1. No Gameplay
Beyond: Two Souls really highlighted how important controls are in immersing you in the game world. By simplifying them to the point of patronising, David Cage put up an unfortunate barrier that stopped you from taking the role of Jodie and turned the player into a glorified cut scene activator. I have no problem with the QTE control scheme; it worked well in Fahrenheit and Heavy Rain. And Telltales Walking Dead showed that it was possible to tell an engaging story that fools the player into thinking that he or she has some semblance of control over how it plays out. But the problem with Beyond: Two Souls is that there is no real control scheme and almost no game play. You move Jodie slowly from one point to another and activate a cut scene. You help Jodie cook a meal by activating a series of cut scenes. Help Jodie in a fight by watching the cut scene carefully and activating the next cut scene. The gameplay in Beyond: Two Souls is a big hunt the white dot game. You look where the white dot is and then point the stick on the controller towards it. It takes controls for the casual gamer to a new and mind numbing level. You dont feel like you are in control of Jodie, the only thing you control is how the next cut scene starts. In Heavy Rain, the combat was intense. The fight scene where Madison Page is trapped in the house with the psycho doctor is still embedded in my mind. Even though it was a series of QTE, you felt like you was in control of Madison and the pressure was on to get her to safety. But compared to the combat in Beyond: Two Souls, all you do is push the stick in the direction Jodies arm or leg is travelling in; rinse and repeat. Simplified controls are ok but you still need some control for you to feel like you are part of the experience. Games like Walking Dead and Heavy Rain got the balance right but unfortunately, the control scheme is too simple and therefore the gameplay is virtually non-existence. Unless you count helping Jodie cook, tidy her room, pack her bag, have a shower but my life is full of chores like that, the last thing I want to do is do all that stuff in a game Ive paid £40 for. Beyond: Two Souls is like watching a bad film where you get to play all the stuff that is normally edited out for being too dull.