Official Review Life Is Strange 2 Complete Season Review

Early on in Episode 1 of Life Is Strange 2, a gas station owner near Mount Rainier, Washington threatens our protagonist, Sean Diaz, telling him "You're the reason we need to build that wall". Sean is in fact American but inherited his Mexican father's phenotype, hence the reference. This confrontation at the gas station is one of the many that Sean will encounter for similar reasons - his appearance. The decision you make during your playthrough might have a lot to do with how you empathize with the situations Sean finds himself in, or even your personal experience in being in similar situations yourself. If Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding was a reaction to Trump and Brexit, then Life Is Strange 2 is a tale about the daily struggles of thousands, if not millions around the world.

In typical Life Is Strange fashion, this opus also features a heartwarming plot with supernatural elements, driven by the player's choices at key moments. This title follows the story of Sean and Daniel Diaz, two brothers who lead a regular life until one fateful day where a tragic event triggers the awakening of Daniel's telekinetic powers, leading to the accidental death of a police officer. Panicked and struck by fear that they will blame him and put Daniel in foster care, Sean decides to flee immediately, heading South of the border to Puerto Lobos, where his father owns a plot of land, and hopefully stay there safely with his brother. And so begins the story of the two Diaz brothers, or as you will come to know - the story of the two Wolf Brothers.


With the release of the Complete Season, now is the perfect time to indulge in this story, uninterrupted and without the need to wait for the next episode's release. If you like story-driven games, you're in for a treat as the narrative design is top notch, mixing supernatural elements with a touching coming-of-age plot and sprinkling it with a little romance and conflict, all acted out professionally by an interesting cast of characters. Spanning 5 episodes, each episode features a unique cast of new and recurring characters, some of whom will help you while others will hinder your progress. And if you've been wondering: no, you don't have to have played the first Life Is Strange game in order to enjoy or even understand this title. But if you did play that one, you'll notice some minor references to the series' first entry. However, unlike the adventures of Max Caulfield, you will play as a regular teenager in this title sans superpower who will have to look after his brother with telekinetic powers. So, no more rewinding time to fix your mistakes, you will have to guide Sean through 5 episodes to make the best decisions to look after his brother via the in-game choices. It is the story of Daniel as experienced by Sean, and it actually felt more touching to me than the first Life Is Strange.


The choices can be as trivial as deciding to play a mini-game or not but can also be as crucial as ones that will determine the ultimate outcome of the game. With its branching narrative, even subtle choices will have a ripple effect. For example, if you decide not to scold Daniel when he swears early on, he will continue swearing later on. Another example is when asking for money from Shaun's dad, if you tell the truth that you'll probably use it to buy alcohol, he will appreciate your honesty and give you more dough. Even with little things like that, the game plays so fluidly that you won't really notice how the game progresses based on your choices. But as the game progresses to focus on the evolving relationship between the two brothers, the decisions you make might reveal something about yourself, like how you'd be as an older brother and how you treat others. Those very choices, your actions and reactions will slowly influence Daniel's morality (help or harm people? abide by the rules or break them?) and will either open or close possibilities within the game.

In this way, the actions you take during your playthrough will build up to have more serious consequences, eventually deciding if you reach the El Dorado which is Puerto Lobos or have a not-so-happy ending. In fact, the game counts seven different endings, boosting the replay value, well, seven fold, although much of the game will still remain the same.


Across its beautiful and varied landscapes taking you across lush green vegetations to arid deserts to wintry lands, while accompanied by some mellow indie tunes, Life Is Strange 2 does not offer much in terms of gameplay. If you're more of an action-adventure gamer, Life Is Strange 2 might disappoint with its virtual lack of actions other than walking and selecting the options that the game prompts. There are a few nice gimmicks like having Sean sit down and sharpen his drawing skills while capturing the moment or collecting souvenirs. Even the graphics aren't spectacular by today's standards. The game also packs what might arguably be the worst mini-game ever conceived - one where you have to trim cannabis buds with the help of shoulder buttons.


However, Life Is Strange 2 doesn't really need any of these "fillers". Yes, it might be compared to a walking simulator but it will be a walking simulator with a deeper message. If you strip the fantasy elements off of this title, you might find that it wants to help players empathize with the situations that people like the Diaz brothers face on a daily basis like racism, bigotry and/or plain injustice. It might help you question people's, and even your, morality and the current social and political climate of our age.

This aspect of the game actually makes it very approachable by a larger audience, gamers and non-gamers alike, as I would myself highly recommend anyone who can to play this game.