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Life Is Strange 2

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Life Is Strange 2
Developer(s)Dontnod Entertainment
Publisher(s)Square Enix
Director(s)
  • Michel Koch
  • Raoul Barbet
Writer(s)
  • Christian Divine
  • Jean-Luc Cano
Composer(s)Jonathan Morali
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)
Release
  • Episode 1
  • 27 September 2018
  • Episode 2
  • 24 January 2019
  • Episode 3
  • 9 May 2019
  • Episode 4
  • 22 August 2019
  • Episode 5
  • 3 December 2019
  • Linux, macOS
  • 2019
Genre(s)Graphic adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Life Is Strange 2 is an episodic graphic adventure video game developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix. It is the second main entry of the Life Is Strange series. The first episode was released on 27 September 2018 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, episode two released on 24 January 2019 along with a live action trailer, and episode 3 released on May 9th 2019.[1] Episodes from the series will be released for macOS and Linux by Feral Interactive in 2019.

Gameplay

The decision-making mechanic showing two actions, each with an outcome that is essential.

Life Is Strange 2 is a graphic adventure played from a third-person view. The player takes control of Sean Diaz, who is on the run from the police with his younger brother Daniel. Sean can interact with the environment, obtain objects, and talk with non-player characters via dialogue trees.[2] Decisions that were made in the game demo The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit will carry over into Life Is Strange 2.[3] Captain Spirit was reintroduced in the second episode.[4] Choices in Life Is Strange 2 will lead to different branches in the storyline and affect Daniel's behaviour.[5][6]

Plot

Three years after the events of Life Is Strange, in Seattle, Washington, 16-year-old Sean Diaz witnesses his 9-year-old brother Daniel being harassed by their neighbour Brett Foster and intervenes, accidentally injuring Brett in front of a police officer. The officer draws his gun, and in the confusion Sean and Daniel's father Esteban is accidentally shot and killed before a sudden explosion kills the officer and destroys the street. In the aftermath, Sean flees with Daniel as more police arrive. Now fugitives and drifters, Sean leads Daniel out of Washington towards Puerto Lobos in Mexico, their father's hometown,[7] while hiding their father's death from Daniel. After spending a night in the woods, the brothers stop at a roadside convenience store where they are recognised by the owner, who kidnaps Sean. Daniel helps Sean escape with the help of travel blogger Brody Holloway. Daniel steals a puppy from the store and the brothers name her Mushroom. Brody leaves them at a motel a few miles from Arcadia Bay with supplies for the rest of their journey. Daniel learns of their father's death on the news and has a meltdown that destroys the motel, revealing he has latent telekinesis and was inadvertently responsible for the earlier explosion.

The brothers continue south as Sean teaches Daniel to control his power. When Daniel falls ill, Sean changes course to their grandparent's house in Beaver Creek, Oregon, but Mushroom is killed by a cougar en route, leaving Daniel devastated. They reunite with their maternal grandparents Claire and Stephen Reynolds, but when Daniel shows interest in learning about his mother Karen (who abandoned her family shortly after Daniel's birth) Claire rebuffs them and keeps Karen's room locked. Daniel later witnesses the Reynolds' neighbour Chris Eriksen fall from his treehouse, and uses his power to save him. Chris believes he is the one with powers. Sean and Daniel also meet freighthoppers Cassidy and Finn at a Christmas market. Later that day, Sean and Daniel discover a recent letter from Karen expressing desire to meet her children, leading to an argument with Claire and Stephen. The police arrive in search of Sean and Daniel, and Claire distracts them so the brothers can escape via the Eriksen's backyard. Chris either helps them escape unnoticed, discovers that Daniel is the one with powers, or is hit by a pursuing police car.

Sean and Daniel stow away on a passing train to California, where they later reunite with Finn and Cassidy and fall in with their group of friends. Sean earns money by working at a marijuana farm run by a dealer named Merrill, and begins to spend time with Finn and Cassidy, leaving Daniel feeling neglected. Just as the group is about to be paid, Daniel sneaks into Merrill's office and is caught, angering Merrill and causing him to refuse payment for the others and fire Sean. As Merrill's henchman goes to attack Daniel, he accidentally exposes his powers to the train-hoppers, who promise to keep it secret. Sean and Daniel spend their last night in the woods and party with the others. Sensing opportunity, Finn tries to convince Sean to let Daniel break into Merrill's safe. Regardless of Sean's decision, Daniel, Finn, Sean and potentially Cassidy are caught attempting the heist by Merrill, who holds them at gun-point. In the ensuing confrontation, Daniel violently loses control of his powers and destroys the house, knocking everyone, including Sean, unconscious. Daniel disappears with Merrill's money, leaving an injured Sean behind with a glass embedded in his eye.

Development

Prior to production, developer Dontnod Entertainment decided that Life Is Strange 2 would feature new characters and a new location to the original.[8][9] Led by Life Is Strange directors Michel Koch and Raoul Barbet,[10] development on the sequel began in early 2016, while the predecessor shipped its retail edition.[11][12][13] Life Is Strange lead writers Christian Divine and Jean-Luc Cano and composer Jonathan Morali also reprised their roles.[5][14][15] The concept was influenced by the photography of Mike Brodie, who would freighthop across the United States and take pictures of drifters.[16] The game is structured like a road movie, inspired by the film Into the Wild and novella Of Mice and Men. Dontnod conducted field research on the West Coast of the United States, meeting people and taking pictures there.[14][17] The two primary themes of the game are education and brotherhood.[18] Using the Unreal Engine 4, they upgraded the animation system, physics, and shaders.[17] According to Dontnod, one of the biggest challenges of development was the artificial intelligence of the character Daniel.[14] The music contains both original and licensed tracks.[14] Licensed tracks include, among others, songs from Phoenix, The Streets, Sufjan Stevens, and Gorillaz.[19]

Release

The first of five total episodes, Roads (formerly called Seattle),[20][21] was released on 27 September 2018 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.[22][23] Feral Interactive will publish the macOS and Linux versions of that episode in 2019.[24] The second episode, Rules, was released on 24 January 2019.[25] The third episode, Wastelands, will be released on 9 May 2019. In reference to the long development and release window between episodes, Dontnod issued a statement, saying "The Life is Strange series is a project close to all of our hearts and one for which we do not want to rush development and thereby fail to meet the benchmark of quality and emotional impact that you, our players, deserve. This is why we so far have not announced an official release date [for episode two]".[26]

On 21 March 2019, release dates for episode 3-5 were announced: Episode 3 on 9 May 2019, Episode 4 on 22 August 2019, and Episode 5 on 3 December 2019.[27]

Reception

Aggregate review scores
Game Metacritic
Episode 1: Roads PC: 80/100[28]
PS4: 81/100[29]
XONE: 80/100[30]
Episode 2: Rules PC: 79/100[31]
PS4: 73/100[32]
XONE: 74/100[33]
Episode 3: Wastelands PC: 81/100[34]
PS4: 74/100[35]
XONE: 75/100[36]

The Verge said in their review that the game "wades into more political, timely topics", with the first episode set in October 2016, right before the election of Donald Trump. The characters yell about "building walls" and worry what will happen if Trump wins the election... and it "feels like a powerful statement about American politics during a very tense time". They also said the "dialogue is awkward and feels like it was run through a teen translator, but there are moments that feel authentic...and it’s also filled with lots of beautiful, quiet moments". Overall though, they stated you can still enjoy the game even if you haven’t played previous entries in the series.[37]

In their verdict, IGN also opined about the underlying political atmosphere of the game. They saw the first episode of the game as a "bigger, more complex story than told by its predecessor, charting a cross-country road trip across Donald Trump’s America", going on to say that "though its social criticisms feel broad and rather clumsy, its core story of brotherhood and fraternity between two believable characters is enormously touching," concluding that that "it makes time for small details and quiet moments, and when it does it’s capable of a beauty we rarely see in video games".[38]

GamesRadar was disappointed with the game, saying it had a "slow start" to the new season, and while "the story has some incredibly powerful and well-constructed moments, it doesn’t hang together particularly well". They were also worried about the "lack of actual gameplay, combined with inconsistent consequences and choices". However, they complimented the settings and the overall mood as being "wonderfully crafted, and the soundtrack is hauntingly beautiful as ever". They ended their review stating that fans of the game "will undoubtedly enjoy what’s here, but most will expect much more from forthcoming episodes...this one is very much a work-in-progress.[39]

Game Informer lauded the political aspects, the vulnerability from being scrutinized by others "brings dimension to the characters and connected me to their plight, without it feeling shoehorned in" and the political storyline is being "dealt with care and detail here that feels genuine enough to work". They concluded by saying the season starts on a "good foot, giving us interesting new characters, locales, and an engaging storyline about brotherhood".[40]

Accolades

Year Award Category Result Reference
2018 Gamescom Best Casual Game Nominated [41][42]
Best Family Game Nominated
Best PC Game Nominated
Ping Awards Best Console Game Nominated [43][44]
Best Graphics Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
Best Soundtrack Nominated
Special Jury Prize Won
Golden Joystick Awards Best Audio Design Nominated [45][46]
The Game Awards 2018 Best Narrative (Episode 1) Nominated [47][48]
Games for Impact (Episode 1) Nominated
2019 New York Game Awards Herman Melville Award for Best Writing (Episode 1) Nominated [49]
15th British Academy Games Awards Game Beyond Entertainment Nominated [50]

References

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  2. ^ Green, Jake (21 August 2018). "Life is Strange 2 Release Date, Characters, Gameplay, Trailer, Everything We Know". USgamer. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Stevens, Colin (11 June 2018). "Choices Made in Captain Spirit Will Affect Life Is Strange 2". IGN. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Strange, Life is (18 January 2019). "Chris aka Captain Spirit will return next week in Episode 2 of #LifeisStrange2!pic.twitter.com/U6xsBgS4fe". @LifeIsStrange. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  5. ^ a b Fillari, Alessandro (9 September 2018). "How Life Is Strange 2 Plans To Surpass The Original By Finding Its Own Voice And Identity". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Vincent, Brittany (23 September 2018). "Life is Strange 2 hands-on preview: Hermanos por vida". Shacknews. Archived from the original on 24 September 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Makedonski, Brett (20 August 2018). "Life is Strange 2 is about two brothers running to Mexico after accidentally killing a cop". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Farokhmanesh, Megan (24 June 2015). "Life is Strange's second season would star a new cast (if it happened)". Polygon. Archived from the original on 1 December 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Bailey, Dustin (5 March 2018). "The next Life is Strange will feature "new story and characters"". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on 4 June 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Romano, Sal (5 March 2018). "Next Life is Strange's new story and characters to be detailed "in the coming months"". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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  14. ^ a b c d Wilson, Aoife (21 August 2018). "Why Life is Strange 2 is ditching Arcadia Bay for its radically different roadtrip". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 21 August 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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  16. ^ O'Brien, Lucy (22 August 2018). "Life is Strange 2 Developers on Leaving Chloe and Max Behind - Gamescom 2018". IGN. Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ a b Brown, Matt (3 September 2018). "Life is Strange 2 developer talks new cast, world-building, visual upgrades". Windows Central. Archived from the original on 3 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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  19. ^ https://www.hardcoregamer.com/2018/08/23/first-tracks-from-life-is-strange-2-soundtrack-available-on-spotify/310150/
  20. ^ Pitts, Russ (23 August 2018). "Escapist Digest: Game of Thrones, Monument Valley, Life is Strange 2, and more". The Escapist. Archived from the original on 25 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ Nunneley, Stephany (20 September 2018). "Life is Strange 2 launch trailer readies you for next week's release". VG247. Archived from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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  25. ^ Tarason, Dominic (24 January 2019). "Life Is Strange 2 Episode 2 out now, reintroducing Captain Spirit". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on 24 January 2019. Retrieved 24 January 2019. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  26. ^ Wales, Matt (29 November 2018). "Dontnod says Life is Strange 2's second episode will arrive in January". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 1 December 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ Phillips, Tom (21 March 2019). "There's quite a wait for Life is Strange 2's remaining episodes". Eurogamer. Retrieved 22 March 2019. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  28. ^ "Life is Strange 2: Episode 1 - Roads for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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  30. ^ "Life is Strange 2: Episode 1 - Roads for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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