I've come to regard the four main games in the Life Is Strange franchise as kind of like the siblings in a big family. There's the eldest, who will always be heaped with praise because no matter what the others achieve, she did it all first. Her twin is always keen to remind you that even though she's the younger and perhaps not quite as accomplished half of the duo, she's more charismatic and less coy about who she is and what she wants. Then there's the youngest, who's extremely likeable, in large part because she's learned what behaviours to avoid just by watching the others make mistakes; even if she's modelled herself on the eldest a bit too closely in her quest for approval, and so hasn't really forged her own identity.
Then there's Life Is Strange 2: the awkward middle child. Still very recognisably a member of the family, but the one that stands out in all the photos because he's just a bit gawky. He's experimented a lot with his storytelling and plotline in an attempt to make himself stand out, and it's only sort-of worked. His romantic subplots are underdeveloped, his villains are one-dimensional, and his attempt at tackling a Very Serious Issue has grown in all crooked.
]]>The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is a playable teaser released to promote Life Is Strange 2, the first episode of which followed on three months after this surprise p.t. dropped during E3 2018. Not to be confused with Silent Hills P.T. (it's like… the exact opposite of that), Captain Spirit is free to play, takes two to three hours to complete, and manages to perfectly encapsulate the Life Is Strange experience without giving anything away about the main (read: paid-for) games in the series. It also features possibly my favourite LIS protagonist in adorable wannabe superhero Chris, which is quite a high bar to clear, considering how much time I spend banging on about what great characters Chloe and Sean are.
]]>Tencent's desire to throw cash at game development studios continues. The media conglomerate has now made an investment in Dontnod Entertainment of Life Is Strange and Tell Me Why fame. It's a minority stake, not an acquisition, but represents another developer that Tencent are linking themselves to this year.
]]>Pack your bags, wrap the presents, put your scarf around your neck. And then sit down because, I'm sorry, you're going nowhere. It's bad, yeah. Even yours truly, a respected list goblin of note, could not make it back to his family in time for the holidays due to the ongoing vengeance of mother nature. But listen. What if I told you: "video games"? They have always had something for us in the past. What wonderful surrogate families can we join in this time of loneliness and separation to ease our troubled minds? Here are the 10 most wholesome families in PC games you may look to in this hour of need.
]]>Get in the car, loser, we're going to Mexico - and we're not paying for the first hundred miles. Starting today, the first episode of supernatural teen sequel Life Is Strange 2is going completely free, permanently. Oh, you'll still have to pay up to see their journey through to completion, but now you can spend a few hours with the Diaz brothers as they begin their cross-state road trip to the border.
]]>It’s Friday the 13th, the day of Saint Badluck, patron saint of ladders and casinos. And it is a fabulous holiday. Out there, parades are getting ready to be rained on, and children are looking forward to tonight’s shenanigans, when they will dress up as mirrors and knock on doors, declaring: “sweets or I’ll smash myself”. I love Friday the 13th. So many cherished memories. So many splinters of reflective glass.
So, Happy Bad Luck Day. Here’s a list of the 9 unluckiest characters in videogames. Spoilers for pretty much every game mentioned. So, watch out.
]]>Alice Bee: I have performed the summoning ritual (the ritual is: sending an email) and called errant skate boy Brendy back for one last job before retirement. It is, after all, time for the last episode of Life Is Strange 2, a harrowing road trip game about two brothers trying to make it from Washington state to Mexico. And since we started the journey together, it seems only right we should finish it together. Reader, there will be spoilers ahead, so mind you don't step in them.
What a journey it has been, eh? Last time, Sean Diaz rescued his magical little brother from an abusive Chrstian cult, and they burned down a church with their mam. But this fifth episode, "Wolves", was probably the most saddest so far, I think. Brendy, would you agree?
Brendan: I didn’t cry, but I did have a very lumpy gullet.
]]>‘Tis the season / use a brolly / tra la la la / la la la la.
Hello, it's me, the list goblin, here in this festive first week of December to deliver a big black bin bag of presents to you. And by presents, I mean a single irrevocable inventory of the most disastrous and terrible winters in the videogames of recent history. Yes, there will be cannibalism. Yes, thousands will die of exposure. But from this great compendium of coldness will come knowledge, strength, and, okay, at least one adorable puppy. Here are the 9 harshest winters in videogames. Wrap up.
]]>The fifth and final episode of Life Is Strange 2 is out today. The choice-based narrative game has revolved around brothers Sean and Daniel as they run from their home in Seattle after a tragic run-in with police. Over the course of the season they've slowly made their way south attempting to flee to Mexico.
]]>Gather round, descendants of unwelcome occupiers. It is time to celebrate turkeys again. Now, I don’t have any comically large birds to slaughter, but I do recognise the emotional benefit of reflection, which is what this questionable holiday is all about. Being thankful. There are many small things we videosgamers take for granted, the stuff you don’t even think about. But tiny “quality of life” things still deserve a grateful thumbs-up. Here are 17 things to be thankful for in games.
]]>Spooky-ooky coming-of-age story Life Is Strange 2 has run into trouble with the Australian Classification Board and will be removed from sale down under for about a fortnight while they sort this out. If you already have it on PC (called a 'compo' or 'pozza' in Australia, probably), you're grand. The developers don't say exactly what the dispute is about, but I'd wager it's down to something which has happened in later episodes of the series. Possibly a drug. Oh no.
]]>Caution: Spoilers, duh.
Brendan: Hello, Alice. This is going to come as a shock but listen, you’ve been in a coma. Incredible I know, but while you were unconscious Life Is Strange 2 released the fourth episode of its road-tripping choice-o-rama, and now that you’re back in conscious reality I’d like to table a discussion on what the hell happened after the explosion on that sketchy weed farm back in June. All in favour, say “aye”. (This sounds like “eye”, which is a joke).
]]>Troubled runaway scamps Sean and Daniel Diaz are back. The fourth episode of Life Is Strange 2 released this week, with big brother Sean casting about a big desert in search of his lost brother. He isn’t in great shape himself, either, understandably, given everything he’s been through. Observe, a very melancholy launch trailer.
]]>Alice Bee: Hey Brendy. Why don’t you spark up a massive spliffer of weed-grass and join me here to talk about Life Is Strange 2: Episode 3. It’s called Wastelands, which I think might have a double meaning of some kind.
Brendan: Oh wow, it does. [Inhaling] Whoa.
Contains spoilers, dunnit
]]>Life becomes odder than ever in the third episode of Life Is Strange 2, released today. Our lads are still on the lam, reaching the redwood forests of California and--uh oh!--you know who's found in forests: hippies. And me. Often me. But it's hippies they're hooking up with this time as they continue to trek cross-country and, y'know, come to terms with puberty and superpowers and hormones and all that.
]]>You can now buy Life Is Strange 2’s second episode by itself, instead of needing to nab the entire season pass, and you’ll be able to do the same when the remaining episodes launch scattered through the rest of this year.
Developers DontNod made the announcement together with a teaser trailer that reintroduces self-professed “tree market snowflake” Cassidy. I spent some struggling to work out what kind of unfamiliar American idiom she was making until I realised that she was being literal, having met brothers Daniel and Sean Diaz in a Christmas tree market way back in episode two, all those weeks ago.
]]>Square Enix have kindly given way-advance notice of three dates you'll want to stock up on tissues for, announcing launch dates for the remaining three episodes of Life Is Strange 2. I don't have foreknowledge of what will happen to kiddywinkles on the lam with superpowers but, y'know, they are kiddywinkles on the lam - one way or another, you'll be getting sniffly. Better book that Tesco delivery for a family box of tissues today (other supermarkets are available).
]]>Alice Bee: Hello Brendan. I suppose you’re wondering why I’ve gathered you, singular, here today. It is because we both played episode two of Life Is Strange 2, Rules. I am excited to talk to you about this because I think we might have had different outcomes this time. The Fabulous Diaz Brothers (™) had a hard time of it in the first episode (you can catch up with our previous verdict-o-chat on episode one). We opened on this one to find them camping out in an abandoned cabin, in the snow. Spoilers ahead, readers, and go carefully, for I know that Brendy is still emotionally raw from some of the events in the episode. How’re you holding up, B?
]]>Contains big spoilers.
Monstrous. The second episode of Life Is Strange 2 came out last week, and it is barbaric. It sees the Diaz boyz trudging through snow and trying to get over winter by hanging out in a terrible cabin. Alice B and I will soon talk about the lads and their snowy escapades, like we did for our Episode 1 verdict-o-chat. But for now, I’ve played through the snowy episode and all I have to say is: DONTNOD, HOW COULD YOU?
]]>Kids and superpowers are an obviously bad combination, a fact that Life Is Strange 2 seems to want to reinforce in its second episode - Rules - out today. Dontnod's adventure series continues as young runaways Sean and Daniel hole up with their grandparents for the winter, all while trying to avoid getting spotted by the cops. While they're settled down, there's powers to be trained, codes of conduct to be established, and an exuberant kid next door that looks mighty familiar to anyone who played free prelude chapter The Awesome Adventures Of Captain Spirit. See the launch trailer below.
]]>DontNod have revealed that energetic storyteller Chris from the series’ standalone episode, The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit will return in the game’s second episode of brotherly runaway simulator Life Is Strange 2.
In a teaser video, which you can see below, season 2 protagonist Daniel and Captain Spirit protagonist Chris share a brief dialogue, which promises a cute friendship between the two kids. And I’m absolutely sure that nothing tragic will come of it. Right?
]]>You awake to find a tall figure looming over you. It’s the news. It looks tired and wild-eyed, like a shadow too exhausted to follow its master. Suddenly, the news shouts at you.
“Life Is Strange 2!” it bellows. “You know, that adventure game about the two wee lads running away from their hometown? Its second episode is coming out in January! The developers said so themselves!”
Ignore the news and go back to sleep? Or read more?
]]>Can you kick it? Yes, you can. Can you punt a ram? Yes, you can. Can you listen to the RPS podcast, aka the Electronic Wireless Show, as they talk about the best kicks in videogames? Yes, I already told you, of course you can. From the powerful hoof of Kassandra in the new Assassin’s Creed Odyssey to the zombie-launching boot of Dying Light, we are chatting about some of the most forceful feet in recent history. Come listen, and kick up the volume.
]]>My favourite bits of Life Is Strange are the sitting around bits. You know, when Max decides she wants to rest her legs and plops down on the ground next to a convenient tree to lean against and thinks about how weird everything is now that she’s got time travel powers. Wonderfully, they’re back in Life Is Strange 2 and – even better! – they’re still very good.
]]>Brendan: Hello, Alice. I’ve just been dandering along a quiet highway in Life Is Strange 2. There’s no time-travelling gal pals in this one (at least, none so far) but there is a sad psychic pre-teen and his hoody-wearing brother. I don’t know why I’m telling you all this, you just played through it too, and we’re gonna have a chat about each episode as it comes along - what we liked, what we thought was dumb, who we think is secretly a murderer - rather than wait until the whole game is out to review it. I guess I’m explaining all this for our stinking readers. Hey readers. SPOILERS AHEAD.
]]>Since it was announced that Life Is Strange 2 will leave behind the first game’s heroines, Max and Chloe, in favour of a new pair, brothers Daniel and Sean Diaz, many fans have been left wondering about how the sequel will compare. Now, developers DontNod have released a video called “The Road to Life Is Strange 2” that discusses what’s changing and what will keep the sequel feeling like part of the same overarching world. You can watch it below:
]]>It’s time for Gamescom, the yearly show in Germany. There are lots of games here. Too many for a lone operator. We’re going to have to send a whole unit. That’s where you come in, members of the elite RPS podcast. Four of you are going to Cologne. We’ve heard reports of Cyberpunk 2077, Metro Exodus, Biomutant, Dying Light 2, Ape Out, Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot and many more colourful adversaries. You’re going to have to bring your hottest takes. Your objective: a special Gamescom episode of the Electronic Wireless Show. Gear up.
]]>It’s difficult to give a hugely meaningful preview based on hands-off footage, especially if that footage was all pre-recorded. What I can definitely tell you, if this will be any surprise, is that if you really liked or disliked Life Is Strange, you will probably have the same reaction to Life Is Strange 2 because it is Life Is Strange but more.
]]>The Life Is Strange series isn't known for telling the happiest of stories, but the Gamescom reveal trailer for Dontnod's sequel Life Is Strange 2 wastes no time in letting you know that this one is going to be a downer. The video below gives us a brief introduction to the young Diaz brothers - Sean and Daniel - and gives us some hints as to why they're on the road, living rough and apparently trying to stay ahead of the police on a long journey south. Don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure that superpowers are involved.
]]>As you may well have guessed after the superhero antics in Life Is Strange 2's free playable side story, The Awesome Adventures Of Captain Spirit, it seems the sequel may well play with powers far less subtle than time travel. Ahead of the game's "reveal" later this month, a new wee teaser trailer shows a cop car (+associated cop) being flipped by something resembling a telekinetic blast (or other supershove). As demonstrations of power go, yeah, that's more obvious than telling someone the contents of their pockets. See for yourself.
]]>The first episode of Life Is Strange 2 will arrive on September 27. Dontnod's Twitter account has announced the release date, along with a painfully brief teaser displaying only the title and the series length: five episodes. Beyond that, the developers are keeping quiet.
For more details we’ll need to wait until August.
]]>Life is Strange was always promised to be a big complicated weirdo universe. I thought Dontnod started fulfilling that promise when they setup the expansion/prequel Before The Storm and let us explore superpower-less backstories. But here's a bit of something completely different: The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit; an original story set in the Life is Strange universe and taking on a completely different style of story and genre of storytelling. You'll play as a young boy and take on adventures in his imagination. And by extension, all of the places where his imagination can take you. And by extension, a reminder of how much happier we were before we were all old and sad. Yes, trailer, I do remember that I had a childhood. Yes, I too would like to go back.
]]>We loved Life Is Strange [official site] here at RPS. Even though we're so old that we had to Ask Jeeves (.com) what all of the slang its characters used actually meant, we fell in love with the autumnal world and the people sighing and struggling through their strange little lives. In a tale as old as time-manipulation, a photography student uncovers mystery and rekindles friendship in a quiet town on the brink of disaster. We've all been there.
And we've been waiting for more. Turns out development studio Dontnod have been holding out on us because they've been working on the follow-up for some time already, as they make clear in the video below.
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