I have very distinct memories of acquiring the original Beyond Good & Evil on PS2 back in late 2003.
For me personally, it was a notably strange time, at least in terms of what I was playing, of what I was staying interested in. We were exiting the fifth generation of gaming (PS1, N64, Dreamcast), an era I still nostalgically romanticize for its creativity and innovation, and I was having some trouble relating to and or getting excited about anything poised to release on the newer consoles. I owned all the heavy hitters, of course: Xbox, GameCube and PS2. The games were…fine. But nothing was particularly invigorating for me, to be completely honest. Except, well, a weird little adventure Ubisoft had cooked up.
In an industry that was moving more toward a muted realism I totally loathed, Beyond Good & Evil stood out like a technicolor sore thumb. The art style was playful, the world map lush, the cast of alien characters wonderfully bizarre. There were strange creatures to photograph, taking a page straight out of Pokémon Snap’s handbook, as well as an interesting story to move through. From the moment I first booted it up, I was hooked. This is what had been missing from my sad, waning gaming buffet.
Fast forward two-ish decades and we’re getting the remastered Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary Edition for every platform under the sun, including PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, PC and Xbox Series X|S. According to PC Gamer, it’s a rather solid re-release, although the game still stutters in odd places like the original allegedly did (I may vaguely remember this).
Also, there’s mention of some off-putting texture work and a neutering of the once-striking comic book color palette, which is a bit dismaying to learn. The article speaks to the PC version specifically, so perhaps the console versions run differently, maybe smoother. Additionally, a new bonus quest has been added to the game that ties this first entry into the in-development-hell Beyond Good & Evil 2, which apparently is still happening, somehow. This is on top of a lauded Anniversary Gallery that sheds light on the game’s retro development.
So yes, a few minor drawbacks to consider, but the remaster is priced at a reasonable $19.99. A fair ask, I think, for what you’re getting here: A simple, accessible way to experience Beyond Good & Evil on modern platforms. Before this, you could only grab Beyond Good & Evil HD on Xbox 360 and PS3, I believe. Is that right? And who has those consoles hooked up anymore? Now you’ve got an enhanced version with all the bells and whistles like trophies/achievements and ‘upgraded’ 4K 60fps visuals (to taste, obviously).
This return to Hillys doesn’t sound perfect by any means, and nothing is, so I’ll definitely be diving back in to enjoy the flawed beauty all over again.
