Beyond Two Souls features a co-op mode (Duo mode) where one player controls Jodie Holmes and the other controls her invisible companion Aiden.

As you know, a prerequisite for playing together is the presence of at least one game controller (gamepad from Playstation, Xbox, etc.): in this case, one player controls the game character via keyboard and mouse, and the other via gamepad. In addition, the developers have released the official application "BEYOND Touch" (for devices based on the iOS and Android operating systems, as well as PlayStation Vita), which is designed to replace the second game controller when playing Beyond Two Souls on the PlayStation 3 or PlayStation 4 console. However, cooperative play in Beyond Two Souls on PC using the "BEYOND Touch" application is not possible.

But what about when you don't have a gamepad, but you want to play Beyond Two Souls in cooperative mode (even if it's to get two achievements on Steam)? This guide answers this question by describing one of the possible ways to play in cooperative mode (Duo mode): using the Steam Link application on a smartphone/tablet as a game controller for the second player.

If you are a russian-speaking player, you can also view this guide in Russian:
https://cs2bus.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3444130847

First of all, it should be pointed out that the method of cooperative play in Beyond Two Souls described in this guide assumes that your missing gamepad will replace another electronic device – a smartphone or tablet.

In this regard, in addition to a computer that meets the minimum system requirements for playing Beyond Two Souls, you need to have the following:

1. A smartphone or tablet (based on Android or iOS OS) that meets the minimum system requirements of the Steam Link application developed by Valve. These requirements can be found on the official Steam Link application page on Google Play or the App Store.

2. Connect to the Internet both on a PC and on a smartphone/tablet (you can use the mobile Internet). The best option[/b] that eliminates freezes and delays in data transmission is to have one Wi–Fi router connected to the Internet, to which both a gaming PC and a smartphone/tablet are connected at the same time.

3. The Steam application installed on the computer.

4. The Steam Link app installed on a smartphone or tablet.

5. You must have purchased the game Beyond Two Souls on your Steam account.
https://cs2bus.com/steamstore/app/960990/Beyond_Two_Souls/

The author's method of co-op (Duo) play in Beyond Two Souls was tested on the following hardware:

1. Laptop with a game Beyond Two Souls installed on Steam.

2. Iphone with Steam Link app version 1.3.17 installed (as of 03/15/2025).

3. A Wi-Fi router connected to the Internet. Wi-Fi network properties: frequency 5 GHz; total line speed (reception / transmission) – 300/300 Megabytes per second. The Internet connection speed (reception/transmission) is 100/100 Megabytes per second.

By this time you have read the guide, you should already have the Steam Link app installed on your smartphone or tablet.

So, the essence of the method is that the Steam Link application has a "Touch Controller" function, thanks to which you can use the touch screen of a smartphone/tablet as a game controller.

When you first launch the Steam Link app on your smartphone/tablet, you need to make the initial setup.

Step 1. When you first launch the Steam Link app, it will ask you for permissions for certain actions: 1) permission to use Bluetooth; 2) enable Bluetooth; 3) permission to search for devices on your local network and connect to them. Since the gamepad does not connect to your smartphone/tablet, I recommend that you only give permission to search for devices. If you are using a Bluetooth headset or other Bluetooth devices on your smartphone/tablet, you must also allow Bluetooth to be used, and then turn on Bluetooth.

After agreeing to allow certain actions, you must click the «Get Started» button.

Step 2. Next, you need to link the Steam Link application installed on your smartphone/tablet with the Steam PC application (Steam client). Depending on whether you are using a Wi-Fi router connected to the Internet (wireless LAN) or mobile Internet on a smartphone/tablet and a cable Internet connection on a PC, the method of linking the Steam Link to your Steam account on a PC will be different.

When using a smartphone/tablet mobile network, you need to follow these steps:

1. After an unsuccessful attempt to find a computer with the Steam client running (and, actually, did you expect a different result?), you need to click the «Other Computer» button.

2. A PIN code will appear on the screen of your smartphone/tablet to link the Steam Link application to your Steam account on the gaming PC. The application itself offers fairly detailed instructions for installing the Steam Link – Steam Client pair, so I'll limit myself to just a screenshot.

3. After entering the appropriate PIN code on the computer in the Steam client, the Steam Link application on the smartphone/tablet will begin checking the connection speed with the Steam client. Upon completion of the verification, you will be offered the optimal quality of the Steam Link broadcast at a given data reception/transmission rate; to agree, click «OK».

When using the router's Wi-Fi network, you need to follow these steps:

1. After searching for a computer with the Steam client running, the Steam Link application on your smartphone/tablet will prompt you to select one of the found PCs with the Steam client running. You need to select the appropriate PC by clicking on its icon in the Steam Link.

2. A PIN code will appear in the Steam Link application on your smartphone/tablet, and a dialog box will appear on the corresponding PC with the Steam client running, asking you to enter this PIN code.

3. After entering the appropriate PIN code on the computer in the Steam client, the Steam Link application on the smartphone/tablet will begin checking the connection speed with the Steam client. Upon completion of the verification, you will be offered the optimal quality of the Steam Link broadcast at a given data reception/transmission rate; to agree, click «OK».

After checking the connection speed of the Steam Link application with the Steam client, you will be taken to the home screen. It looks like this (see screenshot).

Step 3. By linking the Steam Link application installed on your smartphone/ tablet with the Steam PC application, you must configure the broadcast in the Steam Link application.

On the home screen, click the "Gear" icon in the upper right corner, select «Streaming», and then click the «Customize» button in the lower left corner.

In this menu I suggest you use the following settings:

1. Video: Beautiful. Depending on the speed of data reception / transmission between your smartphone / tablet and PC, select the appropriate parameter: at high speed, I recommend setting the parameter to «Beautiful», and at low speed – «Fast».

2. Audio: Disabled. To ensure that the sound during the game does not disappear from the PC on which the game is running and is not broadcast to a smartphone/tablet, I recommend setting this parameter to the «Disabled» position.

3. Microphone: Disabled.

4. Input: Enabled. This option must be enabled, because without it it will be impossible to use a smartphone/tablet as a game controller.

5. Launch Mode: Desktop. There are two broadcast launch modes: «Big Picture», when a shell is launched that turns the Steam interface into a console, and «Desktop», when a broadcast on a smartphone/ tablet actually launches a remote desktop (you can control a PC from a smartphone/tablet). Here you can choose any of the options that are convenient for you.

6. Bandwidth Limit: Automatic (recommended). I recommend leaving the parameter in the «Automatic» position to avoid problems with data transfer (response from PC and smartphone/tablet).

7. Framerate Limit: Automatic (recommended). I recommend leaving the setting in the «Automatic» position, especially if you use mobile Internet.

8. Resolution Limit: Automatic. I recommend leaving the parameter in the «Automatic» position, since the application itself will configure the optimal option for your data transfer rate.

9. Performance Overlay: Show icons.

10. Controller Overlay: Default button.

11. Hardware Decoding: Enabled.

12. HEVC Video: Enabled.

13. AV1 Video: Not available. The AV1 format is not supported on my hardware.

14. Low Latency Networking: Enabled.

15. Uncompressed Audio: Disabled.

16. Allow Direct Connection: Automatic (enabled).

After setting all the streaming parameters (saved automatically) you need to go to the home screen of the Steam Link application by clicking three times in the upper left corner on the icon «<».

Congratulations on setting up your Steam Link app for the first time!

You can also customize the touch control layout to your preferences directly when broadcasting a game in the Steam Link application: in the upper left corner of the screen, click on the "Ellipsis" icon, select the «Layout Controls» option, and then arrange the corresponding touch control elements on the screen according to your choice. You can save the layout settings by clicking on the "Ellipsis" icon in the upper left corner of the screen.

The author used the default settings, therefore, further in the text of the guide, touch control in the Steam Link application is described based on these settings.

For example, touch control of Aiden in the game at standard settings ("Default"; both in the game and in the Steam Link application) is implemented as follows:

1. The left and right analog sticks are located on the left and right sides of the smartphone/tablet screen, respectively (they are not displayed on the screen until the user starts to swipe on the corresponding part of the screen): The left analog stick is responsible for Aiden's movement in space, and the right stick is responsible for moving Aiden's gaze.

2. The "LB" button is responsible for selecting the "interaction point" for Aiden: to perform any action with Aiden (move an object, affect an electrical appliance, destroy a creature, etc.), you need to hold down the "LB" button on the smartphone/tablet screen and, without releasing it, turn the virtual left and right analog sticks simultaneously in the appropriate direction (down, toward the center, etc.) (see screenshots).

To start the broadcast in the Steam Link application, click on the «Get Started» button on the application's home screen. Next, select the Beyond Two Souls game from your Steam library and launch it.

After finishing the broadcast mode (first launch) of the Beyond Two Souls game via the Steam Link application, an icon (shortcut) will appear on the main screen of this application to quickly launch the game and broadcast (see screenshot).


When the game loads and you find yourself in the main menu, you need to set the "Duo" game mode. To do this, you need to:

1. Go to the «Game Mode» section.

2. Select the «Duo» mode and press "Enter" on the keyboard of the gaming PC.

3. Next, the first player (PC: keyboard and mouse) selects the character to play for by pressing either the "A" key (play as Jody) or the "D" key (play as Aiden). After selecting a character, you need to confirm the choice (by pressing the "Enter" key), and then using the "W" and "S" keys to select the difficulty of the game for the character (confirmation by "Enter") – either «I often play video games» or «I rarely (or never) play video games». The second player (smartphone / tablet: touch control) selects a character that the first player didn't choose: swipe in the appropriate direction (from left to right or from right to left) on the left side of the smartphone/tablet screen or press the "right" or "left" button on the virtual D-pad (short for directional pad); the choice must be confirmed by pressing the "A" button in the lower right part of the screen. Like the first player, it is also necessary to choose the difficulty of the game for the character: swipe in the appropriate direction (from bottom to top or from top to bottom) on the left side of the smartphone/tablet screen or press the "up" or "down" button on the virtual D-pad; press the "A" button to confirm.

I recommend using a keyboard and mouse to play as Jodie, and a smartphone/tablet to play as Aiden, since Aiden doesn't require any QTE actions.

After setting the parameters for the first and second players, the game will automatically return to the main menu.

Now you are ready to start playing Beyond Two Souls in co-op (Duo) mode! You can choose either a new game or any chapter available to you to play through.

P.S. In my opinion, this method of cooperative play is convenient because two players do not have to be at the same computer or even in the same room, since the game is directly streamed to a smartphone/ tablet via the Steam Link application.

On Steam, you can earn the following Beyond Two Souls co-op achievements (if you haven't earned them yet):

1. Two Souls (Launched a scene in Duo mode). To get this achievement, simply launch any chapter in Duo mode, and then, when the opening scene of the launched chapter begins, exit to the main menu of the game.
   
   
2. Together Till the End (Finish the game in Duo mode). To get this achievement, you need to complete the game from start to finish in Duo mode. If you previously played in Solo mode, I recommend that you go to the main menu in the Game Mode section, select «Duo», confirm, and then click «New Game». It is necessary that ALL chapters of the game be completed in Duo mode. You will receive the achievement after watching the final credits and displaying statistics for the «Epilogue» chapter.

In addition, it should be noted that this method of using the Steam Link application as a controller for the second player can also be used in other games that provide local co-op (for example, It Takes Two, Split Fiction, etc.).

I hope this guide has helped you try out the co-op game feature in Beyond Two Souls, as well as unlock the game's Steam achievements related to the Duo game mode.

Thank you for your attention to this guide!