-Mild spoilers included-
As a big fan of the Life is Strange series, I was really looking forward to the new game and couldn’t wait for the release date.
The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit made the waiting a bit easier and it was also a nice little game in it’s own right, which also included several clues about the full game.
Now that I’ve played Life is Strange 2 – Episode 1, I would like to tell you if it can live up to the high expectations, but lets take a look at the basic story first.
Quick story synopsis
As Sean (16) gets in a fight with a kid next door, a police officer accidentally shoots his dad, which unleashes his younger Brother Daniels (9) supernatural abilities.The police officer also gets killed during the tragic event and the two brothers are forced to run away.
Without much money and food, they try to make their way from Seattle to Puerto Lobos in Mexico, the hometown of their father.
Daniel doesn’t remember anything about what happened or his super powers and Sean tries everything to protect him from the horrible truth, while he also has to find a way to get them safely to Mexico.
Two Brothers on the run
One of my biggest concerns about the new game were the characters. I just like Chloe and Max so much that I wasn’t sure if the new characters could win me over.Besides the fact that the two protagonists are both boys this time, the biggest difference is that it’s all about the dynamic and relationship between two brothers, while Life is Strange 1 was basically a love story (or a deep friendship, whatever you prefer..).
Luckily it doesn’t take long to get invested in Sean and Daniels story and the tragic circumstances make it a very emotional journey.
Too plain personalities
I just wish there was a little bit more character development, both of their personalities have been rather simple so far and are just not as interesting as Max and Chloe to me yet.In a way I think even Chris, from The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, had more layers and a bit more depth to his character.
This is just a personal opinion though and since we are only in episode 1 so far, I’m sure they will develop a lot more from now on.
The voice actors are definitely doing a good job to bring across all of the emotions and make you really care about them.
Among the side characters, I think Lyla and Brody were both really likable and I hope we can see more of them in the next episodes.
Harsh Reality
The great thing about Life is Strange is, that it has always been about relatable problems and characters that felt very real, mixed with some fantasy elements.Life is Strange 2 takes it one step further though and directly addresses the current political situation, racism and other very important issues.
Dealing with such heavy topics is not an easy task, but I think Dontnod successfully managed to weave those elements into the story in a tactful way and it is easy to see that they genuinely care.
No more second chances
The biggest difference about the gameplay is that you can’t rewind the time anymore and therefore have to be very careful about every decision you make, since it can’t be reversed.In Before the Storm there were these events, where you had to win arguments for Chloe, this time there is nothing like that and you just have to choose one out of the options you are given.
It’s pretty simple and straightforward but I kind of like that about it.
I just hope that the decisions you make will eventually have some kind of impact on the storyline.
I know that it is basically a very linear story, but it still would be nice to feel like you have some sort of control and can directly influence the outcome of the game.
I guess we will have to wait until episode 5, to see how much this holds up and whether there will be only a single choice at the end, like in Life is Strange 1, or something a bit more satisfying.
Beautiful scenery
When I think about a Life is Strange game, I don’t really have huge expectations about the graphics, but the visuals here are really gorgeous. It’s a lot of fun to explore the environment and there are a lot of interesting details everywhere.But most importantly, the visuals, combined with the atmospheric soundtrack, do a fantastic job to put you into the right mood for the emotional plot and make every scene much more impactful.
Personally my favorite soundtrack was the one from Before the Storm, which the band Daughter specifically composed for that game, but the music here is also very nice and always hits the right tone.
Conclusion
The first episode of Life is Strange 2 was a very moving road trip and successfully combined important issues of our time with a few fictional elements to tell a captivating story about two brothers who stick together, no matter how hard the circumstances are.My only criticism were a few things about the story that didn’t really make sense and the lack of character development, which will probably improve during the rest of the game.
I’m absolutely looking forward to the second episode, which seems to come out in January of 2019 and I can’t wait to see where the journey takes Sean and Daniel next.
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