Of recent, I have been on a Story driven adventure kick. This got me into replaying Beyond, David Cage's most recent works. I have played through the game maybe 7 times now, each time experimenting with different outcomes.

My original opinion of the game was curt, I thought it was decent but flawed. I personally enjoyed Heavy Rain a lot more. Now that I have had more time with the game....I still think it is flawed but It has quite a few more redemptive qualities that I did not notice at first. SPOILERS AHOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Game's Conept

It seems like Cage wanted to really put the player inside another person's shoes. Have the player see what they see, feel what they feel. Then digest that information and make life decisions based on that experience. For the most part I think the game does this well. Jodie's life problems become mine when I play as her. I percieve the people around her and I either grow an affinity towards them or I loathe them for doing her wrong. Aiden as the invisible entity is probably the most interesting character relationship in the game. More on that later.  What bother me about the game's concept is how they go a bit overboard with trying to get you to FEEL something. The kids litterally forming a hyena bully circle around you at the Party is a bit much. Also, why isn it any strong willed femal in a DC game has to be threatened with rape? And I think you are only allowed to sypathize with someone crying a few times per hour. Every chapter is filled with tears. it really wears the emotional power of it down. 

Regardless of it's shortcomings, the game is filled with such amazing moments. Moments that are really thought provoking. The Characters also have many many layers.

Aiden: I feel for him the most throughout the game. I just imagine dying and my spirit being forever attached to my twin. I see him emotionally growing like any living boy. The amount of rage he must hold for his bound existence.  It has to be just as perplexing that your twin is the only person you can fully interact with or form any reasonable relationship. He feels threatened by men that try to get into Jodie's life..........or maybe its not all men but just ones he thinks are bad for her. Its interesting that he tries to keep her from getting too intimate with Ryan, who in my opinion turns out to be a real bastard. Aiden was probably also scared that the only person he can ever have a relationship with will have less and less time for him. If a PS4 remaster were to happen, how awesome would it be to have Aiden be the twin that survived?

Ryan: I really struggle with this one. On one hand, he is maybe the only viable intimate option for Jodie. On the other, his charm is only skin deep and I believe to be a cohersion tactic to get things he wants. My first two playthroughs I defaultly romanced him. Now that I have looked over several scense, I don't think it was wise. First off, the first time Jodie and him meet he is totally emotionally devoid to her plight. She is just a girl that has been passed around by the government like some community toy. He tells her to shut up her crying basically because he has his orders. F*ck........him. Then when Jodie and Ryan are on the covert mission at the Embassy I learned something. If you take Aiden over to where he is standing where Ryan and some other guy are having a side mouth conversation. We learn that Ryan would leave you to be tortured and killed in a heart beat. He admits that his job demands "limited empathy". I find him to be a manipulative sociopath that uses his good looks to get Jodie more on the government's side. Who knows, that might have actually been his orders. Wouldn't be that strange when you think "The Dinner" scene right before "The Mission" where Jodie finally wises up. He buttered her up to make her malleable. Aiden isn't defensive about Jay or The Homeless guy.........just Ryan. In the end where everyone's life is on the line, maybe he is more sincere. I just don't know.

Possibility for future sequel?

If Cage were to ever come back for a sequel I think this game is the most viable. It did sell 1.5million which really isn't too bad for such a niche genre. The game also leave much up to interpretation when It comes to the ending. That decimated future is a big mystery. What would be more likely is a remaster for PS4 tho, which if they put in more scenarios I would be very interested in.

I am very interested to hear opinions of this game now that its a year old.

I loved the game, even when it first came out. It was just my type of game.

The dinner/date sequence is one of the standout moment for me, because, like you said, at that point in the narrative, we view Ryan as a complete asshole, but Jodie tells us how charming and funny he is. I'll never forget the feelings I had when I couldn't decide whether I wanted to use Aiden to sabotage the date or if I should just stop it and let Jodie have some fun for a change. It's her life, after all, so who am I to mess around with it?

Writing that makes me feel so conflicted is pretty great if you ask me. Love the game.

I had similar thoughts about this game as all of David Cage's other games. And that is, he is far better suited, and therefore the game is, at sticking to reality, or reasonably close to it.

The best moments in Fahrenheit and Beyond are the sections largely based in reality. You still use Aiden in these sections, but regardless they are more relatable than the more sci-fi and Hollywood action inspired combat and set piece sections. The story would have been better as just Jodie being an outcast for a different reason, a realistic one, and just journeying through different areas. The best two bits of Beyond were the section when Jodie was homeless and when she stays at the farm in the desert. The latter has some supernatural elements, but the first part is really good, and I would have preferred the mystery to have remained and left to the player's imagination.

I hope the next game is more like Heavy Rain in this regard.

I still thought it was a decent game though, I enjoyed it overall

I absolutely adoreeee this game, honestly it's one of my favourites ever. The relationships are great - I sent Jodie to live with the Navajo family.

Oh, and I don't know how a sequel could work, considering Jodie is either dead or still alive, depending on what ending you chose.

Well.. I like fighting games. You know, games where you have to be on your feet, and look out, and punish properly when someone does something stupid/risky.

Sure, I'm not a perfect player. But, button mashing is never a strategy I'd consider using. Play the game enough to know the match-ups, and be on your feet.

Beyond... is the complete opposite of a fighting game. Everything is slow. It tells you exactly what to press, when to press it, etc. You are watching a QTE movie done with PS3's native-rendering techniques, etc.

I never played heavy rain. I played the demo. I hated it. What was I supposed to be doing? The colors were so dark. I knew very well that Beyond was more of the same. But, for some odd reason, despite not liking what I tried from Heavy Rain, and despite this game being the complete opposite of games I like, which are all fast paced, and etc.

... I wanted Beyond. I don't know why, I just did. So, when it came out, I got the steel book, at 60 bucks. The last disc based game I've bought to date. And, after the three year install period... It began, and it looked amazing, to say the least.

I enjoyed the game so much. I didn't play Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, or any other game. When I turned my PS3 on, it was just to play Beyond. I beat it 5 times in a row, without playing anything else. Then, the next five times I beat the game, I had other stuff in-between.

I can't say that it was a change from what I'm used to. I don't exclusively play any game genre. I hate first person shooters, yet, even though I stay away from CoD, Halo, Killzone and a bunch of others, I still enjoyed bioshock infinite.

For me, at least, Beyond's story kept the game together. It may not have been perfect, and there may have been some issues while playing the game, if that interest to see what happens next wasn't there, the entire game would have fallen apart.

I must say, I enjoyed Heavy Rain a lot more

Fewer action sequences and much more choice and variation

I just never felt Beyond clicked for me, though I would recommend it to others

I think the game is good. The story is good, The characters are good. What it lacks is interactivity. Heavy Rain had more interactivity. I think Beyond is more movie than game, and in that regard i prefer Heavy Rain. Besides that is very enjoyable and good game. I would give it a 7.5 because of the lac of playability. Graphics are awesome for a PS3 Game, if not the best.

Cage dont do sequels.

I'd rather he actually turn Kara into a game, or that old wizard guy from ps4 e3.