Quantic Dream Reveals New Title – Beyond: Two Souls

Smooth-voiced machine of self assurance, David Cage, finally revealed the latest project that Quantic Dream have been working on at Sony’s press conference. Despite what some were hoping, it wasn’t Kara – arguably it was something far more interesting.

Conceptually it seems Cage is dealing with ideas of the afterlife, the ‘other side’ and telekinesis. Bold moves certainly, but if anyone is going to attempt it, it’s Quantic Dream. There was quite a lot 0f pseudo-philosophical nonsense to pour from Cage before we had any real idea of what the game would entail.

Cage was excited to reveal that he’d somehow managed to catch himself a movie star to play protagonist Jodie Holmes. It was to everyone’s pleasant surprise that the lady in question was Ellen Paige, star of Juno and more recently Inception. We were then shown the primary ‘demo’, and I use that word cautiously as I’m relatively sure no actual gameplay took place (you can never truly tell with Quantic Dream). We initially saw Jodie being interrogated by a police officer, the facial animation of both individuals immediately impressing. The performances all round seemed to possess a subtle, nuanced edge that was somewhat lacking in Heavy Rain and even La Noire. After watching the officer become more and more exacerbated by Jodie’s lack of response we witnessed the first glimpse of her telekinetic powers as a coffee cup was flung across the room. Suddenly a SWAT team burst through the door searching for the girl and ending the demo. We’re also treated to a more general trailer that shows lots of exciting running around. (Both of these were captured by IGN and can be watched below.)

David Cage’s problem has always been that he believes himself an artist, story teller and film maker first and video game creator second. His previous titles have always been interesting, but even at their pinnacle lacked genuinely well-written stories and engaging forms of interacting with them. This looks like a step in the right direction as far as performances are concerned but Quantic Dream need to provide slightly more than just a good looking interactive film to provide the profound impact on the industry that Cage longs for.