The narrative is nonlinear, with the events of her life happening out of order.
Throughout the game, Jodie struggles to find her place in the world while at the same time seeking answers for the meaning and origin of Aiden. After this, the government realizes her potential and begins to use her for their own purposes, even recruiting her into the CIA and sending her into combat. This becomes even more clear when she attends a party with other gifted children and has some major adjustment issues.Īs an older teenager, Jodie is called on by Nathan to save a government office after opening a portal to the Infraworld and accidentally unleashing deadly monsters. You frequently feel for Jodie, as she’s such a sweet girl in spite of not being able to live a normal life. There’s always a delicate balance between child and test subject, however, with Jodie spending almost her entire childhood and adolescence confined to her chambers or doing tests. As Jodie grows up in the facility, she learns to control Aiden with the help of Nathan and Cole, eventually being able to harness the supernatural power. Aiden can move practically any object and even possess living things, which can be a dangerous ability when uncontrolled. Although Jodie has no control over Aiden, it usually tries to protect her from threats, even if it seems destructive in the process. In reality, Jodie has neither an imaginary friend nor a ghost haunting her, but is instead linked to a supernatural entity named Aiden. Nathan and an assistant named Cole Freeman become adoptive parents of sorts, studying Jodie as she lives inside the facility. While they’re at first taken as a standard imaginary friend, these supernatural events become increasingly troublesome when Jodie uses them to defend herself against bullies or wakes up in the middle of the night injured from “monsters.” Worried for her and their own safety, Jodie’s parents decide to send her to a government facility managed by Nathan Dawkins for diagnosis and monitoring. From a young age, she has displayed paranormal abilities. While the concept of reliving somebody’s childhood and awkward adolescent period may not seem appealing, Jodie is no ordinary girl. With gameplay supporting story instead of the other way around, Quantic Dream is once again challenging the notion of what a video game should be, now breaking away from the conventions almost entirely.īeyond: Two Souls chronicles Jodie Holmes through fifteen years of her life, allowing players to take control of her at multiple points from past to present. By signing the talented duo of Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe, director David Cage showed a committal to delivering a sincere storytelling experience, a sentiment that is carried out through the duration of a game that feels cinematic in almost every facet. While there’s been some high caliber voice acting performances in video games, never before have they been judged on the same level as live action forms of media. Instead of basing it on standard video game conventions like gameplay, weapon types or boss battles, one must instead reflect on the dialogue, climax and performances.
Approaching a Beyond: Two Souls review is a lot like approaching a film review.