At the Gamescom event in Cologne, Germany, Quantic Dreams’ head honcho David Cage announced that the upcoming supernatural thriller Beyond: Two Souls will incorporate smartphone and tablet play. This integration will serve as the focal point for the game’s ‘Dual Mode’, which will allow a pair of players to switch between the two lead characters – namely Jodie and the otherworldly Aiden – by pressing triangle at anytime during gameplay.
Though it won’t facilitate simultaneous play per se, Cage believes that the ‘Dual Mode’ will add a new layer of gameplay options to Beyond: Two Souls, particularly during the title’s more challenging modes. The mechanic itself draws upon his own experiences with 2009’s Heavy Rain – Beyond’s spiritual predecessor – in that he understood why many people played the game with a friend spectating. Subsequently, ‘Dual Mode’ is designed to encourage a gameplay relationship that will involve both you and your hypothetical friend via smartphone and tablet integration.
What’s more, Cage also announced the ‘Beyond Touch’ app, which will be freely available for Android and iOS devices. The app itself compiles the entire experience of Beyond: Two Souls into a portable package, and will give players the ability to execute all of those QTE’s as touchscreen gestures. It’s worth noting, though, that switching to a mobile device will automatically dilute the difficulty level to easy, so perhaps this isn’t the finest means of experiencing Jodie and Aiden’s multi-layered story.
Ultimately, the French game designer spoke of Quantic Dream’s ambition with the mobile integration as a whole, which is designed to attract a more casual demographic towards the supernatural thriller. However, do you feel that this concept is a sound means of co-op play? Indeed, do you see the mechanic itself as an interesting opportunity to broaden a game’s appeal? Let us know below.
Beyond: Two Souls will launch exclusively on PlayStation 3 October 8th and 11th in North America and Europe, respectively.
