Beyond: Two Souls Game Poster Image

Beyond: Two Souls

age 18+
(i)

 

Bold, film-like, story-driven game with very mature themes.
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What parents need to know

Educational value

Although elements of Beyond: Two Souls focus on emotional development and collaboration, we don't recommend it for learning because of its graphic violence and mature themes.

Positive messages

This game tackles plenty of hard issues including social acceptance, sexual assault, homelessness, and the ethics of war. The outcomes of these scenes are generally fixed, but players often can choose how the main character reacts to what she sees. Violence plays a role in some chapters, but it's not glamorized the way it often is in M-rated games. Violence exists not to shock so much as to help the game tell its complex tale.

Positive role models

Jodie is a conflicted, multidimensional character who almost always tries to act morally and do the right thing. But sometimes she's tricked -- for example, she finds herself in a situation in which she's sexually assaulted -- or led into activities she later regrets. She drinks at a party as a teen, and as an adult she's involved in covert military action that results in the deaths of people who may not have deserved to die. Through it all the player understands her motivations and reasoning, even while knowing she shouldn't make some of the decisions she does. 

Ease of play

Controls mix a standard thumbstick-driven movement and navigation scheme with an unusual quick-time event interface in which players tap buttons according to on-screen cues. It's a bit odd to start but never overwhelming, thanks largely to a generous tolerance for missed cues. In fact, it's quite possible to play through the entire game without failing a single scene, even on the more challenging of its two difficulty levels. 

Violence

Violence is not frequent but can be intense. Players can punch and kick human enemies, choke them and break their necks, and use guns and knives to kill soldiers. Blood appears around wounds. Assuming the role of a ghost, players can possess enemies and make them kill themselves. There are also scenes of torture, and one scenario depicts a trio of men attacking a young woman in a failed attempt to rape her.

Sex

The central protagonist kisses men and in one scene intends to have sex with a man, though it doesn't happen. She is sometimes seen in only her underwear. Another scene shows a character propositioning fellatio, and yet another has the player's character actively delivering a baby (only side angles with bare thighs are shown).

Language

Many of the characters speckle their dialogue with profanity, including "f--k" and "s--t."

Consumerism
Not applicable
Drinking, drugs, & smoking

The player can choose to make the main character -- a teen -- drink beer and smoke marijuana at a party. The screen wavers briefly to suggest inebriation.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Beyond: Two Souls is a different kind of game -- almost more of a movie or a television show with game-like elements. It covers 15 years in the life of a girl/young woman who has paranormal powers that eventually get exploited by the government. It tackles several serious subjects including peer acceptance, homelessness, military ethics, and use of illicit substances. One chapter sees a trio of men attempt to rape the protagonist, and in another she helps a woman give birth. The heroine is a good person at heart and wants to do the right thing, but she's manipulated into doing some things she knows are wrong. Violence is infrequent but typically pretty intense when it happens (players can possess enemies and make them kill themselves). Strong profanity is scattered throughout the dialogue.

What's it about?

BEYOND: TWO SOULS puts players in the role of Jodie, a girl with paranormal powers who has difficulty fitting into the normal world. The story covers 15 years of her life, from the time she's a small girl living with a foster family who is terrified of her powers through some troubled teen years she spends in a research facility and then all the way up to her early twenties, when the CIA starts to take an interest in her abilities. Less a game than an interactive movie or TV show, this narrative-driven experience has some action in the form of quick-time events that require players to tap buttons to match icons that appear on-screen, but many of its lengthy chapters see players doing things not normally equated with games like spending time as a homeless person and working and getting to know a family living on an isolated Navajo ranch. A second player can join in by taking control of Jodie's paranormal companion, Aiden, who can do things like possess enemies and manipulate objects without being seen.

Is it any good?

QUALITY

The key to enjoying Beyond: Two Souls is to go in with an open mind and not expect a traditional gaming experience. Like Quantic Dream's previous game Heavy Rain, the goal here is to relate an engrossing and emotional story that makes players feel for the characters the same way they would those in a movie or TV show -- perhaps even more, since you're controlling one of them. The motion-captured performances of the 150 actors involved -- including Hollywood stars Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe -- result in what is probably the most photo-realistic presentation of human characters yet seen in a game.

The only potential downfall is that this twist-filled, anachronistically told tale of a young woman coming to grips with her supernatural talents is perhaps a little too predictable. Astute players likely will have some idea of the twists -- and their resolutions -- well before they happen. But that doesn't make one care any less about the game's troubled personalities. As with many stories, the bulk of the fun in Beyond: Two Souls is found in its journey rather than its conclusion. 

Families can talk about...

  • Families can talk about female characters in games. Do you think Jodie is a strong female character? In what ways is she different from most other female game characters?

  • Families also can discuss the impact of violence in media and specifically in this game. How do you think violence was presented here? Did it fit within the context of the story, or could it have been made less intense without losing its narrative purpose?

Game details

Platforms:PlayStation 3
Subjects:Social Studies: geography
Skills:Collaboration: cooperation, teamwork
Emotional Development: persevering
Price:$59.99
Available online?Not available online
Developer:Sony Computer Entertainment
Release date:October 8, 2013
Genre:Action/Adventure
ESRB rating:M for Blood, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol

This review of Beyond: Two Souls was written by

Chad Sapieha
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are conducted by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
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Adult Written byjoshua martinez October 31, 2013
age 18+

not for kids.

beyond two souls is an average game based on the similar game that David cage made heavy rain stars with two familiar actors Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe but parents due to the mature themes beyond two souls is not for kids this game is only for adults and parents you need to know that beyond two souls has some intense violence many in which Players can punch and kick human enemies, choke them and break their necks, and use guns and knives to kill soldiers. Blood appears around wounds. Assuming the role of a ghost, players can possess enemies and make them kill themselves. There are also scenes of torture, and one scenario depicts a trio of men attacking a young woman in a failed attempt to rape her although there is no sex or nudity there is Another scene shows a character propositioning fellatio, and yet another has the player's character actively delivering a baby only side angles with bare thighs are shown there is constant strong language used and there is smoking and drinking used such as beer and marijuana.
What other families should know
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
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Teen, 17 years old Written bydogmon2 October 14, 2013
age 15+

VERY GOOD GAME

This Game is very good but not for young kids it has violence and kissing but not really any sex. You can cause much damage with Aiden (Jodie's inside friend) and you fight a lot as Jodie as well. This is a amazing game with an amazing story an I'm sure many people will love it.
What other families should know
Great role models
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
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Adult Written byTJ Redeemer January 7, 2014
age 16+

An EXPERIENCE filled with tears and jeers.

As an experience, Beyond: Two Souls is an intense and dramatic ride where you will laugh, cry, and mostly cry. But as a game, the challenge falls short- wait a second, that's right, there is none. Seriously, I'm pretty sure you can't die or fail at all in the game, even when you mess up the button prompts. It's not to say that Beyond is bad, it just shouldn't be considered a game. If you are a parent planing on buying the game for their child, here are some things you should know. And if you're anyone wanting to buy the game for yourself, stop reading and read another review because there are some major spoilers here. First, there are some very mature themes in this game, including, but not limited to child molestation, underage drinking, corrupted military officials, suicide, a mother having to give away her child, and of course, lots and lots of violence. It should be noted however that the player usually has a choice on how they can go about these situations. Although most bad situations inevitably happen anyway, the player still has some choice in the actions the protagonist takes. For example, in one scene the protagonist is at a party, and birthday girl offers you some beer. You have to option whether or not to actually drink it. As for sex, it really isn't anything you wouldn't see from a PG-13 movie. Jodie (the protagonist) gets naked a few times, but her breasts, butt, and private parts are never exposed. You have an option if you want to have sex or not, including a comment where Jodie says "We still have time before I have to go." to one of her possible love interests, but the sex itself is always cut out. There is also a scene where Jodie gets molested by three older men in her teens, but Aiden, the entity that is bound to her, kills them before they can do anything too graphic. Harsh language is also very frequent, especially from the main character, and can't be turned off. There is blood where it is necessary, and it also can't be turned off. The game (or whatever it's called) has a positive message at the end saying that loved ones will always be with you, even after they have passed. That being said, the game is also very depressing since nothing ever seems to go Jodie's way, and she can be seen frequently crying. This may not be a good idea if your teen is going through depression, because it might make them feel worse.
What other families should know
Great messages
Too much violence
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
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