So, the other day I finished Beyond: Two souls, made by the same people that gave us the wonderful games; Heavy Rain and Fahrenheit and I am blown away. Wow, what a game. Here I sat, hoping that it would be as good as its predecessors , but oh my god this game is miles better.
I think I’ll even go as far to saying that this might be one of the best games I’ve played in this kind of genre. I was close to thinking that it would be as good as Baldur’s Gate 2 and Planescape: Torment, but no, it doesn’t reach up there to them just only because it is a set characters in a set story.
The game itself is so beautiful and emotional. Ellen Page does the character of Jodie so well, with so much feeling and she is modeled after her as well. She is a good voice actor and beautiful too. I’ll even admit that I cried on several occasions, both happy and sad ones as the story pulled me forward.
Like Heavy Rain and Fahrenheit, you’ll make progress by pressing different button combinations or move the joystick on your controller in certain patterns, making Jodie jump, dodge or see things.
The game gives you many choices to form your path.
The graphics are breathtaking and the story is so well done and intriguing. It is both heart wrenching and heartwarming. Lot of twists and turns and filled with lovable characters that at least I will never forget. The use of motion capture in this game is perfectly done.
I mentioned that Ellen Page is the actor for Jodie, Willem Dafoe is another famous name that can be seen in there as Nathan Dawkins, a scientist that takes cares of Jodie throughout her life. Another character that has a known name, that at least I recognize, is Eric Winters, who portrays the hunk Ryan.
The story puts you in the shoes of Jodie, an extraordinary woman that has a… let’s call him friend, who’s name is Aiden, that will show you her life and take you on a mind blowing adventure that you’ll never forget. The game shows of several different locations as you are taken through different timelines in Jodie’s life.
The game has a few romance options as well, depending on how you play your game. It was making me smile on a few occasions.
I would like to write so much more about this game but to not spoil it all, I’ll end it here, but if you should play a handful of console games before you die, this have to be one of them.
I Hate Loading Screens 
I think this game looks amazing, the story is as you say very intriguing and I agree with you that me personally found this one to be better than Heavy Rain.
How did you find the concept of the story, the way it was presented, in that type of chronological order, personally I was not sure at first, but I found myself enjoy the different viewpoints it gave to the game.
Do you think there would be room for more games in this universe that they created in this game?
Not necessarily with Jodie and Aiden, but other aspects of it.
Would that be an interesting premise for you and do you think it would move the story along in a good way?
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I also just finished this the other day! And I must agree on everything you’ve said, what an amazing masterpiece this game is. First we had Fahrenheit, an innovation on its own. Then Heavy Rain, although a bit more adult limited, left a big mark. Then this… Just, wow. I can’t say anything different, it blew me away too. There is so much I could say, but I just hope I don’t make a huge comment!
I can also agree one of the best games I’ve ever played. One of the best in it’s Genre… I’m still stuck between this and the Telltale Walking Dead and Wolf Among Us games as the best of these types.
– Have you yourself had a chance to glance at the Telltale series games?
One of the first things that I felt a pang towards was definitely how similar the characters look to their actors. Some amazing work on Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe for two, as well as the other characters that were inputted, all looking realistic and emotional that just made the game feel so much more of an experience I would remember. (Honestly, more actors should look towards these kinds of games to be in. Give their likeness and voice acting).
– Out of the use of well-known Actors in video games, are there any you’d like to see? Or maybe more then actors, maybe famous figures/celebrities too, like Singers, etc
The environment and detail graphics of the world were also top notch. Every little detail in games like this count, because your character will most likely be interacting with most of the environment around them. Like, for example with Jodie (Ellen), in her room or in the lab with items, etc. As I have mentioned before, the little details really count for me, and seeing them in such consistency is fun on its own!
– A little more technical question here, did you have any freezing issues with the game? Or even maybe full crashes?
Setting wise, although sometimes it felt a bit closed in, the areas they did do were amazing. Plus with the time-skipping through Jodie’s life, you see the changes not only in Jodie but in the world around her and with other people. These details really make a difference in helping portray the story and bring about a sense of realism. Heavy Rain just couldn’t compare at all here, with its one timeline and all characters together at some point. This really took you on an emotional rollercoaster, with Jodie battling young age and nightmares, teenage years and puberty, boys, and finally her entry into a wiser womanhood. Of course it’s you taking her along this journey, so whether or not you point her in the right direction, the results are always how you make it.
– Did you feel any closeness to Heavy Rain in the setting? I found sometimes on a few of the areas, I’d think “This reminds me a bit of Heavy Rain…”.
– With the time skipping and age differences, did you enjoy this much more then just the linear Heavy Rain? Moving forward and not much looking back? I would say that it felt so much more closer to Jodie when we got to experience so much of her life.
To be honest, I’m not sure what to classify Aiden as myself in terms of game technicalities… Companion maybe? Or second main character? It’s difficult to say… But if he comes across as a Companion, then definitely one of the most fun and best Companions I’ve seen in a video game. Not only did it feel like Jodie was growing, but so was Aiden.
– Would you ever enjoy a ‘partnership’ like Aiden to be with you all the time? If you could control it, I mean.
Also trumping Heavy Rain on the Romance options. Of course, throughout Jodie’s life she’s going to meet a lot of boys. This is done fluently and effectively, and actually lasted quite some time before the ‘romance’ began. Even dating first! I do not want to give too much away but there is more then just that to choose from also.
– If there was something/anything you could have changed/added, what would it have been and why?
A brilliant review for a brilliant game, I hope my comment wasn’t too long, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading your opinion on Beyond: Two Souls 🙂 Looking forward to the next Post, have fun!
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I have looked the other Telltale games a bit, and I want to play The Walking Dead, just because the TV series is so good.
I have to say that though I have enjoyed the recognizable faces in this game and others like Mass Effect, I have to say that I prefer unknown faces, makes me relate more in a way.
No, my game didn’t crash at all, one would hope that such things wouldn’t happen on a console.
I did think about Heavy Rain for maybe a moment at the beginning, comparing the buttons between the games.
Jumping around as much as this game did made it a bit hard to focus on everything that happened in some ways.
But I loved the fact, as you mention, that we got to see so much of her life.
I would find having one as Aiden interesting but I wouldn’t want that around 24/7.
If the story had a character you made yourself and a bit more choices to the big picture, I’d probably push this game up to the overall top spots of my list.
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Yeah the Walking Dead games are awesome. Especially Season 2… After playing Season 1, and then onto 2, the choices are so intense and hard. Definitely worth the play-through.
Oh? I can see that actually. Draw more similarities to yourself with a new face instead of a known Celebrity.
Hm, I did freeze at one point, but maybe it was because I left it on for some time and have an original fat 60gb PS3 which was known to have issues.
Ahh I felt more about some of the environments, but yeah there are those too.
Mhm, bit hard, but to be honest worth it. Instead of just starting off as a child and slowly getting older, it helped piece together areas of the story by going back and explaining how/why/what happened.
Yeah would get a bit creepy, I admit. Maybe one that’s not so linked, or just our own kind of powers! Yeah!
Hmm make my own character.. I dunno, I kinda liked Jodie? I think if we made our own character that then got pushed through those events, it wouldn’t feel as special… But I understand. 🙂
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