Last played on: January 2021.
My verdict is at the bottom
Read the full review, with pictures[raggartsreviews.com]
Besides Jodie Holmes, most characters are only slightly fleshed out. Aiden is a noticeable exception. Despite having no actual dialogue, Aiden certainly develops a personality of his own and grows alongside Jodie. Another outlier is Nathan Dawkins. He starts as a scientist and caregiver that might be trying to help Jodie but goes through a personal tragedy and becomes a warped, twisted version of his former self. I thought he was the only other well defined character in the game. I found other characters were mainly there to show Jodie’s growth (like Cole and the homeless people) or become potential love interests (e.g. Jay and Ryan).

The villains are absolutely ludicrous in how poorly-written they are but they occupy a very small portion of the game time. There is no alternate viewpoint. As a player, we are given (some) control over Jodie and Aiden’s destinies so they are the ones that are present most of the time.
Beyond: Two Souls is beautifully acted, through motion-capture and voice acting, with some well known actors such as Elliot Page (Jodie Holmes) and Willem Dafoe (Nathan Dawkins). The game excelled at drawing me in and making me care about Jodie. Being ping-ponged between different periods of her life somehow made me feel like Jodie was a friend or a family member. I certainly empathized with her, Nathan and Cole (another caregiver that becomes Jodie’s friend) throughout most of the game. Others, such as Ryan Clayton, are much harder to love. And the “evil” antagonist, General McGrath, is not well written enough to warrant comment.

I know this game was published in 2013 and I played it in 2020-2021 but it seemed forced to have Jodie meet potential love interests. I feel like the game would have been perfectly fine without any attempt to force a relationship. Fortunately the game gives the player some leeway in that regard.
The voice acting is of an extremely high quality. The performance from the actors themselves is excellent but the technical aspects of the sound design were also very well crafted. The slow-motion focus sound as well as the punches and other impact sounds really kept me focused during battles and fights. The music was composed by Lorne Balfe and produced by Hans Zimmer (yes, that Hans Zimmer). It is absolutely superb, alternating between styles: sometimes it’s mysterious and touching, other times rhythmic and full of energy or dramatic and sad. Although it is mostly instrumental, the soundtrack makes judicious use of chorus or chorus-like effects. It seems designed to help the player understand the characters more as well as enhance or highlight the emotions of a scene. And it works all the time!
This is an outstanding emotional story-telling game, much more akin to an interactive movie than anything else. I really bonded with the main character and walked away both filled and empty.
The bond and love I felt for Jodie, Aiden, Nathan and some other characters. I did not know (or I had forgotten?) I could feel that way for video game characters.

You know how sometimes you feel sad when you finish a book or TV series just because you won’t get to live more with the characters? Well this is how I felt when I finished playing Beyond: Two Souls.
While the story was solid for most of the game, it does contain potential plot holes as well as weird character motivations and the ending felt dubious to me. The whole Navajo chapter felt disjointed, superfluous and a bit tacky.
Yes! If you liked other games from Quantic Dream, if you like interactive movies or if you like storytelling games with deep emotional connection, you should buy and play this game. In my opinion, there’s no need to wait until the game is on sale.

[b]Last played on: January 2021.[/b] [i]My verdict is at the bottom[/i] [url=https://raggartsreviews.com/reviews/beyond-two-souls/]Read the full review, with pictures[/url] [h2]The people of the game[/h2] Besides Jodie Holmes, most characters are only slightly fleshed out. Aiden is a noticeable exception. Despite having no actual dialogue, Aiden certainly develops a personality of his own and grows alongside Jodie. Another outlier is Nathan Dawkins. He starts as a scientist and caregiver that might be trying to help Jodie but goes through a personal tragedy and becomes a warped, twisted version of his former self. I thought he was the only other well defined character in the game. I found other characters were mainly there to show Jodie’s growth (like Cole and the homeless people) or become potential love interests (e.g. Jay and Ryan). The villains are absolutely ludicrous in how poorly-written they are but they occupy a very small portion of the game time. There is no alternate viewpoint. As a player, we are given (some) control over Jodie and Aiden’s destinies so they are the ones that are present most of the time. [h2]My emotions![/h2] Beyond: Two Souls is beautifully acted, through motion-capture and voice acting, with some well known actors such as Elliot Page (Jodie Holmes) and Willem Dafoe (Nathan Dawkins). The game excelled at drawing me in and making me care about Jodie. Being ping-ponged between different periods of her life somehow made me feel like Jodie was a friend or a family member. I certainly empathized with her, Nathan and Cole (another caregiver that becomes Jodie’s friend) throughout most of the game. Others, such as Ryan Clayton, are much harder to love. And the “evil” antagonist, General McGrath, is not well written enough to warrant comment. I know this game was published in 2013 and I played it in 2020-2021 but it seemed forced to have Jodie meet potential love interests. I feel like the game would have been perfectly fine without any attempt to force a relationship. Fortunately the game gives the player some leeway in that regard. [h2]Voice acting AND top-tier music[/h2] The voice acting is of an extremely high quality. The performance from the actors themselves is excellent but the technical aspects of the sound design were also very well crafted. The slow-motion focus sound as well as the punches and other impact sounds really kept me focused during battles and fights. The music was composed by Lorne Balfe and produced by Hans Zimmer (yes, that Hans Zimmer). It is absolutely superb, alternating between styles: sometimes it’s mysterious and touching, other times rhythmic and full of energy or dramatic and sad. Although it is mostly instrumental, the soundtrack makes judicious use of chorus or chorus-like effects. It seems designed to help the player understand the characters more as well as enhance or highlight the emotions of a scene. And it works all the time! [h2]Verdict[/h2] This is an outstanding emotional story-telling game, much more akin to an interactive movie than anything else. I really bonded with the main character and walked away both filled and empty. [h3]What I liked most about the game[/h3] The bond and love I felt for Jodie, Aiden, Nathan and some other characters. I did not know (or I had forgotten?) I could feel that way for video game characters. You know how sometimes you feel sad when you finish a book or TV series just because you won’t get to live more with the characters? Well this is how I felt when I finished playing Beyond: Two Souls. [h3]What I liked the least about the game[/h3] While the story was solid for most of the game, it does contain potential plot holes as well as weird character motivations and the ending felt dubious to me. The whole Navajo chapter felt disjointed, superfluous and a bit tacky. [h3]Should I buy this game?[/h3] Yes! If you liked other games from Quantic Dream, if you like interactive movies or if you like storytelling games with deep emotional connection, you should buy and play this game. In my opinion, there’s no need to wait until the game is on sale.