The only other playable ‘character’ of sorts is Aiden, a mysterious entity irreversibly linked to Jodie’s soul, anchoring much of the early plot of the game, or what players can likely decipher of it. The game unfolds over fifteen years of Jodie’s life, from being a confused little girl to a strong and passionate young woman, and most of the time, players control only her. Willem Dafoe complements her nicely in the key supporting role of paranormal researcher, Nathan Dawkins, but it’s Page that adds the entirety of the game’s heart and, ironically enough, soul.īeyond: Two Souls defies the style of Quantic Dream’s recent preceding efforts, Heavy Rain and Indigo Prophecy (or Fahrenheit for those outside of North America) by focusing on Jodie Holmes as a lead character exclusively, rather than the playable ensemble casts from before. Page makes the game her own, defying the muddled and sometimes confused plotline, while throwing everything behind a surprisingly sincere and likeable lead performance as protagonist, Jodie Holmes, even when things get a bit silly and unintentionally cheesy. To this end, if there’s one thing really going for Beyond: Two Souls, it’s Ellen Page. Like Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls is directly published by Sony and is exclusive to the PS3, meant to flex more of the console’s muscle as a means to bring to life more mature, lifelike interactive storytelling, and pushing the idea of what we define as a video game. Noire.Īs an experience, Beyond: Two Souls is mostly compelling and memorable… But as a game, Beyond: Two Souls is a messy, frustrating and too-frequently dull experience, making the game disappointingly uneven as a final product.Ĭoming to us once again from the mind of David Cage and his studio, Quantic Dream, Beyond: Two Souls is the spiritual successor to 2010’s highly successful interactive mystery drama, Heavy Rain. The polish behind Beyond: Two Souls as a package is undeniable, and it’s small wonder that the game is only the second to be featured at the Tribeca Film Festival, after 2011’s superb period detective game, L.A. You also have a superb lead performance from beloved Canadian actress, Ellen Page, and some strong production values all around going for it.
On the one hand, the premise behind the game is very cool. Beyond: Two Souls is one of those games that’s very difficult to put your critic finger on.