AN UNDERWHELMING AFFAIR

Beyond: Two Souls
Developer: Quantic Dream
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
Release Dates : October 8, 2013(PS3) ; November 24, 2015(PS4)

Besides being a Quantic Dream game, Beyond: Two Souls had gained spotlight by bringing in two A-list Hollywood actors, Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe to provide their likenesses, voices and motion captures to the game. Initially released for the PS3, the game got a PS4 port in late 2015.

Beyond: Two Souls tells the story of Jodie Holmes (Caroline Wolfson/Ellen Page), a girl with paranormal abilities. She has a psychic connection with an entity named Aiden from another dimension, the Infraworld. With the help of Aiden, Jodie can explore a small area around her without having to move, telepathically interact with objects and possess other people to make them do her bidding. Born an orphan, she grows up with her foster parents until she starts showing her abilities publicly. Her foster parents then send her off to Nathan Dawkins (Willem Dafoe), a scientist for the U.S. Department of Paranormal Activities. Later, she is recruited by the CIA as an agent.

From a visual perspective, BTS is fantastic. Despite being a three-year old game, the graphics feel up-to-date. The game also features some of the best facial animations I've ever seen in a game; topped off with brilliant voice acting by the cast. Although the gameplay is essentially the same as Heavy Rain, it is much more detailed and a definite improvement. 

However, the plot of BTS is a huge disappointment. The storyline is devoid of any mystery, drama or intensity. The game adopts a non-linear storytelling technique that only hurt the game instead of helping it. None of the sub-plots ever flourish completely as a result of the flawed story-telling. The pacing of the story is totally off. Depending on the in-game choices you make, the same chapter can show drastic variation in terms of gameplay length. While this may be realistic, it is simply unfair to gamers with a certain set of choices. The chapters are not evenly distributed either – since some chapters take five minutes to complete while others take around an hour. The longest chapter in the game had no significance to the story, making it the weakest part of the game. 

The storyline is also riddled with plot holes and deus ex machinas. The most frustrating part, in my opinion, has to be the fact that the choices made in the game do not affect the ending strongly enough. 

To sum up, Beyond: Two Souls is a waste of the talents of its brilliant cast. If you have high expectations about this game, you are most certainly in for a disappointment.

Nony Khondaker is an introvert with immense passion for tech and music. Feel free to send your constructive feedback at nonykhondaker@live.com or follow him on twitter.com/NonyKhondaker