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[HovaHovito]

someone never played a jrpg, it seems.

the characters go away while new characters come in. seriously, the amount of characters in this game does not hurt anyone's head. their roles are clearly defined, they don't linger for too long, and those that do clearly play a more significant role.

Not sure what that first part has to do with anything. Almost no characters are given depth so a majority of the game is just people you meet and none of them leave lasting impressions due to how shallow they are. Not a tough concept and only itt have I had people disagree with this

what? If anything, The mostly focuses on the story, and the number of important characters in the game are less than a handful. Your comment reads like you haven't actually played the game.

Damn I'm getting patronized for saying the characters are frequently introduced and not delved into. Sounds like you cant accept other people's views

In conclusion I've played the game wrong while simultaneously not played it.

 

[EmptySpace]

Not sure what that first part has to do with anything. Almost no characters are given depth so a majority of the game is just people you meet and none of them leave lasting impressions due to how shallow they are. Not a tough concept and only itt have I had people disagree with this

1) jrpgs have a lot of characters in them. way more than in beyond two souls, and they get as much exposure as every other character in this game.

2) wrong. characters have their own depth, stories, problems, views, etc. spoiler tag characters and talk about how shallow they are so people here would understand hovahovi's ramblings.

3) probably because hovahovi's opinion is shallow. explain the points and spoiler tag if necessary.

 

[HovaHovito]

1) jrpgs have a lot of characters in them. way more than in beyond two souls, and they get as much exposure as every other character in this game.

2) wrong. characters have their own depth, stories, problems, views, etc. spoiler tag characters and talk about how shallow they are so people here would understand hovahovi's ramblings.

3) probably because hovahovi's opinion is shallow. explain the points and spoiler tag if necessary.

I'll give an example of a game with probably as many characters as beyond. Persona 4, i dont feel overwhelmed in that title because every character is fleshed and and given their own unique personality and traits without being cliche bores. Beyond doesnt delve into the characters and even with jodie it relies too much on ellen page being ellen page and one can only do so much with the very mediocre writing of david cage.
Damn you getting a little too patronizing for my tastes. Be a bit less dicky and maybe thismcan go somewhere

 

[EmptySpace]

I'll give an example of a game with probably as many characters as beyond. Persona 4, i dont feel overwhelmed in that title because every character is fleshed and and given their own unique personality and traits without being cliche bores. Beyond doesnt delve into the characters and even with jodie it relies too much on ellen page being ellen page and one can only do so much with the very mediocre writing of david cage.
Damn you getting a little too patronizing for my tastes. Be a bit less dicky and maybe thismcan go somewhere

1) persona is a 60-hour game, with a lot of dialogue.

2) beyond does it for characters who play a big part in the story.

3) "relies too much on ellen page being ellen page". makes no sense at all.

4) well if hovahovi explains his points better, then this can actually go somewhere. be more specific. talk about specific characters. "characters are cliche bores". stop generalizing and talk about specifics. use spoiler tags.

 

[HovaHovito]

1) persona is a 60-hour game, with a lot of dialogue.

2) beyond does it for characters who play a big part in the story.

3) "relies too much on ellen page being ellen page". makes no sense at all.

4) well if hovahovi explains his points better, then this can actually go somewhere. be more specific. talk about specific characters. "characters are cliche bores". stop generalizing and talk about specifics. use spoiler tags.

Beyond is about a 10 hour game with an exponential difference in budget.
Yes it does, it relies too much on the actress doing what she's known for, being a witty and rebellious girl. Her performance is well done in spite of the writing.

 

[Ishida]

it relies too much on ellen page being ellen page

Wow, I've read several valid complains about Beyond, but this is by far the dumbest one.

 

[HovaHovito]

Wow, I've read several valid complains about Beyond, but this is by far the dumbest one.

That david cage didnt bother making the character interesting with his writing and instead just relied on ellen page's charm and signature acting style? Really? Hm interesting

 

[EmptySpace]

Beyond is about a 10 hour game with an exponential difference in budget.
Yes it does, it relies too much on the actress doing what she's known for, being a witty and rebellious girl. Her performance is well done in spite of the writing.

1) having a bigger budget does not mean characters will be more fleshed out.

2) what horseshit. just because hovahovi only knows the movie juno does not mean ellen page's every role is like juno. not to mention, jodie was not witty and rebellious throughout the game, and only in certain parts, most of which are from the first half.

3) still not talking specifics.

 

[Ishida]

That david cage didnt bother making the character interesting with his writing and instead just relied on ellen page's charm and signature acting style? Really? Hm interesting

Except the characters were interesting, at least the main ones.

 

[StuBurns]

Jodie is nothing like Juno, Juno is provocative and precocious to an extent Jodie couldn't even imagine.

 

[HovaHovito]

1) having a bigger budget does not mean characters will be more fleshed out.

2) what horseshit. just because hovahovi only knows the movie juno does not mean ellen page's every role is like juno. not to mention, jodie was not witty and rebellious throughout the game, and only in certain parts, most of which are from the first half.

3) still not talking specifics.

One would hope that the millions of dollars would also be spent on a writing staff, guess not. She's played similar characters in many films, many stars stick to their strengths which isnt a bad thing at all.
Im playing a game atm not able to delve into much rn

 

[EmptySpace]

One would hope that the millions of dollars would also be spent on a writing staff, guess not. She's played similar characters in many films, many stars stick to their strengths which isnt a bad thing at all.
Im playing a game atm not able to delve into much rn

1) while the dialogues can be iffy at times, the story is great and the scenarios are awesome. what cage needs is better dialogue, but he should still do the scenarios.

2) wrong again.

3) no one cares if hovahovi is playing a game right now. if he can't offer specifics then there's no point of contention.

 

[HovaHovito]

Except the characters were interesting, at least the main ones.

I didnt find myself caring for any of them

 

[HovaHovito]

1) while the dialogues can be iffy at times, the story is great and the scenarios are awesome. what cage needs is better dialogue, but he should still do the scenarios.

2) wrong again.

3) no one cares if hovahovi is playing a game right now. if he can't offer specifics then there's no point of contention.

Wat, if the dialogue and how the scene is carried out then the scenarios arent worth much. The game is supposed to be story driven but the way a game that is story based is driven is by the writing. If thats in the the shitter all you have is a nice concept and I'm not going to play 10 hours of a bad writing and nonexistent gameplay because its a nice concept. If david cage got writers maybe his next game can be good but not if he keeps thinking his works are superb. He refuses to listen to criticism and adapt. Not all the scenarios are great either, that teenage angst bullshit was so cringeworthy. An example of the bad dialogue and writing ruining a "scenario" is the navajo stuff. I was beginning to get interested and it was very tense and mysterious but it quickly overstays its welcome as it becomes a damn farm simulator

 

[EmptySpace]

Wat, if the dialogue and how the scene is carried out then the scenarios arent worth much. The game is supposed to be story driven but the way a game that is story based is driven is by the writing. If thats in the the shitter all you have is a nice concept and I'm not going to play 10 hours of a bad writing and nonexistent gameplay because its a nice concept. If david cage got writers maybe his next game can be good but not if he keeps thinking his works are superb. He refuses to listen to criticism and adapt. Not all the scenarios are great either, that teenage angst bullshit was so cringeworthy. An example of the bad dialogue and writing ruining a "scenario" is the navajo stuff. I was beginning to get interested and it was very tense and mysterious but it quickly overstays its welcome as it becomes a damn farm simulator

1) no. scenarios/events are different than dialogue. they are all intertwined, but they can be independent of one another. and no, the story in beyond is nowhere near bad. stop exaggerating. if this is considered bad, then most video game stories are shite. there are way, way bad writing out there. vanquish and gears of war, anyone?

2) that farm equipment bit was 3 minutes max. seriously, get hay, a bucket of water, and possess the horse. that was it. the water well was 10 seconds of work. that's overstaying its welcome? the stuff in red dead took way longer. again, so much exaggeration. farm simulator?

3) yes, teens are cringeworthy. EmptySpace never saw a teen who wasn't. and as everyone has said, most people did not like the abrupt change of pace.

 

[HovaHovito]

1) no. scenarios/events are different than dialogue. they are all intertwined, but they can be independent of one another. and no, the story in beyond is nowhere near bad. stop exaggerating. if this is considered bad, then most video game stories are shite. there are way, way bad writing out there. vanquish and gears of war, anyone?

2) that farm equipment bit was 3 minutes max. seriously, get hay, a bucket of water, and possess the horse. that was it. the water well was 10 seconds of work. that's overstaying its welcome? the stuff in red dead took way longer. again, so much exaggeration. farm simulator?

3) yes, teens are cringeworthy. EmptySpace never saw a teen who wasn't. and as everyone has said, most people did not like the abrupt change of pace.

Vanquish is bad storywise but i always thought it was meant to be a parody of dude bro shooters
I meant the memory sequence in general, that farm stuff took like 15-20 minutes
Uhm I dont recall being like that when i was a teen

 

[WrenchNinja]

Teenagers are well known for being terrible little shits who need a punch in the face. Not all of them are (I wasn't, well I don't think i was but I would have to ask someone who knew me as a teen) but shitty people attract more shitty people, so I don't find that group so hard to believe.

 

[fvng]

Uhm I dont recall being like that when i was a teen

DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT asshole kids like that exist? The fact that it never happened to you when you were a teenager is totally irrelevant. This is like saying Juno is an unrealistic movie because you never got a girl pregnant as a teenager.

The game is putting you in the shoes of someone who has had a difficult life, and that chapter was an example of her hardships growing up.

I fear your next comment will say the game was unrealistic because you didn't have a companion spirit like Aiden growing up.

Not sure what that first part has to do with anything. Almost no characters are given depth so a majority of the game is just people you meet and none of them leave lasting impressions due to how shallow they are. Not a tough concept and only itt have I had people disagree with this


Damn I'm getting patronized for saying the characters are frequently introduced and not delved into. Sounds like you cant accept other people's views

In conclusion I've played the game wrong while simultaneously not played it.

What are the characters that got introduced that you wanted them to delve more into?

Nathan is a fleshed out character, you understand his motivation during the course of the game. We learn a lot about Ryan during his conversations with Jodie, etc.

I can't take your incoherent posts here seriously, You want background info on secondary/peripheral characters? They explained everyone's backstory in the Homeless chapter, You understand the history of the characters in the Navajo chapter. Which character did you want more character development on? This is Jodie's story, it's important as a storyteller to keep your narrative lean. In an RPG like persona 4 with dozens of hours of gameplay, you can tell a bigger story within that span of time. Why is this not obvious to you?

Not all the scenarios are great either, that teenage angst bullshit was so cringeworthy.

That's because adolescence is a cringeworthy time in a person's life, you are shown different segments of her life, and that includes the awkward growing pains of her formative years. Do you get it? Showing a cringeworthy portion of her teenage years is something everyone can relate to.

Besides, this is all adding to character development, you get to see her frustrations in her life once again with not being like anyone else. How much more heavy handed do you want her character development to be? Jesus.

Damn you getting a little too patronizing for my tastes. Be a bit less dicky and maybe thismcan go somewhere

Maybe you shouldn't accuse everyone of being patronizing when they are pointing out the inconsistencies and flaws in your logic. you're making statements without being specific at all.

That david cage didnt bother making the character interesting with his writing and instead just relied on ellen page's charm and signature acting style? Really? Hm interesting

Or maybe it's because Ellen Page brings the same exact idiosyncrasies to every role she plays? I can't take your posts seriously. Jodie's character and story WAS interesting, but like you said yourself you couldn't resist the lure of the new pokemon game so I'm sure you treated this game like a chore to complete.

 

[Bowler]

So I just to the chapter of finding the

Spoiler

biological mother.

Man I must say I am completely hooked. I have no idea how someone of you and some reviewers have totally put down this game. I have fully delved into the characters, and while some low points of the game are indeed mundane, thus far, the game has so many strong points in its features, that I feel brings truly a breath of fresh air to the gaming community.

I also disagree with some of you as I feel as the player, or lack there of, I am not playing the game as Jodie. I feel As If im in the eyes of Aiden. the Player controlling aiden Watching Jodie's every move, thru the thick and thin, knowing that I can't help her all of the time.

 

[dragonbane]

watching Jim Sterling replay Indego Prophecy, its hilarious to see all the things Cage reused in this, like the touching of the hands to see someones past which the old lady does, also has grey eyes which is also reused here.

the mundane QTE laden cutscenes, which some might say, the white dots and icons in contrast to whats in the background is almost as hard to see/notice as the simon says stuff in most of the IP's parts as well, and just as stupid.

the stereotypical characters and theme's used for them, this game instead went for the feminism stereotype point of view of every male being evil in some sort of way and Jodie being the pure female who has to struggle thru life because apparently every male wants to rape her, the bad voice acting, also i just recently googled it and realised IP came out in 2005, i thought that was from the late 90s for some reason.

so in just 7 short years, Cage has managed to litterally not change(improve) at all, other than just have access to better graphical technology

If you can't see the dramatic improvements in writing from Indigo's second half to Beyond and the obvious gameplay improvements than god help us all. Even Sterling says as much. Also some of the things you are saying don't make a lot of sense.

There's too many characters in one video game. Its not focused and the way the story is told makes it worse

Just because it is non-linear doesn't mean it is not focused. They could have a done a better job with some of the transitions between chapters, but the order itself is pretty deliberate the way it reveals stuff and tells you more about her character in each chapter. Since each chapter stands for a contained moment in Jodie's life, it's only natural there will be some new side characters introduced for some of them. Honestly there are not that many.

 

[fvng]

Can someone please explain to me how GAF demands a sequel to Shenmue 2 while simultaneously holding a position that QTEs are an egregious crime against humanity?

 

[antitrop]

I've watched a little bit more than halfway on YouTube so far, this game is pretty miserable. The story is awful, the characters are... pointless (Why is Willem Dafoe even in this game? His work here is embarrassing), and I couldn't possibly be more happy that I'm watching someone else play this, so I don't have to put up with the awful Dragon's Lair "gameplay" and floating around as Aiden (which looks boring as shit).

I am absolutely a person that can appreciate what a non-linear narrative can bring to a work, Pulp Fiction is my favorite movie, but this is just done poorly. It's all over the place, but not in a coherent or satisfying way, it's random and jarring. A textbook example of how not to do a narrative of this style. There is no character building, no characterization, just... ugh, it's so draining to experience.

Dreadful product, Cage should be embarrassed. The Metascore looks deserved.

I'm still going to see it through to the end, just to see how stupid it actually continues to get. After that poor rip-off of

Spoiler

Half-Life

, it can only continue downhill. I can only hope that, like Heavy Rain, it goes so far downhill that it is actually able to be enjoyed ironically. I don't see that happening, though.

The graphics are extremely impressive and the soundtrack is very nice, for what little that is worth.

I've put like 5 hours into this so far and I don't care what happens to Jodie, I don't care if she lives, I don't care of she dies, I don't care if Aiden saves her from all the evil monsters at the end for a happy ending, even though he is the reason her life sucks, it doesn't matter. This game is a failure.

Homeless is the only chapter where Cage does everything right, in my opinion. It has a great self contained story, great characters, and decisions that directly affect the ending. You could argue that it's too melodramatic, but it didn't bother me at all.

Sure, there are plenty more great chapters in the game, but I wanted a lot more like this.

Homeless is good, I'll give you that. I really like that chapter.

 

[Septimius]

Did the gameplay trailer really say "contextualized emotion"? Like Barret was laughing at a joke when Aerith died?

 

[dragonbane]

I've watched a little bit more than halfway on YouTube so far, this game is pretty miserable. The story is awful, the characters are... pointless (Why is Willem Dafoe even in this game? His work here is embarrassing), and I couldn't possibly be more happy that I'm watching someone else play this, so I don't have to put up with the awful Dragon's Lair "gameplay" and floating around as Aiden (which looks boring as shit).

Dreadful product, Cage should be embarrassed. The Metascore looks deserved.

I'm still going to see it through to the end, just to see how stupid it actually continues to get. After that poor rip-off of

Spoiler

Half-Life

, it can only continue downhill.

The graphics are extremely impressive and the soundtrack is very nice, for what little that is worth.

Opinions. It is a good product from my experience. Also I don't know how you can judge the gameplay's worth by watching. It was fun and engaging to me. I thought Spec Ops was the most boring shit ever, that doesn't mean that I think it is embarrassing. Was the MetaCritic deserved?

The story is well done, ends satisfying and makes perfect sense. There is reason for Dafoe. And it seems like you missed the point of this game. The whole point is Jodie as a character. The story only exists so we can see moments of her life that affected her. It's a slice of life story and you play vignette after vignette. You are supposed to be invested in mostly her and not the story itself. Jodie = Story. If you don't find her compelling of course you won't like the game.

She happens to be one of my favourite characters from this gen. So I obviously enjoyed the game. Also I can't stress enough that even if YOU find it boring to play, the experience and having a personal journey based on your decisions makes it much more satisfying than watching someone else do it for you.

And maybe you are just watching the wrong playthrough? It helps to watch someone who enjoys the game, like Jesse, Centerstrain or even DSP.

I've put like 5 hours into this so far and I don't care what happens to Jodie, I don't care if she lives, I don't care of she dies, I don't care if Aiden saves her from all the evil monsters at the end for a happy ending, even though he is the reason her life sucks, it doesn't matter. This game is a failure..

Exactly. it's a GAME. It doesn't matter if you don't care for her by just watching, since it is a game and not a movie. The game makes you care through gameplay and decision making. That's why it is a success from my standpoint.

Can someone please explain to me how GAF demands a sequel to Shenmue 2 while simultaneously holding a position that QTEs are an egregious crime against humanity?

Probably not the same people. At least I hope so. I hate QTEs when they are done awful, but this isn't the case with this game.

 

[antitrop]

Reading through this thread, I see so many people echoing the same feelings I have about the game that I feel nothing is lost in translation from watching an LP.

I played through the first half of Heavy Rain and then finished it on YouTube (because the gameplay sucks, and the decisions you have to make are boring, unlike The Walking Dead) and felt the same way.

I also played through Indigo Prophecy when that came out, unfortunately, and I think that game is awful, too. Especially the gameplay. Quantic Dream games are miserable to actually have a controller in your hands with, narrative issues completely aside.

But, I'm a person that deeply enjoyed watching through a YouTube LP The Walking Dead last year, so it's not like I hate the genre. I just think Cage and his team execute on their concepts very poorly. I was even able to find some kind of ironic appreciation for Heavy Rain through the personality of the LPer, and I'm watching the same guy again for Beyond (and he absolutely fucking loves this game just as much as he did HR), but the ironic appreciation just isn't there for me, this time. I got through Heavy Rain in sort of a MST3K kind of way, laughing at the bad voice acting and the ridiculous story, etc.

Exactly. it's a GAME. It doesn't matter if you don't care for her by just watching, since it is a game and not a movie. The game makes you care through gameplay and decision making. That's why it is a success from my standpoint.

I disagree.

I cared about all of those characters in The Walking Dead more than any other characters in recent memory, and I was just watching someone press buttons for me. The game made me care about them through good writing and interesting scenarios, which Beyond lacks, from what I've seen.

 

[dragonbane]

Reading through this thread, I see so many people echoing the same feelings I have about the game that I feel nothing is lost in translation from watching an LP.

Opinions, taste and selective reading? About 70%-80% of the posters in this thread happen to enjoy the game. We can almost say that the consensus here is that it is pretty decent. About a 7-8 on a full scale. Even people who only enjoyed HR mildly like DukeBobby agree that Beyond is better in many aspects.

I think YOU don't loose anything by just watching, because you weren't very interested to begin with. You don't have to be annoyed or frustrated by that fact, just accept that you have different taste and that many people here will disagree with you. You don't like this type of game (or QD's take on it) and that's fine. Many do. That's fine as well. No reason to come in here and call it awful when you didn't even play it. That should be reserved for people who have experienced the product the way it was designed to be.

I disagree.

I cared about all of those characters in The Walking Dead more than any other characters in recent memory, and I was just watching someone press buttons for me. The game made me care about them through good writing and interesting scenarios, which Beyond lacks, from what I've seen.

Fair enough. I still think most of the investment comes from playing, since QD's games rely heavily on exploration of your environment and figuring out the current situation. Much less character interaction than TWD for example.

Did the gameplay trailer really say "contextualized emotion"? Like Barret was laughing at a joke when Aerith died?

Her current emotional state influences the way she walks. That's all.

 

[antitrop]

You are supposed to be invested in mostly her and not the story itself. Jodie = Story. If you don't find her compelling of course you won't like the game.

I think that's David Cage's fault, not mine. I'll watch the rest of it tonight. So far, I think it's like a 6, but I've heard it gets better towards the ending half (and goes completely off the deep end into batshit territory, which I may be able to appreciate). The first 5 hours are completely dull, uninteresting, and poorly paced, save for the Homeless chapter.

 

[DukeBobby]

I've watched a little bit more than halfway on YouTube so far, this game is pretty miserable. The story is awful, the characters are... pointless (Why is Willem Dafoe even in this game? His work here is embarrassing), and I couldn't possibly be more happy that I'm watching someone else play this, so I don't have to put up with the awful Dragon's Lair "gameplay" and floating around as Aiden (which looks boring as shit).

I am absolutely a person that can appreciate what a non-linear narrative can bring to a work, Pulp Fiction is my favorite movie, but this is just done poorly. It's all over the place, but not in a coherent or satisfying way, it's random and jarring. A textbook example of how not to do a narrative of this style. There is no character building, no characterization, just... ugh, it's so draining to experience.

Dreadful product, Cage should be embarrassed. The Metascore looks deserved.

That's why I chose to judge it scene by scene, rather than as a complete narrative. The story linking these scenes together is absolutely terrible in every way, and I agree with every point you make (aside from the gameplay, which I have no issue with). If I focused too much on the narrative, I probably would have hated this game.

However, some of the self contained stories in these chapters are pretty good (like Homeless), but there's not enough of them.

I think that's David Cage's fault, not mine. I'll watch the rest of it tonight. So far, I think it's like a 6, but I've heard it gets better towards the ending half (and goes completely off the deep end into batshit territory, which I may be able to appreciate). The first 5 hours are completely dull, uninteresting, and poorly paced, save for the Homeless chapter.

Actually, it doesn't go completely off the deep end. In fact, you've already seen the craziest chapter (The Condenser).

 

[antitrop]

That's why I chose to judge it scene by scene, rather than as a complete narrative. The story linking these scenes together is absolutely terrible in every way, and I agree with every point you make (aside from the gameplay, which I have no issue with). If I focused too much on the narrative, I probably would have hated this game.

However, some of the self contained stories in these chapters are pretty good (like Homeless), but there's not enough of them.

Well, now that's an interesting way to look at it. I think there is definitely some merit to the individual vignettes themselves (even if they're not executed very well, like the

Spoiler

teen party

). I kind of felt that way about Heavy Rain, as well, I didn't like the way the game "came together" at all, but I really was able to appreciate some specific scenes (like Detective Shelby and the Convenience Store robbery).

I have to admit how disappointed I am with Willem Dafoe's performance in this game, as well as his character. That character is a brick, at the point I am in the game (just finished Homeless), what a waste of talent. Maybe he becomes interesting later, I don't know.

Actually, it doesn't go completely off the deep end. In fact, you've already seen the craziest chapter (The Condenser).

I hated The Condenser (again, found it to just be shitty copy of

Spoiler

Half-Life

)... This might actually be good news. Actually, I disliked The Condenser chapter so much that it's pretty much single-handedly the reason I think the second half of the game is going to suck. You may have given me some light.

 

[dragonbane]

I think that's David Cage's fault, not mine. I'll watch the rest of it tonight.

Since the majority of the people in this thread happened to enjoy her, I don't think that it is his fault. Different people like different characters. There's no universal character everybody likes. You don't like her personality or her attributes and that's fine. He tried something interesting with this character, so it is only natural that many people will not like her. I identified with her, related to her and enjoyed her immensely. More so than Joel and Ellie from TLoU. I don't think it is Druckmann's fault that I hated playing as Joel.

See? Different opinions. No need to call out somebody. And better keep your impressions out of this thread. Y2Kev has already said that posting general impressions is alright, but a full verdict should be reserved to those who played it. Especially when it comes to extremely negative impressions. I don't want you to get banned because of some nonsense. Finish watching it and then move on. It's for the best. Maybe play it one day when it costs 3 bucks and then we can talk.

 

[dragonbane]

That's why I chose to judge it scene by scene, rather than as a complete narrative. The story linking these scenes together is absolutely terrible in every way.

It's not even that bad. It's just that it doesn't exist really. I'm not sure if that's bad or not. Unusual at the very least.

If you look at the timeline you definitely know how she got from each point to the next one and how it all links together. And if you go all the way back to her birth you can actually find a story (how it all began). Most of it is revealed at the end obviously and up to this point the chapters are very loosely tied together with no real plot. And the little bit that exists is definitely not very intriguing. But I think that was the point, so I find it very hard to blame the game for it.

Very hard game to rate.

I have to admit how disappointed I am with Willem Dafoe's performance in this game, as well as his character. That character is a brick, at the point I am in the game (just finished Homeless), what a waste of talent. Maybe he becomes interesting later, I don't know.

He has his 5 minutes of glory don't worry lol Reason enough to hire him. Also towards the end the game does focus more on his character. There is a reason he is so barren.

I hated The Condenser (again, found it to just be shitty copy of

Spoiler

Half-Life

)... This might actually be good news. Actually, I disliked The Condenser chapter so much that it's pretty much single-handedly the reason I think the second half of the game is going to suck. You may have given me some light.

If you hated the first part of Condenser, you are going to be relived. There is nothing else like it. If you hated only the final part, well there is another scene that is a little bit like it. Only much better.

 

[hal9001]

It's a GAME. It doesn't matter if you don't care for her by just watching, since it is a game and not a movie. The game makes you care through gameplay and decision making. That's why it is a success from my standpoint.

Exactly right. You can not judge this game simply by watching a lets play on YouTube like a film as you have to experience for yourself what the character is feeling and going through and even mundane acts such as simply tapping a button during a scene really puts you in the moment and gives weight to the immersion which as a viewer watching you will not be able to experience.

 

[MBison]

This game is great. Haters gonna hate.

 

[Vashetti]

Really enjoying the game but the pacing is so wack.

Navajo goes on for far too long.

 

[dragonbane]

Really enjoying the game but the pacing is so wack.

Navajo goes on for far too long.

Navajo is either the best thing or worst thing ever. If you like it, you wish it would be even longer. If you hate it, you are praying for it to be over. I'm in the latter camp and I know a lot of people that absolutely loved it.

Since you don't like it, here is some advice:

1. Don't explore anything. Just move on. There are some nice additional interactions in the barn, but that's about it. Just follow the path and do what the game wants.
2. Always remember there is no other chapter that is even remotely as long (and bad) as this one. Use this knowledge to keep going.
3. The ending of the chapter is pretty decent.

 

[Caayn]

To be honest, I didn't expected anything from this game. And thought that is was going to be a pointless super linear movie game. But my curiosity got the best of me, so I downloaded the demo. The demo hooked me to the game from the first few seconds. I really liked the setting of it. So after playing the demo multiple times, I went out and bought the game.

Now that I've finished the game. I have to say that this is one of the best games of this generation, and the the best story in a game(that I've ever played, of course). I was watching some scenes with watery eyes. I'm really glad that I tried the demo. Otherwise I would've missed this master piece.

However I do have 3 small problems with the game.

1. I miss the options to play the game in a chronological order. I don't mind the hopping between time periods, I feel that they add to the experience. But I would love to play the game again in a chronological order in my second playthrough, without having to use chapter select for each story part.
2. The games gives you the freedom of choice in different ways, and I never really felt myself pushed in one direction. Except for certain scenes.
   Spoiler

   For example during the snowball fight as a kid, I didn't want to choke the young boy who was powdering Jodie with snow. Yet the game forced me to do so.
3. Spoiler

   The randomness of Aiden's powers. I'm not talking about the distance he can travel from Jodie. But about what he actually can do. For example, in the homeless part Aiden can successfully defend Jodie from the entities while she's unconscious. But later on when Jodie visited her Mother and is ambushed by a swat(?) team, Aiden suddenly can't do a thing.

 

[Vashetti]

Yeah I would love to play the game in chronological order.

They should add the option in a patch for after you've completed the game once.

 

[Septimius]

Her current emotional state influences the way she walks. That's all.

That really cheesed me out.

 

[DukeBobby]

That really cheesed me out.

Sometimes it can be very annoying (she either moves too fast or too slowly), but I love the way she walks in the

Spoiler

'Like Other Girls'

chapter.

 

[RedAssedApe]

kid jodie is so adorable. just want to pinch her cheeks and give her a hug. stupid dad.

 

[dragonbane]

However I do have 3 small problems with the game.

1. Spoiler

   The randomness of Aiden's powers. I'm not talking about the distance he can travel from Jodie. But about what he actually can do. For example, in the homeless part Aiden can successfully defend Jodie from the entities while she's unconscious. But later on when Jodie visited her Mother and is ambushed by a swat(?) team, Aiden suddenly can't do a thing.

Yeah they should add the option. Cool that you enjoyed it though. About your third point:

Spoiler

Aiden is in fact powerless when Jodie is knocked out or drugged. Since she gets a hit on her head (and probably injected with stuff soon after) she is pretty much out cold. During Homeless she just breaks down because she is exhausted, but she is still breathing normally and is likely still awake for a brief moment, just not powerful enough to stand up or keep going. Therefore Aiden is pretty weak, but can still do stuff.

Sometimes it can be very annoying (she either moves too fast or too slowly), but I love the way she walks in the

Spoiler

'Like Other Girls'

chapter.

I found out that if you press the stick up long enough without turning too much she will eventually start jogging. Works in most of the chapters where I was irritated initially because of her slow movements (like one part of Homeless and Navajo for example). But it is kinda messy and needs some work. At least they thought about it. The DLC actually ads R2 as a dedicated run button like TLoU had with L2. I hope they keep using this going forward.

 

[Bowler]

For me, a game is good if I think about it after playing it...

I just rented juno

 

[fvng]

I've watched a little bit more than halfway on YouTube so far, this game is pretty miserable. The story is awful, the characters are... pointless (Why is Willem Dafoe even in this game? His work here is embarrassing), and I couldn't possibly be more happy that I'm watching someone else play this, so I don't have to put up with the awful Dragon's Lair "gameplay" and floating around as Aiden (which looks boring as shit).

I am absolutely a person that can appreciate what a non-linear narrative can bring to a work, Pulp Fiction is my favorite movie, but this is just done poorly. It's all over the place, but not in a coherent or satisfying way, it's random and jarring. A textbook example of how not to do a narrative of this style. There is no character building, no characterization, just... ugh, it's so draining to experience.

Dreadful product, Cage should be embarrassed. The Metascore looks deserved.

I'm still going to see it through to the end, just to see how stupid it actually continues to get. After that poor rip-off of

Spoiler

Half-Life

, it can only continue downhill. I can only hope that, like Heavy Rain, it goes so far downhill that it is actually able to be enjoyed ironically. I don't see that happening, though.

The graphics are extremely impressive and the soundtrack is very nice, for what little that is worth.

I've put like 5 hours into this so far and I don't care what happens to Jodie, I don't care if she lives, I don't care of she dies, I don't care if Aiden saves her from all the evil monsters at the end for a happy ending, even though he is the reason her life sucks, it doesn't matter. This game is a failure.


Homeless is good, I'll give you that. I really like that chapter.

Ladies and Gentlemen, GAF has now reached a point where reviews can be done by merely watching a Let's Play. That's right the very acting of interacting with an interactive medium is no longer necessary.

Sorry kiddo but your entire analysis and review belongs in the garbage bin. You cannot give a game review by watching someone else play it, you will never be able to comment on things like.. controls, the feeling of having to make a split second decision, the sense of agency you would have when normally playing a game is robbed from you, amongst other reasons. The graphical fidelity can't be appreciated via youtube so you can't comment on the amazing graphics of this game. There are so many factors that makes your entire post utterly disposable. Every negative review I've seen for this game always has this ridiculous footnote like the one in your post <i didn't actually play the game>.

Amazon's negative reviews are especially useless and poorly written/articulated.

Yeah I would love to play the game in chronological order.

They should add the option in a patch for after you've completed the game once.

If anyone at Sony or QD is reading this thread I would very much like this. Would be a nice New Game +

 

[Caayn]

Yeah they should add the option. Cool that you enjoyed it though. About your third point:

Spoiler

Aiden is in fact powerless when Jodie is knocked out or drugged. Since she gets a hit on her head (and probably injected with stuff soon after) she is pretty much out cold. During Homeless she just breaks down because she is exhausted, but she is still breathing normally and is likely still awake for a brief moment, just not powerful enough to stand up or keep going. Therefore Aiden is pretty weak, but can still do stuff.

Thanks, the way you put it seems logical and is in line with the rest of the game

Spoiler

I figured out the drug part but didn't think of exhaustion instead of unconscious

. It was just a minor announce as it gave me a little "whait whut..." feeling.

Spoiler

I know that David Cage doesn't do sequels, but the ending was as open as a Best Buy during black Friday. It would be amazing to see a sequel to this.

Argghhh I want more

 

[Carl]

kid jodie is so adorable. just want to pinch her cheeks and give her a hug. stupid dad.

I thought the same thing the entire time. She's such a cutie.

 

[fvng]

Thanks, the way you put it seems logical and is in line with the rest of the game

Spoiler

I figured out the drug part but didn't think of exhaustion instead of unconscious

. It was just a minor announce as it gave me a little "whait whut..." feeling.

Spoiler

I know that David Cage doesn't do sequels, but the ending was as open as a Best Buy during black Friday. It would be amazing to see a sequel to this.

Argghhh I want more

DLC may be the loophole to that entire "I don't do sequels" thing. Surely he can do some sides stories. I'm still mad we were cheated out of heavy rain DLC so they could add move support to the game.

 

[Carl]

DLC may be the loophole to that entire "I don't do sequels" thing. Surely he can do some sides stories. I'm still mad we were cheated out of heavy rain DLC so they could add move support to the game.

Hopefully this time Cage can do some DLC

 

[Every Time I Die]

For a game that was meant to have a powerful emotive story, Beyond fell on its face.
I understand Cage's reliance on characters that don't stray far from tropes or archetypes but when the story isn't constrained by time (as it was in Heavy Rain) it really shows the blemishes in his prose.

 

[Chamber]

I've watched a little bit more than halfway on YouTube so far, this game is pretty miserable.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

For a game that was meant to have a powerful emotive story, Beyond fell on its face.
I understand Cage's reliance on characters that don't stray far from tropes or archetypes but when the story isn't constrained by time (as it was in Heavy Rain) it really shows the blemishes in his prose.

Can you provide detail? Nothing against you, but talking about tropes and prose mean nothing without examples. Their fairly empty criticisms otherwise, especially if people may have felt that characters broke through those literary models.