Beyond Good & Evil: A brief, spoiler-free tour

While Beyond Good & Evil received excellent review scores that ranged from the low eighties to the low nineties (out of 100), if anything, it appears to have been underrated, as theteaser trailerfor the sequel led to hundreds of forum posts in all caps that amounted to pretty much the word "yay" and "omg!" repeated ad infinitum. So, given that the main character’s bra cup size appears entirely proportional to her body and the game’s complete lack of machine guns, hookers, and celebrity voiceovers, what exactly did Ancel’s game offer that captured so many hearts and minds?

Let’s take a look.

A Pig in Jet Boots

A story-driven game that doesn’t give you characters that you can care about is a game with big problems. Beyond Good & Evil gave us “Uncle” Pey’j, Jade’s portly companion throughout the game who can be seen snorting flies in the teaser trailer shown at the Ubidays press event.


Above: Bringing home the bacon

OK, technically, he’s not a pig. He’s more like a boar. Whatever. A friend of Jade’s late father, Pey’j is friend and confidante to Jade, as well as a mechanic, handyman, and inventor (he wears homemade jet boots!). From the game’s first minutes, Pey’j demonstrates all the qualities of your very best friend: He’s funny, loyal, observant, understanding, kind, and he isn’t above giving you the occasional sass or dressing-down when you need it. Backed up by the funniest and most spot-on voice acting this side of Glottis from Grim Fandango, Pey’j’s curmudgeonly companionship puts some serious urgency later on in the game when his fate becomes linked with Jade’s mission.

Air Hockey


Above: The picture says it all

CATEGORIES
Latest in Action
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
Naoe looks over at a dense, lush, green forest in Assassin's Creed Shadows from a viewpoint
Getting Assassin's Creed Shadows on PS5 and Xbox Series X was all about adding "dynamism" to the open world, but the devs seem most proud about the trees
Naoe and Yasuke walk in the sunset in a screenshot from Assassin's Creed Shadows
Following Assassin's Creed Shadows controversy, Baldur's Gate 3 publishing director says "every big AAA game could be better," but players shouldn't be mad "just because some dude told you to"
Assassin's Creed Shadows Wanted Status
How to remove Wanted status in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Naoe kills a target with a black and white filter over the camera highlighting the red of blood spray in Assassin's Creed Shadows, with an On The Radar orange frame
Assassin's Creed Shadows "has a little bit of Tarantino flavor", but its real secret ingredient is intrigue: "It's almost like you're watching an episode of Shogun"
God of War
20 years later, God of War's original monster art has been revealed: behold this army of stick figures slapped on a whiteboard, no clue Kratos is coming for them
Latest in Features
Naoe kills a target with a black and white filter over the camera highlighting the red of blood spray in Assassin's Creed Shadows, with an On The Radar orange frame
Assassin's Creed Shadows "has a little bit of Tarantino flavor", but its real secret ingredient is intrigue: "It's almost like you're watching an episode of Shogun"
Helldivers 2 Borderline Justice Warbond helldiver using hoverpack to shoot down with hunting rifle
Talking points from the Game Developers Conference 2025 and how they could impact the future of gaming
Flexispot E7 Plus with plant, monitor, soundbar, and controller on top next to white wall lighting.
Gaming desks vs regular desks: which surface should you buy?
Google Pixel 9a smartphones on a beige background
One Google Pixel 9a feature could make it a better gaming phone than most budget mainstream models
Yasuke and Naoe ready to fight on the Assassin's Creed Shadows On The Radar thumbnail
On The Radar: Assassin's Creed Shadows coverage hub
Captain Planet #1
Captain Planet is back after 33 years with a "sexy" makeover and a message that's as important as ever: "Reality has gotten a lot less subtle"