Ubisoft took to its Space Monkey Report today to deliver a first look at some Beyond Good and Evil 2 gameplay. The livestream kicked off just after noon, December 10, and while it didn’t show off too much in terms of how the game can be played differently, it showed enough to make all the waiting worthwhile.
The gameplay shown was all pre-alpha footage and is most likely going to be only a distant relative of what we’ll see in the game’s final version. But we also got a look at the game’s developing concept art, with the game’s team explaining some of the game’s lore and features alongside it.
We still don’t know too much, but it was reiterated that Beyond Good and Evil 2 is very much a prequel, with Jade being the game’s antagonist in her role of prolific pirate hunter. Of course, we can expect that to change by the game’s end. We also learnt a little bit more about the life of a pirate in the game, Emile Morel, creative director of Beyond Good and Evil 2, explained that players will be able to build their own crew in the game, choosing from a huge selection of characters in the game.
A lot of what was on offer was a look at how all the fan contributed assets were put to use. You might remember that during E3, the game announced a partnership with Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s HitRecord website. And since then fans and other artistic types have been chipping away, putting together music, background art, and more for the game.
The demo was a repeat of the E3 behind-closed-doors-demo, though this time it’s littered with all the contributions from fans to demonstrate just how much of an effect these contributions have on the game. Immediately the demo shows off a redesigned Moshka’s Gate that is painted on the wall, with the dev team explaining that it was great to see fans using what little information they have to add to the game already.
We also got a look at how different loadouts and routes play a role in the game. The demo showed two players heading for the same objective using different routes. It seems like there’s going to be routes that are catered more towards sneaking around while others throw you out in the open. When the combat inevitably kicked off, we got a first look at the game’s augmentation feature. Similar to other imaginings of augmentations, you’ll be able to find and switch between these mods, using them to blow enemies up or send them flying. The demo only showed a limited selection but we were told that they’ll play a pivotal role in the game.
The demo then took us to Ganesh City, and it looks a bit gorgeous. Now littered with similar fan contributions, the city echoed with faraway music as the two players took up their own chores in the city. By the looks of things, players will be able to split up and go about their own business for as long as they like in the game before meeting up once again to start a mission. This was emphasized by how the demo ended, with one player left of a spaceship while another flew off, apparently hundreds of miles apart yet still in the same game.
Customization was the buzzword of the demo though, with the dev team explaining the importance of creating your own character. You’ll get to choose from a huge selection of DNA to create a pretty unique pirate that’ll be geared towards on playstyle or another. Similarly, we saw the customization for the game’s ships. Players will apparently be able to drive anything they see in the game and wit that you can modify a ship’s look and loadout to change up how a ship can fly and fight.
The demo that was on show will also be playable at the 2019 BGEFest, though just when or where the community event will be held next year isn’t known. Beyond Good and Evil 2 has not yet been given a release date, though with this gameplay only being pre-alpha, a release on the next generation of consoles could be a very real possibility.
