4. Emotional Weight
Beyond often plays fast and loose with its emotion peaks and troughs, the most jarring of which comes during the second half of the game. Although David Cage seems to get his character tropes from The Big Book of American Stereotypes, his melding of them throughout a narrative that spans multiple locations and countries is what makes sitting through some of the more oh, come on elements worthwhile. Whilst Im keeping this piece spoiler-free, in particular theres a section in the game with Jodie finding herself homeless and Cage takes the time to introduce a small supporting cast of characters that are all worth talking to. Thats alongside a scene earlier on where you play a very young Jodie first meeting scientist Willem Dafoe, and their melding of Jodies hesitance to be mentally "examined" is matched by Dafoes youthful exuberance in his interaction with her otherworldly powers. If the time was taken to supply adequate weight to character motivation and placement throughout, Beyond would be a resounding success. Sadly there are some extremely jarring decisions Cage has taken with characters introduced in the games back half, in particular the chapter "Navajo," which was where I genuinely laughed at some of the dialogue, being that consistency is thrown out the window for the sake of having a dramatic moment.