Beyond Two Souls: PS3 Review

Beyond Two Souls: PS3 Review

Platform: PS3
Released by Sony

More of an experience than a straight forward game, Beyond Two Souls is something to be part of rather than played.

Developed by Quantic Dream (the publishers of Rain) and utilising the acting skills of Willem Dafoe and Ellen Page, it's a non-linear story of Jodie (Ellen Page), a young girl with a secret. As the game begins, we find Jodie in a police station, but before long all hell breaks loose.

It's here that the narrative starts jumping back and forth in her timeline, taking in moments and different story elements come in; suddenly you are young Jodie, tasked with tidying her room up and coming through for some tests. It's at this stage that the traditional elements of the gaming world kick in - use the controller to move Jodie, get her to move things about etc.

But it's also at this stage that you start to get your first look at Aiden, the mysterious entity, which appears tied to Jodie, meaning that the two can't be separated by huge distances. Floating above her, Aiden can go through walls (all done through first person POV shots) and influence the world around- either in the form of knocking stuff about or later on, possessing people to do your bidding.

A lot of the gaming is done via QuickTime methods - press X to do this, press O to do that - which initially gives you the feeling of being somewhat distanced from the actual game itself and merely directing the talent involved to do your bidding. As ever, there are multiple options which obviously provide a plethora of outcomes, meaning you could go again if you wanted to.

There's also action as well - as I revealed earlier on this year with my hands on with Beyond: Two Souls - and it keeps the narrative changing tones and leaves you less with the feeling that you're ever so slightly aloof from the unfolding screen work.

What's great about Beyond: Two Souls is the motion capture work - seriously, the efforts to bring Willem Dafoe (as Jodie's kind of mentor) and Ellen Page to the small screen are utterly captivating. The younger Jodie looks uncannily like Ellen and it's incredible to behold. That's the thing with this - the movie side of Beyond: Two Souls is an unbelievably impressive experience, but as a gaming and fully immersive experience, some may find it wanting. It's an interesting choice of themes and ideas and a totally different way to have them play out.

Perhaps on occasion more could have been given to the gameplay (parts feel confused and leave you uncertain over what to do), but Beyond: Two Souls, with its multiple endings, is a reminder that choices do have consequences; the developers Quantic Dream have created something which stands alone in the current environment and presented something which is utterly different - and that deserves to be applauded.

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