4.    … Expand
  6. berserk262
    Nov 6, 2013
    6
    First the good things about the game.
    The character models look awesome even better than all the games I saw for PS4 on Gamescom. There are some memorable scenes. Usually the scenes describing the normal life of Jody are pretty good (the action scenes however are mostly terrible).
    Now the bad things. Your Charakter can't die or fail, this kills all the tension (I loved Heavy Rain, where    First the good things about the game.
    The character models look awesome even better than all the games I saw for PS4 on Gamescom. There are some memorable scenes. Usually the scenes describing the normal life of Jody are pretty good (the action scenes however are mostly terrible).
    Now the bad things.
    Your Charakter can't die or fail, this kills all the tension (I loved Heavy Rain, where every character was able too die and it would have a heavy impact on the outcome of the story).
    The controls are awful. You can move (Jody) more easily than the characters in Heavy Rain but in the quick time events you don't know what to do half the time. When someone attacks you don't know if you should push the stick towards your enemy (attack or counter) or away (for some evasive movement). Why not showing the direction like in Heavy Rain. Controlling Aiden is a pain in the ass too.
    Also there are only very few choices to make. You feel that you always have to do exactly what the game intends you to do. Story Changing Moments are very few.

    All in all a great looking game with some good moments, but in total a back step compared to Heavy Rain.    … Expand
  7. orosznyet
    Jul 13, 2014
    7
    When I started the game it was really interesting, I wanted to know more about the story but as the game goes on It gets a boring. For me the breakpoint was "Navajo", after that the game was less interesting and kinda "rushed". Also the fight sequences are annoying and unpredictable at some point, I hated those. Also the lack of goals is somewhat reasonable but it was really frustrating asWhen I started the game it was really interesting, I wanted to know more about the story but as the game goes on It gets a boring. For me the breakpoint was "Navajo", after that the game was less interesting and kinda "rushed". Also the fight sequences are annoying and unpredictable at some point, I hated those. Also the lack of goals is somewhat reasonable but it was really frustrating as well. Other than that I like the "storytelling" games but this was just "good/average".… Expand
  8. huss2215
    Nov 14, 2013
    7
    Graphics: Great looking character models, nice looking environments/lighting, but some low-res textures in the objects. 9.

    Sound: Hollywood voice actors, great soundtrack. 10. Gameplay: The game is filled with quick time events similar to Heavy Rain, although unlike Heavy Rain this game is a complete snorefest. You spend most of the game walking around and going into ghost mode    Graphics: Great looking character models, nice looking environments/lighting, but some low-res textures in the objects. 9.

    Sound: Hollywood voice actors, great soundtrack. 10.

    Gameplay: The game is filled with quick time events similar to Heavy Rain, although unlike Heavy Rain this game is a complete snorefest. You spend most of the game walking around and going into ghost mode to manipulate object, but that is it. The first half of the game feels like a tutorial, and only 1 level in the game actually added average stealth gameplay. The rest is quicktime events and exploring, but the bad part is this game wasn't interesting. 6.

    Story: The story is extremely boring, its a mix of playing scene after scene. The way the story is told is horrible. You play a part in the past, then in the future, then back in the past, and it just keeps scrambling the story around. The director thinks he has done something innovative but it is not, it just made the story uninteresting, uninspiring, confusing, and dumb. The only good thing about the game's story is that there is choice, and that there's a good plot twist. Beyond Two Souls trys too hard and never gives the experience that was Heavy Rain. 5.

    Replay Value: If you like replaying snorefest scenes, but I sure will not. The game does add co-op so you and a buddy can enjoy the borefest together. I would normally ask that you purchase a game to support this kind of media, but beware this is no Heavy Rain, or Walking Dead, do not purchase this title. The actors do not warrant the price tag. The game case itself tells you that the director just wanted to make a movie and hiring Hollywood actors doesn't make this a good game. 5.

    Overall Score: 7 out of 10.    … Expand
  9. BrianDavid94
    Aug 25, 2022
    6
    Quick background on me the reviewer, I tend to like single player games that is heavy on narrative the most. I also play a lot of racing games and use to play multiplayer games in my high school days but now that it's hard for me and my friends to find a good time to link up so now I hardly play any. Up to try any genre of games and sometimes I find something new that I didn't think I'dQuick background on me the reviewer, I tend to like single player games that is heavy on narrative the most. I also play a lot of racing games and use to play multiplayer games in my high school days but now that it's hard for me and my friends to find a good time to link up so now I hardly play any. Up to try any genre of games and sometimes I find something new that I didn't think I'd like. I play on every platform but prefer PlayStation.

    Story has potential but the director was drunk on the outline and decided it was better to jump backward, forward, left and right with the timeline.    … Expand
  10. Alexey970
    Dec 1, 2013
    6
    Not impressed me much. Beyond the two souls has many original ideas, that was not realized like they should. The storyline is quite stupid and ridiculous, and there is not much gameplay at all. I must say, that to me it is no more then cheap movie.
  11. GildaTheGriffin
    Oct 11, 2013
    5
    When it comes to some games some do make enticing and amazing stories. But when it comes to Beyond Two Souls it's a bit like Heavy Rain but with less of an objective in mind. It's bland, confusing, and characters are robotic with drop of life. Beyond's gameplay is even boring and lifeless, as the controls either have you just pressing in on the sticks or pulling them out. This game hadWhen it comes to some games some do make enticing and amazing stories. But when it comes to Beyond Two Souls it's a bit like Heavy Rain but with less of an objective in mind. It's bland, confusing, and characters are robotic with drop of life. Beyond's gameplay is even boring and lifeless, as the controls either have you just pressing in on the sticks or pulling them out. This game had real potential, but it fell flat as it was boring and not interesting.… Expand
  12. drumbunny
    Oct 9, 2013
    6
    First of all: Heavy Rain was way better in terms of story, storytelling and most important, Immersion.
    In beyond you never have the feeling that your actions have any consequences to the story.
  13. UltimateCD
    Oct 21, 2013
    5
    Pros
    Excellent graphics
    Ellen Page turns in a good performance The homeless scene isn’t bad cons Incredibly restrictive gameplay Very little in the way of actual choice or influence on the game world Phenomenally tedious and dull nearly all the way through The QTE-driven action sequences are impossibly boring If you think about most plot elements for even a few seconds, they’re    Pros
    Excellent graphics
    Ellen Page turns in a good performance
    The homeless scene isn’t bad

    cons
    Incredibly restrictive gameplay
    Very little in the way of actual choice or influence on the game world
    Phenomenally tedious and dull nearly all the way through
    The QTE-driven action sequences are impossibly boring
    If you think about most plot elements for even a few seconds, they’re utter nonsense
    The disjointed structure just doesn’t work
    Troubling depictions of other races, and an ugly attitude towards humanity in general    … Expand
  14. thefogofwar
    Oct 11, 2013
    7
    Beyond: Two Souls is a beautifully made game. The graphics are phenomenal, as well as the cast and acting. If you want to be blown away by graphics, this game is for you. If you want to be blown away by awesome storytelling, this game is also for you. But if you're looking for epic gameplay, you might need to look elsewhere. This game is very storyline driven, and more-often-than-not, IBeyond: Two Souls is a beautifully made game. The graphics are phenomenal, as well as the cast and acting. If you want to be blown away by graphics, this game is for you. If you want to be blown away by awesome storytelling, this game is also for you. But if you're looking for epic gameplay, you might need to look elsewhere. This game is very storyline driven, and more-often-than-not, I felt more like an audience to a movie, rather than a gamer. Still worth purchasing however, because this game will take your breath away!… Expand
  15. Brody_Low
    Oct 28, 2013
    6
    I "beat" the game the other day. "Beat" is a lose term here because this game offers almost nothing to beat. Visually appealing? Hell yes. Challenging? Hell no. I played Heavy Rain and while it wasn't my favorite game I loved how involved it made me feel. I felt like every choice made was going to screw me over so the game really engaged me. That never happens in Beyond. The choices youI "beat" the game the other day. "Beat" is a lose term here because this game offers almost nothing to beat. Visually appealing? Hell yes. Challenging? Hell no. I played Heavy Rain and while it wasn't my favorite game I loved how involved it made me feel. I felt like every choice made was going to screw me over so the game really engaged me. That never happens in Beyond. The choices you have to make don't really effect the narrative because the game is already told in a non-linear order. So any choices you make won't matter. The only freedom of choice you have is toward the end of the game. But by then I was so disconnected I couldn't care less what happened. This game had potential though. If it were told In chronological order and it took us on a journey through Jodie's life, it would have been amazing. Because the premise is there, just not the gameplay. Playing as Aiden has its ups and downs. I don't understand why I can only kill and possess certain people. If these parts of the game were open ended, letting you decide how to take care of enemies, I would have loved it. That just points to what I said earlier about the game playing it self with almost no input required from the user other than find the white dots and trigger cut scene after cut scene. I hope Quantic Dream keeps making games like this though. Its unique yes, but its not a good game. The only things keeping this game above a 5 are Ellen Page's performance, and the visuals. 6.4/10… Expand
  16. mortal312
    Jun 14, 2014
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Ok honestly this game is being heavily overrated by fans and i'm suprised there are so many 10/10s.

    Beyond two souls has great graphics that improve over quantic dreams previous game, heavy rain. The voice acting is also done better with at least Jodie being a well developed character. That's where i think it ends. Comparing to heavy rain the combat is worse being to confusing and often you wont know what to do. It doesn't matter however if you don't get all of the moves right( you can literally put the controller on your lap and still win), using Aiden is extremely linear and gets old fast, The stealth section was absolutely terrible. The one stealth mission in the game is scripted so you don't have choice at how you can do the mission, it's all scripted which is not how you do stealth. Choices don't have consequences and alot of the levels in the game do not have anything to do with the overall plot, making the game have too much filler. All characters besides Jodie are executed poorly. William Dafoe's character forcefully goes through changes which comes out of no where and some people suddenly go from being an **** to being nice and friendly, literally out of no where. The main story is good but only a quarter of the missions in the game actually connect to the overall plot which is painful to go through all the other useless missions. The game is just too linear in most aspects. You cannot change the outcome of future events because the game does not go in order, you play back and for between adult Jodie and kid Jodie and she cannot die no matter what. Aiden like i said is also too linear. Some enemies you can kill and some you can only mind control or can't even touch at all with no explanation. There is too much action in the game and it feels boring because of the terrible controls and the fact that it really wont matter in the final outcome. Another reason why the action sucks is because Aiden can protect jodie at all times with his magic so when shes in trouble we always know that Aiden can use his powers to create a force field or choke them to death making me want to skip the action entirely.

    Overall Beyond Two Souls is too linear with a linear story that has very few and small consequences, unlike heavy rain. it has linear and boring gameplay and a story full of filler with a ton of boring characters that are forcefully done except Jodie. The game has taken a step back from heavy rain in story and gameplay with only an increase in things such as voice acting and the graphics. Hopefully quantic dreams next game can have less action and be more like heavy rain or farenheit.

    5/10-Worth a rental. Do not buy this game, it is not worth its price tag and is lacking in overall content.    … Expand
  17. HTGamer
    May 13, 2018
    6
    Beyond: Two Souls is a great but flawed and under-rated adventure sci-fi game. A great concept in theory which was badly executed.

    Beyond: Two Souls is a choice-based, narrative-driven adventure game, where your choices affect the story and lead to multiple endings, just like all those Traveller's Tales games (The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, etc.). Some people will call it an    Beyond: Two Souls is a great but flawed and under-rated adventure sci-fi game. A great concept in theory which was badly executed.

    Beyond: Two Souls is a choice-based, narrative-driven adventure game, where your choices affect the story and lead to multiple endings, just like all those Traveller's Tales games (The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, etc.). Some people will call it an "interactive movie" but they'd be wrong. This game is intended to be experienced by both gamers and non-gamers, so it lacks any real challenge or traditional videogame action.

    The game tells the life story of protagonist Jodie Holmes (portrayed by Ellen Page), who's a really likeable and sympathetic character. Jodie has suffered a hard life because she has been linked with a ghost named Aiden since birth, which is both a gift and a curse. She has been raised by professor Nathan Dawkins (Willem Dafoe) and then her life journey becomes a crazy roller coaster. The story is presented in a non-linear way. The plot has twists and turns, as well as high and low points, but I think David Cage (the game's writer and director) should have kept it more down to Earth. The "Homeless" chapter is beautiful and emotional, but when Jodie blowed a town up or was made to fight against supernatural beings, the script went the BS route. The overall plot is a sci-fi mess with many unrelated chapters being linked together with little or no transitioning, unfortunately.

    Gameplay is simplified compared to most games out there and QTEs are nothing like the mess of the developer's previous game Heavy Rain. Interactivity with the surroundings is severely limited though. Controls and the camera are problematic, but the game is slowly paced so the problem is almost non-existent. The ghost named Aiden provides some meaningful ways to interact with the environment and solve some light puzzles, but he's a lost opportunity because he's under-utilised by David Cage. Also Aiden's capabilities are very inconsistent, on one instance he can pass through walls and choke people, and on another it's not possible to do so, all due to the script. At least the game can be played in 2 player co-op, with one controlling Jodie and the other Aiden.

    Production values are very high for an adventure game like this, with Hollywood stars Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe starring in the lead roles. All the characters are rendered beautifully, at the expense of the environments though which feature noticeably low polygon counts and shadow pop-ins. The soundtrack is very good.

    All in all, Beyond: Two Souls was a failed experiment for David Cage and Quantic Dream. It proved to be a big mis-step after the success of Heavy Rain, but hopefully they have learnt from their mistakes since then.    … Expand
  18. JPLazyNinja
    Oct 8, 2013
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Beyond: Two Souls is a very uneven package, with some moments of real tearjerkers or edge-of-my-seat drama and other portions that seem like they were made for a different game entirely and in a very bad way. The plot itself is not horrible as a whole but the constant swinging back and forth between past and present make it more of a hassle to just figure out what is happening then it should be. Several times it was actually counterproductive, with some major story moments spoiled before swinging back to what lead up to it.

    (WARNING: Some spoilers will be given from her on)

    On the gameplay side there are two very distinct sections, the sections involving exploration (which dominate the first half of the game) and the sections involving infiltration/stealth (which dominate the second half). The exploration is interesting, especially with the introduction of apparition called Aiden. Similar to games like Heavy Rain, interacting with the world as Jodie can be both interesting from the conversations it sparks or tedious if its just busy work. The most interesting parts involve Aiden, the proxy that follows the main character around can do many typical "ghost" action from moving objects at will to scare other or to just assist Jodie to more aggressive actions like strangling or possessions (the latter used mostly for the other sections). While the mechanics can be unwieldy to use at times, these areas are usually open and detailed enough to make you feel it's worth investigating. The other sections involve Jodie and Aiden trying to sneak by or take out people. These sections feel more in tune with a Metal Gear or Splinter Cell title as they require using cover to remain out of sight and using Aiden to distract or take out select enemies. Aiden can even possess some people and use them to open a locked door, kill a comrade or even kill themselves (there are some pretty disturbing scenes). The bulk of gameplay shifts between these two sections and the change in tone is palpable, though you never feel in any real danger during "stealth." Even failure seems to be easily remedied with QTE fight scenes and failing that Aiden will simply choke out the attacker before the killing blow (begging the question why Aiden didn't intervene sooner).

    But just like Heavy Rain, the Action is only a side dish to the Story and here is where we dig into Beyond: Two Souls. The story focuses on Jodie, a girl who has a mysterious "imaginary friend" named Aiden that has been tied to her for as long as she can remember, through the trials of her life. Following her traumatic childhood is gripping and her relationship with Nathan Dawkins is one of the most compelling aspects of the game. The story itself follows a non-linear format, which is a euphemistic way of saying it lurches back and forth through time with every new plot point. This is intriguing in the beginning as the player is dumped into strange situations with no context and must try to piece together the pieces of what is happening and just who Jodie and Aiden are. However, this quickly gets confusing and a lack of set-up or proper buildup to a situation make it seem completely out-of-nowhere. An example of this: one sequence has Jodie joining the CIA and training with them before cutting to her sleeping on a train before being hunted by local sheriffs with no reason given. In hindsight and with the entire plot revealed it does make more sense but in the moment it all seems more over-the-top and nonsensical than intriguing, which It felt it was trying to do. Poor execution hounds the story's latter half and drags the plot down, with dramatic scenes seeming heavy-handed and forced because of the lack of flow between scenes.

    Things come to a head by the end and I won't go into details suffice to say it it stuffed full of cliches and heavy-handed scenes that come one after another so that it all just make it all seem less serious than it want to be. Personal choices have less of an effect on the ending but do color the ending somewhat which is not a bad thing, its just that the execution falls flat in far too many places for it to seem like it was the only option that could be given. The strong feelings felt during Jodie's childhood are found only sporadically by the end (anything to do with Dawkins and Jodie remain moments of brilliant drama) replaced by filler sections tie up loose ends.

    There is a good game and a compelling story underneath this game, its just that the way that it's shown is confusing and by the end has devolved into using cliches.    … Expand
  19. pmkiller
    Oct 9, 2013
    5
    Good graphics for a ps3 game,good story but no real decision making which makes the game suffer very much.Also the price point is too high for a interactive novel that with downgraded graphics would do a excellent ios/android game.
  20. morrae
    Oct 10, 2013
    5
    Graphics are fantastic and sometimes you forget it's a game, everything looks so real and attention to details is amazing. Story starts out just great and really intriguing. That is for the first 4-5 hours or so. And then plot collapses on itself, plot holes grow in numbers in every scene. It's just sad that Cage is not a writer but continues to try and inevitably fails every time. EveryGraphics are fantastic and sometimes you forget it's a game, everything looks so real and attention to details is amazing. Story starts out just great and really intriguing. That is for the first 4-5 hours or so. And then plot collapses on itself, plot holes grow in numbers in every scene. It's just sad that Cage is not a writer but continues to try and inevitably fails every time. Every story he writes sacrifices compelling story for the sake of plot twist. Every time he tries to surprise player and screw ups his characters (that are without their flaws in the first place), destroys story, creates dozens of plot holes along the way and ultimately the game itself suffers. It happened with Indigo Prophecy, it happened with Heavy Rain (not so much though) and it absolutely destroyed that game. It's a pity he can't just give his story for read proof or something to the actual writers.
    This was a decent game in first couple of hours, I would've given it 8 or 9.
    Then it kinda went off, action scenes are unnecessary and boring, with broken controls, you start to notice some plot holes and dumb characters decisions, and it might deserve 5-6.
    But then the ending comes and oh my god that is terrible. Last scenes are just pathetic. You watch it like a TV movie, it's so bad, it's characters are laughable (like CIA general, it's like he is from looney tunes or something, he is so evil and nasty and just cartoon villain), it's like ending was done in 1 week by a bunch of 8 years old. Who wrote that stuff? It's really bad even for FPS action shoot-em-up game. For a game that focuses on the plot it's atrocious! The ending is for 1-2 score AT MOST.

    So it combines to 4-5 for me, but given the pretty graphics and nice technological achivement I'm giving this game 5 out 10. The ending ruined this game. Everything that happens at CIA building is just awful and people that are responsible for it should not try to write anything at all.    … Expand
  21. gyigyo2
    Oct 9, 2013
    5
    Positive:Graphics even better than crysis3 pc version overall especially the characters,cloth...
    facial emotions/technology is amazing!,music is pretty good,Aiden.Page,Dafoe Story is pretty interesting.
    Hungarian language! little jodie/homless/broken chapter! was my favorite the homless people was so friendly to jodie its like jodie real friends/parents.And the little jodie was veeeery    Positive:Graphics even better than crysis3 pc version overall especially the characters,cloth...
    facial emotions/technology is amazing!,music is pretty good,Aiden.Page,Dafoe Story is pretty interesting.
    Hungarian language! little jodie/homless/broken chapter! was my favorite the homless people was so friendly to jodie its like jodie real friends/parents.And the little jodie was veeeery cute i loved her.
    Negative:Something is very forced in the game, even if you doing the missions "differently" the outcome is pretty same or a little change. Romance plots is forced its prety ugly for me im a guy so i don't wanna watch a videogame character guys ass front of me its disgusting if i want to watch something like that i go and watch porn.Ryan is the worst charater he always "love" me even if i told him to back off and im not "love you" the story is too linear... and confusing,too short.so overall Heavy Rain was better.But still a masterpiece thats for sure!.    … Expand
  22. robdot
    Oct 17, 2013
    7
    Whenever I try to rate this a seven, it changes to a nine. The game is fair, the dialogue is awkward at times. It is what it is. If you liked hard rain, then you will probably like this. I never had the chance to play the two player so I can't comment on that. But overall I enjoyed the game. As fas as I can tell, there is no way to ever fail at anything. You never have to reload or goWhenever I try to rate this a seven, it changes to a nine. The game is fair, the dialogue is awkward at times. It is what it is. If you liked hard rain, then you will probably like this. I never had the chance to play the two player so I can't comment on that. But overall I enjoyed the game. As fas as I can tell, there is no way to ever fail at anything. You never have to reload or go back. Which is cool. The story keeps moving forward.… Expand
  23. CoffeeGuy22
    Apr 2, 2014
    6
    The problem with this game is that the gameplay is almost nonexistent so you can just experience it by watching a Youtube walkthrough. Some of the scenes are pretty emotional tho' (I may or may not have cried)
  24. ArunRKhan
    Oct 10, 2013
    7
    Beyond two Souls is a beautiful game, let that be said. Much like the previous game from QuanticDream (Heavy Rain) it is visually stunning. Yet that is where the comparison stops, playing through Beyond two Souls, I was mostly disappointed by the mix in genre, there's a little bit of everything here, action, adventure, horror theres simply too much and it waters down the plot. Instead ofBeyond two Souls is a beautiful game, let that be said. Much like the previous game from QuanticDream (Heavy Rain) it is visually stunning. Yet that is where the comparison stops, playing through Beyond two Souls, I was mostly disappointed by the mix in genre, there's a little bit of everything here, action, adventure, horror theres simply too much and it waters down the plot. Instead of focussing on the creepy and spooky, QuanticDream took it too far and mixed too many story-lines into one. It felt cluttery in some parts and completely irrelevant in others, there were points in the game I absolutely hated and others I really really enjoyed.
    Gameplay:
    Gameplay is much like Heavy Rain and it takes a little time to adjust, but personally I didn't mind the focus on interactivity rather than direct control, I was more interested in the story and people complaining about it, well I guess its a matter of taste really.
    Final thoughts:
    Basically it is a good game it falls in my humble opinion on a few but fatal flaws. Some irrelevant and boring storyline parts, too much mixture of genres and finally I lacked the sense of urgency, I was never really afraid for my characters, never scared that I'd might loose them. Like I was when playing "Heavy Rain" and frantically screaming while mashing buttons, I never got there with Beyond Two Souls and I think its mostly because they never really took the story in one clear line, there was too much to do and too little substance to it. Having said that I will never stop playing QuanticDream games. Try it out     … Expand
  25. Flipvan
    Oct 12, 2013
    5
    I was very disappointed, couldn't wait for it to end. Pros -Ellen Page's acting, thats about it. Graphics were ok, I don't understand why they paid so much attention to detail when max resolution is 720p, seems pointless. Cons story was very erratic, jumping from all different ages, I couldn't keep what point i was at in her life straight. Controls were terrible, had a hard timeI was very disappointed, couldn't wait for it to end. Pros -Ellen Page's acting, thats about it. Graphics were ok, I don't understand why they paid so much attention to detail when max resolution is 720p, seems pointless. Cons story was very erratic, jumping from all different ages, I couldn't keep what point i was at in her life straight. Controls were terrible, had a hard time determining what direction i was supposed to push the analog stick in during slow motion attack/defense sequences. Camera angles for third person seemed to be a constant irritation. I thought the story was full of lots of tacky cliches that seemed to just never end one after another.

    Overall, I'm trading it in as soon as possible before the game companies realize they have an influx of these used and only give you a dollar credit.    … Expand
  26. jojimbo
    Oct 12, 2013
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. this game should have got 10/10 but there are a few issues.
    1. very confusing first half, shambolic chronology -1 point
    2. no save before the last part of "Black SUN", fail and you have to reload the whole chapter.
    3. dialogue from "broken" chapter missing from the policeman,it was shown in demo (video) after the coffee cup hits the wall, he gets the heebee geebees, gives his excuse and slinks out of the room,this was cut from the final, and takes away immersion.
    4. there's no very hard mode with slow-mo actions cut. would like to play some fight scenes full on.
    5. ludicrous sci-fi story writing with the "condenser" and "infraworld" i almost stopped playing right there. almost as bad as the "Trigens" in Far Cry. a more simpler story about real people would have sufficed, even Dawkins personal spiritworld machine would have been enough and a fitting end if the game was more fleshed out with teen years chapters and CIA missions -3 points    … Expand
  27. beladrim
    Oct 10, 2013
    7
    THE GOOD, Amazing graphics, great performances from Helen Paige and Dafoe, controlling Aiden is fun, interesting characters, some very moving moments in the story.

    THE BAD, Combat gameplay is confusing, frustrating, not that satisfying. Story starts off very strong, but then plot holes, poor character behaviors, clichés start to appear. The ending, it feels like David Cage ran out of    THE GOOD, Amazing graphics, great performances from Helen Paige and Dafoe, controlling Aiden is fun, interesting characters, some very moving moments in the story.

    THE BAD, Combat gameplay is confusing, frustrating, not that satisfying. Story starts off very strong, but then plot holes, poor character behaviors, clichés start to appear. The ending, it feels like David Cage ran out of ideas and just went Ah F***k IT, THIS WILL DO". Choices and mistakes are not as important as they were in the heavy rain.

    A very good game, i strongly recommend it to any PS3 owner. But the gameplay is rather "Meh". Now i know, i know. "This game is 90% about the story, think of it as an interactive movie experience".

    Well... See... I knew all that, and i wasn't expecting much from the gameplay. But if you are going to put all your cards on story... Then i am going to be very demanding on that part.

    And well.... 2013 as given us it's fair share of good stories in Video games. Last of us, Bioshock Infinite have far better stories then Beyond two souls and they didn't need to sacrifice the gameplay for it.
    The characters are great, Helen Paige is AMAZING. The story actually starts very good, but then you have the "plot twists" and the story falls from it's own weight.

    Quantic dream needs to hire a talented writer (David Cage, like Lindelof tends to force plot twists too much. To the point of breaking a story that actually starts off well). Finally, if QTE is all you're going to deliver, don't put so much emphasis on combat and action. Heavy Rain was perfect as it focused mainly on investigation and exploration. With just a little bit of action to keep things interesting. Beyond two Souls is too many Michael Bay action moments. It doesn't matter how many explosions you put on the screen. It's still just a quick time event.

    The "action" sequences bring nothing to the table.

    Still i really liked this game, and again i strongly recommend it. But again, for a game that is mostly about story rather then gameplay. And on that aspect, other games that have more gameplay value have managed to deliver much better stories.    … Expand
  28. linkenski
    Oct 17, 2013
    6
    "Video game" or not, Beyond: Two Souls doesn't fully live up to being a good movie or a good video game, but that doesn't mean you should miss this extraordinary "game"!

    First of all, the story is a bit of a mess even literally speaking. The tone is all over the place, half of the scenes are complete filler, some sections stay true to the plot while the fillers mostly feel like B-grade    "Video game" or not, Beyond: Two Souls doesn't fully live up to being a good movie or a good video game, but that doesn't mean you should miss this extraordinary "game"!

    First of all, the story is a bit of a mess even literally speaking. The tone is all over the place, half of the scenes are complete filler, some sections stay true to the plot while the fillers mostly feel like B-grade subplots that fail to evoke any truthful emotion from the player.

    For all the things the game gets wrong there's still a very poignant story Beyond all that. The game explores many themes ranging from what it means to be different and how you should handle it, to exploring problems in modern society such as homeless people and war in the middle-east. Unfortunately most of these don't connect in a meaningful way to the actual main plot of the game and feel more like distractions than anything genuine. The main themes of sorrow and how to deal with loss, and Jodie's struggle to life through her special life are the parts that make the game "human" and most of the scenes revolving around these issues are touching at best.

    When everything is said and done, It's hard not to feel content but since there are so much time wasted on meaningless parts that make the story feel more disjointed that it should the game still ends up having a mediocre flavor to it. Next time I hope David Cage is more focused on what he actually wants to write about, and then actually stays on topic instead of exploring so many irrelevant issues.    … Expand
  29. Gamingrules37
    Oct 10, 2013
    7
    Good graphics Amazing story,O.K gameplay and interesting characters. the gameplay was very weak and i mean very and overall it was great except it felt too much of a movie not more of a game
  30. Stealthgear
    Jul 14, 2015
    7
    As a game, this falls short, because the controls don't make you feel fully connected to the character. It feels like you are only halfway controlling the events, unlike a silent hill type game. This game is sort of like Time Gal and the cut scenes from Tomb Raider, with some limited control as to where you go. The pace can get frantic as you are expected to do certain control sequences. AAs a game, this falls short, because the controls don't make you feel fully connected to the character. It feels like you are only halfway controlling the events, unlike a silent hill type game. This game is sort of like Time Gal and the cut scenes from Tomb Raider, with some limited control as to where you go. The pace can get frantic as you are expected to do certain control sequences. A lot of this game is like an action movie. The graphics are gorgeous and obviously the main showcase. Ellen Page did an awesome job. Calling this a game and judging it based on gaming, its not really much. As an interactive movie its quite cool. If they had made the walking controls more precise or gave the user extra control over characters, this might be more engaging.… Expand
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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.
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  3. RPG Fan
    Nov 24, 2013
    88
    A story every Playstation owner should experience.
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