Thanks in large part to the critical acclaim for Quantic Dream's 2010 interactive drama Heavy Rain, anticipation is high for director David Cage's upcoming title Beyond: Two Souls. The title in question will feature cutting-edge motion capture technology and a lead performance from Ellen Page (Juno), who plays a girl called Jodi who was born with a gift that might equally be considered a curse.
As was demonstrated in the 35-minute gameplay video showing Jodi's life on the streets, the single-player campaign will require you to switch between Ellen Page's character and the strange, invisible entity who has been attached to her since her birth — allegedly called Aiden. Jodi walks around, interacts with people, and sometimes gets into combat, while Aiden serves as a kind of telekinetic power that can get into places Jodi can't and help to unlock doors and take out security cameras.
According to Joystiq, Cage revealed at Gamescom this week that Beyond: Two Souls' co-op campaign will work in a similar way, with one player carrying out Jodi's actions and the other carrying out Aiden's. Control can be passed between the "two souls" of the game's title simply by pressing triangle. F.E.A.R. 3 had a similar mechanic, with a co-op campaign that allowed one player to control the gun-toting Point Man and the other to take charge of Paxton Fettel's psychic abilities.
That's not the only reveal to come out of Gamescom. Beyond: Two Souls can also be played using iOS and Android touchscreen devices through a free app that's rather suggestively titled "Beyond Touch." The app is a blank slate that allows the player to control the character by simply sliding their finger around the screen. When you switch to a touchscreen device, however, the game will automatically change into easy mode, suggesting that this isn't perhaps the best way of controlling Jodi or Aiden.
Obviously much of the story is still being kept a secret, but it seems as though Beyond: Two Souls will be better suited to players who like to just enjoy a good story, rather than those who are always itching to take control. Cage has previously said that his game will have no QTEs, but in the next breath added the caveat, "We still have a couple of prompts here and there but no more than in a game like Tomb Raider, Uncharted or God of War" - ironically citing three titles that are known for being QTE-heavy. The gameplay video also showed that Beyond: Two Souls will be largely comprised of cutscenes, and Cage has also said that he didn't design the game to be fun, but instead to convey strong emotion.
Do you think the co-op mode will allow for an interesting expansion of Beyond: Two Souls' central themes, or would you rather play this game alone?
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Beyond: Two Souls releases October 8, 2013 exclusively for the PlayStation 3.
Source: Joystiq