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. 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
  2. MaxPayneIsGod
    Jun 21, 2014
    8
    A misunderstood experience. I looks stunning, sounds stunning and plays, very, very well. It's not perfect and it is more of an interactive movie than a video game but it is still worth while. Beyond has a very intriguing story, it's well told and I appreciated the way it was told. I liked Heavy Rain more but this is still excellent. 8/10
  3. joyalexandre
    Jun 25, 2014
    10
    The controls are not the best, but the story and characters are really good. If you want a mature game without steroids guys and big guns this is for you.
  4. 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
  5. 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
  6. Usser
    Oct 8, 2013
    10
    These are two words which can describe this game
    Beautiful
    Strange

    I do not listen to those who say that this game is very bad or great to judge that you must to experience this game

    And for me score of this game is 10/10
  7. SlimyDragoon
    Oct 8, 2013
    10
    Played this with my Girlfriend (Me playing Aiden, she Jodie) and we loved it to the very end. Amazing story, characters and graphics. This game don't need good gameplay to be good. Masterpiece!
  8. TigerBehr
    Oct 8, 2013
    9
    One of the best games of the year for sure. If you're even mildly interested in this game I strongly recommend that you pick up a copy. I'm about three quarters of the way through and I just don't want to put it down. There's a lot of replay ability as well because of the co-op mode. Amazing game!
  9. zombiekill56
    Oct 8, 2013
    10
    Too many trolls making an account just to review this game and give it a 0.
    Why would you review a game you haven't played or probably will never play if you know what i mean.
    Overall if you enjoyed Heavy Rain,this game is a must by. It has excellent sountracks like HR and the graphics are top notch.i dn't want to spoil the story but it has lots of endings.This game wasn't made for    Too many trolls making an account just to review this game and give it a 0.
    Why would you review a game you haven't played or probably will never play if you know what i mean.
    Overall if you enjoyed Heavy Rain,this game is a must by. It has excellent sountracks like HR and the graphics are top notch.i dn't want to spoil the story but it has lots of endings.This game wasn't made for everyone in the end,so if you dn't like it then dn't buy it from the beginning    … Expand
  10. 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.
  11. Forza182
    Oct 11, 2013
    10
    Beyond: Two Souls is perfect. It has a mixture of every genre (military action, horror, fantasy, drama, sci-fi). Not sure what more you could want. The story is so gripping that even if my controller was turned off the whole time I wouldn't have minded. It affected me on an emotional level that I haven't really experienced in a game before, there are times when you have to make choices andBeyond: Two Souls is perfect. It has a mixture of every genre (military action, horror, fantasy, drama, sci-fi). Not sure what more you could want. The story is so gripping that even if my controller was turned off the whole time I wouldn't have minded. It affected me on an emotional level that I haven't really experienced in a game before, there are times when you have to make choices and it truly kills you to do so because each and every character is so relate-able and the dialogue is flawlessly written. This game has been truly robbed of the status is deserved by the critics, after playing it, what I'm reading is nothing but an absolute abomination.
    Amazing work Quantic Dream, ignore the bad reviews and keep making incredible games, your originality and spectacular attention to detail is beyond what most developers neglect to do successfully these days.    … Expand
  12. oldloverboy
    Oct 8, 2013
    9
    This is the new way to tell a story in the future. Videogames aren't only FPS and action, videogames are the new way to create profound content. Beyond Two Souls is magnificent.
  13. Gamer44
    Oct 12, 2013
    10
    Beyond two souls is an incredible gaming experience the story is a well driven emotional rollercoaster. Once again quantic dream delivered a brilliant and incredible game. They deliver a game which has an outstanding story supported by a brilliant cast Ellen Page did an incredible job as Jodie Holmes. The graphics is mind blowing the detail is incredible. The controls is easy to adapt to.Beyond two souls is an incredible gaming experience the story is a well driven emotional rollercoaster. Once again quantic dream delivered a brilliant and incredible game. They deliver a game which has an outstanding story supported by a brilliant cast Ellen Page did an incredible job as Jodie Holmes. The graphics is mind blowing the detail is incredible. The controls is easy to adapt to. This has to be one of the greatest games I have ever played and one of the best games of 2013. Simply ignore the bad reviews those people don't know what a good game is about. Beyond two souls was a great expierence if u loved heavy rain then beyond two souls is for u. This is a must have game for every die hard gamer of a PS3.… Expand
  14. bobrik1488
    Oct 8, 2013
    10
    A great game with a share of drama and a touch of mysticism. The gameplay is very interesting from the point of view of interaction between two characters,the game itself has a number of ways of development of the plot,natural variability, not so many as in heavy Rain,but it does not make the game worse.In conclusion to all I want to say that the game was a success and I don't understandA great game with a share of drama and a touch of mysticism. The gameplay is very interesting from the point of view of interaction between two characters,the game itself has a number of ways of development of the plot,natural variability, not so many as in heavy Rain,but it does not make the game worse.In conclusion to all I want to say that the game was a success and I don't understand who she might not like it one of the best games of the year 10/10… Expand
  15. andoni_as
    Oct 11, 2013
    9
    Awesome story, graphics, acting, and soundtrack. A trully nice experience which will make you think of all the journey you have been through while playing the game. Few games have such a capacity to move the player; and this is one of them
  16. 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
  17. lucasman85
    Oct 18, 2013
    9
    Wow this game is absolutely amazing. This isn't a typical game, its an interactive movie/game in the same category as heavy rain. The graphics are beautiful minus an occasional texture pop ins and outs. The voice acting is great thanks to Ellen page and Willem Defoe bringing their A game. The story is engaging and it kept my interest the entire time. This is true originality when it comesWow this game is absolutely amazing. This isn't a typical game, its an interactive movie/game in the same category as heavy rain. The graphics are beautiful minus an occasional texture pop ins and outs. The voice acting is great thanks to Ellen page and Willem Defoe bringing their A game. The story is engaging and it kept my interest the entire time. This is true originality when it comes to games. Something that's been lacking these days when all companies want to do is push out half assed sequels to mediocre fps or sports games. This game is a definite must buy if you love heavy rain or just want to experience something fresh and wonderful with a good narrative and character's… Expand
  18. 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
  19. tialeanne
    Oct 20, 2013
    10
    I really enjoyed the story line of this game more than any game I can remember in recent history. I mean, I seriously cried at a few of the cut scenes. I actually wish I could go back and play it again for the first time because each new piece of the 'timeline' was just so enthralling for me and I couldn't wait to see what happened next... or before. Great game.
  20. stefanoruffo93
    Oct 8, 2013
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. L'ho appena finito e lo trovo un titolo unico e originale! graficamente strabiliante.. anche se in certi punti negli scenari si vede la differenza con i personaggi ancora meglio definiti. Il sonoro di Zimer.. e questo nome dice tutto! la storia l'ho trovata stupenda. di rado di mi capita di emozionarmi e commuovere, e questo gioco c'è riuscito in molti punti. Il gameplay più sciolto e i quake time sono meglio caratterizzati rispetto a Heavy Rain, e questo gioco a mio parere un gradino sopra al precedente titolo Quantic Dream! con questo concludo con un 10 pieno.. per uno dei giochi più originale e toccanti degli ultimi anni!… Expand
  21. 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.
  22. 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
  23. Dasor
    Oct 13, 2013
    10
    Beyond: Two Souls is an epic game that tells an awesome story. The game has the best graphics of this console generation, the acting is great, the plot too. If you are a movie fan and you don't mind the Heavy Rain type of gameplay with more things to do (like stealth runs or controlling a vehicle), you just have to buy this game! You won't regret this.
  24. mogsavvy
    Oct 13, 2013
    10
    Beyond: Two Souls is genuinely an unforgettable experience in turns of telling a beautifully crafted story and an emotionally intrigued gameplay interaction with both Jodie and Aiden. The variety of choices you engage through the journey really brings the characters and environments to life, and Quantic Dream did a phenomenal job in leading my senses connected with these choices throughoutBeyond: Two Souls is genuinely an unforgettable experience in turns of telling a beautifully crafted story and an emotionally intrigued gameplay interaction with both Jodie and Aiden. The variety of choices you engage through the journey really brings the characters and environments to life, and Quantic Dream did a phenomenal job in leading my senses connected with these choices throughout the entire game from start to finish! I just cannot recommend this game enough to anyone who's looking for a unique gaming experience, not the usual triple A title you often see or hear from media or game critiques alike. I also really look forward to the next IP the team will be bring to us for the PS4. Thank you again for making such a great game along with Heavy Rain and Indigo Prophecy.… Expand
  25. Joeizzle
    Oct 9, 2013
    10
    Giving it 0 to 4 is just plain rude or braindead. And calling it cliche is weird. This game sure has some haters, don't know if its lack of knowledge about what kind of game it is or they have to constantly touch their joysticks, no pun intended. The People that rate it 0-4 you suck. And stop Hating with sentences like: The gameplay is linear, its Like watching a Movie, the graphics areGiving it 0 to 4 is just plain rude or braindead. And calling it cliche is weird. This game sure has some haters, don't know if its lack of knowledge about what kind of game it is or they have to constantly touch their joysticks, no pun intended. The People that rate it 0-4 you suck. And stop Hating with sentences like: The gameplay is linear, its Like watching a Movie, the graphics are outdated, i dont Like willem dafoe. You are like little picky kids… Expand
  26. MrBla
    Nov 17, 2013
    10
    Wow this is an amazing game. Do not listen to narrow minded people who only play COD and don;t know what story is.
    The time flies so fast when you play this game. Amazing graphics makes it even more interesting.
  27. SnakeEater25
    Oct 15, 2013
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Das Spiel ist einfach klasse! Emotional und mitreißend! Dazu eine wunderbare PS3 Grafik wohl mit abstand das schönste PS3 Spiel. Die Spielzeit ist in ordnung habe ca 12-14 Stunden gebracht,
    Musikalisch klasse.

    Bin sehr zufrieden und danke QD für dieses Meisterwerk.    … Expand
  28. 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
  29. 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
  30. birdmannavy
    Oct 13, 2013
    8
    Heavy Rain is a top five game for me so Beyond: Two Souls was a natural must have. However, I have to say I was disappointed with the experience overall. What really does this game in is the story. I felt at times that I was playing a great game, a real five out of five, but then I got to the last quarter of the game--starting when Jodie agrees to work again with the CIA, Doh!--and theHeavy Rain is a top five game for me so Beyond: Two Souls was a natural must have. However, I have to say I was disappointed with the experience overall. What really does this game in is the story. I felt at times that I was playing a great game, a real five out of five, but then I got to the last quarter of the game--starting when Jodie agrees to work again with the CIA, Doh!--and the B movie dial is turned to full blast. Here we have a lowly scientist turned head of some ridiculously gilded defense agency; a mega gate portal to another realm--built despite disastrous results from the first such and equaling a betrayal to Jody by said scientist; laughably bad security at an arctic submarine facility which holds ANOTHER mega gate portal; a boss fight with a non-American military dude who really hates Americans (and women, which Jodie is both); and the real capper, the turning of a likeable character into a madman who would hold the souls of his wife and daughter in torment because he “loves” them too much to let them go. This last insult Cage attempts to justify in the silliest manner by showing that this man got drunk after their deaths. Well Boo-hoo. That being said, most videogame stories generally suck. Heck, Heavy Rain’s sucked, and it’s on my top five! What does that leave us? Gameplay and characterization. Let’s cover the gameplay. I was actually skeptical from the start when Quantic Dream showed us the right thumbstick only QTE’s, and for good reason. Heavy Rain’s QTE’s were awesome, but it seems like these were ditched because someone felt that seeing face buttons appear on screen was distracting. So now instead of knowing how you screwed up you’re left scratching your head--I suppose, as someone else has said already, this could have been fixed by having more than one direction registered as a successful move, or they simply could have displayed the direction they wanted me to press. The problem is that you couldn’t fit these controls to Heavy Rain because the fights in that game were more desperate and dynamic, it wasn’t simply, “Move stick toward dude during slow mo to connect punch, duck or lean back to avoid punch”. Yet you could take the button prompt QTE’s from Heavy Rain and apply them to B2S. Also, I was often frustrated because I had no idea what the designers wanted me to do in a given situation and the player is often yelled at by Jodie to get a move on--A good example: at the embassy Jodie needs to find a “Quiet place” to do something in, we don’t know what it is but standing by the fountain isn’t quiet enough. Turns out you have to find the restroom and go into a stall. Why couldn’t they just say that and, “Here, a star on your screen to show you where it is. Take your time, we won’t yell at you, explore some of the other interesting options we (didn’t) have for you”? The white dots on the screen never turn black to contrast with their environments and doing actions like healing and mind reading are a pain. I can say that I really enjoyed the characters of Jodie and Aiden both and I really like who it turns out that Aiden actually is. I just wish there were more scenes where one didn’t have to call on Aiden to help out. I did relish exacting revenge on the teenagers at the party, but after that did we really need another “Party gone awry”--this time at a bar with the audacity to threaten rape? Couldn’t we just have a scene of poor Jodie enjoying a party? Oh, well, great graphics and fun to be had in spite of it all. 4 out of 5.… 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

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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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