Quantic Dream releases Detroit: Become Human for PlayStation 4 in a couple of days so I tried a demo last week. Another Quantic Dream game, BEYOND: TWO SOULS, was free this month for Playstation+ members so I figured I’d try that one, too.
While Detroit: Become Human is a near-future science fiction story about androids, BEYOND: TWO SOULS is a supernatural thriller with similarities to the 2016 Netflix show Stranger Things. Both games are single-player, third person, with quick time events.
I found the gameplay in BEYOND: TWO SOULS excessively frustrating and awkward. As someone who’s played thousands of hours of games including Fallout 4, Skyrim and BioShock, the camera movement felt cramped and the controls confusing. I spent too much time walking around, opening doors, and bumping into the limits of the world.
I wasn’t keen on the stiff camera in Detroit: Become Human, either, but didn’t feel the same sense of frustration with that game. The points of interaction enhanced the story in the Detroit demo, but they really got in the way and detracted from the experience in BEYOND: TWO SOULS.
In spite of my intense dislike of the game mechanics, BEYOND: TWO SOULS has an interesting story and my viewers tell me there’s only about ten total hours of gameplay, so I will continue playing.
BEYOND: TWO SOULS was published in 2013, featuring characters voiced by Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe, and is rated “M” for mature audiences due to blood, intense violence, sexual content, strong language, and use of drugs and alcohol.
~ J.L. Hilton
Connect, support, comment or contact the author here
