Beyond Two Souls

Metacritic: 70

Beyond Two Souls is a game about a girl and her ghost. Its also a game that could be summed up with, wasted potential. Throughout David Cage’s (Ka-Je) third attempt at a narrative game, he sets up amazing and interesting events, and then goes nowhere with them. For example late in the game, Jodie (Ellen Page) is living as a homeless person, with severe depression. As you explore and interact with other homeless people, you are constantly presented with ways to kill yourself. This provides an interesting setup, with Jodie constantly thinking about ending it, but consciously choosing not to. However, choosing to kill yourself, presents you with a gameover screen and prompts you to restart. Meaning its not actually a choice, nor actually interesting at all. Another example is where Jodie is working for the CIA as a spy, using her ghost to sneak through walls while at a Gala at the Saudi Arabian consulate. This is a really cool setup, but all that happens is, as Jodie you walk to a wall, send Aiden (the ghost) through the wall, and see whats on the other side.

However there is one moment that actually fulfills its potential. Jodie has been raised in a lab since she was a little girl because of her ghost. She interacts with almost no-one other than the scientists, who are basically her parents. A bunch of military kids are having a party at a house on the base, and the scientists decide she should attend a party. Once there you have some great awkward interactions with the teens, before stuff turns dark. One of the kids knows why Jodie lives on the base, and starts bullying her, quickly everyone else joins in. They quickly push her into a small cupboard under the stairs, before returning to the party. Jodie then uses Aiden to unlock the cupboard, and the players are presented with a choice. They can either leave, or get revenge. The emotions of the prior scene are managed so well, that its hard not to choose revenge. Jodie locks the door to the party, ensuring the teens can’t escape, and sends Aiden in as a spirit of vengeance. You then play as Aiden, blowing up the TV, lighting the curtains on fire, throwing knives around the room. Forcing these former bullies to run and scream and hide from your overwhelming power, is fulfilling. In this level David Cage accomplished what he has tried so long to do, make player feel.

Overall Beyond isn’t worth the purchase at all, however just like Asura, its available on PSNow, so play it there.