Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary Edition Review – Long Live Hillys

Beyond Good & Evil is widely considered to be among the greatest video games of all time. 20 years after its release, fans still pore over every aspect of the game, from top to bottom. Although I didn’t play the original, I didn’t think twice to jump into the anniversary edition, especially since Ubisoft is reportedly working on its prequel. After playing through challenging levels, heartbreaking character arcs, and an innovative world of Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary Edition, I can safely say that I agree with countless fans and am eagerly standing with them in the limbo waiting room for Beyond Good & Evil 2.

A Tale of Powerful Journalism

Protagonist Jade is a photojournalist who works with an underground resistance group called IRIS to expose a military force partnering with enemy aliens known as the DomZ. While simple, the plot is filled to the brim with memorable characters and story beats that genuinely brought tears to my eyes. The characters have incredible depth, which I often overlooked because of their quirky and silly dialogue. However, just when I felt like I wasn’t attached to a character, Beyond Good & Evil immediately changed my mind. This was especially so with the deuteragonist Pey’J, an anthropomorphic pig.

Zooming out, I was also impressed at the developer’s handling of political propaganda themes and the reaction of radical groups rallying for those who cannot defend themselves. Again, it’s under a midsized layer of goofy quirkiness, but it reminded me that the underlying message and theme were well-thought-out.

Keep A Good Amount of K-Bups On You

It could be me as a player, but Beyond Good & Evil is a challenging platformer. You only control Jade throughout with two weapons with which to attack. You can command whoever is traveling with you remotely to use special attacks, but I found it fruitless most times, resulting in me fighting alone while they attacked as NPCs. It’s easy to load up on K-Bups, the primary source of health in the game, but I found myself chugging them down one after another.

The controls feel like a game from the early 2000s, and I was a little disappointed that there would be forced camera angles at inconvenient times. When I saw it was the anniversary edition, I assumed that small inconveniences like these would have been smoothed out. They never detrimentally affected my playthrough, but I noticed them pop up more than I would have liked.

I Can’t Stop Singing “Propaganda”

The world of Beyond Good & Evil is rather large, and there are many places to explore on your journey to find Pearls and exchange them at Mammago Garage. Besides exploring Hillys because of the story, Ubisoft did an incredible job creating a world I genuinely wanted to explore. Not long after starting, I immediately unlocked different radars to search the map for Pearls and animals I needed to photograph. Of course, it’s no open-world RPG like some triple-A titles, but it’s still big for a game released in 2003.

The soundtrack in Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary Edition is also one of the most engaging I’ve heard in a long time. I immediately looked it up on Spotify to add some of my favorites, including Propaganda from the Akuda Bar. Every location had appropriate music that helped immerse me in whatever was happening on-screen. If you vibe with the game’s tracks, Christophe Héral’s work for Beyond Good & Evil is something everyone should check out!

Let’s Visit Hillys!

Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary Edition was an absolute joy to play, and I finally understand the hype behind it. My experience was the perfect mix of everything I enjoy about video games, including the length of time to finish, character development, and the soundtrack. Whereas I had always known about its existence and the infamous development journey of its sequel/prequel, I am now eagerly waiting for Beyond Good & Evil 2 with everyone else. If you’re a fan of Jak & Daxter or Ratchet & Clank, this is a classic you should not miss out on.