Beyond: Two Souls

Great game but the mouse and keyboard controls are nearly unplayable. Get a controller before you attempt to play it.

I waited 7 years to play this game and it was worth it.
The game has a lot of excellent writing but also some less excellent parts that are plain silly, but the concept of the game as a whole really pulls through nicely.
The game offers a lot of well acted characters and multiple choice based scenarios for replayability.
If you haven`t already played this on PS3/PS4, you should pick it up on Steam. The PC port is really good.

I burned the house because she said rock music sucks
I am Quantic Dream fan since Fahrenheit, after I played it I fell in love with narrative games and couldn't wait for more similar games. Heavy Rain came out after some time and again I enjoyed it very much but it had flaws. And then Beyond Two Souls have been released. Wow I loved everything about this game, it's hard to find to say anything bad about it.
Beyond Two Souls tells a story of Jodie and her entity Aiden. Don't expect realism here, it's kinda similar to Life is Strange 2 in some way or Fahrenheit. A girl with supernatural power. Aiden is always with her, he doesn't leave her, he protects her and even lets her see souls and past events. In her childhood Jodie was taken by the scientists to do tests and experiments and her life has been a real roller coaster. No need to talk about the story much because of spoilers on every step so you need to experience it yourself.
The game has two known faces – Ellen Paige as Jodie and Willem Dafoe as doctor Dawkins. So you can expect a much higher quality than previous games.
Gameplay is as usual in that kind of game. You control the character, in this case Jodie and Aiden, interact with various items, people etc., talk with people and explore a bit. When controling Aiden you either help Jodie by protecting her or clearing the path or you wreak havoc and sometimes even annoy Jodie. Gameplay is nothing revolutionary but it's executed perfectly.
The pacing is great, some chapters are calm where you do some everyday stuff, some are full action and some tell a nice little sub-story.
This game really shines like no other when it comes to environments. There are so many of them and every area is highly detailed. The smallest details are there. Forests, facilities, snow, desert, home, it has everything. Some chapters are short, some could last an hour. Even if the chapter takes 15 minutes to complete you get to explore the whole area. I can't believe these developers spent time on modeling everything knowing that the player will spend 15 minutes in that area and many probably won't even explore everything. That's what I call dedication.
There's a lot to see and experience, laugh, revenge, death, love and so on. You get to see the whole life of Jodie since when she was just few years old. Her childhood, her teenage years, her first love. The game will take you through all the most important phases of her weird life. And at every stage of her life she's modeled differently, different clothes, different hairstyle, sure these are small detail but they're so nice to have. You'll see how hard it is for her to be different, how hard the life could be, how ugly the war is and much more.
Characters you see the most are obviously Jodie and Dawkins but you meet new people who appear in some chapters and experience their little stories sometimes forgetting that you're playing Beyond Two Souls.
I must say some scenes feel very similar to Life is Strange 2. I don't know if it's a coincidence or DontNod took some inspiration from this game. Play both and you'll certainly notice three chapters are very similar.
A huge improvement compared to Heavy Rain is camera. It's not completely fixed anymore. Sometimes you can move camera almost freely, sometimes only look to one side or another a bit. This makes moving easier and you stuck in a loop of going forward/backwards less often. It still might happen but nothing too bad. Many areas are much bigger too, some even creating an illusion of small open world.
Another changed aspect are the controls. While many actions require you to press buttons like in other QD games, action scenes take slightly different approach. Some people might not understand how controls work in action scenes because sometimes it's counter intuitive. I've seen some confusion in comments etc. but it's pretty simple. Just pay some attention in training chapter! It's there for a reason. You don't get button prompts, instead time slows down and you need to flick the right stick in the right direction. It doesn't literally tell you which way, you need to watch Jodie and flick it at the right time to the side Jodie, her arms or legs are moving. Pretty simple when you understand it and I love it. Of course it could be challenging but that's where the fun is. Nothing is perfect, even best UFC fighters get punched in the face, so here it's the same.
If you don't like that you can choose easy mode where qte's and action scenes are easier.
There's also coop mode and remix mode. I suggest avoiding remix mode where chapters go in chronological order and play the game in original mode.
Now onto the technical side. This is a technical marvel considering it ran on PS3. I know this version is improved but still, this game looks good even by today's standards, not even talking about animations. Character models are so good that it looks better than majority of current gen games. Graphics are greatly improved compared to Heavy Rain. Graphics are better in every way. Much improved hair, environments have much more detail, even better animations and much better facial animations. When characters are talking or doing something it feels so natural, almost as if you're watching a movie.
Weirdly it has native ultrawide support. Don't know if it's intentional or not but it's weird because Detroit doesn't have it.
The game is unfortunately locked to 60fps. It's fine, but unlocked framerate would be appreciated.
They even added such a minor steam feature like when you play the game your friends can see in which chapter you are.
Game runs on 60fps steadily for me on 3700x, 2070s, 32gb at 3440x1440.
Sound design is done perfectly too. Voice acting is like day and night compared to previous games. Voice acting means a lot in this kind of game so I really appreciate that developers decided to go this more expensive and more complicated path. Thank you.
Soundtrack? Again it's great. It's a blockbuster movie quality soundtrack. Music lets you feel more connected to what is happening on screen and lets you immerse into Jodie's world even more.
This game is a masterpiece in my opinion. Must play for every fan of the genre. Sure it's not realistic, it's like a Holywood blockbuster. It has improved a lot since the last game and in some areas even surpasses Detroit. Great variety in chapters, environments, characters, good main story and on top you get some good little stories of different people or families. Great graphics and sound, filled with action scenes and of course you never get tired of seeing that cute face of Ellen Paige.
Pros
Great story
Good sub-stories
Outstanding graphics
Good pacing&gameplay
Action scenes are extremely fun
Very good voice acting
Good soundtrack
Enormous variety in environments
Cons
Locked to 60fps
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Ahh memories, I finished this game back in 2014 on PS3, it was love at first sight and now playing it again after 6 years, I remembered my days while playing this game but there's no way for me to remember those memories alone it's like those memories buried in this game and after finishing Beyond: Two Souls again the amount of nostalgia I felt was immeasurable.
Thank you for bringing this game to Steam <3

Overview
Beyond Two Souls (BTS) is a narrative adventure set across the late '90s and the present times, developed by Quantic Dream (same devs of Detroit Become Human). Players impersonate Jodie Holmes, an average girl made special by the presence of an invisible entity, named Aiden, that follows her constantly - often interacting with the physical world and causing paranormal events. As Jodie's life is made increasingly difficult by her unique condition, government and espionage agencies take an interest over her abilities.
🟩 The Good Side
Variety is the spice of life
BTS follows the events around Jodie from her childhood all the way to adulthood. In this time frame spanning decades, the amount of situations, environments and gameplay variations proposed is quite remarkable. From everyday tasks such as preparing dinner, playing in the backyard or shopping - to brawls with street thugs, police chases and even infiltration missions - the game offers enough variety to never get stale. Action and combat sequences based on quick-time events also give a necessary pace contrast compared to exploration and dialogues.
Piecing it back together
Differently from similar titles, BTS is narrated using a non-chronological event order: the premise would be Jodie remembering all the events that led her to her present situation, therefore the story is told as fragments from different times. At first this may sound like a confusing premise, but it was designed well and actually works brilliantly across the entire game. For those that prefer a "regular" storytelling, the Remixed Mode allows to play through Jodie's life in chronological order.
The paths of destiny
The way players decide to act impersonating Jodie and Aiden influences how events will come to pass. As Aiden, one can decide to support Jodie in her decisions and behave well, or just be a chaotic entity with a knack for destruction. Similarly, the protagonist's dialogue choices, actions and performance during quick-time events can lead to significant story changes. This being said, the main story events will inevitably be the same even if they can play out differently - don't expect the same variety seen in Detroit Become Human for instance, because it's just not THAT good.
Down to earth
The depiction of characters, institutions and general behavior of fellow humans in this game is spot on. Along the path there will be diffident people, and even outright evil, manipulative ones according to their interests - but also several genuinely good-spirited characters. The reasons behind the behavior of secondary characters encountered is almost always believable, congruent with their background and situations. BTS nails representing human nature as a whole.
🟥 The Bad Side
I said LEFT, not RIGHT, you stupid robot!
Quick time events are a clunky affair. If those against fixed objects and in escape scenes are at least acceptable, the same can't be said about combat-oriented ones. To improve immersion, the game removes any button prompt from action scenes, instead asking players to guess the right direction to either dodge or attack by "following character movement flow". Well, in short this just doesn't work properly, with control reliability being trash consistently, which can very well lead to negative story outcomes as Jodie becomes a punching / shooting bag for the local villains.
Rating: Very Good
Click here for the complete Rating Chart
It took me 12 hours to finish the game, while taking time to clear all dialogues and exploring each area. The replay value is pretty good with the presence of choices and multiple endings. For the current price of 20€ and very good quality, I can recommend buying for full price.
In-Depth Breakdown
🎮 Gameplay Analysis
Gameplay is divided into Exploration, Dialogues and Action Sequences.
Exploration
Can be performed controlling either Jodie or Aiden, each having different abilities. As a regular human, the former can interact with other people and objects too complex for Aiden to handle. The abilities of Jodie however vary based on the context and situation she is into. Aiden, as an entity can pass through most solid objects, freely explore any environment by flying around - but never getting too far from Jodie. The entity can also interact with physical objects to activate devices, destroy things or even harm living beings.
As the story progresses, Aiden will acquire stronger and diverse abilities as well, such as helping Jodie to commune with the dead to see brief glimpses of the past - to name one. The entire game also can be played in Duo Mode, which is local-only (not online), requiring two people that will respectively impersonate Aiden and Jodie at the same time. This mode doesn't change anything gameplay wise, as the same experience can be had in single player.
Dialogues
Are held with people encountered along the way, and always by Jodie, since Aiden cannot speak in a way humans can understand. Options available during dialogues may vary based on items and interactions made before them, however such changes are never game-changing, but can shed more light on some aspects or trigger secondary dialogues. The way Jodie poses herself with people may result in favorable or hostile reactions in some cases, however most dialogues don't emphasize this aspect much.
Action Sequences
Are conspicuous in BTS, and mostly located during Jodie's teenage years and onwards. These sequences rely on a quick-time event system to determine how they play out, but in two different ways. Normal quick-time events with button prompts come alongside sections devoid of any indication, where supposedly "player intuition" is the central focus. Such latter sections mostly are melee combat ones. This system as said before, doesn't work well at all.
Of course Aiden can also help Jodie during fights or Stealth sections, using his supernatural powers to distract, stun or even kill humans or other threats that may damage Jodie. As powerful as Aiden may be, its capabilities are quite inconsistent throughout the adventure, and more than once players will wonder "why can't Aiden do a damn thing?" - that is never explained.
Technical Corner
Specs: RTX 2080Ti, Ryzen 9 3900X, 32GB RAM, 970 PRO NVME SSD
Critical Problems
None.
Performance
VRAM Usage: Average
GPU Utilization: Within expected values
Settings Used: Maximum, 1440p 60Hz
Overall Optimization Rating: Good
Bugs & Other Issues
- Quick time event directional controls are often unreliable / inaccurate, leading to frustrating mistakes that can influence the story itself.

Short Review:
Controlls from Hell
Gameplay from Earth
Story from Heaven
Some more Details:
- I played with M+K and the controls felt very clunky. (almost so bad as Dark Souls Prepare to
Die Edition without mods)
- Not a real Free Camera + the Camera sucks from time to time.
- Some weird Slow motion fights.
- Quicktime events. (You get used to them, but in Combination with bad controlls and the
fights ... meh)
+ Face Animations almost have Cinema Quality.
+ Dialog options + Endings (worth a replay at least a 2nd time if not a 3rd time)
+ Many Locations
+ Async Couch Coop possible (not tried that so far)
+ Awesome Story with some Twists, Heartful moments and Brainfu++s
I give it a 8/10
If there is a mod out there with free Camera movement and maybe some improved Controlls,
then i would give it a 10/10

I like to play games that are more story-driven than the usual FPS's or RPG's, and this game is purely for players who are looking for that experience. Let me get the cons out first -- the 'gaming' challenge is non-existent, and so is replayability. Do not buy this 'game' if you're looking for a traditional shoot-em-up game that studios crank out every year.
'Beyond' is more of a 15-hour animated story where you control the main character. The story, mo-cap and voice acting are all top-notch, although some of the world-building props (trees/scenery) were sub-par. You can tell most of the budget went to accurately capturing Ellen Page's face. The game did get stuck on one scene (second CIA mission) and I had to restart the mission.
The pacing of the game and the timeline jumps are well thought out. Although the post-climactic cut-scenes seemed to be added on haphazardly, the overall story arc was convincing. The identity of Aiden, when it arrives, is not much of a revelation as this has been done before in movies. I'm not a big fan of supernatural stories, hence I found the emotional impact lessened compared to 'The Last of Us', 'Heavy Rain', or even 'Red Dead Redemption'.
Overall, such games need to be encouraged and purchased if only to break the stranglehold of titles with big-men-with-bigger-weapons-shooting-each-other is to be broken. Quantic Dream is one of those studios trying to buck the well-worn trend and I will buy their next title if the experience is similar or better than 'Beyond: Two Souls'.