Kena: Bridge of Spirits borrows a lot of elements from more definitive games. It’s a good game, but not a great one, and as I say in my review, I think that’s the reason why. In fact, I think that’s what holds any game back from being labelled ‘great’ - is it one other devs will care about in the next five or ten or twenty years? Kena isn’t, but hey, I really liked it. We’ve already compared it to Breath of the Wild, Jedi: Fallen Order, and the PS2’s collection of platformers on the site, so I don’t want to keep going on about it. It’s like a lot of things, aye? You get the idea. One of the things it reminded me of most however was Beyond Good and Evil, and that, in turn, reminded me that we still don’t have Beyond Good and Evil 2. Yo, Ubisoft, what’s up with that?
I get that things have been a bit turbulent at Ubisoft recently. Around a year ago, details emerged of Ubisoft’s toxic workplace culture - in the year since, we’ve seen many significant departures, but also reports that the core issues have not been addressed. These issues were exacerbated when it was revealed that Skull & Bones has been stuck in development hell for years, with the game even being reset multiple times while executives decided whether we were going to play as the pirates or as the boats. I understand why things have been a little quiet on the old Beyond Good and Evil 2 front. But after so many years without even a peep, Kena reminded me why I keep hoping.
If given the option between ‘I get to play a new game’ or ‘Ubisoft fixes its internal problems’, the choice is easy. But even while those problems remain, Ubi is still pumping out games on the regular. On the one hand, it feels insensitive to ‘demand’ Beyond Good and Evil 2 right now, but on the other, it feels like a lot of devs will have poured their soul into reviving a beloved but underrated classic, and we have nothing to show for their efforts.
Let’s go back to the start. Beyond Good and Evil 2 was teased all the way back in 2008, seemingly being cancelled before a re-revealat E3 2017. That’s already not a great start, but hey, Michel Ancel, the series creator and father of Rayman, was on board. That’s a good sign, right?
Turns out Ancel was one of those involved in Ubisoft’s toxic workplace infrastructure, and in May last year he announced, with a fluffy press release, that he was leaving the industry in order to work in a wildlife sanctuary. He left amicably, stating that Beyond Good and Evil 2 was in good hands. However, a week later, news emerged that he left because he was under investigation for abusing his leadership position, as several other Ubisoft figureheads were.
This leaves us in a tricky position. If we assume at least some work was done on the game under Ancel’s stewardship - a fair assumption, three years after the reveal - we can also assume this work was done under some pretty unpleasant conditions. Post-Ancel, we know very little about the project at all, save for the fact Ubisoft released a statement claiming Ancel had not been closely involved with the game for some time before his exit. Does that mean he was removed internally during the investigation? Does it mean development never really started? A project with a toxic director is one thing, but a project with no director likely doesn’t exist at all.
It’s hard to root for Beyond Good and Evil 2. It’s tainted by Ancel, and by stories on other Ubisoft games like Skull & Bones. On the other hand, if people have been making the game for three years under Ancel, and are still toiling away now with virtually no public recognition and everyone dismissing their work as vaporware, it’s hard not to.
Ultimately, Kena reminded me of one of my favourite games from my childhood, the complex disappointment that is the possibly non-existent sequel, and why you should never meet your heroes. Still, at least the Rot bomb is fun, right?