Beyond Good & Evil is an action-adventure game with elements of puzzle-solving and stealth-based games. The player controls the protagonist, Jade, from a third-person perspective. Jade can run, move stealthily, jump over obstacles and pits, climb ladders, push or bash doors and objects, and flatten herself against walls. As Jade, the player investigates a number of installations in search of the truth about a war with an alien threat.
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A photojournalist and a himbo soldier expose a sham war to feed her family of orphans and rescue their hog uncle. Heartwarming and pretty chill, with an appealing art style. An adventure game made by people who seem to understand the appeal of The Legend of Zelda. Really good voice acting, too.
I had never played Beyond Good & Evil before and I always wanted to, since it is almost universally considered a cult classic and I wanted to find out why. I finally made up my mind and I must say the only thing I regret is not having played it way sooner.
Before I start, I have a quick warning to give to newcommers: the Steam version is a bit broken on Windows 10 and you will only run the game smoothly and without crashes via community patches. That’s not optimal since it’s Ubisoft who should fix that, but at least once you’ve done the patching you’re good to go. It’s a shame I couldn’t get to play it in my own language despite having full voiceover in the original release, but oh well, I could at least play it in English with subtitles.
Regarding the game itself, I was instantly in love with its charm. It is not a super deep game in any aspect and it does show its age, but the world it builds is extremely appealing and engaging. BG&E is one of those games that you can’t really compare to any other, it overflows with personality in every key element: the characters, the environments, the music, the story… everything is unique and it shows. I just finished it for the first time and I already feel that I’ve been living in its world for years and every character feels familiar in a weird, nostalgic way.
Gameplay-wise it is a very straight-forward game. The controls are easy to pick up and play, the platforming sections are very simple and the combat is barely a one-button-masher, but the complete mix is very entertaining and fun to play, and the plot makes it all work by carrying the weight of the experience. There are some additional minigames here and there and all of them spice up the experience a little bit, but they are not really that big of a deal.
All in all, BG&E might not be one of the bestest games I’ve ever played, but I definitely understand its appeal and it made me want more of its universe almost instantly. If you still haven’t played it I’d say give it a try, it’s a bit dated in some ways but it is still a very unique game in a world full of almost identical AAA releases.
Before I start, I have a quick warning to give to newcommers: the Steam version is a bit broken on Windows 10 and you will only run the game smoothly and without crashes via community patches. That’s not optimal since it’s Ubisoft who should fix that, but at least once you’ve done the patching you’re good to go. It’s a shame I couldn’t get to play it in my own language despite having full voiceover in the original release, but oh well, I could at least play it in English with subtitles.
Regarding the game itself, I was instantly in love with its charm. It is not a super deep game in any aspect and it does show its age, but the world it builds is extremely appealing and engaging. BG&E is one of those games that you can’t really compare to any other, it overflows with personality in every key element: the characters, the environments, the music, the story… everything is unique and it shows. I just finished it for the first time and I already feel that I’ve been living in its world for years and every character feels familiar in a weird, nostalgic way.
Gameplay-wise it is a very straight-forward game. The controls are easy to pick up and play, the platforming sections are very simple and the combat is barely a one-button-masher, but the complete mix is very entertaining and fun to play, and the plot makes it all work by carrying the weight of the experience. There are some additional minigames here and there and all of them spice up the experience a little bit, but they are not really that big of a deal.
All in all, BG&E might not be one of the bestest games I’ve ever played, but I definitely understand its appeal and it made me want more of its universe almost instantly. If you still haven’t played it I’d say give it a try, it’s a bit dated in some ways but it is still a very unique game in a world full of almost identical AAA releases.
Gorbert the Pig when Claire takes a picture of him squirking his nuts dry: 😮
peak video gamw
Such an imaginative game. Its rough in places for sure. Not every thing works, both in a design way and an actual function of the game way. But the story, atmosphere, and setting make this one of the most unique and memorable video games I've had the pleasure of experiencing.
Where did this Ubisoft go?
This game is better than most of their catalogue the past 15 years combined. It still plays absolutely flawlessly and is one hell of a ride to be sure.
This game is better than most of their catalogue the past 15 years combined. It still plays absolutely flawlessly and is one hell of a ride to be sure.