14 DAY TRIAL // Interactive movie is one of the descriptions that have seenheavy use when both critics and gamers talk about Beyond: Two Souls, the most recent release from developer Quantic Dream and publisher Sony.
It’s mostly meant in a depreciative way, as a quick phrase that suggests big ambitions for the product, but limited impact and implies that the mechanics offered are a sign that this might not actually be a “game” at all.
I admit that Quantic Dream has missed a few opportunities to make players feel more involved in Beyond, but the entire experience is as much deserving of the name game as something like Call of Duty or GTA V.
Most if not all big modern blockbusters aspire to be as worthy of critical praise as movies and generate as much if not more revenue.
GTA and Call of Duty want to feel cinematic and to have detailed storylines as Beyond: Two Souls actually has.
Rockstar and Infinity Ward are talking about including emotion and significant human moments in their stories and the Quantic Dream narrative consists of almost nothing but that.
The difference between the three products is not one of essence but of approach: Call of Duty and GTA start with spectacle and try to move towards feeling, while Beyond: Two Souls has too much emotion and struggles to find a way to make it all linked to player actions.
The Quantic Dream experience is certainly not suited for every player, but David Cage and Sony seem to have found a niche they are satisfied with, as Heavy Rain and the coming PlayStation 4 project they are working on can attest.
And I for one am happy to see that a game based on a young woman and an entity, drenched in emotional moments and in crisp motion capture, can find an audience, even if it’s called an interactive movie.