OUR RATING: 9/10
When Ubisoft announced that it was coming up with a 20th anniversary edition of Beyond Good and Evil , we were more than happy to take a closer look at the game. When Rayman creator Michel Ancel ventured into new territory in 2003 with Beyond Good & Evil , he was able to impress critics around the world with his unusual mixture of action-adventure, racing game and puzzler. Surprisingly, however, the Ubisoft title was not a commercial success. Thankfully, the 20th anniversary edition brings the cult classic to a lot of new people on every platform, giving it the attention it truly deserves.
At the beginning of the game, the world of the protagonist Jade and her uncle, the pig Pey'j, seems to be more or less in order despite the state of war. But when the two are dramatically confronted with their financial difficulties, they have to look for lucrative contracts, if only to keep the orphanage they run going. A local scientific organization is looking for images of the local animal world, for a fee of course, and Jade sets off with her combat staff and camera to take as many photos of the surrounding fauna as possible. While she starts off taking harmless pictures, she quickly becomes embroiled in a conspiracy of global proportions and soon finds herself the greatest hope of a rapidly growing revolutionary movement. In a classic third-person perspective, the amateur reporter is sent through the detailed game world, where in addition to infiltrating factories and exploring caves, an entire city with bars, shops and illustrious residents is waiting to be discovered by her. In addition to the main quests, which are often in stealth style, there are also varied side missions such as hovercraft races and entertaining mini-games.
There is no chance of getting bored in Beyond Good & Evil and the game's playing time is correspondingly long. Part of the great soundtrack comes from Christophe Héral (Leon and the Magic Words). He composed several piano pieces especially for the game. Only the camera work in the hovercraft passages and the sometimes miserable AI of the enemies still spoil the excellent overall impression even after more than 20 years.
Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary Edition is a well-made remaster that builds on the 2010 HD version, now boasting up to 4K, 60 FPS (30 FPS on the Nintendo Switch), new lighting effects, and a completely new soundtrack recorded with a live orchestra. The 20th Anniversary Edition isn't just limited to cosmetic and mechanical differences, however, as it also offers fans a considerable amount of new content, both in-game and out. Right from the start, you have access to the Anniversary Gallery, which contains a surprisingly comprehensive collection of images, concept art, and even videos documenting the game's creation, development, and release.
Many of the images and videos, including some nice shots of cut content, are also accompanied by text that offers a deeper explanation of what you're looking at. Finally, you have access to a "speedrun mode" for the game, which basically just removes the ability to save the game and challenges you to complete everything as quickly as possible.
I could go on forever about what makes this game so fun to play, but you should really try it yourself or at least watch some gameplay on YouTube. It may just be that it really isn't your thing, but despite that I would still recommend it. The game has a very nice cast of characters, such as the Jamaican brothers Mamago or Secundo. Moreover, the main characters will also conquer a place in your heart.
But that is on top of the graphic improvements mentioned earlier (4K 60fps, better character models and environments). However, I have not yet mentioned that the game also has some useful extras, such as the automatic save function, so that you no longer have to (and can) save manually at certain points. The 60fps ensures that the game is a bit more responsive and you are therefore less bothered by the somewhat dated gameplay.
A number of modes have also been added, such as the speedrun mode for those looking for some extra challenge and you can view the history of the game (from concept to release) in the menu. Finally, a side quest has also been added that should connect to Beyond Good & Evil 2, which is apparently still in development. After playing the classic, we really hope that Ubisoft manages to nail it, because this series owes it that much!
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