Beyond: Two Souls- demo impressions - now publicly available

The acting is immediately more appealing than anything in heavy rain. Dafoe is really quite convincing. I am very excited for this.

Snoozer, I don't think you have to worry about copycats. Very few games ripped off heavy rain and very few studios give budgets like Sony gives QD. I'm more worried that QD will have a flop and have their wings clipped.
 
The acting is immediately more appealing than anything in heavy rain. Dafoe is really quite convincing. I am very excited for this.

Snoozer, I don't think you have to worry about copycats. Very few games ripped off heavy rain and very few studios give budgets like Sony gives QD. I'm more worried that QD will have a flop and have their wings clipped.

Yeah I dont think many devs could afford to make games like this, but games could definitely learn a thing or two from these guys (Telltale, I love yah, but youre literally years behind in animation when compared to other games in the genre...and games in general)
 
I wanted to wait until the game came out, but I was weak and downloaded the demo. This demo is just simply amazing. It gives me Heavy Rain vibes, which I love, but it also feels different. The graphics are fantastic, and the controls are great. Though, it did take me a while to get adjusted to the controls, I can't lie. It's mainly when Jodie is kicking up that I want to move the analog stick up, but then I started moving it the right way after failing a handful of times, haha. My favorite part of the demo was playing as young Jodie. Going through the wall and scaring that woman was hilariously enjoyable. This demo leads me to believe that going through the game and experiencing Jodie's life at different times is going to be really interesting and fun. Now I really can't wait until the 8th. I'm so glad I pre-ordered this game.
 
Wait, there's animal cruelty in this game? What happens? :(

Also, how much do you think the full game's install will be?

Also also, the movement isn't the painful clunky shuffle of TWD, is it?
Just some police dogs you have to fight. The sound design is painfully realistic, but it's not that violent and they survive. The full install will be quite big I imagine. Movement is totally fine, nothing like TWD.


So I sorta take back some of my impressions after watching my roommate playthrough...its a bit more impressive than i had originally thought
You get some VERY different scenarios if you pass or fail a QTE, but they rubberband back to the same conclusion which is still kind of interesting....

Police on Train Scene
1- Get Caught- Posses poilce officer to uncuff you and sneak out a window
2- Dont Get Caught- Have huge fight on top of train

In the Woods
1-Get Caught- get put in back of police cruiser, kill cop and escape from back, then flip over a car to grab the motorcycle
2- Dont get caught- possess police officer to drive into roadside barrier to distract officers and steal motorcycle

At Police Barrier
1- Get Caught- Back of SWAT van possess driver to flip car and kill passengers
2- Break through Barrier- Huge shootout in a town

The all have the same conclusion, but the journey is different....very good way to do rubberband storytelling
Yup. Actually you can fuck up in the town as well. Then you get the SWAT truck escape scene. So basically you can have the town battle and the truck escape scene in one playthrough :D
 
So there's no noticeable frame rate drops? The game looks so good from the screens I've seen that I kinda expect some hiccups. Also, where is everyone getting the demo from again?
 
Just activated my code. Can't wait to get home and start the download. This will probably be one of if not the last PS3 game I play "new" this gen.
 
I literally threw my hands up after the demo and said im on board. The graphics, va and polish all extremely well done. Only a couple weeks left to play this gem
 
Does anyone know if the Beyond Android/iOS app works with the demo? Kind of curious to see how it plays.
Unfortunately no. It works with simple touch gestures (drag to walk, touch to interact, swipe to fight etc.). Press said it works fine.


So there's no noticeable frame rate drops? The game looks so good from the screens I've seen that I kinda expect some hiccups. Also, where is everyone getting the demo from again?
There are some. But it's not really noticeable no, especially not with this kind of game. It's probably more stable than The Last of Us during fights actually. You also have to consider that the demo build is at least 2 months old (gamescom build). So I expect a mostly smooth experience at launch. Certainly more smooth than Heavy Rain was (+better looking and no tearing).
 
Unfortunately no. It works with simple touch gestures (drag to walk, touch to interact, swipe to fight etc.). Press said it works fine.



There are some. But it's not really noticeable no, especially not with this kind of game. It's probably more stable than The Last of Us during fights actually. You also have to consider that the demo build is at least 2 months old (gamescom build). So I expect a mostly smooth experience at launch. Certainly more smooth than Heavy Rain was (+better looking and no tearing).

Nice, gonna give this a try then. Crazy what they're doing with old hardware.
 
Daaamn this game looks awesome, everything just looks well made, going to pick this one up even though I wanted to be done with PS3 after puppeteer. to the guy who said the graphics were not as good as TLOU he needs glasses. Why didnt Sony leave this for the PS4?
 
In the Woods
1-Get Caught- get put in back of police cruiser, kill cop and escape from back, then flip over a car to grab the motorcycle
2- Dont get caught- possess police officer to drive into roadside barrier to distract officers and steal motorcycle

You can also possess the cop, have him pull a shotgun out of the back of the SUV and start firing into the air as a distraction.
 
That demo just sold me on the game. I admired Heavy Rain, but I wasn't a big fan of it and never bought the game. Beyond: Two Souls, however, has just moved up to a "must buy" for me. Absolutely awesome + some of the best visuals I've ever seen in a game, if not THE best visuals I've ever seen in a game.
 
just played the demo.

ladies and gentlemen, I think we might have a new GOTY contender on our hands.

jesus christ o_O

this game is...just, wow. The graphics, the facial animation, the voice acting...all so immersive. That little girl at the beginning of the demo, I immediately wanted to spend time with her. As the demo went on, I realized the freedom Aiden gives is separate from the control of the character, kind of making me feel like I was Aiden more so than I was Jodie, because I was breaking the rules a little bit. The gameplay, very intriguing and mostly very fresh. Its not like Heavy Rain, which is a little weird for me. It flows differently...there isn't button prompts on the screen most of the time, feels like there's more freedom. The use of the right stick to interact will most actions is very cool, especially because there aren't prompts showing you which direction to move the stick. The game is very good at presenting you with the controls once, and then setting you free and not bugging/reminding you.

I'm going to go pre-order this tomorrow. Who said demos don't help? Looks like this game is gonna be beyond my expectations. Congrats to QD, hopefully their effort is appreciated critically and commercially.
 
These videos are amazing. I really hope this game turns out well.

Now I need to find a friend with a PS3 and convince them to buy the game. :P
 
I thought I was the only one but I'm only 5 minutes into the demo and had to switch my TV input back to PC to tell how impressed I am of the game from what little I played. I'm going to finish the demo now.
 
Boy, it sure is gorgeous, but I had enough of this kind of 'gameplay' with Heavy Rain. Press the right analog stick up, right, left, L1, tap X, shake the controller... bleh. It is just so unsatisfying and dull to sit there and do that shit. The only real appeal is the Aiden segments, but even that wore thin. I can imagine an entire game of it. I'll pass.
 
Great to hear positive impressions for this.

Day one! **goes back to playing GTA V**
lol, pretty much this. Every title that looks promising gets a mental note from me to preorder it or plan on buying it, and then I return to GTAV (or everyday responsibilities, as the case may be!).
 
Just so people are clear this is still very QTE based ...but yes it really is an interactive movie
Yeah, and I'm cool with that if it's not boring. Heavy Rain was riveting, one of the only games to ever make me literally stand up at certain scenes because I was so into what was happening on the screen. The minimal mechanics kind of rules it out for my GOTY, since for that distinction I look at mechanics first and foremost, but I'm sure the overall experience has the potential to be incredible. Heavy Rain sure was, and this looks like that with more elegant controls, improved storytelling/VA, and powered-up graphics. Not to mention the whole concept of Aidan and the way you use him to interact with environment/characters Geist-style is a delicious layer on top of the traditional Heavy Rain-style fare.
 
I just finished the demo and I have to say...

That was absolutely terrible. The game is pretty graphically but that's about it.

The acting especially for such a experienced cast is stilted and lacks any emotion. The script itself is classic David Cage with slow, boring, robotic dialog and a poor narrative pace. With poor direction we're left with something that's just hard to sit through.

The gameplay is just as bad if not worse than Heavy Rain, the analog stick guessing game is annoying enough but stack on the button prompts flailing around the screen that vibrating non-stop and it's just a joke. The game takes no skills besides knowing where the buttons are on the controller, it's just plain boring to play.

Top that off with the same terrible tank controls and sickening camera sway that Heavy Rain suffered from and you've got one of the most disappointing things I've played in a long time.

Before you all jump on me, I loved Heavy Rain to death when it came out and I defended that game. But this is just a punch in the balls, it's like Quantic Dream has learned absolutely nothing from Heavy Rain's glaring flaws and just shit out an uninspired attempt to nail that "Interactive Cinema" feel. Something Last of Us beat them at while still maintaining exciting and engaging gameplay.
 
The gameplay is just as bad if not worse than Heavy Rain, the analog stick guessing game is annoying enough

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guessing game? the analogue prompts are so straight-forward there is no need for guessing.
 
Just so people are clear this is still very QTE based ...but yes it really is an interactive movie
True, but we have to add the distinction that it is really well done. QTEs are mostly terribly implemented in games, but Quantic uses them well. Many people will still hate them, but Quantic's approach avoids many of the pitfalls QTEs normally have. Combined with more direct control, Aiden and an intuitive system that doesn't shove prompts into your face constantly, but is so well designed you can do the right move just by looking at the screen really elevates this above Heavy Rain. It's still not for everyone, but I see more people enjoying it than Heavy Rain.
 
Just finished playing the demo. I am very impressed overall.

The controls have a brief learning curve (to be fair, for me that's the case for most games anyway) - particularly when moving Aiden around. But after several minutes they feel pretty natural. It was instantly apparent that the movement controls are much improved over Heavy Rain.

Voice acting is much better than HR (which I expected, considering the actors). And the story and characters are intriguing. The whole game has Jodie seemingly traveling all over the place (horseback in desert, military stuff, snow scenes, etc.) throughout her life so I hope the plot is cohesive.

Graphics are excellent, especially in the "hunted" part of the demo.

If the whole game is as good or better than that demo then Beyond could be one of the PS3's best exclusives...up there with The Last of Us, Uncharted 2, Demon's Souls, etc.

I already had Beyond preordered (special edition); my positive feelings after playing the demo make me anticipate the full game even more.
 
Tried it out, like with The Last of Us I found the presentation to be amazing, but I'm just not into the game or what's going on. I was very impressed with the visuals, but I personally need decent gameplay to go along with it and I'm not finding that.
 
Tried it out, like with The Last of Us I found the presentation to be amazing, but I'm just not into the game or what's going on. I was very impressed with the visuals, but I personally need decent gameplay to go along with it and I'm not finding that.

Qte and interactive movies aren't for everyone. Nothing wrong with appreciating the amazing eye candy they were able to extract from ancient hardware and not feeling the game.
 
Tried it out, like with The Last of Us I found the presentation to be amazing, but I'm just not into the game or what's going on. I was very impressed with the visuals, but I personally need decent gameplay to go along with it and I'm not finding that.

heavy rain and beyond two souls are in essence point-and-click adventure games. no one thinks monkey island needs "decent gameplay" just because it has no jump or left/right buttons.
 
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