Beyond Good & Evil

Beyond Good & Evil for PlayStation 2 is a 2003 action-adventure game developed and published by Ubisoft. The PS2 version arrived first in North America on November 11, 2003, before the Windows, Xbox, and GameCube releases. Set in the distant future on the mining planet Hillys, the game follows Jade, a photojournalist who lives in a lighthouse orphanage with her friend and mechanic, Pey'j. Hillys is repeatedly attacked by the alien DomZ, while the planet's official protectors, the Alpha Sections, appear unable to stop the disappearances. When the underground IRIS Network asks Jade to investigate, her reporting becomes the means of exposing a much larger conspiracy.

Play unfolds from a third-person view and combines exploration, combat, puzzles, stealth, and vehicle travel. Jade uses her Daï-jo staff in close-range fights, with attack discs available for distant targets, while food restores the heart-based health meter. Many missions take place in guarded factories, mines, and other installations where progress depends on finding routes, operating machinery, avoiding danger, and documenting evidence with Jade's camera. Photography is central to both the story and the optional side activity of cataloguing Hillys wildlife for the Science Center. Successful photos and missions earn credits or pearls, making the camera a practical investigation tool as well as a way to learn more about the planet.

Jade is not alone on her assignments. Pey'j and the armored IRIS agent Double H accompany her during different parts of the campaign, and contextual commands let her coordinate their special attacks in battle. Their abilities can expose enemy weaknesses or create openings for Jade's own moves, while shared recovery items can help keep the team active. The adventure moves between Jade's lighthouse, the lively Pedestrian District, isolated islands, and hostile DomZ-linked facilities, building its story through her IRIS reports and the evidence she sends to the public. The conflict brings Jade into contact with the DomZ High Priest and Alpha Sections commander General Kehck as she searches for abducted Hillyans and the truth behind the supposed defense force.

Hillys is traversed in Jade and Pey'j's hovercraft, which is used for open-water travel, combat, races, and other activities. Pearls collected through exploration, assignments, animal photography, and trade pay for upgrades that open new areas and improve the vehicle's capabilities. Later, the Beluga spacecraft expands the journey beyond the planet, with the hovercraft able to dock inside it. This progression gives Beyond Good & Evil's largely directed narrative room for detours: players can pursue side jobs, take part in mini-games, stock supplies, or search the map for resources between key investigations. The PS2 edition establishes the original form of this world and its mix of sci-fi technology, anthropomorphic citizens, and European-influenced cityscapes.

Directed by Michel Ancel, known for creating Rayman, Beyond Good & Evil was conceived as the beginning of a larger universe, though this 2003 game tells Jade's immediate fight to save Hillys. Its later history includes a high-definition edition for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in 2011, plus the 20th Anniversary Edition released in 2024 with new features and archival material. For the original PlayStation 2 release, however, the defining experience is Jade's investigation: gathering proof, working with allies, upgrading a hovercraft, and carrying a report from one endangered corner of Hillys to the next.