Beyond: Two Souls Critic Reviews

Beyond: Two Souls is one of the most poignant and enthralling stories we have encountered in a video game, capable of stirring up the same depth of emotion as great works from the mediums of film and literature.

Sure, there are a few plot holes and clichéd moments in Beyond Two Souls but like Heavy Rain, it may become one of your most memorable gaming experiences to date.

Beyond: Two Souls is one of the PS3′s finest games and is neck-and-neck with The Last of Us for telling the best story and having the best graphics of the console generation.

Beyond: Two Souls is so unique, powerful and engaging that it's easy to forgive some of its gameplay flaws. Quite simply, a stunning production.

Nothing less than a masterpiece. The game looks absolutely phenomenal and Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe deliver a great accomplishment with their acting. Writer David Cage grabs us with his compelling and emotional story. There are a few downsides, gameplay is pretty much the same as Heavy Rain, but that doesn’t spoil the greatness of this game.

The beautiful graphics and facial expressions bond you to Jodie, and the raw emotion embodied by Aiden is conveyed not via gameplay but by sound design and the reactions of the supporting cast. By the end of the game you are as connected to Jodie as Aiden is.

The team at Quantic proves that if games are made correctly, players will have an experience they will feel for many years to come. For this reason alone, I love this industry and those who constantly want to bring the best gaming experiences available, and Beyond: Two Souls is a perfect example of this.

A fascinating experience that expertly links story and mechanics to further your connection to the world.

David Cage and his team at Quantic Dream always try to deliver unique experiences and Beyond: Two Souls is another one of these superb "interactive dramas" only this development house is capable of creating.

Beyond: Two Souls is the natural evolution of Heavy Rain, an epic adventure game with a great script, awesome dialogue and rock solid characters. Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe have done a splendid job acting for this game and David Cage has created an excellent title adding cool gameplay features to the Heavy Rain experience.

Ellen Page has given the performance of her life and David Cage has penned the best script of his. When AAA releases are serving up so much similarity, Quantic Dream buck the trend and offer something different. Don’t put your PlayStation 3 back in its box just yet, or you’ll miss the studio’s biggest triumph to date.

Beyond: Two Souls is really difficult to judge with the usual tools because it’s such an unusual game. Let’s say that this one manages to impressively overcome its faults to deliver a truly unique experience. Gameplay in Beyond is only a way to include you, to make you participate to this emotional journey and to make you touch the heart of the game, its masterpiece: the story and all the narrative aspect that comes with it. The kind of game you remember for a long time.

Beyond is both better and worse than its illustrious predecessor Heavy Rain. It features a more varied gameplay, a better story, talented Hollywood actors and outstanding graphics... but it also lacks something: the ability to make truly decisive choices throughout the adventure. Significant changes you can make story-wise are actually concentrated at the end. However, games of this type and this quality are still too rare to deny yourself the pleasure.

After playing it, you will feel extremely connected to Jodie, the game does everything to develop this emotional bond between the player and the protagonist. It suffers from some of the interactive storytelling limitations, but it’s the most balanced and accomplished game from Quantic Dream so far.

Bigger in scope and better executed than Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls doesn't manage to tell a great story all the time like its predecessor, although it's an experience you'll want to try.

The term "interactive film" is thrown around often, but this is the first game to actually feel like one. Carefully maintaining a balance between its social context and supernatural elements, the game refuses to give into standard video game tropes and remains a mature and thoughtful story throughout. It’s poignant, thrilling and even a bit frightening at times.

The most gripping storytelling a game might ever have produced combined with one of the most basic and boring gameplay I have tried makes for a very strange experience from a critics point of view. But the tears, the stomach ache and the joy supersedes clunky controls and the bad illusion of choice.

Beyond is hands-down one of the most emotionally accomplished experiences I have ever had in a video game, and it’s enjoyable from start to finish. The controls and gameplay are tiresome, and they can be difficult to manage (or boring), but they’re of little consequence compared to the well-written story, the depth of the characters, and the empathy you feel toward them.

A story every Playstation owner should experience.

Beyond is not a perfect game. It has control flaws that are glaring and some mundane issues like pop-in that will bother a number of gamers, but if you are looking for something with enough heart and passion to tell a truly great story in a unique and exciting way, Beyond: Two Souls is a must have.