This year’s E3 has been phenomenal for exciting new IPs from smash hit developers, and Heavy Rain creators Quantic Dream tease us even more with their latest project — which is all but certain to get a Best of E3 award. A 22-minute gameplay preview of Beyond: Two Souls has hit the web, and provides much more detail on some of the scenes shown in the game’s announcement trailer.
Quantic Dream’s latest project expands on nearly everything that made Heavy Rain a jaw-dropping thrill ride and pushes the envelope on what the PS3 is capable of, while keeping it very unique in its own way. Actress Ellen Page (Inception, Juno) is in the spotlight as Jodi Holmes, a young woman who possesses a connection to a supernatural being she refers to as “Aiden.” While this gameplay video, uploaded to YouTube by GameKyo, certainly shows off both characters and their abilities, the developer remains tight lipped about the nuances of the story.
The gameplay video starts off with Aiden moving through the cabin of a train, examining the surroundings and using kinetic powers to mess with some of the passengers — including the protagonist. The sequence appears to take place somewhere in the middle of the game, as the police are currently looking for Jodi, and immediately give chase once she is spotted.
As with Heavy Rain, the gameplay in Two Souls is heavily based on quick time events, which are still fluid and make sense in the context of a given scenario. Combat is also based on QTEs, as Jodi fights off police officers and escapes into a nearby forest.
When things get particularly hairy for her, she is able to summon a powerful kinetic forcefield to protect her and push through obstacles such as road blocks. We’re not yet sure what gives Jodi these powers, or how they are activated, but they are definitely awesome to watch.
After a short running sequence, there is another interesting development: Aiden’s ability to possess human bodies and use them to distract or destroy enemies. This comes in handy several times throughout the gameplay demo, allowing Jodi to survive. Aiden can also interact with large objects such as cars and even parts of buildings, pushing them over to block paths or take care of pesky enemies.
With other subtle additions such as dogs being able to detect Aiden’s presence, and souls leaving possessed bodies when they die, it’s easy to see that Quantic Dream has been working very hard.
Ranters, are you among the many who have caught themselves drooling over this incredible looking title — not to mention Ellen Page’s performance? How do you feel about popular movie actors crossing over into gaming territory?
Beyond: Two Souls is currently in development for PS3.
-
Follow me on Twitter @superkyol.
GR Giveaway: Win a Superhero-Sized Trip to San Diego This July! [Update: MORE Prizes!] 
Microsoft: Banned Players Lose Access to Purchased Xbox One Games [UPDATED] 
Xbox One Policies ‘Alienated Entire Military’; Entertainment Research Forecasts Trouble 
Xbox One E3 Demos Found Running on Windows 7 PCs 
Loading ...
I could use a game like this. A nice, mature change of pace. Quantic Dream is now among my favorite developers.
As neat as these are they pretty much interactive movies. QTEs and some navigation are hardly enough to make a legit game.
I really liked heavy rain, but it was a play once kinda deal for me so I traded it in, then they released it with move but it didn’t seem like I could justify buying move just to replay heavy rain. if this is move compatible I might just get it to see what its like. can anyone vouch for the quality of heavy rain with move?
I enjoyed it. Kinda harder, but some parts defo feel awesome, specially ones where the move you do, say turn on the car by twisting the key, and they character does it too and when the car starts, you feel the vibration in the MOVE controller, pretty slick.
Gotta love the graphics PS3 FTW!!!!
Quantic Dream’s games look pretty awesome from what I’ve seen. I wish they’d make it for the PC that way they could take advantage of superior hardware, but seeing as they’re exclusives I may just end up buying a PS3. Is Heavy Rain and, by extension, this game worth getting a PS3 for?
Heavy Rain is a game that people seem to either love or hate. I love it, and I think it’s a pretty damn nifty branching story, with excellent graphics and presentation. But the gameplay is largely composed of quicktime events — following onscreen prompts for controller input — and a lot of people take issue with that. For me it’s a minor issue, not enough to discount the enjoyability of the story and choices and such, but it is something to consider.
Game looks awesome! Heavy rain was great! Game runs 15 years of her life, pretty sure there will be multiple story lines and endings. Very mature game…like Rain it will be fun to watch others play.
‘This video is private’
Aye, seconding that claim.
Why was video suddenly made private?
I’ll probably pick it up, but I gotta say, I hope Quantic Dream doesn’t do all future games like this. I’d like something like Omikron, free form gamplay, going from roaming, fighting, and shooting.
Yay, un-privatized. Gotta say, I really like the moral dubiousness here. The protagonists in Heavy Rain and Indigo Prophecy were all pretty inarguably good (except for the one), but this chick, even if she’s innocent of whatever crime the cops are after her for, she does a lot of stuff that’s pretty clearly bad there. I like that, conceptually. It’s like a heavily-scripted version of GTA with a ghost buddy.