“Life is Strange 2” is a single-player episodic adventure game developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix. The episodes were released between Sep. 27, 2018 and Dec. 3, 2019. This game is a sequel to the 2015 game “Life is Strange,” following the story of two Hispanic American brothers traveling along the U.S. West Coast.
The game begins in the control of 16-year-old Sean Diaz, who is traveling with his 9-year-old brother Daniel after an explosion left their father dead. Shortly after fleeing, Daniel discovers his telekinetic abilities, which caused the prior incident. Sean takes the role of a parent, who’s actions directly affect Daniel’s morality and relationship between them.
Beginning their journey in Seattle, Washington, the brothers travel south to get to their fathers house in Puerto Lobos, Mexico. They join train hoppers, Finn and Cassidy, who are travelling to California to work at a cannabis farm. Daniel tries to use his power to steal money from the boss, which leads to another explosion that leaves Sean’s eye impaled with glass.
Sean wakes up two months later in a hospital under F.B.I. custody, and escapes to find Daniel, who was taken to Nevada. Sean discovers a religious cult leader has been using Daniel as a gift to her followers, and helps him escape with the help of a woman named Karen. Karen turns out to be Daniel and Sean’s mother, and they reconnect while traveling to Arizona to get closer to Mexico.
Eventually, the brothers end up at the United States and Mexican border. Daniel breaks open the barrier with his powers, but they get shot at and taken in by the local police. After fleeing from interrogation, they head to a Mexican port of entry, but find it blocked by FBI and border patrol agents. At this point, Sean must decide between surrendering or attempting to cross the border. This outcome completely depends on the way you raise Daniel throughout the game. The endings can vary from the brothers happily living in Mexico, to Daniel living in Mexico alone after Sean dies, to Sean getting arrested and Daniel going to live with their grandparents.
“Life is Strange 2” received a lot of praise after its release, comparing it to the first game. This game is different from its prequel, with a variety of consequences from your actions instead of one. The choices throughout the game can dictate the lives of other characters and their relationship towards Sean or Daniel. Trusting others can reward you, while others can punish you.
Most of the choices depend on how you parent Daniel, which I think is a unique concept. If you raise him differently, you almost get a completely different storyline with a different ending. This is what prompted me to play more than once, since I wanted to see the range of Daniel’s abilities depending on his brother’s direction.
The endings are brutal, showing the reality of what would happen in their shoes. For example, if you raise Daniel to be aggressive with his power, then he won’t listen to Sean at the border and unintentionally kill him. But if he is raised to control it, then they will make it to Mexico and with a clean record.
Despite the praise, “Life is Strange 2” also got a lot of hate for the politics mentioned along the story. Many people felt that the racial and religious issues overpowered the brotherhood that Sean and Daniel represented. The game introduces many moments and choices that revolve around the brothers being Mexican and, although realistic, it distracts from the family theme that keeps them together.
When Sean and Daniel are faced with a racial-driven choice, the player doesn’t really have a say in what happens. This contradicts the main aspect of the game, which is that your choices matter. No matter how you go about dealing with the racists in this game, it always ends the same. Similarly, with the church in a later episode, it always ends with saving Daniel while the church burns to the ground. It seems like the only choices that matter are the ones that dictate the morality of Daniel, which affects which ending you get.
In summary, Life is Strange 2 is an amazing game about brotherhood and family, as well as adventure and survival. However, there are some bumps in the story and gameplay that can make it difficult to enjoy. I had fun playing this game, and I think it is interesting to see the different endings based on the choices you make.
