PixlBit

We're getting a lot of interesting new games this year...

 

Beyond: Two Souls

Developer Quantic Dream and its lead writer/director David Cage has built a career around dramatic, story-focused games. So even though very little has been shown of Beyond: Two Souls so far we know more or less what to expect. This time, Cage has centered the narrative around a singular character. Jody—played by Ellen Page, who provides voice work and performance capture— is a troubled girl who has an unexplained connection to some sort of spirit entity, which she calls Aiden. This tether causes Jody all manner of problems growing up, and the game is said to take place over 15 years of her life, from a shy little girl to a grown woman on the run and looking for answers.

 

Heavy Rain was a critical darling, but one of the major critiques of the game stemmed from the overabundance of quick time events over direct character control. While it’s unlikely that Quantic Dream would chuck out their signature QTE bits, it seems as if players have much more direct control over Jody, as well as Aiden. Some of the gameplay shown so far depicts an emphasis on Jody stealthily evading police. The player can switch control to Aiden who, as a spirit, can fly around the environment for a better vantage point. He can also directly influence his surroundings by moving objects or even possessing people.

At this point, there’s not much to say about Beyond, as Quantic Dream has gone dark since E3. From what little has been shown, it’s already safe to say that the developer took the criticisms of Heavy Rain to heart. Utilizing actors that speak English as their first language is an obvious improvement, and goes a long way towards making the characters in Beyond far more believable than the cast of Heavy Rain. And like The Last of Us, this game is a PS3 exclusive, which the console didn’t see too much of in 2012. There is no release date for Beyond: Two Souls as of yet, but a good bet would be in the Fall.