Oh David Cage games, they are essentially the Sword Art Online of narrative focused games. What do I mean by that? I mean that they are very love them or hate them. Now I wont be commenting on the politics that can get thrown into this game because of the main character's actor. You can come to your own conclusions and thoughts on that. I will be solely commenting on the game. So onto the Pros and Cons! Pros - - Graphics (Given that this was originally a PS3 game on PC it still looks fantastic) - Character Animations ( The movement of characters in story sequences and facial animations and lip sync is really good again given this is a 10 plus year old game now.) - Choice/Consequences (the story does diverage and branch depending on those choices.) - Sound ( Voice acting is fantastic, overall audio is good, decent soundtrack) - Story ( All I can really say while it takes a bit of turn into left field when everything is fully explained, the dynamic between Jodie and Aiden is easily the selling point as it relates to the story.) Cons- - Gameplay (QTE and David Cage about sums it all up.) - Story (Once full explained youll either love it or hate it again the typical David Cage trope, and the bouncing back and forth of how the story is presented can make the story feel even more confusing.) - Length (for the gameplay style its about 10 to 11 hours which can feel long and they could have shaved it down to probably 9) So overall I think strictly speaking Beyond: Two Souls as a narrative driven game is good IMO. So if you like the choice consequences, branching narrative styles games this should be right up your alley. If you hate QTE's or David Cage or both, this game will definitely not change your position at all.
Ah, Compile Heart games, where do I even start with you? So let me get this out of the way. This game is NOT the typical funny hahaha kind of Compile Heart game. Pros - Dark story - (This is the draw of the game, the exact opposite of what Compile Heart games typically are.) - Battle System - (Glitch Mode, Knockback attacks, and customization of attack combos, so there is a bit of strategy.) - Graphics - (The VN parts ,character portraits, are superbly done. The Boss monster design is unique, and a horror atmosphere are also well done.) - Sound - (The voice acting is all solid, the soundtrack is great, and the opening song is one of the best I have heard in a Compile Heart game.) - Short - ( About 15-20 hours a quick game by most JRPG standards.) - Fan Service ( Enough said there.) Cons - Performance - (This is a general issue with Compile Heart games across the board. A beefer machines can brute force better performance, but given what the game is pushing from a graphically POV, the game needs better optimizations.) - Fan Service - ( Not that so much that there is fan service, but most some of it does not fit thematically with the dark story) - Characters - ( There are four main characters that the story focuses on, but there are other playable characters, that don't have much beyond just being party members. 1 or 2 of those main characters will either love them or hate them kind of characters as well.) - Difficulty ( Easy is just blow through the game kind of easy not a challenge, so good if you like the story, but bad if you want to get into the gameplay.) Overall, I enjoyed the time that I put into Death End Re; Quest 2. It was nice to have kind of a shorter JRPG to play. I also enjoyed the very dark and much more adult-oriented themes this game presented, it is a nice break from the usual Compile Heart formula of games. So I would recommend this game if you are looking for a shorter JRPG with a dark story.
