Beyond: Two Souls

After what seems like ages, we have come across a game that isn’t post-apocalyptic or set in the distant future that is hard to believe. However, with the protagonist being a psychic, and with in-game elements such as the Department of Paranormal Activity, the premise of Beyond: Two Souls is a bit hard to believe as well.

Beyond: Two Souls, from what we could gauge from the trailers , looked like it was going to be a visual and aural treat . Moreover, Quantic Dream’s claim about the game being a work of interactive fiction, where the player can influence the flow of direction, control the drama and be absorbed in a tale that is part supernatural, part espionage and part action-thriller, only got us more curious. So when the time came to review the game, it didn’t take us that long to say, “Heck, we’re in.”

Plot

It’s quite hard to talk about the storyline of Beyond: Two Souls, without it being an extended spoilers list. It’s not so much about suspense or hidden twists, but for one fact – the game is best experienced first-hand. Nonetheless, there are some worth knowing about.

Beyond: Two Souls is about Jodie Holmes, the protagonist, a young girl with psychic powers. At the beginning of the story, we hear her saying, “I was born with a gift.” That’s when you know that if you have to play this game and enjoy it, you have to keep your scepticism aside and believe in the script.

 Jodie has an acquaintance of the supernatural kind, Aiden. Now here’s the deal about Aiden – she’s an unknown entity. You can’t tell if Aiden is a spirit, poltergeist or a ghoul. It is not like there’s much difference anyway. After all it is not like these species have been identified and classified. I’d say poltergeist, based on the definitions supernatural fiction has been providing us, since forever. Aiden is always around Jodie, just hovering, by her side. Aiden is the power that Jodie depends on, but she doesn’t exactly start out by having much control over him.

Beyond: Two Souls follows one of the most intriguing yet interesting ways of telling a story – a non-linear narrative. As a player, you experience Jodie’s childhood, adolescence and early adulthood, and here we would like to say the drama is extremely intense, and at times very touching. And more so because the scenarios and missions aren’t necessarily played through in chronological order. It’s up to you to find the connecting link between two scenes, from different points of Jodie’s life. The story, and the point of the game, ultimately is to find out how the relationship between Jodie and Aiden came to be.

Graphics

Beyond: Two Souls has already been in the news for its graphics. Ellen Page plays the protagonist, Jodie, and all the animation has been possible through real-life motion. Using high-tech animation and cinematic tools, Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe’s real-life motion has been captured through sensors and devices that translate her actions into the animated character. And here, we’d like to say that it’s not just some of the most brilliant and convincing animations that we see in Beyond: Two Souls, but Ellen Page has also given us some of the best interactive fiction performances of the recent times. It’s the close-up shots that are worth watching out for.

If you’ve got an eye for detail, and you’re a ruthless judge for perfection, you will not be disappointed. The structural detail is spot on, with actions leading to very life-like damage. The voice-acting and the background score is simply gorgeous.  

Gameplay

The game mechanics on Beyond: Two Souls is something that isn’t too new. It’s just button mashing and controlling directions. There aren’t many on-screen indicators or markers, and the gamer has to observe Jodie’s direction of movement, which happens for a short while as a cue in slow motion. You have to keep your eyes open in this game. You can also control Aiden, to come to Jodie’s aid where she can’t do much, and as a supernatural power, playing Aiden is a bit more fun. You can get innovative with how you float through walls or possess and kill enemies.

The most interesting point, however, is that there are no dead-ends in this game. If a SWAT team catches up and arrests you, you skip to a scene wherein you’d have to make a getaway from custody. Either on your own or with Aiden’s help. These mechanics kept us involved, but the basic player functions such as movements and actions aren’t too challenging, and left us a bit bored.

Verdict

As we said before, Beyond: Two Souls is a treat for the eyes. The gameplay isn’t as challenging as Last of Us or The Walking Dead. But going by the awesome graphics and the narrative style, playing through Beyond: Two Souls is an experience worth trying. Graphics like these make us wish if only an Iron Man game could rope in Robert Downey Jr. for motion-based animation.

sabyasachi.b@thehindu.co in