[Wussy]

It's another game by David Cage.

Honestly, that should tell you everything you would need to know about it. It's got the same horrific controls and constant QTE from Heavy Rain, and a bizzare off-the-rails plot like both Heavy Rain and Farenheight / Indigo Prophecy. The biggest difference is that now there's more freedom in your movement (several areas are fairly large and open) but that also makes it harder to figure out what you're supposed to do or where to go.

Plot:
The plot is pretty good, so far. The entire game is told in flashback, which only serves to eliminate a lot of tension, since you know that no matter how insane the situation she can't possibly be killed. But otherwise, there's a lot of "where are we going from here?" questions that keep popping up, and there's definitely a sense of mystery that comes from Aiden.

Aiden. There's the central gimmick, main plot, and also most bullshit part of the game. Aiden is a spirit that has been tethered to Jodie since birth. The most important thing to understand about Aiden is that he is a separate, thinking creature. Jodie can direct him, but cannot control him. He's also EXTREMELY protective of her, to the point where it leads to hilarious misunderstangs, like a snowball fight ending in a possible murder.

That's not why Aiden is bullshit, though. It's because of what he can do. He can create a shield around Jodie that renders her immune to all forms of harm, including bullets, fire, and falling. And yet, she keeps finding herself in situations where all 3 can occur, and Aiden just will not trigger the shield. It's because it's a game, and the shield eliminates all challenge, and that makes it all the more infuriating everytime it WOULD be useful, but it just isn't an option.

Gameplay:
If you've played Heavy Rain, you know exactly how this plays. Quicktime Events. QTEs for everything. QTE for climbing rocks, QTE for turning on the shower, QTE for fistfighting, QTE for writing things down. Also like Heavy Rain, just because you fail one QTE does not mean that the game is over; it keeps going despite stumbling, or getting hit, or whatever. The game is also intentionally setup to make it as annoying as possible to replay a section (there is no "reload checkpoint"), to further encourage you to just take the punch and keep pushing through.

The difference now is that there's a lot more freedom of movement than in Heavy Rain, and that can make it difficult to figure out where you're supposed to go, what to do, and in one case, even fit through a doorway just because you're not perfectly lined up with it.

My biggest complaint with the controls is that, due to the QTE nature of the game, you can't fight or move the way you want, you have to fight or move the way the game wants. You want to duck that punch? Sorry, the game says you have to block it. You want to dodge right? Sorry, the game says to duck. The game tells you to watch her body and move the way she does, but sometimes the camera is at an off angle and there are two perfectly valid choices to make, so you just hope you hit the stick in the correct direction.

Graphics:
Graphics are amazing. There's no other way to say it. They did an excellent job of capturing Ellen Page, down to the point where you can see her individual pores in the title screen. Willem DaFoe is also very well done, although some of the younger scenes look hella airbrushed. Environments are detailed, and you can see how there's been a lot of love put into them.

Overall:
It's Heavy Rain 2. Did you like Heavy Rain's story? Even with the ridiculous ending(s)? Did you like the controls? Even with the non-stop QTEs? Did you like the pointless sexual assault of Madison? Want to see it again? (Seriously, what is up with David Cage and putting his female characters into rapey situations?)

I'm guessing I'm about 70% of the way through it, and I'd have to say I'm enjoying it. At least, I'm engrossed enough in the plot to suffer through the nonsensical bits. Then again, Heavy Rain didn't fall apart until about the 95% mark, so I can't really judge Beyond: Two Souls until after I finish it.