Thoughts on "Beyond: Two Souls"

[ionbasa]

So as the title implies I wanted to see what the general census about Beyond: Two Souls would be. Personally I have not picked up the game yet, although many are relating the game mechanics similar to Heavy Rain and the the play style to that of The Last of Us. I have played through most of The Last of Us and I quite enjoy the movie like quality that the game gives.

 

After watching some play troughs of Beyond: Two Souls(don't worry I only watched basically the beginning portions, as to not spoil the plot) it seems that the game tries to make a somewhat emotional connection between the player and the main protagonist, Jodie (portrayed by Ellen Page).

 

After reading though some reviews it seems that there is generally a mixed feeling about the game with some sites saying "It is a step backwards in gaming for limiting the game play on rails..." This severely troubles me and I quite disagree with this as these review cites pit the game against others such as FPS games, which is wrong on so many levels. But in a sense are not all games on "rails" per say. I mean there has to be a starting point and a ending point and how you go about getting there is usually up to the whim of the developer, thus making a reason for plot and story lines to exist( I am drawing a parallel to literature).

 

So what are your thoughts? Did the critiques get it all wrong? Please vote and elaborate in a post down below. Also please refrain from spoilers and if needed please use spoiler tags.

[Sarcasm]

Supposedly it's pretty bad in a whole lot of aspects. The non-linear campaign makes it so that half the missions are pointless.

[ilove64]

I watch pewds play it (Still new to pewds channel and series) I love it... It's more like a long movie then a game though.

[ionbasa]

Supposedly it's pretty bad in a whole lot of aspects. The non-linear campaign makes it so that half the missions are pointless.

Sorry to counter your statement, but I am going to assume you have not played any of the game? Mainly because you use the word "supposedly". Regarding the non-linear narrative of the story, I would have to say that just because it was never really implemented in any game, that I know of at least, it is bound to get some backlash from current critiques as it has never been implemented on such a large scale in video games. But I would also like to add that some novels do use a nonlinear story line. One example I could think of is the film Inception, although it isn't implemented to the same drastic degree as in Beyond, yet the movie is wildly popular. So maybe because people aren't used to nonlinear narratives could be a possible source of distaste for the game? 

 

Also I was hopping for more feedback from people who played the game, as I have lost trust in game review websites / magazines a long time ago. It seems that they all copy paste off of another yet add their own little rants into the article which seems too immature in my honest opinion.

I watch pewds play it (Still new to pewds channel and series) I love it... It's more like a long movie then a game though.

Ahh, I don't personally watch pewdiepie, but my sister does  . Regarding it being like a movie, after watching some game play it seems more immersive than me sitting in front of my computer playing Battlefield 3. I think that this type of game is more about the emotional experience, story telling, and narrative.

[George8D]

looks really good, wish I had a PS3 for it

[Amrat]

It's like watching a movie. 

[Sarcasm]

That's what I'm going off.

[Giggitygoebbels]

Your input to the game is kinda mundane and pointless,and if you are not fast enough,sometimes it will skip to the result straightaway.With that being said,there is only one outcome most of the time.for example at chapter X You can control whether Jodie will *do action 1* or not but after the *action 1* or *action 2* is done,everything else stay the same.

[Giggitygoebbels]

Sorry to counter your statement, but I am going to assume you have not played any of the game? Mainly because you use the word "supposedly". Regarding the non-linear narrative of the story, I would have to say that just because it was never really implemented in any game, that I know of at least, it is bound to get some backlash from current critiques as it has never been implemented on such a large scale in video games. But I would also like to add that some novels do use a nonlinear story line. One example I could think of is the film Inception, although it isn't implemented to the same drastic degree as in Beyond, yet the movie is wildly popular. So maybe because people aren't used to nonlinear narratives could be a possible source of distaste for the game? 

 

Also I was hopping for more feedback from people who played the game, as I have lost trust in game review websites / magazines a long time ago. It seems that they all copy paste off of another yet add their own little rants into the article which seems too immature in my honest opinion.

Ahh, I don't personally watch pewdiepie, but my sister does  . Regarding it being like a movie, after watching some game play it seems more immersive than me sitting in front of my computer playing Battlefield 3. I think that this type of game is more about the emotional experience, story telling, and narrative.

It seems more immersive because there is a storyline followed closely to,while battlefield is just killing and moving ahead a lot of the time.IMO in Beyond there is just too little freedom.

[ztmj96]

I have not played this game, but I am keeping up on the walkthroughs on YouTube by TheRadBrad.

What I personally feel is that they need to polish up the quick-time events because at many instances it's not really clear which joystick direction you have to push to trigger the most ideal action.

 

I think the storyline so far is great, and the way the game presents the story with excellent actors makes the game worth playing. What a pity to be PlayStation exclusive.

 

Regarding too little freedom and impacts on the storyline, I guess that is a disadvantage, unlike The Walking Dead where other characters will remember your actions and develop the game slightly more differently.

 

But this aspect could be a plus-point too, because sometimes I hate it when I make the wrong decision, and I don't really want to get a bad ending, so making bad decisions might not affect the game's ending by a huge margin.

[Optimus Prime]

B:TS I thought was great, its more movie than game but its a damn good movie/game and imo made me feel feels

[YouRezz]

I watch pewds play it (Still new to pewds channel and series) I love it... It's more like a long movie then a game though.

dont watch poodiepie unless you are 8 yrs old; jesse cox has way better playtroughs

[ilove64]

dont watch poodiepie unless you are 8 yrs old; jesse cox has way better playtroughs

I don't agree... It's like telling a male not to watch Drama movies... everyone are different and everyone like watching different things/people... I find him cool (Still new to his channel) Though I will be giving jesse cox a look. thx

[YouRezz]

I don't agree... It's like telling a male not to watch Drama movies... everyone are different and everyone like watching different things/people... I find him cool (Still new to his channel) Though I will be giving jesse cox a look. thx

Naah, its not like dramas, atleast for me he is waay to childish to be even remotley funny.. His target audience (by youtube's statistics) is 7-13 yrs old.. and that speaks for it self

[ilove64]

Naah, its not like dramas, atleast for me he is waay to childish to be even remotley funny.. His target audience (by youtube's statistics) is 7-13 yrs old.. and that speaks for it self

Where does it say that? Can't believe something until I see it

[YouRezz]

Where does it say that? Can't believe something until I see it

It was leaked somewhere... maybe i can find a link