This is the first of the five episodes and let me tell you Dontnod knows how to make a compelling story. To be honest I did not enjoy Vampyr but the first Life is Strange was great; meaning the devs should probably stick with this particular genre, at least in my humble opinion. Of course the first game was nothing original as Dontnod “borrowed” the recipe from Telltale and the basic story idea from the movie Butterfly Effect, but it doesn’t really matter as the game was very enjoyable. Life is Strange 2 also looks like a very good game; I have no idea if the following episodes will be good but the first one was awesome in my opinion.
It is short, like 2 hours but I loved every minute. The formula is the same but this time around the actual gameplay is shorter. This is a heavily cinematic game and some people might not like that but the story is very interesting and feels original compared to the first game. Basically, you are a typical high school kid who lives in Seattle with his father and his little brother. Someone does something unbelievably stupid in the beginning of the game which creates a situation that as a kid you are not able to handle, and thus begins your journey for let’s say “survival” to avoid any spoilers.
I really like the graphics in LIS 2. They are definitely better than before and the artistic style matches the game world perfectly, except of the wind effects which appeared a bit weird and out of place. The game also runs pretty good and by adjusting a few settings I was able to maintain 60fps most of the time. I did not experience any bugs, however in some cutscenes the fps dropped below 50fps. Other than that the game runs fine without any kind of technical problems.
The voice acting is really good. Some parts could be better but overall it works flawlessly. The facial expressions and lip-sync are thankfully great (because let’s face it; even Troy Baker can’t save a digital/video-game character that lacks these particularly important features). Overall, I didn’t experience any issues, however there were some gameplay parts I skipped without knowing it (I was informed about it from the end game stats). Speaking of stats and choices it looks this time around there are more, meaning the game might have a higher replayability value, which is awesome because this was one of my problems with the previous LIS game as well as all Telltale games. Animation and motion capture is also top-notch especially for a game like this.
Like I said, gameplay is more limited this time around but when you do get full control you are free to explore and check everything in your path. Like before, Life is Strange 2 is a typical 3rd person game and there is no fixed camera angle. You can walk or run and interact with anything you see. Anything you can interact with has some dialogue and some of them are quite important if you’re interested in the characters’ back-story. Usually the gameplay is limited to a specific area like a house or a forest, but make sure you explore everything because there are no quest markers or any kind of HUD, and do not forget to regularly interact with your brother. Also, do not expect any kind of fighting or shooting and there aren’t any quick time events… well except of some time-limited choices that are usually important story-wise.
Story, characters and dialogues are the heart of these games, and while it is too soon to come to a conclusion I have to say that the story kept me interested all the way. I’m guessing in the next episodes they will give us more details about the characters and it looks like they are putting most of the effort in the development of the relationship between the two brothers, which is great; especially if you have younger siblings like myself. I cannot wait to play the next episode even if I am not a fan of episodic video games. On a final note: Make sure you check all the text messages on your phone!
- Interesting Story
- Believable characters
- Excellent voice acting
- Well written dialogues
- Nice looking graphics
-
- Episodic release
- Limited gameplay
Playtime: 2+ hours total
Computer Specs: Case: CoolerMaster Cosmos S CPU: i5 4440 GPU: MSI 960GTX 4GB Mobo: MSI B85-G41 RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X 8GB HDD: Crucial 275GB MX300 PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower 1200W OS: Win7 Monitor: LG 23″ 1080p
Chris was born in the early 80’s along with the very birth of home gaming. After spending many maaany drachmas on arcades, his father decided to buy him a PC instead of going bankrupt. He lived through the advancing and development of the gaming industry, having played TONS of games on all platforms. He is always honest and will never hesitate to give his true opinion on a game no matter what. Loves stealth games and dislikes microtsansactions, DLC and pre-ordering…who doesn’t after all?!
Contact: Email
After the first game, I am highly skeptical of these claims.
Also, what I’ve seen of this game suggests that this time they’re not holding back at all on the political angle:
youtube (dot) com/watch?v=pP-gRykSOkc
Wow…that was…horrible. That was some horrible acting, dubious voicework, and absolutely cringe-worthy dialogue. Talk about just throwing in the worst stereotypes to make your game seem relevant and interesting. But I suppose we all have our different opinions…hopefully the rest of the game isn’t this bad.
Let me guess
STUPID GUN!!!
Life is meme.
This is worse than stupid gun… if you can believe it.
This is what happens when french developers who know nothing about how things are in red states are reading far left fan fiction in mainstream media.
They couldnt be more “current year” unless they downright shoved Trump in there.
This game will totally make sense in a few years from now, like totally.
Life is Cringe 2
CHRIS KOUNTOURAS
how much Soy did you guzzle before writing this crappy review of this crappy game?
“Like I said, gameplay is more limited this time around ”
Apparently someone didnt learn from tale tales demise and vampyr’s success.
Can we all just agree that this game at least isn’t about Iesians???!!!
Its a HORRIBLE POLITICAL anti Trump Voter SJW agitprop:
Kotaku: The Antagonist In Life Is Strange 2 Is Racism
Mirror: A strong debut that’s not afraid to share its politics
Mashable: ‘Life is Strange 2’ finds humanity in Trump’s America
Kotaku: Near the beginning of the game, the character you play as, Sean Diaz,
talks to his dad about getting older, and his dad makes an offhand
reference to how “things are kinda scary out there in this country right
now.” Soon afterward, you find out exactly what he was referring to.
When Sean gets in a fight with his neighbor Brett, Brett yells, “Go back
to your own country.” The Diazes are Mexican, Brett is white.
Metro: The game follows two brothers, Sean and Daniel Diaz, who are of Mexican
origin and live in the state of Washington. After a a racially motivated
encounter with an officer goes awry the two brothers find themselves on
the run as they head south for a different life.
Politics plays a much more integral role to the story than it did
with the original as the result of the 2016 US General Election looms
increasingly close. In the in-game texts Sean’s replies to his friend’s
concerns can be seen getting more frantic as the 8th November ballots
approach.
The Republican candidate’s influence can be felt in
every cornerstone of Life Is Strange 2 through references to “building
walls” and “making this country great again” so often that it doesn’t
take a genius (even a stable one) to figure out who these are in
reference to.
Mashable: It goes a step further by using its undeniable humanity to speak to an
inhumane moment in our political landscape — all while avoiding the
uncomfortable territory of soapboxing or exploiting the pain of the
marginalized lives at brunt of those politics.
Life is Strange 2
doubles down in every way imaginable — both in its unflinchingly
political focus and in its exploration of immigration, xenophobia, and
police brutality as experienced in everyday life.
In an early scene, Sean reads a shamelessly racist letter from their
neighbor, with an aggressive complaint that come down said neighbor’s
outrage that Mexican-American kids can play on their own lawn adjacent
to his.
Dontnod isn’t tackling the dystopia of being a person of color in
Trump’s America through the more passive experiences of watching a
documentary on it, or reading an article about the abhorrent treatment
of migrant children and families. They do not only rely on the player
reading a racist letter, or witnessing on-the-nose dialogue exchanges
(as last season might have).