Life is Strange 2 starts off with genuine hope, but quickly devolves into a story written like a sadist's wet dream, where the writers seem obsessed with endlessly torturing the characters (and subsequently us as players) rather than telling a natural story, either to continue its heavy-handed messaging, or to ensure the story cannot end before its underwhelming final episode.

To start with the positives: the graphics are okay, and the voice acting is genuinely good. The initial setup in the first episode, the closeness the boys had with their father, and their dynamic as brothers up until about the cabin episode were well done and actually succeeded in making me care about them.

However, the game constantly punishes you for caring. I am particularly disgusted with the developers for the inclusion of R.I.P. Mushroom :(, an inescapable, horrible punishment the player is forced to endure just to progress with the narrative. It highlights the game's most frustrating flaw: the complete illusion of choice. I did everything perfectly at the grandparents' house and the market (with the game forcing one person to notice during a cutscene), and yet the game continued to force me to leave for plot contrivance.

Adding to this frustration is the game's exhausting story, and its messaging is so heavy-handed that it feels like the game is constantly slapping you across the back of the head every single episode. It constantly throws these characters, and randomly introduced new ones, into miserable situations purely to force the plot to progress. I actually had to take a month-long break between episodes 4 and 5 because the narrative's incessant need to pander to Daniel became unbearable. You spend the whole game trying to maintain his fragile morality, to the point where Sean barely exists as his own character by the end. We are just a side character to the main character of Daniel.

There is also a frustrating double standard regarding their ages. Sean is 16, but it feels like the writers scripted him to be 18 or older. He rarely acts like a regular 16-year-old until the pot farm, when he finally just indulges. Naturally, the game frames this negatively because it sets a bad example for Daniel, proving once again that Sean isn't allowed to have any agency of his own.

Honestly, three hours for each episode was too much time. It was unnecessary, like the walking in the desert scene with the trucker who isn't a racist. I would have enjoyed the story far more if Sean could have just ditched the brat with the grandparents and gone off on his own, maybe dealing with the guilt of having abandoned him. Or is it purely that Sean kept Daniel around simply because he had powers?

I chose the route of surrendering with high morality because I wanted a happy ending. Instead, Daniel gets absolutely no punishment, and Sean gets 15 years in prison for an undeserved crime. The reunion in the woods was a brief moment I was glad about, but then it immediately turns depressing again, highlighting Sean's trauma before they just drive off in separate cars. I wish the developers had taken a page out of Detroit: Become Human (or even learned from their own predecessors) and allowed the story to actually branch or end early. Forcing the player into these miserable, railroaded endings is terrible design, and just leaves the player feeling empty, like there's something left, and not with a feeling of closure.

Something I did not find comfortable at all was the constant thematic ripping away of safety. I understand its purpose to emphasise the harsh, unforgiving reality of the brothers' situation. However, understanding the intent doesn't make the execution any less exhausting or repetitive. It felt less like natural storytelling and more like intentional cruelty to the audience, providing a brief haven every single episode only to predictably and cheaply snatch it away:


Episode 1: The home is safe, the plot commences, and they run. This was fine and sad. They find Brody in the end, and the motel safety returns, but then Daniel finds out about their dad and Sean's forced narrative lie.

Episode 2: The cabin. Then, Mushroom is killed for a cheap-shot jab at the player, despite it not even being a choice in reality since she comes with you regardless. At the grandparents' house, their safety returns, then the market cheaply rips it away in a forced cutscene where someone sees Sean.

Episode 3: Forced to run away again to the pot farm. Initially, it seems safe and comradic, then Merrill and the plot walk in, and safety is diminished.

Episode 4: Sean wakes up in the hospital, providing a brief moment of physical safety and medical care, but he is under arrest. After a miserable escape, he finds Daniel at Haven Point, which is presented as a safe sanctuary but quickly devolves into a manipulative cult. Safety is shattered, and they are forced into yet another destructive escape.

Episode 5: They finally reach the wall, only for safety to be removed by personifications of its main messaging, leading to an admittedly good police station scene, only to conclude with a disappointing ending.


All in all, the game forces you to care and then actively wastes your time and emotional investment with a rollercoaster of pointless things that happen. Then it ends, and your choice does nothing (except selecting which happy ending Daniel gets). So, I cannot recommend it.

Life is Strange 2 starts off with genuine hope, but quickly devolves into a story written like a sadist's wet dream, where the writers seem obsessed with endlessly torturing the characters (and subsequently us as players) rather than telling a natural story, either to continue its heavy-handed messaging, or to ensure the story cannot end before its underwhelming final episode. To start with the positives: the graphics are okay, and the voice acting is genuinely good. The initial setup in the first episode, the closeness the boys had with their father, and their dynamic as brothers up until about the cabin episode were well done and actually succeeded in making me care about them. However, the game constantly punishes you for caring. I am particularly disgusted with the developers for the inclusion of [spoiler]R.I.P. Mushroom :([/spoiler], an inescapable, horrible punishment the player is forced to endure just to progress with the narrative. It highlights the game's most frustrating flaw: the complete illusion of choice. I did everything perfectly at the [spoiler]grandparents' house and the market[/spoiler] (with the game forcing one person to notice during a cutscene), and yet the game continued to force me to leave for plot contrivance. Adding to this frustration is the game's exhausting story, and its messaging is so heavy-handed that it feels like the game is constantly slapping you across the back of the head every single episode. It constantly throws these characters, and randomly introduced new ones, into miserable situations purely to force the plot to progress. I actually had to take a month-long break between episodes 4 and 5 because the narrative's incessant need to pander to Daniel became unbearable. You spend the whole game trying to maintain his fragile morality, to the point where Sean barely exists as his own character by the end. We are just a side character to the main character of Daniel. There is also a frustrating double standard regarding their ages. Sean is 16, but it feels like the writers scripted him to be 18 or older. He rarely acts like a regular 16-year-old until the pot farm, when he finally just indulges. Naturally, the game frames this negatively because it sets a bad example for Daniel, proving once again that Sean isn't allowed to have any agency of his own. Honestly, three hours for each episode was too much time. It was unnecessary, like the walking in the desert scene with the trucker [spoiler]who isn't a racist[/spoiler]. I would have enjoyed the story far more if Sean could have just ditched the brat with the grandparents and gone off on his own, maybe dealing with the guilt of having abandoned him. Or is it purely that Sean kept Daniel around simply because he had powers? I chose the route of [spoiler]surrendering with high morality[/spoiler] because I wanted a happy ending. Instead, [spoiler]Daniel gets absolutely no punishment, and Sean gets 15 years in prison for an undeserved crime. The reunion in the woods was a brief moment I was glad about, but then it immediately turns depressing again, highlighting Sean's trauma before they just drive off in separate cars.[/spoiler] I wish the developers had taken a page out of Detroit: Become Human (or even learned from their own predecessors) and allowed the story to actually branch or end early. Forcing the player into these miserable, railroaded endings is terrible design, and just leaves the player feeling empty, like there's something left, and not with a feeling of closure. Something I did not find comfortable at all was the constant thematic ripping away of safety. I understand its purpose to emphasise the harsh, unforgiving reality of the brothers' situation. However, understanding the intent doesn't make the execution any less exhausting or repetitive. It felt less like natural storytelling and more like intentional cruelty to the audience, providing a brief haven every single episode only to predictably and cheaply snatch it away: [spoiler]Episode 1: The home is safe, the plot commences, and they run. This was fine and sad. They find Brody in the end, and the motel safety returns, but then Daniel finds out about their dad and Sean's forced narrative lie.[/spoiler] [spoiler]Episode 2: The cabin. Then, Mushroom is killed for a cheap-shot jab at the player, despite it not even being a choice in reality since she comes with you regardless. At the grandparents' house, their safety returns, then the market cheaply rips it away in a forced cutscene where someone sees Sean.[/spoiler] [spoiler]Episode 3: Forced to run away again to the pot farm. Initially, it seems safe and comradic, then Merrill and the plot walk in, and safety is diminished.[/spoiler] [spoiler]Episode 4: Sean wakes up in the hospital, providing a brief moment of physical safety and medical care, but he is under arrest. After a miserable escape, he finds Daniel at Haven Point, which is presented as a safe sanctuary but quickly devolves into a manipulative cult. Safety is shattered, and they are forced into yet another destructive escape.[/spoiler] [spoiler]Episode 5: They finally reach the wall, only for safety to be removed by personifications of its main messaging, leading to an admittedly good police station scene, only to conclude with a disappointing ending.[/spoiler] All in all, the game forces you to care and then actively wastes your time and emotional investment with a rollercoaster of pointless things that happen. Then it ends, and your choice does nothing ([spoiler]except selecting which happy ending Daniel gets[/spoiler]). So, I cannot recommend it.