Life is Strange is back. The latest entry in the coming-of-age mystery series has put in strong showings at E3, Gamescom, and PAX West.
Based on everything that’s been revealed so far, it looks to be a big improvement on everything fans have come to love about the series. Get a taste of the game below with the first 20 minutes of gameplay, then read on for everything we know so far about Life is Strange 2.
New Characters
Previous games in the series focused on high school students Max Caulfield and Chloe Price and the mystery surrounding star student Rachel Amber’s mysterious disappearance. The twist was that Max had the supernatural ability to turn back time, which led to some mind-bending time travel moments as the two girls worked to unravel the mystery.
This is the first game in the series to depart from the two characters, instead focusing on Sean and Daniel Diaz. Players will be controlling Sean, a 16-year-old living in Seattle with his dad and younger brother Daniel. In the video above, we see Sean dealing with typical teenage problems: talking to his crush, asking Dad for spending cash, and messing with his brother. His problems are about to get a lot bigger, though.
An unfortunate incident with a cop ends with the cop dead and the two brothers on the run across the United States, heading for their father’s hometown in Mexico. Here’s the mysterious part: we don’t know what kind of powers Sean has… or even if they’re Sean’s powers.
From the trailer above, we can assume that it’s some kind of telekinesis ability that sends both the cop and his squad car flying. It’s hard to tell, though, if it’s Sean that sends out the telekinetic blast or Daniel. If it’s Daniel, it would certainly fit with the theme of the game, which DONTNOD has stated will be focusing on Sean and the protective foster-father figure he has to become for Daniel.
Improved Story
Unlike the past two games, which focused on the singular fictional town of Arcadia Bay, Oregon, this game is structured like a road movie, following the brothers on their journey down the West Coast. The development team has cited both “Into the Wild” and “Of Mice and Men” as inspirations. Like previous games, the story will be episodic, with each episode focusing on a particular location on the brother’s journey. The first episode, “Seattle,” will focus on Sean and Daniel’s day-to-day life in that city and the incident that sets them on their journey.
One of the most criticized elements of the first game was the dialogue, which was littered with cringe-inducing outdated slang and forced meme references that sounded more like an adult trying to be hip than the actual way that teens talk to each other. This was greatly improved in Life is Strange: Before the Storm, and has continued to be improved for Life is Strange 2. The dialogue here is natural and the characters are distinct and feel developed, making the heartbreaking moments hit that much harder.
The story of this game is also going to tie into the story of The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit. Captain Spirit was a free game released back in June to serve as a sort of teaser trailer for Life is Strange 2, showcasing the improved graphics, gameplay, and dialogue. The game followed Chris, a young boy with a troubled father, as he adopts his superhero alter ego to solve problems around the house. Eventually, Chris discovers his imaginary powers are all too real. DONTNOD has confirmed that Chris will be making an appearance in LiS2, which begs the question: will Max and Chloe be making an appearance too?
Streamlined Gameplay
Gameplay itself has also received an overhaul for the series’ latest entry. Now running on Unreal Engine 4, Life is Strange has received a huge graphical overhaul. Animations are smoother and characters are more detailed; one major criticism of the first entry in the series was that lip movements weren’t well-synced with dialogue, leading to some weird uncanny valley moments. Here, everything flows and movements are much less stilted.
Dialogue trees and object interaction prompts are also more streamlined to make the game environment seem less cluttered. A big part of Life is Strange is exploring and interacting with the incredibly rich and detailed environments. The interaction interface and changes to the dialogue tree allow players to fully explore these environments, easily find hidden details and Easter Eggs, and never get overwhelmed.
As we already know, we’ve yet to see the actual nature of the powers in this game. With Max, a simple button push would allow players to reverse the time stream to a moment of their choosing. How the telekinetic powers in this game will behave is still something of a mystery: whether it’ll players controlling the powers directly, commanding Daniel to use them, or not interacting with the powers at all, as was the case with Chloe in Life is Strange: Before the Storm. It’s a major aspect of the game that has yet to be fully revealed, and it seems that we’ll have to wait until the first episode releases to find out exactly how these powers will fit into the gameplay as a whole.
Like the first two games, Life is Strange 2 seems poised to be a poignant and compelling title, and the improvements that have already been showcased are sure to turn heads. Episode 1 releases today for Microsoft, PS4, and Xbox One.
