14 DAY TRIAL // Beyond: Two Souls can be a difficult game to like, even for those who understand and subscribe to David Cage’s ideas about how video games need to integrate story and true emotional content.
In many ways, this is just a further distillation of the same experience that the Quantic Dream leader has been putting together since the days of Fahrenheit, aka Indigo Prophecy, and even some fans have grown a little tired of the formula.
But Beyond has once huge ace up its sleeve: the way actress Ellen Page manages to fully take on the role of Jodie Holmes, the young girl that needs to deal with the constant presence of the supernatural entity Aiden.
I do not know whether the role was created with her in mind or whether the casting director working on the game was particularly inspired, but in my mind, the actress and the character are perfectly fused.
Many gamers are probably familiar with her film career and will be happy to know that the Quantic Dream title is a great way of showing her range and integrate roles that she has previously played in movies like Hard Candy, The East or Juno.
David Cage’s writing can at times be a little too complex for its own good and there are elements of the story that fail to generate interest and can actually veer into boredom.
But Page constantly manages to convey the inner conflict of Jodie Holmes, even during the many moments where she deliberately shows less than the emotional heavy script probably asks for.
Her presence and the improvement in quality that she delivers for Beyond: Two Souls should serve as a clear sign for other developers that hiring and properly using high-grade talent from Hollywood can lift their own products towards the realm of art.