When comparing Beyond: Two Souls vs Middle-earth: Shadow of War, the Slant community recommends Middle-earth: Shadow of War for most people. In the question“What are the best single player games on PS4?” Middle-earth: Shadow of War is ranked 55th while Beyond: Two Souls is ranked 80th. The most important reason people chose Middle-earth: Shadow of War is:
Shadow of War uses the Nemesis system to create a more immersive and alive-feeling world. Thanks to it, orc leaders have names, ranks, titles, tribes they belong to, and most importantly, connections to other orc leaders. For example, an orc leader might be at war with another orc leader. This conflict won't end until one of them dies. There are also orcs that are considered blood brothers, having unwavering loyalty to each other. Because of this, don't be too surprised if you ever get betrayed by one of your followers that's trying to do right by his blood brother. Additionally, the leaders you fight will also develop connections with you. Orcs that you've killed or spared, may come back with scars, recalling your previous encounter and vowing to exact vengeance. Orcs that you've escaped from will mock you for being a chicken, and so forth. The gradual creation of this web of connections is very enjoyable and sometimes even more compelling than the game's main story.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Plenty of tense and exciting action moments
Even though the game is like an interactive movie, there are still some action scenes with more involved gameplay. There are moments where Jodie is in danger and you have to navigate Aiden to help her, or Jodie and Aiden are on the run from several enemies and you have to find a way to escape. You then have to press buttons in time or navigate your analog sticks in certain ways to stay in control of the scene. The game does rely a lot on button presses with QTEs to keep you involved in the gameplay, but as long as you feel engrossed in the game and the overall plot, you probably won't mind too much.
Pro Excellent performance from actress Ellen Page as the protagonist
The protagonist Jodie Holmes is played incredibly well by actress Ellen Page through motion capture technology and voice acting. Portraying Jodie during her teenage and young adult years, Ellen Page shows a huge range of believable emotions, from Jodie's frustrations of growing up with her supernatural powers and her determination to survive all the problems she faces. You get to see every genuine expression she makes and hear each inflection of her voice when she speaks. Controlling Jodie especially feels like you're controlling a real person, Ellen Page herself, just from how realistic everything looks. The actress does a great job performing such a fully-realized character.
Pro Your choices have consequences
Each choice you make, no matter how small, affects how the story plays out in some way. There are the bigger decisions, like pressing a QTE in time to keep Jodie from getting hurt, or making the right dialog choices during encounters with the game's antagonists to outsmart them. But there are also smaller decisions, like choosing to give someone a gift or not stealing money when given the opportunity, and the unexpected ways these choices get taken into account down the line. The best part is that everything leads up to multiple endings depending on which path your choices take you.
Pro Thoughtful story about morality and the supernatural
Beyond: Two Souls tells a thought-provoking story about how supernatural powers affect a person's morality. You play as Jodie Holmes, a young woman who controls a strange spirit-like entity known as Aiden, giving Jodie certain supernatural powers that only seem to cause her trouble at first.
Throughout the story, Jodie tries to find meaning in her powers by deciding whether or not she should use Aiden to help others, even as many in the world persecute her for how dangerous her abilities are. Most of the tension in the plot surrounds whether or not Jodie should get revenge against those who discriminate against her, or if she should choose kindness instead. Whichever path you take is fair game, since the story leaves you to decide what is best.
Pro Great music that compliments the story well
Beyond: Two Souls' soundtrack fits well with the game's dramatic and emotional plot. The innocent songs with wind instruments and undertones of sorrow reflect the quiet moments you spend as Jodie during her lonely childhood years. Other, more powerful tracks with blaring cellos and ethereal screaming sounds compliment the action-heavy moments. Sometimes even the silent scenes with only a few notes of music convey the seriousness of what's happening on-screen. The composer Lorne Balfe hit the right tone for any given scene, making the story even more memorable.
Pro Unique two-player couch co-op
The co-op in Beyond: Two Souls is pretty different from the norm. One person plays as Jodie, controlling her for regular story segments, while the second person plays as Aiden for his poltergeist-like powers. You can either work together to get the outcome you both agree on, or the person playing Aiden can cause as much havoc as they want. It can be really funny to have Aiden mess things up by destroying a room or making another character angry by annoying them. Depending on how you and your co-op partner work together -- or don't work together -- you can come up with some interesting scenarios.
Pro Character connections make for a compelling experience
Shadow of War uses the Nemesis system to create a more immersive and alive-feeling world. Thanks to it, orc leaders have names, ranks, titles, tribes they belong to, and most importantly, connections to other orc leaders.
For example, an orc leader might be at war with another orc leader. This conflict won't end until one of them dies. There are also orcs that are considered blood brothers, having unwavering loyalty to each other. Because of this, don't be too surprised if you ever get betrayed by one of your followers that's trying to do right by his blood brother.
Additionally, the leaders you fight will also develop connections with you. Orcs that you've killed or spared, may come back with scars, recalling your previous encounter and vowing to exact vengeance. Orcs that you've escaped from will mock you for being a chicken, and so forth. The gradual creation of this web of connections is very enjoyable and sometimes even more compelling than the game's main story.
Pro Addictive gear collection fuels your thirst for orc blood
As you kill orc leaders, they'll drop random quality gear items, ranging from common rarity every-orc weapons/armor to legendary rarity artifacts with unique names. Each item serves to improve your character, providing various stat increases and damage bonuses. You can also upgrade gear with gems or via challenges that usually involve killing orcs, bolstering your strength even further. On top of that, there are set bonuses for legendary items, giving you special abilities such as your hits applying explosive poison on regular enemies. It's very exciting seeing what gear piece an orc leader will drop once you lob his head off, causing you to constantly seek out new victims.
Pro Satisfying combat
Shadow of War gives one of the better feeling combat systems in recent times, allowing you to be either stealthy or go for direct confrontations.
If you choose to be stealthy, you can skewer unsuspecting orcs from behind with your dagger, drop onto them from a building while impaling them with your sword, or just pierce them from afar with your bow.
If you choose a direct confrontation, it's a really quick-paced and brutal showdown against your enemies with your chosen melee weapon. You weave combos against enemies, dodging, parrying, and countering enemy attacks, which ends in a devastating finishing move, resulting in a mutilated or decapitated orc.
Whichever method you choose, the combat flows really well and you always feel like a force to be reckoned with.
Pro You can lead an orc army and expand your own dominion
As part of the Nemesis system, you can recruit orc leaders after you've bested them in combat. Each one has his own unique strengths and weaknesses, so making the best possible army for conquering enemy territories might take a while.
For example, an orc leader can be completely immune to ranged attacks, but can take increased damage from explosions. You should take such an orc leader on assaults against fortresses filled with archers but be wary of the slightest hints of any bombs.
Once you've finished building a sizeable force, you can assault a fortresses. If you succeed in the assault, you'll take over a territory, allowing you to install your own orc leader as the ruler. With enough effort you'll gradually take over Mordor and its surrounding lands.
Shadow of War makes you feel like a recruiter, general, and a ruler, which is very empowering and a lot of fun.
Cons
Con Some parts of the story drag for too long
The pacing in Beyond: Two Souls is off sometimes, with certain sections taking too long to get going. One part in particular is pretty boring, with time passing way too slowly and not a lot going on. Things pick up after a while, but it's easy to put the game down entirely before you get that far. This happens a little too often in a playthrough, bogging the plot down in an otherwise good story.
Con The romance subplots feel tacked-on
The romance options in the game feel like they don't belong. They also don't feel at all natural, mainly because Jodie doesn't have much chemistry with either of the guys. The romances don't contribute much to the plot, either, since the story progresses more or less the same with only minor differences depending on if you romanced someone or not. At the end of the day, the subplots are awkward and unfulfilling, and could have been left out of the game altogether.
Con The story feels on-rails most of the time
Despite how many decisions you make throughout the game, the story still follows a set formula. Your choices don't really affect the bigger picture, just the finer details of how each chapter plays out. The choices you make at the very end of the game do depend on which options you went with across the game, but it's still not enough. It would have been nice if this were a game where your choices drastically affect the outcome of the plot instead.
Con Can get repetitive
The overall gameplay formula doesn't change much over the course of the game. You fight orcs, take over strongholds, upgrade your character, and collect blips on the world map. After a while it can start feeling like a grind, especially during long play sessions. This is made worse in the final stretch of the game where you have to fight through 20 consecutive stronghold battles without any story segments or exposition.
Con Unskippable cutscenes disrupt the flow of the gameplay
Every time an orc leader enters the screen, there is an unskippable cutscene where he rambles a bit, focusing the camera on him and halting combat until the cutscene ends. This usually happens as you're fighting another enemy, potentially disrupting your rhythm, which can be really frustrating, especially if mess up your combo or take an unnecessary hit after the cutscene.