Was the World Ready for Beyond: Two Souls?

As of the time of writing this, Beyond: Two Souls stands at a 71 on Metacritic based on the reviews of 90 critics. This score was achieved not by consistently scoring "good" scores, but rather from getting incredible scores from those that appreciated it, and mediocre scores from those that don't. All of a sudden the 71 looks different. Rather than indicating what most critics thought of the game, it was the product of a polarizing game.

Ellen Page Simulator 2013 wasn't a success? Say it ain't so!

Beyond: Two Souls was the product of David Cage, a man who straddles the line between fame and infamy in gaming circles. His reputation comes from his interpretation of what a video game should be. Previously, I discussed the world of Telltale Games' The Walking Dead and how it was a narrative experience. Game play wasn't conventional game play, but rather an interaction with players giving them choice and showing how it affects those around them. This is the style of game that David Cage tries to produce, but with higher production values and, as a result, higher expectations.

David Cage is the head/founder of studio Quantic Dream. Though the studio has been operating since the late 90's, it wasn't until mid 2000 that the studio started to gain attention with 2005's Indigo Prophecy (also known as Farenheit). At the time, it was unlike anything on the market: a narrative experience that flirted with the supernatural and the absurd putting the player into the story as an essential cog in the story. It currently holds an 85 on Metacritic, this time with more consistently positive reviews. Following this, Quantic Dream put out Heavy Rain. Though holding an 87 on Metacritic, this marked the beginning of the polarization in reviews for Cage's games. This is also the first Cage game I played.

In Heavy Rain, you control multiple characters that are interwoven in a mystery involving someone killing kids by drowning them, then leaving their bodies somewhere with an origami figure. At the time, I hadn't played anything like it. Though the game was mostly comprised of quick time events, Heavy Rain had a quality that truly separated it apart from most modern games: there was no failing. If for some reason the player did not succeed in a challenge, it didn't reload from the last checkpoint. The story was then altered based on this outcome.

The type of hard hitting decisions to be made

As an introduction to the games of David Cage, Heavy Rain challenged me as a player in a way no other game had. I approached events with a different perspective. The permanence of a misstep was much more pressing. It was unlike anything I had ever played before. But a question nagged me: was I enjoying this game, or was I just impressed with the scope of it?

By the time Beyond: Two Souls was announced, I had become acquainted with the two different sides on this issue. Was Heavy Rain actually good? Was David Cage a revolutionary with an invigorating view of the future of gaming, or was he trying to make a product in the wrong medium? Over the three year span between games, people had began to see past the shine of Heavy Rain. Eventually, people weren't afraid to dissect for flaws that had been permissible at the time, because Heavy Rain was something new. People began picking apart the story and truly saw Quantic Dream's product for what it was. Granted, it was still a good game, just not as revolutionary as imagined.

Which brings me to Beyond: Two Souls. 

There were three types of people following Heavy Rain and thus three different mindsets going into Beyond: Two Souls. The first is the believers of David Cage and his games, the second are those who despise him, and the third are the apathetic. The ideology the person possesses creates an insurmountable bias towards the game and the division of opinions on Cage's view of video games has manifested itself as a division of opinions on his games. 

Most reviews for Heavy Rain give high praise for being innovative, but I see it all as a knee jerk reaction to this oddity of an experience. It's not a game, it's not a movie, yet these people applaud it for being the next step in video gaming. But as it challenges these conventions, it must be asked how much can it do that without breaking away from that medium? Cage is now in an awkward limbo where there is a divisive opinion towards him and as Beyond: Two Souls strays further away from being a "game," he may be in a medium limbo.

Was the world ready for Beyond: Two Souls? Are these games really indicators of where games are headed? At this point, it's all speculation, but it leaves me wondering what's next for David Cage and his team at Quantic Dream. As this last release indicated, not everyone is willing to give up their perception of what a game is and it may hurt them.

Telltale Games and New Narratives

Today, Telltale Games dropped a brief trailer teasing the future of their involvement in the Walking Dead franchise. For me, this is one of the most highly anticipated upcoming releases and a continuation of a franchise that reinvigorated video gaming and its unique narrative possibilities.

Season one was presented in 5 parts, each part being an "episode." The player controlled a character named Lee who has begun to look after a little girl named Clementine as they navigate the new wasteland of Georgia following a zombie apocalypse. Being cannon for a graphic novel, Telltale Games was put in a peculiar position. On the positive side, they were given a developed fiction and world in which to operate, but that came with expectations. But their aptitude for storytelling pushed the games to new levels.

In fact, these "games" could be considered the new media equivalent of "choose your own adventure" books. At various points throughout each episode, the character was given a divisive decision that would influence both the outcome of the game and how other characters perceived the one you were controlling. As this was the case, season one was propelled to a new level of narrative connection. Suddenly these complex characters and their oft-irrational choices became much easier to empathize with as Lee was put into more challenging decisions. Not only that, but us as players all of a sudden had a nearly tangible weight to our actions.

I remember my first time completing the first episode in season one. At the time, my expectations had been heightened by all the positive press. Yet nothing prepared me for a simple "who dies" decision. The agency I had with my given avatar made the actions I controlled, by extension, my actions. Furthermore, the relationships I held with the people were, again, my relationships. This had been done in video games before, but not in such a profound way. The decisions were dirty, gritty, and, as aforementioned, divisive. Curious as to just how divisive the decisions were? Check out this video.

***FULL SPOILERS FOR EPISODE ONE OF SEASON ONE BELOW***

But this method of story telling would only work if the characters and environments felt real. Far too many times will I play a game where the world feels to only exist around my characters. There's an immense advantage to be had working in an already developed world, and Telltale Games uses it. Characters that you encounter often have ties to the graphic novel/TV show and the game often reminds you that the world's social structure is collapsing. These are just two strategies the game implements in order to make this game a narrative based in Georgia, but happening on a global scale. In other words, the world feels fleshed out much further beyond our character's perspective. The believable nature strengthens the bond between the player and the interactions on screen while also avoiding the video game symptom that makes everything feel built around the player. Rather than having a crisis built around our character, our character helplessly watches this crisis while simply trying to last with his cast of survivors, each with a driving motive and unique relationship based on how the player progressed through the game.

So I'm prepared for season two. I'm not just willing to be subjected to such challenging choices, I want to. The unique way the narrative is woven to give meaning to actions exhibits just how video games can challenge conventional ideas of story telling and make the audience a part of the story. It had been done before, but not with as much expertise and finesse. Telltale Games reminded me about why I fell in love with video games by showing me just how unique of an experience they provide. As a fan, I can only hope it happens again.