8 Video Games That Tragically Wasted Their Genius Premise

2. Beyond: Two Souls

The single, most obvious problem with interactive story games is that they limit the player's impact in the world; they are strictly an on-rails experience that restrict control. In order to hide this despair from the player, developers offer them choices with rewards and repercussions. Sadly, not all interactive story games offer enough, and Quantic Dreams' Beyond: Two Souls for the PlayStation 3 is one of them, which is a shame since it could have been the most innovative entry in the genre. On paper, Beyond: Two Souls seemed to have what it all for surpassing its predecessor Heavy Rain in regards to Hollywood-style quality; it featured a a seemingly riveting sci-fi plot as well as some of the most breathtaking character models coupled with critically acclaimed actors like Ellen Page and William Dafoe to go with it. The problem starts with the narrative that struggles to find its own identity when juggling several genre types including psychological horror, emotional drama, action thriller and more, making it quite disjointed. What's worse is that through this narrative players will find the gameplay with both Ellen Page's character Jodie Holmes and her poltergiest-like pal Aiden as ridiculously simplistic, full of tasks laid out for them and no room for dynamism Also the game only hands out few choices in critical moments and even fewer rewards waiting for them. In the end, Beyond: Two Souls features an incoherent and uncontrollable mess for a premise. This is especially sad because at first glance, it could've been so much more, like Heavy Rain with an intriguing hook and no Boston-South African accents.