Beyond Good & Evil - 20th Anniversary Edition - Out Now!
Is a sequel to the cult classic Beyond Good & Evil coming? Yes, no, we still don't know. Anyway, for now Ubisoft is releasing the original as a remaster. Most fans are delighted, some critics want more.
Sure, we all would have preferred a complete remaster of Beyond Good & Evil to mark the 20th anniversary of the classic. But then everything happened surprisingly quickly and a few days ago Ubisoft pulled the first trailer for a remaster version out of the hat, which you can watch here. Remaster, not remake. So let's just accept the fact that the Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary Edition, which is already available, has "only" undergone a modernisation and fine-tuning process so that the highly acclaimed action-adventure game can be played comfortably on current platforms - with some advantages over the original version and even new content. Will the successor that was announced ages ago be released after all? Rumour has it that the new content in the Beyond Good & Evil remaster could build a bridge to a sequel.
Fortunately, the story doesn't change.Aliens are causing trouble for the inhabitants of the planet Hyllis and the Alpha Special Forces are making a name for themselves by repeatedly fending off attacks from the extra-Hyllians. Together with her adoptive uncle Pey'j (yes, the man with the pig face, a "sus sapiens", i.e. "swine humanoid"), the investigative reporter and later heroine Jade, who you control, finds herself caught between two stools, so to speak, traversing a dazzling, sometimes grotesque-looking game world, solving puzzles, fighting smaller and larger monsters and taking the odd photo along the way. After all, Jade is a journalist and has many a secret to uncover in the game - perhaps even a larger conspiracy. If she can document bizarre alien creatures with her camera, all the better.
Beyond Good & Evil (BGE for short) scores points above all with its humour and story design. Be prepared for exciting twists and turns in the narrative and don't expect narrative monotony. Ubisoft's then developer Michel Ancel (Rayman) also did a good job of presenting the plot surrounding the DomZ alien attacks. Beautifully cut scenes which skillfully captivate you and you simply want to know how the adventure of Jade and her friends Pey'j and ex-alpha soldier Double H will continue. And if you feel like it, you can pass the time with mini-games in between.
What's new in the Beyond Good and Evil Remaster
Ubisoft has updated the achievable achievements and integrated a new speedrun mode into the Beyond Good & Evil remaster. The developers are also giving fans a look back at the work that went into BGE, talking from the inside and providing various additional background information on the game in a special Anniversary Gallery for the BGE 20th Anniversary Edition.
The studio has also brought the remaster of the original game, which was originally released at the end of 2003, into the year 2024 with a number of technical improvements, including better lighting and shadow effects, a more vivid game world, reworked texture mapping and, with a resolution of 4K at 60 FPS, players can look forward to clean edges and smooth scrolling. Ubisoft has also remastered the soundtrack of Beyond Good & Evil and updated the sound in general. Other new functions contribute to the ease of play, such as the autosave function, the option to skip cutscenes and Ubisoft has also thought of a cross-save feature. Especially nice: New treasure hunts and an additional bonus mission provide the remastered hit game with fresh content.
The remastered Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary Edition is available now on Gamesplanet.
