Ubisoft
Beyond Good & Evilis back , thanks to anew 20th Anniversary Editionfrom Ubisoft and Virtuos . It upgrades the Greco-Roman plot ’s visuals for forward-looking platforms , implement achievements and a speedrun musical mode , and even supply a new questline that tightens the original ’s connection to the still - in - developmentBeyond Good & vicious 2.Beyond Good & Evilwas in advance of its time in many ways when it primitively plunge in 2003 , and I ’m glad this re - departure for its anniversary will make the biz much more easily accessible for a whole new generation .
All of those features will in all likelihood be what most histrion make up attention toBeyond Good & Evil — 20th Anniversary Editionfor . But for those like myself who like to instruct more about the development of games and see how they will evolve over fourth dimension , the Anniversary Gallery hidden in the remaster ’s bonus menu is by far the most exciting feature article .
Ubisoft
One of my favored current video game remaster trends is when developers share plus or insights from the biz ’s creation . This can come from unsubdivided plus museums like the one inRocket Knight Adventures : Re - Sparkedor the developer commentary and lost levels ofThe Last of Us Part II Remastered . Currently , the king of the remaster is Digital Eclipse , which trailblazed a new timeline - base , playable documentary plan of attack through games likeAtari 50and its Gold Master serial . When I tick the “ Bonus ” option onBeyond Good & Evil — 20th Anniversary Edition’smain menu and catch that there was an Anniversary Gallery , I expected something interchangeable to what was inRocket Knight Adventures : Re - Sparked . That ’s why I was dismayed to see it was more like Digital Eclipse ’s work .
Once I entered the Anniversary Gallery , I visualise it split into several parts covering everything fromBeyond Good & Evil’sconception phase to its launching . Picking any of those pick then bring players to a miscellany of dissimilar galleries about that part ofBeyond Good & Evil’sdevelopment . Going through all these gallery chronologically , I gain ground a greater understanding of how the Ubisoft Montpellier game evolved from its inception in the saltation of 1999 to its expiration in the crepuscle of 2003 . Each drift boast a variety of assets about a specific topic ; the undecomposed ones feature image , music , and footage from early prototypes that did n’t make it into the final plot .
Did you know that Jade was originally named Sally or that the DomZ were n’t originally the principal antagonist ofBeyond Good & Evil ? Interesting tidbits like that make the Anniversary Gallery enthrall for both diehard fan of this game and anyone concerned in game development . It ’s the kind of transparence into the game creation process that I think the industry could use much more of , even if it ’s doing all this for a secret plan released over 20 years ago . It even offer up some teases forBeyond Good & Evil 2 , such as highlight that Pey’j was referred to as a crossbreed ringer during the original ’s developing and tease that this is “ a notion that will very much be developed in a next prequel . ”
This is a lineament I would like to see Ubisoft implement in other games , remasters or not . Perhaps the long - awaited remake ofPrince of Persia : The Sands of Timecould have an Anniversary Gallery about the original , orAssassin ’s Creed Shadowscould tender more sixth sense into how Ubisoft bring the serial to Japan . If Ubisoft decides to revisit this idea , there are some clear region for betterment . On a presentation story , being capable to break , tight forward , or rewind videos would be a helpful summation . I ’d also like the Anniversary Gallery to be more at the forefront of the package and not entomb behind a couple of menu like it is here .
On the content front , I ’d also wish to see it pay more attending to the human stories behind these games . The Anniversary Gallery allow for a capture looking at into the development ofBeyond Good & Evil , but it ’s solely focused on the software system . Unlike games such asAtari 50 , it never really occupy with the human element of development outside of one anecdote about Ubisoft Montpellier ’s studio apartment flooding mid - development . This became noticeable to me when the gallery ’s comment proclaimed , “ It ’s mid - April , and the squad needs to grow the communication asset in less than a calendar month , ” ahead of E3 2002 without really cope with whether that entail they had to cranch to get there .
As someone fascinated by the physical process of game development , I jazz what ’s already here from a software development position . impart that human element to the story of the game ’s ontogenesis just would ’ve pushed it over the border to be on par with the likes ofThe devising of KaratekaorLlamasoft : The Jeff Minter Storyfrom Digital Eclipse . Still , I appreciate this in - profundity ( if carefully curated ) look intoBeyond Good & Evil‘s exploitation flat from Ubisoft . While the Anniversary Gallery is easy to miss if you do n’t explore the menus , everyone who picks the remaster up should check it out .
Beyond Good & Evil — 20th Anniversary Editionis available now for PC , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X / S , Nintendo Switch , and Amazon Luna .
