Is Enslaved This Generation's Beyond Good & Evil?

Every generation has one game, one game that is critically acclaimed, innovative, and an all around solid gaming experience that for some reason just doesn’t resonate with the audience. Last generation no game exemplified this better than Beyond Good and Evil. This generation? It's Enslaved.

[wwm0nkey]

No Beyond Good and Evil was a good game.

[ASTAROTH]

You are right... Beyond Good and Evil was just awesome. Enslaved is just a good game... BTW are they trying to hype this game more so maybe they can reach the milion mark selling the copies left on stores for 20 bucks?

[gorebago]

It's worth $20 bucks just to own and perhaps play every couple of years. I tried to replay it upon beating it and couldn't do it. Not because I didn't like it - quite the contrary, it was awesome but because I had no motivation.

I would like to see a sequel though. It has a closed but open ending.

It was kind of like one giant animated film and I find it hard to rewatch movies right away. I am glad that I just rented it.

[Chaos69]

I remeber playing Byond good and Evil at the time and it was trash. Now everyone thinks it's the best game ever.

Same thing will happan for Enslaved; in 10 years time people will be calling it the "game that defined this generation"

[PS3Freak]

This game is worth $20. I enjoyed it, not much replayability, but it was fun while it lasted.

[captain-obvious]

crappy game (Enslaved) =/= good game (Beyond Good & Evil)

end of story

[AAACE5]

Not a chance for a sequel! The bad thing is that nearly all of Ninja Theory's games went overlooked!

Kung fu chaos (Xbox) was ignored. Heavenly Sword (Ps3) gained little attention, but was ultimately ignored. And now probably the studios final attempt is failing as well.

It's always sad when such a talented developer doesn't know how to interact with the gaming public.

[Shane Kim]

I must be the only one who disliked beyond good and evil.

[ASTAROTH]

@CHAOS69

The thing is that Beyond good and Evil was an innovative 90% plus masterpiece.

Enslaved. . . even if it is worth the 20 I payed for on the PS3... is not in the same league. Its just a good game with elements of Prince of Persia and UC2. Not bad but not in the classic status of BGand E.

Ohh and a cult classic is different. It coould be a game with average reviews and sales, but a loved one. Example: FOLKLORE... one of the best game of the generation that almost no one played but the people that do play it love it.

[HolyOrangeCows]

It was a crappy game. The platforming was just short of being automatic and the combat was absolutely nothing special or interesting.

That game was just lucky it had high production values and a pre-written story to poorly rip off, or else not even these persons would write all of these "ZOMG hidden gemz!!!" articles.

[Orange]

I really liked Enslaved. The story is based on a classic tale, and the acting and motion cap was fantastic. But haters gonna hate.

[TheDivine]

Yea great facial animation, graphics, story, art design, and most of all it flowed and played so well. Loved the platforming and the ending was great imo. Way better than heavenly sword. The most underappreciated game of this gen behind alan wake if you ask me. I cant believe how people cant hate on this game its one of the best ive ever played.

[I_Guts_I]

Heavenly sword puts this game to shame.

[NeoBasch]

You know, even though it wasn't that great and left a lot to be desired, I still appreciated the effort. It was a worthwhile purchase. I'd love to see what they'd do with a sequel.

[Balt]

No, but it is beyond bad. Not in a good way neither.

[WayneKerr]

The game was fantastic, Shame about the ps3 fanboy hate campaign.

[Lou-Cipher]

People dont dislike this game because they are PS3 fanboys, they dislike this game because it was a boring game that took a big step back from what they accomplished with Heavenly Sword.

There is no PS3 fanboy conspiracy going on against this game. It sucked no matter what platform/s you might be loyal to.

The game wasn't fun, and Im suprised I even finished it.

[Orange]

"it was a boring game that took a big step back from what they accomplished with Heavenly Sword"

Seriously? Did we play the same games? Tell us what was accomplished with Heavenly Sword that was not accomplished in Enslaved? Other than a 2 hour shorter running time.

Dislike Enslaved all you want, it's a matter of taste, but your comparison to Heavenly Sword is nonsense.

[Redempteur]

@orange

remember the long list of combos when you hit pause with heavenly sword ?

wHere is it in enslaved again ?

boring battles + boring platforming = ?????

[wwm0nkey]

Oh yes Wayne its not because the gameplay was god awful. The story was simi interesting but other than that it was all bad.

[Fishy Fingers]

360s equally shocking sales were due to the PS3 fanboys too?

[user858621]

they still upset dante wont be running about with white hair and topless.......

[Fallouts]

lol..

[BoNeSaW23]

Shame you think this game was fantastic.

[Reibooi]

There was no PS3 Fanboy hate campaign. It was as simple as the fact that PS3 fans saw Ninja Theory at the top of their game with Heavenly Sword and in most ways Enslaved was a massive disappointment compared to Heavenly Sword(which still had a few issues of it's own but was overall a much better game)

The fact that the game sold so low on BOTH consoles and the fact that it only had average reviews shows that the game didn't turn out as good as it should have. It's a shame because it's most likely a look at what will happen to the DMC reboot which is already off to a terrible start thanks to the new Dante's look which is just laughable.

[callahan09]

Good comment, Reibooi. I love my PS3, and I bought Enslaved precisely *because* I was a big fan of Heavenly Sword and thought it was a criminally underrated game, so I wanted to support Ninja Theory and I had faith it would be a good game. I don't know if it's fair to blame PS3 gamers for its relative un-success.

[afterMoth]

Everybody is entitle to opinions even if it is horrible tastes in video gaming such like WayneKerr has. People like you give lackluster developers enough hope to put out more games to make a buck.

Enslaved was an interesting idea that was poorly executed in the most important aspect, gameplay! If your core gameplay sucks (which it does in this case), well then I'm not going to want to spend 5 hours or longer playing it.

To be fair, I didn't play more than the demo. but lets be real, it is the developers fault if putting out a crappy demo kills their sells figures. I read the final game didn't fixed the gameplay at all though so I'm not worried about missing anything. The graphics certainly don't improve from the demo.

[Orange]

"To be fair, I didn't play more than the demo."

To be fair, this line says it all.

[Soldierone]

The game was held back. There are plenty of "PS3 Fanboy Hate" things, there are plenty for 360...yet those games still do fine. Cant blame it on that.

[PsycheMax]

Agreed. Enslaved is a good game like Beyond Good and Evil was. Only one thing to add, BG&E was not that masterwork.

[Aussiegamer]

Why is their so many articles about enslaved? I played it finished it, and trust me it wasn't anything special. Lucky I got the game for $20 or I wouldn't have bought it either.

[RememberThe357]

No. Beyond Good & Evil was a special game. There has not been one like it this gen and I really don't think developers will take a risk on the title like that again. It's similar to Okami in that the game was a risk that didn't really pay off financially, but had a charm to it that made you forget all the bad stuff.

I loved the character interaction between Trip and Monkey - it rivaled a Hollywood production. But that doesn't make up for the uninspired combat, weak graphics, and poor ending.

[Trroy]

Enslaved was okay. BG&E was awesome. I'm not seeing the relationship.

[Figboy]

Not by a long shot. Stop comparing arguably mediocre games to inarguably amazing games.

Enslaved is by no means a turd, but it's no Beyond Good and Evil.

The problem I have with this generation of gamers is that so many games are getting unfair and unrealistic expectations heaped upon them by the media, then they wonder why the game "failed to deliver on the hype," and why it went wholly unrecognized by the masses.

If there was a game this gen that I'd compare to BG&E if I HAD to, it'd be Folklore.

Like BG&E, it was charming, had great art design, great music, a compelling story, and addictive game play. It also went unappreciated by the gamers, only to have them come around and praise it when it was too late.

Enslaved may have had interesting art design, but kind of fell flat in other areas.

[Reibooi]

Amen to that. Folklore is one of the best games this gen in my opinion and it was so painfully overlooked. Even in Japan it didn't really do that well which surprised me considering how incredible it was.

It's sad because it could have become a great franchise as the story kinda leaves the world open for the characters despite their own stories being wrapped up and complete.

There were so many things about that game that just took my breath away. Sure it wasn't technically the most graphically impressive game but it had such incredible art direction that it looks beautiful to this day and the characters still remain in my mind as well.

It's hard to really compare BG&E but you are 100% right that both were incredible games largely overlooked by gamers and the media in general only to be recognized when it was to late. At least with BG&E we are getting a sequel(even if it is taking forever and a half to make)

[dragonyght]

it was a launched titles the install was way too small back then both Folklore and heavenly sword suffer greatly because of that if they decide to have release a sequel right now it would be a different story

[Redempteur]

i agree on many points . BG&E had MANY gameplay elements still unique to this day .. from the upgradable hovercraft , fihgting system ( simple but effective ) , or just the photographic gameplay ( be it in a story or just to explore ).

I remember playing skies of arcadia, i explored not to gain xp but to find treasure/hidden elements ... in BG&E i had the same feeling hoping to find a unseen creature ...

BG&E only flaw is that it was released WITH prince of persia sand of time & splinter cell ..it was hard to compete with THAT for such a UNIQUE game.

EVEN the soundtrack is amazing

[Dr Face Doctor]

Not even Beyond Good and Evil had as many invisible walls and scripted action as Enslaved.

[jetlian]

to argue but its also a 2003 game which was a whole generation ago

[Kon]

Hugely underrated game. I don't get all the hate.

[-MD-]

This is one of the few games in the last 2 years that's actually fun to play.

[NeoTribe]

Than maybe its time to trade in the sega genesis.

[HeavenlySnipes]

X^D that made me laugh for real

[NeoTribe]

I rented it for 9 bucks and felt ripped off. I thought it was a pathetic game for this generation. The upgrading was incredibly weak and pretty pointless. the staff that u used all game was extremely gay and never looked cooler when upgraded. I went through the game saying to myself ''its gotta get better''. Sadly it never did. How can u say this game was good? plz state somethin innovative that they implemented in this that hasnt been done. Everything they did do in it was weak sloppy rushed garbage. If u want to play a game like this thats actually worth currency, go play uncharted 1 and 2.

[soundslike]

A lot of people knew why the game could be good, but chose not to tell the company that such short linear games are worth 60 bucks.

I have to say, I knew people would try this "underrated" spiel as soon as it was reviewed. Yea rooting for the underdog is great....except when that underdog is overpriced, too short, and lacking any real feeling of interaction with the compelling environment and story.

[sickbird]

Bought it for 15 bucks as few weeks back, havent started it yet.

[CrescentFang]

Valkyria Chronicles? Though I guess a Japanese game can't be one due to more American kids and teenagers playing more non-japanese games? I don't know if that is true, just a guess, but when referring as "this generation's Beyond Good & Evil" one would expect a western made game that is underrated and did poorly in sales? (I haven't played anything here besides VC though)

[SCW1982]

Fun while it lasted but some bad level design decisions and crappy controls made it not a very memorable experience.

[macky301]

How dare them compare it to Beyond Good and Evil,..

It is ridiculous,.. Beyond good and evil is to this day a lesson to people of characterization and great game design.. Where there are so many elements of gameplay intertwined so beautifully,..Same goes with Psychonauts,..

It is far from perfect game,.. (there are things in BGE that were ,..kinda sucky) but If I had to choose,.. I would probably still rather replay BGE even on PS2/xbox any day over Enslaved ,.. it is not just a classic for no fucking reason,.. It is really a great game,..

[sashimi]

IT just wasn't a good game, i love how the gaming media keeps scream and yelling trying to make a big deal about Enslaved when it is simply nothing special. It sold poorly on Ps3 & 360 so ya it flopped pretty hard not to mention all the performance problems

The game also had crappy story with little depth. WTH was with that ending srsly and Trip, she belongs in the kitchen and with tape on her mouth cause she is just bossy as hell.Also yay she frees monkey when monkey only has one choice, either fight for his life or die, yup what a choice.

It was a ok game that barely sold deal with it, it isn't a great/fantastic/memorable game.

[edwineverready]

Simple answer NOOOOOO

[Soldierone]

Enslaved was a good idea of a good game. It had things going for it, but the studio decided to go multi at the wrong time. They couldnt afford to build a new engine, so they used Unreal Engine. Which didt work out too well. It made the game look a little less than spectacular, created several broken gameplay elements, and what they wanted to do couldnt be done.

If the game had a better engine it would of done fine.

[palaeomerus]

Given the sales for Enslaved it's a pretty good bet that few here ever played the game. Not that fanboys ever make much sense when praising or hating games anyway. It's all just a lot of sad bullshit from morons fighting a pointless war in the name of corporations who probably actually really despise them.

[whydoyouask]

Why the heck is Beyond Good and Evil thought of as the second coming of Christ? It was a good game when it came out, that was it.

[TheoreticalParticle]

Enslaved is a C/C+ game. I rented it and beat it in 2 days, and was pretty glad I didn't pay for it. The levels are designed poorly and the attack tracking is beyond worthless. (I'd be trying to finish off an enemy and because momentum of a combo would carry me past a bot on the 2nd swing, it would then decide that where I wanted to target my next 2-3 swings would be at the air in the between two enemies.)

As far as the story goes, it's incredibly stupid. There's a scene where the girl sees a fishtank terrarium and she talks about how the fish have been alive for 100 years, describing how the fish eat the plankton, then the big fish eat the smaller fish, and everything's cool.

NO. The big fish eat the small ones, AND THEN THERE ARE NO MORE SMALL FISH, and then the big fish DIE. This terrarium's top part of the pyramid would collapse within 1-2 years.

Then there's the whole problem with the "big reveal" at the end, which only creates more plot holes.

With this story, it's basically on par with how awful Heavenly Sword's story is.

[VictoriousB13]

Enslaved was great. The hate it has received is mostly from people who are still mad they didn't get a sequel to Heavenly Sword.

[Hayabusa 117]

Teh, glad I didn't play Beyond good and Evil then if that's the case.

[mightyboot]

i might buy this for my PS2 its really cheap by now. (BGnE)

Enslaved seems a fun experience but it got overrated for sure (and Heavenly Sword was even more). there´s much better games that those 2 with ratings around 6´s and 7´s by the media like 'Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom' and 'Yakuza 4' for example.

I stoped caring about the media for quite a while by now and it feels so much better not to 'listen'

[macky301]

Bro get it when it is on PSN,.. It will be full HD and 10USD,.. apparently they did some modeling and even texture work on it also,.. so it is not just a PC port,..
Though you can probably get it cheaper for PC or PS2 ,..
It is still a great game,..

[mightyboot]

lol thanks for reminding me that i can get it for PC its better resolution than full HD and much cheaper.

[Ashriel]

I think Mirror's Edge is more like the BG&E of this generation.

[anubis56]

The game was trash

[finnhima]

I remember my using my christmas money to buy beyond good and evil after watching some previews of it on g4's pulse (back when g4 was a show about games only and not that other bullcrap now). I played it and immediately fell in love. It was one of the best ps2 games I had ever played. I was quite disheartened to see that it didnt get the recognition it deserved. To me, it was an unforgettable masterpiece.

Now as for enslaved being this generations beyond good and evil?! lol. not by a longshot. The game was only slightly above average at best, and the story was forgettable. There was nothing about it that made me want to play it again, after I beat it. Unlike Beyond good and evil, which ive played and beaten in double digits.

I liked kung fu chaos, I throughly enjoyed heavenly sword, and I tolerated enslaved. It was by no means a "GREAT" experience. And ninja theory made their own beds when it comes to the poor sales that this game received. All that "better than uncharted 2" and that "Heavenly sword sold like crap." and that "we blame sony" stuff really makes them look like ignorant sore losers, and not respective developers.

Oh and also, no one at ninja theory can't say with a straight face that they modeled dante's look after Tammem antionades, who to me looks busted and horrible.

[Baka-akaB]

no frickin' way . In a few years no one will care and request an "hd re-release" on some future console , unlike Beyond Good and evil .

[spunnups]

For someone that truly enjoyed Heavenly Sword, is it possible to like Enslaved as well?

[Tuxedo_Mask]

When will game reviewers realize that just because they think a game is great doesn't mean that everyone else will and flock to the stores to buy it?

[Hellbound1978]

Enslaved was alright but, nothing special. BG&E on the other hand was amazing and I really felt a connection\fondness for the characters. Any problems I had with Enslaved were because of the glitchy Unreal engine (or NT's use of it). IMO Unreal as an engine has not truly enhanced or benefited any game this gen that used it (outside the few made by Epic)! Multi-platform devs are too cheap or lazy to create their own engines. A well optimized original engine will always perform better than sloppily thrown together Unreal code.

[Corrwin]

I was wondering this last night when playing Enslaved. It certainly touches on the greatness of BG&E, but fails to remain consistent.

The characters, atmosphere and music were spot on, but the story was stretched (which is saying something for a < 10 hour game), the combat repetitive, and the game was full of padding.

It could have been a perfect 6 hour game, but instead they made a 10 hour flawed one.