Sony Debuts New Trailer for 'Beyond: Two Souls' at Tribeca Film Festival [UPDATE: GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE]

Beyond: Two Souls has officially become the first Playstation exclusive game to be recognized by the Tribeca Film Festival. Sony debuted the new trailer at the festival yesterday which highlights the cinematic nature of the game and the performances from its two big-name performers: Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe.

Beyond tells the story of Jodie, a young girl with a mysterious connection to an invisible, supernatural being. The game spans 15 years of her life and explores her evolving relationship with this being while she strives to learn the truth about her past. Sony is touting the game as one of the most emotionally charged games in their library which seems like a bold statement considering the library includes gems like Journey and the upcoming Last Guardian.

Seeing as the game is developed by Quantic Dream (led by David Cage), there is both unabashed excitement and a hesitant optimism expressed by the public. We all remember Indigo Prophecy and Heavy Rain; two games whose innovative gameplay mechanics and cinematic flair was overshadowed only by their tendency to fall apart by the end.

With that said, I find myself undeniably intrigued by the concepts born from this studio. As a big fan of storytelling in gaming, few studios manage to garner as much attention or recognition with every project. While Quantic Dream projects are not typically described as perfect (some would even say they are fundamentally flawed), their willingness to experiment with interactive storytelling has always been enough to justify the price of admission for me.

[UPDATE: Check out the latested peek at the Gameplay in this 35 minute demonstration. It's easy to see why the game is being recognized at a film festival. The voice acting and character animations are a major step up from Heavy Rain and I find myself connecting more with Jodie in this short snippet than I did in much of Heavy Rain. I'm eager to see where this story ends up going but I'm also a little concerned that the game will feel a little light on the gameplay side. Heavy Rain was memorable because it gave you some tough decisions to make but I always felt that it could use a little more physicality and rely a little less heavily on the QTE's. With that said, I am fascinated by the story and the characters already.

Beyond Two Souls is hitting stores in North America on October 8, 2013 and is easily one of my most anticipated games of the year.