Beyond: Two Souls

You're invited to a party. You don't get out much, you don't have any friends. This occasion marks a deviation from your usual routine in life. You're worried about fitting in. Part of you doesn't want to go, but the one that's eager to experience life like the others do overrides your fears. Quite predictably, you end up getting bullied and locked up in a confined space. Did I groan at this sequence? No. On the contrary, I got chills because it felt like an episode right out of my life.

I wanted to love this game, I really did. Coming off the high that was Detroit: Become Human, I went in with really high expectations. I'll get the good points out of the way first before I delve into the remaining part of my strongly mixed feelings. One thing that I could find no fault with were the performances by Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe; I imagine they'd practically feel right at home in a game that plays out like a movie. Another point worth mentioning is the idea to present Jodie's story in a non-linear fashion. It is an appealing one, at least for me, but this works both in favour of and against the game. While it is interesting to see Jodie's life split up into separate chapters and presented out of order - from a child scarred by monsters in her bedroom to an adult being hunted through the woods by the police - it also takes away from the experience of being there with a character right from the beginning, being able to feel strongly for them as you've been witnessing their story right from the start and have formed a strong emotional bond with them. And now the incoherent rant that probably won't make sense unless you've played B:TS.

The Navajo chapter felt completely out of place. It played out like a standalone adventure in Jodie's life with no major connection to the rest of the story; it could have been a stronger move to release the same as DLC sometime after the release of the main game. Characters are introduced only to become entangled into situations that are obviously designed to move the player emotionally; but how am I supposed to be swayed when I barely know the person? These are just some of the many points that felt rushed and/or treated poorly in the story. Many chapters, when seen after completing the game as a whole, are replete with cliches that you've probably seen before, from rebellious teen to mad scientist. Other parts of the story are predictable, with just a couple of chapters feeling 'fresh' and gripping. 

The game is enjoyable at best if treated as your average sci-fi movie - but isn't one of the main motivations behind playing these games which push the boundaries of the field with photo-realistic visuals and an all-star cast the expectation of getting something more out of the experience?