Review for Life is Strange 2. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 27/09/2018
The adventure of Sean and Daniel comes alive: after the most classic break from the quiet typical of modern fairy tales to which we have become accustomed Dontnod, the plot of Life is Strange 2 finally comes alive, fishing out the characters of Captain Spirit and consistently inserting them into the cast, while continuing to build a story that promises to be full of surprises.
Rules (this is the title of episode 2) strongly pushes the accelerator on moral choices, now much heavier and felt by the player than what happened in the first episode. The story resumes at Christmas, a few months later than where we left Sean and Daniel who, continuing on their journey, reach Oregon. Here they seek refuge from their maternal grandparents, in a small village submerged by snow, where they decide to stop for a while. The rhythm of the narrative is affected by this pause, shifting the focus of the story from the hard and pure journey to the with other human beings: they are the typical American stereotypes to which the Life is Strange saga has accustomed us, but in this context they are used to expand the audience of characters and situations with which the player will have to deal, acting as a counterbalance to the first episode, where the only well-characterized supporting character was Brody.
From this we said, moral choices derive from the most marked impact: although analyzing the events with a cold mind we understand how they follow a pre-established plot that will inevitably lead the plot to follow the track already decided by the developers, the feeling that while playing every little decision that affects the course of events is always strong and grand. Will it be the characters wonderfully characterized or will it be the terror of seeing even the seemingly simpler situation degenerate, this is not even we can decipher. The certainty is that playing Life is Strange 2 is always an experience with a capital E: choice after choice, empathy for the protagonists turns into that amalgam that only a few titles of this generation are able to boast..
Rules begins to put together the pieces of the puzzle initially hinted at at the end of Roads, inserting that paranormal component so dear to the fans of the first Life is Strange, us first: the powers of Daniel, the new X-man, begin to manifest and need to be tamed and trained properly. In addition to the obvious increase in the depth of the gameplay that follows, the manifestation of powers opens up a new series of possibilities: it will be up to you to decide whether to search for a key or simply break down a door, just to give an example, preparing you to face all the consequences of your actions. The Rules of the title are the rules that Sean imposes on Daniel, designed for the protection and safety of both: Hide your powers, don't talk about them with strangers and escape danger whenever possible.
Obviously also in this case, in the face of a clear and apparently safe code of behavior, the imaginary gray area that separates the white and black ideal of what is right and what is not is the space within which you will find yourself for everything. time, sweating cold at the thought of the butterfly effect generated by every slightest choice.
The gameplay of Rules follows what was already proposed in Roads in terms of exploration and solving of simple puzzles necessary to continue the adventure, adding the possibility of manipulating objects with telekinesis with the same system already seen in Captain Spirit. The scenarios to be explored are limited, but the objects with which to interact are always many and the Level design wisely camouflages the borders of the virtual world, always giving the feeling of being in much wider areas than they actually are.
The technical side and the very high quality of the sound sector are reconfirmed, finally, also in this episode: the snowy wastes of Oregon are graphically stunning, with the usual Life is Strange style poised between realism and cartoon, always able to amaze. The dubbing is of the highest quality - only in English with subtitles and interface entirely localized in Spanish - and the soundtrack, which adapts perfectly to the setting and does not disappoint the expectations of Life is Strange fans, is of an even higher level.
Dontnod and Square Enix churn out the second episode of an adventure that promised to be of excellent workmanship right from the start. So far it seems that the expectations have been maintained, and that there are the conditions to develop a touching and profound story as expected from this brand. Needless to say, we can't wait to continue the journey.
► Life is Strange 2 is an Adventure-type game developed by Dontnod and published by Square Enix for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 27/09/2018
