Beyond Good & Evil

Many people assume that Beyond Good & Evil is a reference to the Friedrich Nietzsche book by the same name. Although you could probably make an argument—this game really has no connection to the German philosopher. As an action reporter, players need to investigate beyond the superficial facts of what is good and what is evil—which is dictated through government propaganda in the game. The player has to see what nobody else can see, what is hidden to the people of Hyllis. This theme is relevant to issues we face today—understanding the reasons behind the apparent facts.—Tyrone Miller

Links

• Official Website
• Walkthrough by Khyron
• Walkthrough by Lisa Shea
• Petition for a sequel

Reviews

• The 10 hours are well worth around a bargain price, Tom Platte thought:

  Despite the fact that Beyond Good and Evil was a very average action/adventure game, the things it did well, the little details, the characters, and the simple feeling of fun you had when playing it made it a great game. If this game were to be perfect, I would have liked to see more depth in length, more enemy types, and a good ending.

• There are so many terrific things in Beyond Good and Evil that it's difficult to know where to begin, Ray Ivey sighs:

  This game has a very strong story, one that would be at home in an exciting film or science fiction novel. It takes place on a watery, cosmopolitan planet that's under siege from hostile aliens. The rather repressive world government claims it's fighting these enemies. Jade, the main character, is a photojournalist and foster mother to several orphans of these attacks. She gets drawn into a group of undercover revolutionaries who are exposing a horrifying web of lies and conspiracies that lie behind the government's party line. What struck me about the story, especially as I moved toward the end of the game, was its urgency and immediacy. The plot of many games simply serves as a backdrop for the gameplay. The story in Beyond Good and Evil is so good that it feels like the game was created in order to tell it.

• Superficial fun, Oleg Roschin sums it up:

  It was fun to play "Beyond Good and Evil". It feels fresh, it has versatility, the right amount of challenge, and a very good pace. But there is little depth in the game, little substance beside the cool gameplay ideas. Weak story, shallow characters, no real power behind the gameplay, and irritating light-hearted approach prevent it from being more than a good diversion. It appears that in order to be great, a game needs more than clever ideas, style, and solid technical execution.