As some players are already familiar with Beyond Two Souls, let's start by addressing the technical issues of this PC version. We are dealing with a high quality portage, which takes advantage of our modern machines. Thus, the advanced graphics options allow you to adjust the quality of the textures, the details of the decorations, the reflections, the shadows, the antialiasing, the ambient occlusion, the kinetic blur or the depth of field. Small detail that pleases: a thumbnail illustrates the effect of each option. Even the least experienced players can therefore easily find their way around. Anyway, it is possible to push all the options to the bottom on any PC that is a little correct. The framerate and resolution limitations of the console versions are a thing of the past, and Beyond Two Souls can now be played in 4K and sixty frames per second! By adding to this technical leap the options mentioned above, we obtain an extremely detailed image, which reinforces the emotional impact of certain scenes. Being able to easily observe the pores of the skin, the freckles, the reflections in the eyes, the drops of sweat and the tears on the faces of the characters takes us a little further away from the famous disturbing valley.
We can still quibble about the lack of precision of certain animations, especially when two characters kiss (in the old sense of the term as well as in the modern sense). But despite its six years of age, Beyond Two Souls is still going very well in 2019 thanks to the quality of this PC port. Note also that the game offers full compatibility with the keyboard / mouse couple and non-PlayStation controllers. There are also some very practical options, such as the possibility of independently setting the audio language, that of the subtitles and that used in the menus. Players also have the choice between going through the adventure in the original order (that is to say over the chaotic memories of the heroine) or in chronological order. We advise you to favor the first option, which corresponds to the vision of David Cage. In any case, be aware that the camera and movement problems that we mentioned in the Heavy Rain test respond to absent subscribers in Beyond Two Souls, which no one will complain about. On the other hand, some players may possibly be bothered by the CinemaScope format, which results in the presence of horizontal black bands on 16/9 screens. In return, owners of 21/9 screens will be thrilled.
AN ADVENTURE ALWAYS ON THE PAGE!
With Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe in the cast, the cinematographic character of the adventure is undeniable. The two actors are also perfectly recognizable, Quantic Dreams not being the last of the class in terms of motion capture. The scenario has the good taste to extend over fifteen years, which allows not only to play Jodie at the age of nine, in adolescence and in adulthood, but also to explore numerous and very varied environments. This is one of the many qualities of the adventure, among which is also the possibility of controlling Aiden, the spiritual entity attached to Jodie. Very regularly, the game offers us to direct this spirit, which allows us to pass through walls, to spy on conversations, to interact with some elements of the decor, to take possession of certain enemies, to strangle some others, heal allies, or even trigger flashbacks by directing a flow of energy. The presence of Aiden adds a significant layer of gameplay in an essentially narrative adventure. Some passages even flirt with the genre of infiltration, even if the different possibilities remain very scripted. Because make no mistake about it, Beyond Two Souls is indeed a "typically Quantic Dream" game. The narration and the choices come first, the different branches being relatively numerous. Thus, after each chapter the game displays a panel summarizing the percentages of players who have followed this or that path. Some sequences only offer two notable branches while others can go up to ten. Incidentally, it should be noted that this division into different very independent chapters is very practical for playing in small sessions without ever losing the thread of the adventure.
WHAT DAFOE ?!
As for the end, it consists of small sequences drawn from twenty-four possible, for a dozen major narrative arcs. If the QTEs dear to David Cage are naturally part of the game, most interactions are content to display discreet white dots on the screen. The interface still retains the explicit display of commands for certain specific sequences, but they are rare. Moreover, the combat phases ignore this display. More instinctive than those of Heavy Rain, they ask the player to give a blow of the stick in the right direction to block, carry or avoid a blow. Only problem: it is not always easy to understand what the game expects of us, and it regularly happens that we stupidly miss certain actions. For example, stepping back to avoid a blow, when you had to move forward to block it. The adventure also retains other flaws, such as certain sequences where the strings seem a little too big and where the emotion does not take. It's not enough to make a character whine in a loop for ten minutes to trigger the player's empathy... Finally, as with Heavy Rain, the game's arrival on the Epic Store means that everything has to be ignored. type of success. On the other hand, unlike its predecessor, Beyond Two Souls arrives on PC accompanied by its unique downloadable content. The “Advanced Experiences” DLC is not wildly ambitious, since it is a succession of Portal-style test rooms (but without portals) that you complete in twenty minutes. But at least we have the satisfaction of being able to go around the whole Beyond Two Souls experience. And it is overall very good!
