Beyond: Two Souls

Me encantó la historia, y las dinamicas, aparte de el drama y el suspenso, 10/10

grande game

Keyboard & Mouse + Did Not Play Chronologically --Introduction-- After playing Heavy Rain, I knew I had to eventually play Beyond: Two Souls. This game has very slow and monotonous gameplay at times, along with some bad and clunky controls (although I eventually got used to them). However, it also has some really strong story moments, well-executed emotional scenes, fun action encounters, and an overall step up graphically and cinematographically from Heavy Rain. --Graphics-- Like I said, there really isn't much of a downgrade going from Heavy Rain to Beyond: Two Souls. If anything, it's an overall upgrade. The environments, character models, lighting, and animations all look noticeably better. There is some slight flickering with lights and a couple of areas with really low-resolution textures, but outside of that, there's not much to complain about. For a game from its time, it still looks fine. --Level Design-- Nothing crazy here. The level design is pretty basic, and it's never difficult to figure out where you're supposed to go or find the secrets scattered around the levels. That being said, the game definitely gives you more room to explore compared to its predecessor. There is also more variety in how you can approach certain situations, especially with Aiden. It isn't anything groundbreaking, but it does make the gameplay feel a little less restrictive. --Audio & Music-- Again, there isn't too much to talk about here. The music is there when it's needed, sets the right tone, and delivers when the scene calls for it. The overall audio design is solid as well, especially during the later parts of the game. Nothing stood out to me as being incredible, but nothing really took me out of the experience either. --Story-- I would say the story is pretty average overall. I'm assuming part of that is because I decided to play the game the way the developers originally intended, but I found the storytelling to be very inconsistent. The first chapter that really stood out to me was the House Party chapter. After that, Navajo was another chapter I really enjoyed, and then Black Sun was easily one of the strongest parts of the entire game. Without those three chapters, I don't think this game would be nearly as good as the score I'm giving it. There are a few other good chapter sprinkled, but not enough to call the story mind blowing or anything. The story follows Jodie and her spirit, Aiden, as Jodie is constantly being used and manipulated by the people around her. Her journey is definitely an interesting one, and there are some genuinely emotional and inspiring moments throughout. In the end, though, I think the story falls short because of two main things: the slow pacing at through the start and middle, and the way the story is structured. Honestly, I think this game should have been completely linear. Playing the story not in chronological order made it harder for me to become invested in Jodie's journey. There are some great moments here, but I think they would've hit much harder if the game simply told the story from beginning to end. --Controls-- I'll admit, the controls took me a while to get used to. I'd actually rather use the inputs from Heavy Rain than what Beyond: Two Souls does. Some actions require only the mouse, others have you playing Twister with your fingers on the keyboard, and sometimes you need to use both the mouse and keyboard for a single input. It is unique, though, and I'll give the game credit for that. I honestly can't think of many games that control the way Beyond: Two Souls does. Once I got used to it, it wasn't nearly as frustrating, but the controls definitely aren't something I would praise. --Conclusion-- I think for its time, Beyond: Two Souls is a pretty good game. I can't really hold it to today's standards because of when it originally released. (2013) The gameplay isn't anything to be amazed by, but there are some great set designs, mediocre action sequences, solid characters, and some really nice cinematography, especially during the final chapter. At the end of the day, though, Quantic Dream is known for its storytelling, and I think Beyond: Two Souls falls short in that department because of the way the story is structured. If the game had told its story chronologically and had a stronger pace throughout, I think I would've enjoyed it significantly more. For that... Cosmas Approved — 5.7/10