Meg
So bin ich eben
Beyond: Two Souls Review
It’s hard to call Beyond: Two Souls a “game.” It’s more like an interactive movie. I know that statement alone is enough to turn away some people, so I won’t sugar coat it. The gameplay is boring and simplistic. However, the story is interesting and worth experiencing. And that’s the thing, Beyond: Two Souls isn’t so much a game as it’s a movie that puts you in the shoes on the main character. But that doesn’t make it bad. In fact, Beyond: Two Souls is actually quite good, so long as you’re okay with the kind of game that it is.
The story revolves around a young woman named Jodie and the paranormal entity attached to her: Aiden. The story is broken up into different sequences of Jodie’s life on a timeline and presented out of order. It’s an interesting concept, but it doesn’t work as well as it could. There’s a huge problem with the pacing. The story alternates between intense, epic, and interesting or as dull as watching grass grow. And you have to play all of it: even the boring parts. While breaking up the dramatic parts is important, the way it’s done gives the story a rhythm that gets old fast.
I also couldn’t shake the feeling that some of the story didn’t need to be there. I understand what each sequence was trying to do, but there some parts that didn’t really seem to connect much to the overall plot, or didn’t tell us anything that we couldn’t figure out for ourselves.
That’s another problem this game has: subtext or really the lack of it. Everything is very on the surface, it’s spelled out for us incase we miss it. This is a shame considering the performances and detail in the story are well done. They are good enough that figuring out what the characters are thinking isn’t that hard. There’s enough “showing” that the story “telling” us on top of it is just jarring.
The writing isn’t as strong as it could be either. It’s solid, for the most part, but every so often I heard a line that made me wonder who the hell wrote this. But enough about that, what is the story about? Like I said, it’s about Jodie and her spirit entity, Aiden. The story follows her from a child growing up in a laboratory to a young woman recruited by the CIA, and beyond. (Get it? Beyond. Hahaha.)
The main part of the story is Jodie’s relationship with the CIA, yet it gets boggled down with side stories and flashbacks so much that it can be hard to tell what the story’s overarching plot is. This is what I meant in terms of some story sections not needing to be there. Jodie experiences a lot of hardship and suffering growing up, but I would have understood that even with only half of the early year sequences there. I understand why they split things up the way they did, (it’s explained why at the end) but I would have preferred if the story was presented in order but with less from the early years. That way, I would of felt like I was on this journey with Jodie; I was experiencing her life as she was, instead of be ripped from one snapshot to another. There’s enough dramatic parts from when she’s younger and slower bits when she’s older that the pacing wouldn’t be ruined.
But none of that means I didn’t enjoy the story because I did. I thought it was really interesting and I was always curious to learn more. Ellen Page gives a strong performance. In fact, I thought all the actors did a good job (minus a few that have minor roles). I liked the story, characters, and concept; it’s just that the story is presented in a way that’s frustrating. It’s hard to get sucked into the moment when the story keeps jumping all over the place. You can replay the game in order once you finish it, but if having to replay the game is the only way to really get sucked into the story, then there’s a problem.
That said, the story is really interesting and the ending satisfying. Of course, the ending changes depending on your actions, but I felt happy and fulfilled with what I got. One of the things this game gets right is choice. Some choices are clearly presented to you, with on screen prompts asking what you want, while other choices felt more in the moment. Most games that include player choice make it painfully obvious what each action will result in, but with Beyond: Two Souls I was never sure what would happen. Choices also weren’t presented in a black and white fashion. It was a refreshing and much needed change from games like Mass Effect or Infamous.
Overall, the story in Beyond: Two Souls is interesting but flawed in its presentation. While the acting is strong, the writing felt like it needed one last revision. Jodie feels like a real person that I could sympathize with, but I never felt like I was with her on her journey: more like I was watching a malfunctioning highlight reel. Regardless, the story is worth experiencing. If you have a free weekend, I recommended blasting through this game. It’s a good ride.
Oh, I’m sorry, there’s “gameplay” in Beyond: Two Souls. I should talk about that. The gameplay can be summed up as: QTEs, walking, and fighting with the awful camera. None of it is awful, but none of it is that great either. Fortunately, the music, gorgeous graphics, and strong performances kept me interested. While there are some cutscenes, you remain in control of either Jodie or Aiden almost the entire time. This is what really gives the game its feel of being an interactive movie. And if that’s what the developers were going for, they did a great job.
Recommendation:
Considering how you can get through the whole game in a few days, I recommend you rent the game and see how you feel. However, if you don’t like story driven games, Beyond: Two Souls is not going to convince you otherwise. However! If you DO like story driven games, you’re in for a treat.
It’s hard to call Beyond: Two Souls a “game.” It’s more like an interactive movie. I know that statement alone is enough to turn away some people, so I won’t sugar coat it. The gameplay is boring and simplistic. However, the story is interesting and worth experiencing. And that’s the thing, Beyond: Two Souls isn’t so much a game as it’s a movie that puts you in the shoes on the main character. But that doesn’t make it bad. In fact, Beyond: Two Souls is actually quite good, so long as you’re okay with the kind of game that it is.
The story revolves around a young woman named Jodie and the paranormal entity attached to her: Aiden. The story is broken up into different sequences of Jodie’s life on a timeline and presented out of order. It’s an interesting concept, but it doesn’t work as well as it could. There’s a huge problem with the pacing. The story alternates between intense, epic, and interesting or as dull as watching grass grow. And you have to play all of it: even the boring parts. While breaking up the dramatic parts is important, the way it’s done gives the story a rhythm that gets old fast.
I also couldn’t shake the feeling that some of the story didn’t need to be there. I understand what each sequence was trying to do, but there some parts that didn’t really seem to connect much to the overall plot, or didn’t tell us anything that we couldn’t figure out for ourselves.
That’s another problem this game has: subtext or really the lack of it. Everything is very on the surface, it’s spelled out for us incase we miss it. This is a shame considering the performances and detail in the story are well done. They are good enough that figuring out what the characters are thinking isn’t that hard. There’s enough “showing” that the story “telling” us on top of it is just jarring.
The writing isn’t as strong as it could be either. It’s solid, for the most part, but every so often I heard a line that made me wonder who the hell wrote this. But enough about that, what is the story about? Like I said, it’s about Jodie and her spirit entity, Aiden. The story follows her from a child growing up in a laboratory to a young woman recruited by the CIA, and beyond. (Get it? Beyond. Hahaha.)
The main part of the story is Jodie’s relationship with the CIA, yet it gets boggled down with side stories and flashbacks so much that it can be hard to tell what the story’s overarching plot is. This is what I meant in terms of some story sections not needing to be there. Jodie experiences a lot of hardship and suffering growing up, but I would have understood that even with only half of the early year sequences there. I understand why they split things up the way they did, (it’s explained why at the end) but I would have preferred if the story was presented in order but with less from the early years. That way, I would of felt like I was on this journey with Jodie; I was experiencing her life as she was, instead of be ripped from one snapshot to another. There’s enough dramatic parts from when she’s younger and slower bits when she’s older that the pacing wouldn’t be ruined.
But none of that means I didn’t enjoy the story because I did. I thought it was really interesting and I was always curious to learn more. Ellen Page gives a strong performance. In fact, I thought all the actors did a good job (minus a few that have minor roles). I liked the story, characters, and concept; it’s just that the story is presented in a way that’s frustrating. It’s hard to get sucked into the moment when the story keeps jumping all over the place. You can replay the game in order once you finish it, but if having to replay the game is the only way to really get sucked into the story, then there’s a problem.
That said, the story is really interesting and the ending satisfying. Of course, the ending changes depending on your actions, but I felt happy and fulfilled with what I got. One of the things this game gets right is choice. Some choices are clearly presented to you, with on screen prompts asking what you want, while other choices felt more in the moment. Most games that include player choice make it painfully obvious what each action will result in, but with Beyond: Two Souls I was never sure what would happen. Choices also weren’t presented in a black and white fashion. It was a refreshing and much needed change from games like Mass Effect or Infamous.
Overall, the story in Beyond: Two Souls is interesting but flawed in its presentation. While the acting is strong, the writing felt like it needed one last revision. Jodie feels like a real person that I could sympathize with, but I never felt like I was with her on her journey: more like I was watching a malfunctioning highlight reel. Regardless, the story is worth experiencing. If you have a free weekend, I recommended blasting through this game. It’s a good ride.
Oh, I’m sorry, there’s “gameplay” in Beyond: Two Souls. I should talk about that. The gameplay can be summed up as: QTEs, walking, and fighting with the awful camera. None of it is awful, but none of it is that great either. Fortunately, the music, gorgeous graphics, and strong performances kept me interested. While there are some cutscenes, you remain in control of either Jodie or Aiden almost the entire time. This is what really gives the game its feel of being an interactive movie. And if that’s what the developers were going for, they did a great job.
Recommendation:
Considering how you can get through the whole game in a few days, I recommend you rent the game and see how you feel. However, if you don’t like story driven games, Beyond: Two Souls is not going to convince you otherwise. However! If you DO like story driven games, you’re in for a treat.
