Review - Beyond Good & Evil - 20th Anniversary Edition
Heidi Hawes
Beyond Good & Evil - 20th Anniversary Edition is a wonderful remaster of the beloved Ubisoft classic action adventure game.
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Ubisoft might be known in more recent years for churning out massive open-world games, filled to the brim with tall towers to scale and a myriad of points of interest to investigate, but this wasn’t always the case. Back in the early 2000’s, they published some of the most iconic games of the time, such as the Tom Clancy series, the Prince of Persia franchise, and the Rayman games. They also happened to release one of my personal favorites, Beyond Good & Evil. After receiving high praise from critics and consumers alike, it seemed that a sequel would surely be right around the corner. Well, here we are twenty years later, still with no sequel in sight. Thankfully, for those looking to scratch that itch, we have the Beyond Good & Evil – 20th Anniversary Edition, a carefully crafted remaster with some much needed improvements.

In Beyond Good & Evil you play as Jade, a scrappy young woman who looks after her fellow orphans in the lighthouse on the planet Hillys, alongside her adoptive uncle Pey’J. Struggling to make it as a photojournalist, Jade is finally given a chance to earn some cash by photographing and documenting the local wildlife. Before long she and Pey’J find themselves recruited by an underground rebel group, who task them with using Jade’s photography skills to reveal the truth about the increasing attacks from the ruthless alien race, the DomZ.

One of the reasons why Beyond Good & Evil was so successful was due to its gameplay. As mentioned, Jade is a photographer, so her camera is a huge part of the gameplay. Jade will not only need to take pictures of the wildlife on Hillys, but she’ll also have to infiltrate the compounds of the militaristic Alpha Sections and collect photographic evidence of their villainous schemes. However, it’s not always easy getting the photos of certain beasts, leading to hilarious moments of trying to get a rampaging boss into frame before it pummels you to death.

There’s much more than just taking pictures, though. In Beyond Good & Evil Jade will also have to fight off foes using her trusty daï-jo staff and later, a Gyrodisk Glove that shoots projectiles. Admittedly, the combat is pretty simplistic, but it gets the job done. Along the way, Jade will also have a companion or two to aid her in the fights using their super moves, which gives the combat a little more depth. Her companions can also be called upon to perform special actions like cutting through fences, bashing through gates, or pressing buttons when instructed, which are frequently needed to solve puzzles and get past obstacles.

There are also large sections of the game where Jade will have to use stealth to get past the guards. Most of these sections are relatively simple, but there are a few areas that can be quite a pain. None of the stealth sections have been altered in this version, and long-forgotten frustrations from two decades ago came rushing back when encountering them again. The majority of the stealth parts are fine, but there are a few areas where the guard’s vision seem to cut right through obstructions used for hiding spots, resulting in instant death. Luckily, these are few and far between.

Since Hillys is a planet mostly covered by water, Jade gets to her destinations using her hovercraft. This can be upgraded at the Mamago Garage using pearls as currency. Collecting pearls is essential to upgrading your vehicles enough to progress through the game, and hunting them down is a large chunk of the fun. Although, the hovercraft isn’t just used for travel, there are also several races that Jade can enter, each with the grand prize of a pearl. The races are pretty easy, but still a lot of fun, especially with the improved controls of the Beyond Good & Evil – 20th Anniversary Edition. This also makes chasing down the thieves in the looter’s dens a lot more enjoyable than in the original version.

In addition to this, there are also a few minigames that Jade can play, such as a shell game and an air hockey type of game. If that wasn’t enough gameplay diversity, Beyond Good & Evil – 20th Anniversary Edition has also added a brand-new treasure hunt. While the rewards for this are mostly cosmetic, the treasure hunt also reveals bits about Jade’s past and supposedly sheds some light into her link in the upcoming Beyond Good & Evil 2.

There are quite a few quality of life improvements to Beyond Good & Evil – 20th Anniversary Edition that make the experience even better. As mentioned, the controls are much tighter and responsive. The game also autosaves now after certain checkpoints, which is a huge plus. Now you don’t have to worry about losing huge chunks of progress if you die and haven’t been able to save at a disc reader in a while. There’s also the option to skip cutscenes, which is useful for the new Speedrun Mode. This mode times your playthrough and doesn’t allow for any saves whatsoever. Masochists rejoice!

There have also been a lot of visual enhancements in Beyond Good & Evil – 20th Anniversary Edition. The graphics have been upgraded to 4K resolution, with more detailed character models, improved textures, and much more dynamic lighting. The game also runs at a stable 60fps and has quick loading times.

The sound design has also had quite the overhaul, at least when it comes to the music. The soundtrack has been re-recorded with a live orchestra, breathing more life into the iconic tunes. Although, some of the vocals still seem to uneven in terms of volume, just like in the original version. The sound effects are still solid all around, which is especially important for listening for creatures to take pictures of or detecting the movements of the patrolling Alpha Sections.

It’s clear that a lot of love and care has gone into Beyond Good & Evil – 20th Anniversary Edition. The graphics and soundtrack have had a full overhaul, and some much needed QoL improvements make the playing experience far more enjoyable. The inclusion of the treasure hunt that delves more into Jade’s past make me hopeful that we’ll finally get Beyond Good & Evil 2 someday, but I’ll temper my expectations until it’s confirmed. Until then, I’m more than happy to explore the wonders of Hillys in Beyond Good & Evil – 20th Anniversary Edition.

Beyond Good & Evil – 20th Anniversary Edition is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.

Reviewed on PlayStation 5.