'Beyond Good & Evil 2': 5 Things We Learned at E3 2018
You can work with Joseph Gordon-Levitt to get your art in the game.
by Jonathan LeeAnd you thought the wait for Beyond Good & Evil 2 couldn’t get any more painful.
Ubisoft offered up a fresh look at the new game during its E3 2018 presentation, and even if we didn’t get a release date it was still pretty great. Narrative director M. Gabrielle Shrager and senior producer Guillaume Brunier walked through some gameplay footage, revealed a major plot point, and were joined by Joseph-Gordon Levitt who had some surprising news.
Here are the top five things we learned about Beyond Good & Evil 2 at E3 2018.
You’re a pirate in a big galaxy
You’ll be playing as a pirate captain in the distant 24th century of Beyond Good & Evil 2. The gameplay demo followed Shani, the getaway driver from the 2017 trailer, as she traversed the towering holy city of Ganesha. The action quickly transitioned from dogfighting in an aircraft, to melee combat, to spaceflight.
However, we probably won’t be playing as Shani. Ubisoft has maintained that players will create custom characters, though Shrager and Brunier didn’t bring it up that detail during today’s the presentation.
Meet the crew, old friends and new
We’ve learned that Dakini, the captain of the Gada shown in the previous trailer, has gone missing. Shani has become captain in her absence.
Shani ejecting from her ship with a nano spacesuit.
Joining her are some new companions. There’s Uma, the mystic medical officer who is practicing a sci-fi version of acupuncture on a patient, and Callum, a jokester who serves as chief engineer. The ship itself also seems to be a character as a self-aware A.I. who shares jabs and flirts with Callum.
Whether our player characters will be leading this crew or another one has yet to be revealed, but the end of the game trailer brought back another blast from the past.
Jade is back
A katana-wielding Jade appeared on the Gada, flanked by two guards dressed in Alpha Section armor, and it wasn’t a warm reception. Pey’j gasped her name in recognition right before she charged towards the crew.
She eventually becomes an investigative journalist and adopts a bunch of orphans. This is not that time.
We don’t know what her role in the game will be yet but it looks like villainy isn’t out of the question. There might even be a redemption story in the works here.
After all, Beyond Good & Evil 2 is a prequel. We know from the first Beyond Good & Evil that Jade will eventually become a kind hero who puts the needs of others before herself, doting over her adoptive uncle Pey’j the orphans under her care.
She’s also a reporter in the first game who goes by the alias Shauni. Maybe the interim captain of the Gada ends up making a big impression on her.
Beyond Good & Evil can be played single-player or in co-op mode
We already knew that the game would be multiplayer, but Ubisoft clarified that this will be an optional choice. Additionally, multiplayer in BGE2 is a co-op experience. So don’t expect any player-vs-player battles.
Ubisoft’s next collaborator can be you and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
You can work with this dude. Yeah, you.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt took the stage to confirm that Ubisoft will be working with his production company, HitRecord. HitRecord produces short films, music, and books by crowdsourcing talent and organizing content makers into teams.
Professionals and amateurs are both invited to contribute to the game’s world. If you’re interest, sign-ups to produce artwork and music for the game are already live.
The music is still dope
I know I said five takeaways but I’m throwing in a bonus because this bears repeating. The music for this game is great. This is very important to me. Part of the reason the first game became a cult classic was the music.
Keep it bumping, and don’t listen to that PRRRRRROPAGANDA.
