The long-awaited Beyond Good and Evil 2 is finally in pre-production.
After 13 years, fans of the original Beyond Good and Evil cult video game, finally have reasons to celebrate. Though a lot of teasing was done in the past, by the gaming giant, today Ubisoft have finally announced the much-awaited sequel was in the works. We probably won’t know its true name for a long time, so for now, let it just be called Beyond Good and Evil 2.
Michel Ancel, the designer of the original game, is set to team up with Ubisoft Montpelier.
On his Instagram account, Montpelier wrote: “Game in pre-production – Stay tuned!”
There isn’t much to add regarding this early stage of the game’s development, as neither Ancel nor the company will release any further details.
For those who don’t remember (and I’m not sure how many actually do), 2003’s Beyond Good and Evil was a surreal retro-sci-fi action-adventure stealth game which took the player’s imagination way beyond its long list of attributes. There was no intrinsic dreamlike quality to it, but instead, the players quickly discovered (SPOILERS!) how emotionally wrecking the death of an anthropomorphic pig could be.
The story’s protagonist was Jade, an orphaned girl, raised by her adoptive pig uncle, Pey’J. Together they live on the planet Hillys, a mining operation on the edge of the galaxy and under constant threat of being attacked by the evil DomZ. Instead of breathtaking towers and bright neon ads, the local architecture has a sort of European Renaissance architecture vibe, reminding us more of Venice (yes, there’s a bit of boating too) than of Coruscant.
The gameplay was also a weird mix, ranging from full on insect bashing combat, to frustrating stealth levels that could bring about the character’s instant death. One feature let Jade, a photojournalist by day, take pictures of all the animal species of Hillys. And there’s space whale! Towards the end of the game you can a photograph an actual space whale, which is sort of like this game’s version of Mewtwo.
Though not even close to masterpiece and not financially successful, Beyond Good and Evil is fondly remembered for its challenging gameplay, wacky art, captivating storyline, and the ridiculous amount of imagination that was put into its creation.
We’re sure that with the original lead designer on board and with today’s gaming technology, the sequel will be nothing short of spectacular.
Image source: Flickr
