Beyond Good & Evil: 20th Anniversary Edition Review (Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Switch & PC)

If I earned a penny for every time I’ve had someone kindly inform me that Ubisoft is on the cusp of finally releasing Beyond Good & Evil 2, I’d no doubt have enough to fund the darn project myself. As it turns out, though, the acclaimed developer is no closer to bringing the sequel to the table now as it was, I don’t know, ten or eleven years ago. In other words, if you came here looking for a sneak preview of the seasoned sequel to the original, then I come bearing bad news: it isn’t happening, nor is it likely to arrive at any point over the next several months, either. Shock horror.

To add a little extra salt to the wound, the folks behind the crumbling franchise have just released Beyond Good & Evil: 20th Anniversary Edition—a fully remastered version of the same game that launched back in 2003, weirdly enough. This time around, however, there are a few additional eggs in the basket: native 4K resolution, 60 frames per second, and a selection of graphical and technical improvements, to round off just a few of its core features. Could this be an early warning to say that, in spite of its best efforts to reignite the wick for a second round, a simple rehash is about as much as it can offer at present? Eh — I’m not about to chalk this one out, I’ll say that much.

Anyway, to get to the point — Beyond Good & Evil: 20th Anniversary Edition has just launched on consoles and PC. The question is, is it a substantial upgrade from its previous iteration, or is it mere filler for a consolation prize that, quite frankly, would’ve been a whole lot better as an entirely different project, i.e, Beyond Good & Evil 2? Let’s talk.

Beyond the Realm of Possibility

To make it absolutely clear, Beyond Good & Evil: 20th Anniversary Edition isn’t a remake, but rather, a remastered version of the original edition that came out back in 2003. What I mean to say here is that, other than a treasure trove of relatively fresh features—enhanced graphics and audio, achievements, and a nifty speed run mode—there isn’t a huge amount of “new” material here. Well, I say that — there are a good amount of technical improvements that make it easier to shovel through, and not to mention a few additional goodies to unlock throughout the story—exclusive access to a behind-the-scenes gallery, and a slew of quality-of-life updates, including a convenient autosave feature and achievements, for example. Aside from all of that, though, the 20th Anniversary Edition is exactly what it says it is on the tin: an open book with a few additional ink blots and pages.

Thankfully, the latest incarnation of Beyond Good & Evil plays a whole lot better than its PC port that launched a fair ways back. Given the fact that the aforementioned emulation of the original game was a mechanical bombshell with one too many technical flaws, I think I can speak for everyone when I say, you know, crisis averted — this isn’t quite on the same scale as that unruly creation. No, 20th Anniversary Edition flows incredibly smoothly, and is in no way shape, or form, marred by jagged physics or shoddy frame rates — which is great, because, again, seeing as we’re no closer to seeing a sequel come to fruition, it seems only fair that we have a genuinely playable rehash to keep us preoccupied. Still, having one rehash of an old game doesn’t necessarily mean we’re able to ignore the fact that there’s a missing piece of the puzzle. Meh.

Behind the Lens

As far as its general plot points go, Beyond Good & Evil isn’t massively different from what we’ve already seen in earlier versions of the game. In a nutshell, the game follows Jade, an action-reporter who, in spite of her best efforts to embark on a relatively simple quest, is engulfed in an epic mystery that just so happens to contain a treasure trove of alien secrets, locations, photo opportunities, and unusual mini-games. On that note, the 20th Anniversary Edition is, more or less, the same game, only with the added bonuses that we touched base on earlier. For the record, it should take you anywhere from eight to eleven hours to beat the main campaign, though this largely depends on how you tackle certain events and puzzles, as well as how many secrets you go out of your way to unearth between story beats.

Similar to the initial incarnation, the gameplay in the remastered version mostly consists of exploring alien landmarks, capturing photographic evidence, and using your trusty fighting stick to wage war against some rather unpleasant foes. Rather conveniently, these elements have all been fully optimized to make the journey feel less sluggish and burdensome, and it’s thanks to the native 4K and fluid frame composition that it rarely dips in quality. Of course, I’m not about to give false marks to something that, to my memory, wasn’t exactly faulty, to begin with, but if that memory serves me correctly, the 20th Anniversary Edition seems like a step in the right direction, at least.

A Stone’s Throw From Humble Beginnings

When all’s said and done, there are plenty of mediocre games that don’t quite deserve the hype these days — but, honestly, Beyond Good & Evil just doesn’t fall into that category; if anything, it deserves the same level of attention as its counterpart, for it’s not only a great game by birthright, but also a cult classic that’s worthy of receiving a second chance. And sure, whilst it isn’t the sequel that we’ve been hell-bent on trying to obtain these past however many years, it’s still a solid piece of sturdy memorabilia that’s deserving of our time. As for whether or not it’ll use the onward momentum to usher in the next chapter of the series, however, is still something of a mystery. Either way, if Ubisoft can pour this amount of detail into a simple remaster, then who’s to say Beyond Good & Evil 2 can’t receive the same treatment?

On another side of the spectrum, I do happen to find one thing to be particularly annoying, and that’s the fact that you need a Ubisoft Connect account to play Beyond Good & Evil. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t a massive pain in the backside to sort out, but, like countless other cult favorites in Ubisoft’s catalog, it’s a hurdle that doesn’t seem entirely necessary. Even still, this is mostly me just nitpicking at this point, so feel free to take it with a grain of salt.

Verdict

Beyond Good & Evil: 20th Anniversary Edition is not only a love letter to the series’ cult legacy, but also a solid introductory piece of memorabilia for those who never quite made the effort to experience it firsthand back in its heyday. Aside from it offering a hearty amount of quality-of-life features and exclusive behind-the-scenes materials, the latest version also takes its original PC counterpart one step further by adding an array of mechanics that are both free-flowing and intuitive, thus making it something of a definitive experience for both returning fans and newcomers alike. In other words, if you’re planning on picking up any copy of Beyond Good & Evil, then this ought to tick all of the right boxes.

Let it be said that, while the positives are clearly plentiful, the 20th Anniversary Edition does fall short in certain areas—the fact that you need a Ubisoft Connect account to be able to play, for example. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t exactly a deal-breaker, though it does add a few unnecessary hurdles to what should otherwise be a touch-and-go experience. But hey — that’s Ubisoft, in a nutshell; if you want to onboard its wealth of content, then you’ll have to pay the toll. For a small fee, though, you can’t really go wrong, as the rewards that idle on the other side of the barricade are not only made to feel beneficial, but nostalgic and, as a result of that, worthy of your time and credentials.

To cut a long story short, yes, you should give the 20th Anniversary Edition some attention, doubly so if you’re either a first timer, or if you just want to cement over the gap that forged by the ever-allusive sequel. We still haven’t forgiven you for that, Ubisoft. And yes, we are crying.