In an official PlayStation EU blog, Sony announced that they were bringing the two Quantic Dream QTE-based games, Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, to the PlayStation 4 in Europe. The blog said that the games would be distributed digitally in separate releases, but there would be a digital and physical release for a bundled version that came with both titles.
Heavy Rain is a game in which you play numerous characters who are all tied to a series of abductions and murders in one way or another. As you play them in different chapters, you begin to see how their stories weave in and out of each other’s and you get to the bottom of the mystery as you progress along. Heavy Rain emphasized difficult choices in a meta experiment that tested the players’ resolves and perspectives as it forced them to make some difficult decisions. For its time — and even by today’s standards — the game looks absolutely marvelous and was a pioneer effort by Quantic Dream to make storytelling an intrinsic part of gameplay.
Beyond: Two Souls took the formula Quantic Dream established with Heavy Rain and went in some all-new directions with it. It’s a more action-oriented title in that the character has military training and gets into some combat situations, but there’s still lots and lots of morality-driven QTE to go through, as well as dialogue choices that will affect the outcome. The story is about a girl who is assisted by a spirit that helps her overcome challenges and protects her when it thinks she’s in danger, whether she wants its help or not. Choices and consequences are a huge aspect of the game’s narrative, as is your ongoing and evolving relationship with the spirit companion. The game was famous for casting well-known Hollywood stars Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe in the two principal roles. Not only did they voice the roles, but they did extensive 3D modelling for Beyond: Two Souls so that their characters looked and moved like them, as well.
The wording at the beginning of the blog seems to imply that this release is only scheduled for European audiences. Time will tell whether or not these games come will be released on the PS4 in North America. There is no confirmed launch date yet.
