I decided to try this game, almost 4 years after the PC release and 5 years after the PS release. To me it felt like this game got released a year ago, truly a patient gamer.
This game is all about the story so I’ll avoid mentioning too many details about it in case one of you sees this and actually wants to try it.
The first mission is amazingly crafted and captivates your attention, it serves as a great and concise tutorial that you may not even notice that it’s a bit of a tutorial. Did a tutorial ever make you feel like a total badass? This one will. After that mission, you get into the real story’s intro.
The game’s intro is a classic playstation exclusive intro, in the sense that it’s a bit of a slug. At least, I can say it really introduces well the player to the world of Detroit. It presents many of the themes and philosophical dilemmas that you will have to deal with in the game without shoving them too much down your throat. So if you start to feel bored during the intro, stick around cause it does get way better.
A bit on the story without spoiling anything; you basically get to play 3 different android characters with unique stories and background. Not only your decisions, but also the way you choose to interact with other characters have quite a dramatic impact on the story. There’s not 1000 endings, don’t get me wrong, but your playthrough will actually feel like YOUR playthrough. It’s truly surprising how much I got attached to the characters and the story I crafted through my choices. The game’s writing may feel a bit cheesy at times, but it’s the good kind.
I don’t usually play these kind of game-movies and I have no idea if they typically are that good, but I can tell you this one’s a gem. I completed this 8-12h game (approx) in a single day, non-stop cause I got so hooked and then proceeded to complete the game a second time 3 days later. And as I’m writing this, it tempts me into a 3rd playthrough.
I played on PC, the port’s alright. To have more than 60 fps you have to edit the config which is a bit unfortunate, but expected from a sony exclusive. It performs well and I think it only crashed twice. Since this game saves every 5 seconds, it’s not too bad. The graphics look a bit dated since it was made for PS4.
Rating? 9/10. Since I praised this game most of the reviews, I’ll give a concise list of the cons:
- Very sluggish (intentionally slow story pacing) in two parts of the game. It reduces replayability because you’ll think “oh fuck I’ll have to do this shit again”
- Have to edit config files on PC
- QTEs can be quite annoying at times, and failing some QTEs will have dramatic consequences.
If you like a good story, GO PLAY THIS NOW. You won’t regret it.
At the end of each chapter, the game reveals a choice tree of dialogue and cut scene branches to see how much content exists on other paths.
I watched my daughter play, and she loved the story so much, she wanted to see what the missing scenes were.
Since I noticed a lot of people didn’t replay due to slowness, I gotta say, I was genuinely surprised at how insanely different the outcomes that were available. Most choices only affected your relationship with the characters in the scene long term, which only affects the ending, but there was an impressive amount of additional content that made the game feel vastly different for us chapter by chapter
This was one of like…3 games on steam I refunded. I was immediately bored and found the gameplay hugely frustrating.
I’m glad you liked it but personally, I feel quick time events are an unsavory vehicle to base the nearly the entirety of your character building off of. I dislike them in action games, here they were hell.
I was a little underwhelmed on the effects of some of the choices.
!I did a “good” playthrough and an “evil” playthrough.!<
!In one, I played Markus as a a pacifist civil rights leader. He avoided violence at all costs, and his broadcast was about wanting to live in harmony with humanity. In the other, he was fine with murdering humans and his broadcast was about ruling over humanity. I didn’t notice much difference in public response.!<
!In one, I played Connor as a sympathetic and emotionally invested partner who tried to connect with Hank, saved him in the chase, and refused to shoot Chloe. In the other, I played him as a cold detective who repeatedly reiterated that he just had a job to do, ignored Hank on the roof, and shot Chloe with no hesitation. Didn’t notice much difference in Hank’s reactions.!<
!Outside a puzzle-like element of making the “right” choices, I was somewhat underwhelmed with the effects personal decisions really had.!<
SPOILERS
Hank literally kills himself if you decide to be a robot instead of showing human emotions, what are you talking about? I did both like you, and the outcomes were vastly different.
Having a low public opinion denies many choices, like Kara not being able to go through the border without having to make a sacrifice. Trying to go pacifist with not an high enough public opinion would also result in a total failure
For whatever reason I I didn’t get that result from Hank, and tbh my bad run Kara refused to break through her programming and that ended her portion of the run pretty quick
Thanks for tbe write-up, Ive been on the edge of playing this forever.
It was my first game I bought for the PS4! I was skeptical because I am not a fan of walking simulators but the detective angle made it really fun! I was also surprised at how good the graphics were, it’s a darn beautiful game!
Loved this game, played it twice for the different story-endings.
I agree that the game is a bit slow at the beginning but as you mentioned, it introduces everything very well that way. Regards the QTEs (I assume the motion control?), I turned these off after failing multiple attempts and it got me out of the story immersion. Playing without it and having to push buttons instead is a preference for me, it keeps me into the story. After all that’s why we play such games, the story.
However I don’t agree with the sluggish overall (slow pace). It was a decent pace, it keeps the story going on at the right timing. I barely to never replay games and Detroit was one of the few that, I did.
The lock on 60FPS (played it first on PS4 and then PS5) did not bother me much. However, I can understand having more FPS is preferable but not a game-breaker or something that would stop me playing the game again. 60FPS is good for it.
I do not agree with the ‘‘dated graphics’’ at all to be honest. The game looks amazing, even for today. There are games that have been released this year and look worse.
Every time I hear about this game I go “oh yeah, that game exists” not because I think it won’t be good. I really want to play it.
I intentionally don’t look into anything I am looking forward to. My thinking is “if I have no expectations I can’t be disappointed.” and with a few exceptions, it’s worked pretty well for me.
So I don’t know anything about DBH beyong the genre and a few game design details (maybe a gameplay video of the tutorial mission) to make sure I want to play it. Everyone who talks about it says it’s got a great story, and it’s fun to play. Since I like the genre, I can’t see myself not enjoying it.
Buuuuut I don’t have a Playstation and my laptop is from 2016. Nothing can play it.
So patient I must be whether I like it or not in this case.
Also as far as I am concerned, if I get one hour of enjoyment for every dollar I spent on a game, I consider it money well spent even if I never play again. The two strategies together with patiently waiting a few years to play, and I’ve never wanted a refund on a game. Even the ones that ended up becoming a grind in late game, because I didn’t spend much money and already got my enjoyment/pay ratio before then.
I can only recommend that game and, even if you play it in 2030, it’s still gonna be a great game.
I’ve replayed Beyond Two Souls a year ago and it has aged well even if it’s clearly not as great as Quantic Dreams other games.
I can’t recommend it enough. it’s a fantastic game . The story is haunting and it’s legitimately difficult to get the good ending.
Don’t let anyone tell you who you should be
This is why I don’t trust user reviews
