Owen Evenson

An emotionally intense game where your decisions actually matter, Life is Strange 2 is without a doubt, an amazing game that had me captivated throughout. Life is Strange 2 follows the story of Sean Diaz who is forced to run from the police and escape to Mexico with his little brother Daniel Diaz after tragedy strikes their lives. The core of Life is Strange 2’s gameplay involves small-scale yet intensely explorable areas and many, many important decisions, both in dialogue and action. Overall, the game is most certainly playable with the only glitches being visual mess ups such as slight jolts or clothes slipping through characters. However, with much of the exploration relying on inner monologue or character dialogue, some may find themselves bored at the slow pace. The central theme of Life is Strange 2 lies in the relationship between Sean and Daniel. As they travel the roads, Sean is effectively given the task of raising Daniel, ensuring that he learns good moral values. This is where the choices play in. Many of the games choices will not appear to have much of an effect at first glance, but behind the scenes, Daniel learns by example, and when you do or say something as Sean, Daniel will be led to believe that it is acceptable—for good or for bad. When it comes down to it, nearly every decision made will tally up to an effective sum of Daniel’s moral values, and these values will determine the outcome of the their story. For anyone who grew up with a brother—myself included—Life is Strange 2 has a great capacity for emotional resonation with the player. Much of the interaction between Sean and Daniel is real and organic, especially the conflicts that inevitably arise. Many sub-plots dot the overall story, and with new acquaintances, friends, enemies, and even lovers, there will inevitably be more people in Sean and Daniel’s lives that matter. Whether or not that affects Daniel’s education is up to the player who may be easily distracted by their own goals as well. And when major events occur, that is when Daniel’s morality—and the effect of your choices—are revealed. Often times, these are situations of life and death. These game defining decisions are few in number compared to the smaller decisions, and boy are they intense. Time will literally stop as the player is presented by a dichotomy of options, sometimes even a trichotomy. The effects of these decisions are seen instantly, and will continue to reverberate throughout the course of the story, ultimately leading into the epic emotional climax where the player may achieve one of four major endings. All in all, Life is Strange 2 is a long road trip of brotherhood and moral education. The people you meet along the way may try to hurt you, but those “sweet encounters” as described by a certain character are the ones you will remember as you take care of you and your brother on an adventure of growing up and changing, on an adventure of good and bad moments, on a journey of introspection and mentoring. The choice is yours in Life is Strange 2.