This review contains spoilers
I feel like I am in the minority, but this is my least favorite Life is Strange game.
They had an interesting idea for a story, but really poor execution ruined it for me.
The first issue I had is giving the power to your little brother. This really takes a lot of control out of your hands. The game fully utilizes this to move the plot forward and as a player you just feel pulled along for the ride.
The second issue is the road trip format. This can work, but in this game it does not. Too many characters are introduced and never seen again so you do not form any real attachments. The time jumps between episodes are bad in that you spend all this time building a relationship between the brothers and then at the start of the next episode, they are in a bad place because something happened between episodes.
The writing is the worst in this game. Dialogue is cliche and ham-fisted. Characters are two dimensional and I felt no connection to any of them. Daniel, in particular is written very poorly. He is beyond the normal annoying, rebellious kid trope.
Important political and social issues are also handled with no subtlety. This makes characters come off as caricatures.
I will give it credit for having multiple endings that your decisions impact, but that is about it for positives.
They had an interesting idea for a story, but really poor execution ruined it for me.
The first issue I had is giving the power to your little brother. This really takes a lot of control out of your hands. The game fully utilizes this to move the plot forward and as a player you just feel pulled along for the ride.
The second issue is the road trip format. This can work, but in this game it does not. Too many characters are introduced and never seen again so you do not form any real attachments. The time jumps between episodes are bad in that you spend all this time building a relationship between the brothers and then at the start of the next episode, they are in a bad place because something happened between episodes.
The writing is the worst in this game. Dialogue is cliche and ham-fisted. Characters are two dimensional and I felt no connection to any of them. Daniel, in particular is written very poorly. He is beyond the normal annoying, rebellious kid trope.
Important political and social issues are also handled with no subtlety. This makes characters come off as caricatures.
I will give it credit for having multiple endings that your decisions impact, but that is about it for positives.
Thought this game was lame like ion have much else to say I thought the brothers were okay but like life of strange without a lesbian main character let alone life is strange without a woman just feels wrong but maybe thats just me idk I did like the first chapter tho genuinely great start with great writing and I liked that blonde kid happ they made a lil short game bout him but yeah back to hating I thought that scene where it let you kiss and that dude was lame and half baked like the main character in this game doesn't have the aura to be bisexual at all and I hate the endings to this game and I genuinely dont remember most of the final chapter cus i found it that lame but yeah an overall boring experience I for me 3.5/10
A pesar de tener todos los juegos de la saga decidí empezar con este ya que en el pasado jugué el primer capitulo y me encanto. Me parecio super linda la historia, las cinemáticas y la banda sonora es mi cosa favorita del juego. Lo jugué y termine el stream intentando tomar la mayoría de decisiones positivas para lograr el final bueno. Me gustaría re jugarlo para hacer una run full mala y que Daniel sea el mas hijoeputa posible
A wonderfully-made game but still in the shadow of the original. A consistent though is the absolutely amazing story-telling. Dontnod manages to capture the same-but-different ambience of the first, and tells a very compelling, tear-jerking story between two brothers. Additionally, the decisions were a little more ambiguous, which I really liked as a challenge. Great game.
By far better than the first one. I like the story, the characters (my favorites being Sean, Daniel and Karen) and the whole brother dynamic that's developed throughout the whole story. The writing for the rest of the characters, though, Is pretty dull and cheap. It also suffers from the illusion of choice, since what you actually pick doesn't have that big of an impact as they make It seem. I got the parting ways ending and I was satisfied with it.
It's crazy how good this game is, and I wish people talked about it as much as the first Life is Strange. now let me talk a bit more about this 6 year old game that nobody cares about:
Life is Strange 2 is a showcase of great storytelling, that actually listens to the choices but not in the gimmicky way like some of the telltale games, actual important character development through the 5 episodes affect the ending and how the characters react. The way you choose to lead Daniel and Sean through this journey is all in your hands, to the better and worst.
I love the fact that there isn't a happy ending, all 6+ endings are sad to downright heartbreaking, with the game not punishing you for being selfish and caring about Sean and Daniel more than others.
Now, where the game tries a bit too hard is with its racial conflicts. It's obvious that racism = bad, and every time an element like that appears its downright cringe the way it's handled, with almost no choice given to the player on how to handle the situation. Episode 4 is also the weaked one by far, the crazy how much the quailty dropped going from the great episode 3, to the boring, short, filler, episode 4.
Episode 4 traps you in this religious mambo jumbo cult, with an on rail storyline with almost nothing from the player's input. Daniel makes no sense in this episode and his choices here are out of left field. Thankfully, most of it was redeemed in episode 5.
Life is Strange 2 is an anomaly for story driven games like this as it actually lets you lead the story and shape the characters like you want them to be, LIS 2 doesn't act like the world is black and white and always give you a third option, if you choose to take it.
Can't wait for the new one in October.
Life is Strange 2 is a showcase of great storytelling, that actually listens to the choices but not in the gimmicky way like some of the telltale games, actual important character development through the 5 episodes affect the ending and how the characters react. The way you choose to lead Daniel and Sean through this journey is all in your hands, to the better and worst.
I love the fact that there isn't a happy ending, all 6+ endings are sad to downright heartbreaking, with the game not punishing you for being selfish and caring about Sean and Daniel more than others.
Now, where the game tries a bit too hard is with its racial conflicts. It's obvious that racism = bad, and every time an element like that appears its downright cringe the way it's handled, with almost no choice given to the player on how to handle the situation. Episode 4 is also the weaked one by far, the crazy how much the quailty dropped going from the great episode 3, to the boring, short, filler, episode 4.
Episode 4 traps you in this religious mambo jumbo cult, with an on rail storyline with almost nothing from the player's input. Daniel makes no sense in this episode and his choices here are out of left field. Thankfully, most of it was redeemed in episode 5.
Life is Strange 2 is an anomaly for story driven games like this as it actually lets you lead the story and shape the characters like you want them to be, LIS 2 doesn't act like the world is black and white and always give you a third option, if you choose to take it.
Can't wait for the new one in October.
I went into this with kind of low expectations. I just hadn't heard as much about this one as the other Life is Strange games and what I had heard was mixed. But in the end I think this might be one of my favorites. I really loved Daniel and how your decisions influenced who he became in the end. The story was very engaging and I didn't want to stop playing. Gameplay was what you'd expect from a Life is Strange game.
My favorite in the life is strange series.
MY PRECIOUSSSS
This game does not get nearly enough love considering it's better than the original in a lot of ways
Most conflicting game I've played