Developer: Quantic Dream
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platform: PS3, PS4
Tested on: PS4
Beyond: Two Souls (PS4) – Review
It has been two years since we have gotten the chance the review the game Beyond: Two Souls. Today, we can present you with the brushed-up version but still with the winning formula. If you have a PS4, you can enjoy this gem! Are you ready to undergo Jodie’s quite emotional story (again)?
If you want to check the previous review, you can go here.
Story
You start the game when Jodie is being questioned. Things go down from there on and if you didn’t play the game on the PS3, you might be asking yourself what is happening. Thank goodness you get a recap of the previous events due to some flashbacks.
Some of us want to have special abilities and Jodie Holmes is living this life as she has paranormal skills. This phenomenon happens because she is connected to an unknown being. You might think that this way of living is amazing, but she has a rough youth. She doesn’t have a lot of friends because they think she’s a freaky witch. After a while, things get worse and it is better for her and her family that she is put under observation at the Department of Paranormal Activities, where she learns to ‘work’ with the powerful being Aiden. Her special abilities aren’t unnoticed and she gets contacted by one of America’s special forces. This might be the start of a great career, but it isn’t going as expected. Saying much more will spoil a lot, so it might be a better idea to check it out for yourself.
As this is a story-driven game in which decisions are really important, it is only natural that there is a deep and intriguing storyline. It really gets to you, which is quite impressive.
Graphics
Although this is a brushed-up version, you can see that the developers did their best to use the next gen console to the maximum. The details of facial expressions are, again, truly amazing, especially in combination with movements. You can really connect with Jodie due to the perfect representation of emotions. You might have recognized some familiar faces in the game, since these characters are based on real actors (Willem Dafoe and Ellen Page). The developers did a great job to resemble their faces, which isn’t the most easy part.
The surroundings are pretty neat as well, although you can see that the facial/movement aspects are more important. At any rate, you’ll get to see some detailed environments, like the forest environment and the lab. Put both the characters and surroundings together and you’re in for a treat.
Sound
As stated before, the characters are based on real actors to create the game. Willem Dafoe and Ellen Page are real stars, so it is only normal that the voice acting would be alike. It has to be said though, bringing game characters to life is far from easy, so they did an excellent job.
Voice acting isn’t the only thing that is important. A good game has some nice music and sound effects as well, and Beyond: Two Souls even shines on this aspect. You will be submerged in sweet, subtle tones although there are moments that the music will have a more dramatic undertone. This isn’t all though, since there are loads of refined sound effects that really are the icing on the cake. The wind going through the leaves, violent dog barking and the rain clashing on a window are some of the examples you can expect.
Gameplay
Beyond: Two Souls is a story-driven adventure game that will take you on an emotional ride through Jodie’s life. If this is the first time you actually play the game, don’t worry. You will gradually learn the tricks of the trade as you have some small pop-ups that appear on the screen when needed. This means that you learn the controls in due time, which lowers the difficulty of the game … for now.
When you first start the game, you get flashbacks about what has happened before the current situation. The only actual thing you can do is run around with Jodie and switch to Aiden. This entity has a bit more possibilities, as he (or she?) can ‘take control’ of items, depending which items and what context. For instance, Aiden can push items aside or focus his energy to create a shield. Moving around is a bit trickier though, as you can go up and down in a room as well, which gives you loads of possibilities to explore.
You might wonder what you can do next to moving and interacting. The game excels at its story part, as you must decide what Jodie must do or how she must react on certain events. Your decisions will have an influence on the overall game, which means that there are a lot of differences between each playthrough. After each flashback, you can see the routes you took and how much people have followed your example. It could be that, due to a choice you made, you miss certain opportunities. This gives you the urge to play the game once more.
When starting a game for the first time, you can also choose your difficulty level as there is a ‘hard’ mode and an easier one. It has to be said though, even if you take the hard difficulty, you won’t have any troubles as you will always continue your story, but with a few hits here and there. The only problem is that you might miss some trophies.
In the previous version, you could play local co-op with an extra DualShock controller or with an app which was available for Android and iOS. This is still possible, which is a great opportunity to play this game together and witness the several parts of the story with two.
The developers added something extra in this version. In the original game, you had to witness scrambled flashbacks, but now you have the opportunity to play the game in chronological order. This is a great feature for people that already played the game before and want to get a different view. Nothing keeps you from choosing this option when this is the first time you play this game though.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a storydriven game with a deep and emotional story, amazing graphics and quite easy controls, Beyond: Two Souls is something for you. Jodie and Aiden will show you their problems, in which you have the most important part: what path will they take? Are you ready for this quest? If you already played this game, expect to see even better facial expressions and amazing surroundings.
That being said, if you’re not into this type of game, it might be better to let this one slip. This game gets a high score as you have loads of paths and possibilities. But if you’re looking for something more than an interactive movie, you’ll get a cold shower.
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