Will Quantic Dream’s newest title break their streak? Beyond: Two Souls is shrouded in mystery and it looks as though the game may have lost itself in it.
Originally, Beyond: Two Souls was set to release May 2013 but was a delayed in favor of October. In light of an insanely packed Spring this move didn’t seem to be an issue, but to then discover that more work needed to be done was only the first red flag. There are two reasons for a development related delay: a team wants more time to polish over their game or they’re behind and still fixing, or even making, the game. Sadly, it may be the latter which might be affecting the game negatively.
Remember when we thought we knew what Beyond: Two Souls was about? Each new piece of the puzzle seems to come out of left field and while studios often do this to keep us on our toes it may reflect the developing story. It seems as if too much may be happening in this story and taking a step back from its streamlined predecessor in Heavy Rain.
I thought the game featured a scared girl in nowhere America on the run with her ghost pal, Aiden, who is hiding from the government and their experiments on her. That is what the trailers and stills have all suggested. Then we were thrown curve balls of working as one man army for the CIA, a Somalia setting –where she’s a gun slinging bad ass– and there are hints of a love story. I no longer have any idea what the game is about.
One concern is that the story takes place over 15 years, from Jodie’s childhood and on, so with the game not being extremely long will the pacing between these different stages in her life feels natural? Or will the story telling feel jagged to fit all the pieces of story within an allotted time.
Although maybe the biggest concern is the lack of it’s “Twitter summary” ability; you can’t explain this game in under 140 characters.
While Heavy Rain could be summarized as “A murder mystery in which a father does everything to rescue his kidnapped son. Every decision greatly affects the outcome of the story;”136 characters.
My attempt with Beyond: Two Souls wasn’t as successful: “Covers 15 years of a girl’s life who is partnered by a ghost. She works for and then runs from the gov who’s experimented on her to research her powers;” over by 11 characters and I’m still not sure that is a good enough wrap up of the story or if there are more prominent things to put in the summary.
The ability to talk about and intrigue someone with a game within a sentence or two is half of what keeps this industry going. Without Quantic Dream’s pedigree this would hurt a game regardless of its quality; e.g. Starhawk. Still a convoluted story never bodes well, even for a first class developer such as Quantic Dream.
On top of all of this, the game has severe camera issues and controls awkwardly, making me even more concerned with Beyond: Two Souls‘ success. With toggle cover buttons from the late-90s, Aiden’s vertical and horizontal movement controlled by the shoulder buttons (much like a bad PS2 level creator), analog sticks to attack, etc. the controls are eccentric to say the least.
Heavy Rain was forgiven by many for its controls because of the amazing story and dramatic element it carried, but I felt the QTE button smashing actually helped tell the story without you getting in the way of its progress. Quantic Dream must duplicate these and not fall back to the days of the awkward handling Indigo Prophecy.
If Beyond: Two Souls turns out how it’s shaping to be, the combination of confusing story and weak controls will push this game into the arena of unplayable giving a big hit to the reputation of one of the bigger game developers in the industry.
Check out the trailer revealing this new desert setting and let us know your feelings on this ever developing story in the comments below!
