Beyond Two Souls - and the concept of redemption

[Mike Fleming]

Beyond Two Souls is a new playstation game.  In many ways it seems more like an interactive movie.  The characters are very real.  I watched a let's Play on YouTube.  Let's Play's can be a bit hit and miss, sometimes the commentators can be really annoying but I found this one to be good.   The whole thing lasts a few hours if you watch all the parts so it won't be for everyone.

 

 

 

 

****** SPOILERS BELOW ********

 

 

 

 

The character that really interested me was Ryan.  He was sort of the love interest for the main character.  When we meet him, he is a real asshole and you have no problem hating him, but by the end of the film you are left thinking this is a pretty decent guy.

 

Which got me thinking about the idea of redemption and if this was realistic.  You get to hear a bit about his history.  He has parents that he sees as little as possible.  Didn't really know what to do after school, ended up in the army and then was recruited into the CIA.  Like I say, early on he is a jackass.  Someone who will do the wrong thing to get what he wants.  But then interactions with the main character gradually soften him.

 

I began to think of myself and my early 20's when I was a frustrated, angry young man and kind of reacted in many similar ways.  But then I started to meet nice people and gradually wanted to be more like them.  It makes you wonder, if I was a dick, but was only that way because I didn't know how else to be, (it was all I had seen growing up), then how true is it of other people?   And redemption, at least to me, does seem possible but it should always be realised that it is a hard road to walk initially.  I think the game partially showed this.

[jupson]

I haven’t played this, but I did watch an entire playthrough over the course of a few days.

 

I had a difficult time connecting to any of the characters. Maybe I’m just jaded, but I felt that the writing was holding back what could have been a brilliant showcase of character development and mo-cap acting. There are a few bits that were really good; like when Jodie was a child and trying to make sense of the experiences she was having while also enduring the complete lack of real compassionate parents.

 

However, it’s hard to empathize with “grown-up” Jodie because of her invulnerability being paired with a non-physical entity who regularly wreaks havoc on the physical world.  And the world this story takes place in, I believe, is unrealistically cruel and sadistic.

 

*SPOILERS*

 

One example: There’s a scene where Jodie escapes from her handlers so she can have a night out at the local bar. Her interactions with the all-male patronage are the typical media portrayals of men conspiring together in their sexual predations towards the main character. In reality, the men in that bar would have been really concerned that a lonely teenage woman was waiting around and they probably would have offered her genuine assistance; not throw her onto the pool table and attempt to rape her. (I say “attempted rape” because Jodie’s magical ghost friend promptly disposes of those evil men by murdering them.)

 

Ultimately, I think this story that David Cage has put together demonstrates yet another distorted view of reality and it’s not particularly well-told with the chronologically random plot progression.

 

Also, as a video game, it’s not very challenging; especially compared to Quantic Dream's last game; Heavy Rain. I watched the different outcomes of key decisions in the story and it’s quite clear that player-choice is limited. The potential to fail is also mostly removed and this makes it even more difficult to empathize with the main character. Jodie is overpowered.

 

Ironically, one of the few times you actually can fail in the story is during the progression of Jodie’s relationship with Ryan. You can completely muck up their first date and blow him off later on. Other than that, the rest of the choices in this story are superficial deviations in the plot progression. It’s a very linear experience, no matter how you play it.

 

There are redeeming qualities: Technically, this game is visually stunning. There is a real potential to create great stories and show comprehensive character development with this technology.

 

I really wanted this game to be good. I felt that Heavy Rain was a step in the right direction for telling a complex narative through video games. But I felt that Beyond: Two Souls was a step backwards.