- [James] Life Is Strange 2 : Episode 1
features none of the characters, setting,
or even decision-reversing time travel abilities
of its predecessor, but the moment that acoustic guitar
begins delicately strumming over the sunkissed title screen,
it is unmistakable what you are playing.
Things may be unfamiliar, but in every important way,
this is Life Is Strange.
Episode 1 introduces us to its Mexican-born protagonist
Sean and his brother Daniel
as they embark in a bigger, more complex story
than was told by the original Life Is Strange.
This is a hugely elaborate affair.
It's action sprawls out from Seattle to the woods of Oregon
and still farther afield,
giving it the feel of a road movie in game form.
- Seems dangerous to be out here all alone.
But maybe you're the ones who need to be watched.
- Huh?
- [Narrator] Life Is Strange 2 aspires to be nothing less
than an unsparingly critical portrait
of Donald Trump's America,
but Paris-based developed Dontnod Entertainment's execution
leans a bit broad.
The violent behavior of its cartoonishly bigoted
racial xenophobes is a catalyst for the story
but it lacks the nuance
of which we know the studio is capable.
- Please.
- You're the reason we need to build that wall.
Hold tight.
I'm gonna go get your brother.
- [Narrator] While Life Is Strange 2 doesn't always reach
its lofty political goal,
it does succeed when its ambitions are less grandiose.
It makes time for small details and moments of candid repose
and invites you to proceed slowly,
to linger in the environments and soak up the mood.
- We'll build a secret base
so we can hide out for the night.
Are you ready?
- Yes, I can build anything.
We just have to find some cool blocks around here
and be careful of creepers.
- [Narrator] What resonates
are not the sweeping condemnations
of American racial prejudice, but modest, fleeting glimpses
of life at its most banal.
Sean and Daniel have a home life
that feels exceptionally lived in and true,
rich in local color and detail.
- Court is in session.
Judge Diaz presiding over the case of the last Choco Crisp.
- [Narrator] Two simple conversations
shared with the boys' father before they deport
are wonderfully performed and written.
They skirt every father-son cliche
and strike right at the heart of a real relationship.
- I was wondering how long it'd take.
You need money for the party tonight, right?
(sigh)
Ah, ah, ah, ah, shh.
Just be honest with me.
- [Narrator] Though it lays the groundwork
for supernatural elements to come,
Life Is Strange 2 above all is a story of brotherhood
and fraternity.
Even in its early stages, Sean and Daniel's relationship
is enormously touching.
Sean is encouraged to not simply look out for
or protect Daniel, but to help raise him.
That responsibility manifests in ways both obvious
and more opaque.
- What are you doing, Sean?
Can I try?
- You never skipped stones?
- Yeah, but it was a long time ago with Dad.
- [Sean] Okay, then show me.
- [Narrator] Life Is Strange 2 is at its most satisfying
at its quietest, when you're permitted to just sit down
on a bench or a rock and luxuriate wherever you are
for a few minutes.
The music swells, the camera cuts between different angles,
and the action is briefly suspended without momentum.
- [Sean] Same bad coffee, same nasty toilets,
same food.
But I don't feel at home at all.
- [Narrator] It's in such moments
you understand Life Is Strange 2 as a series
isn't about time travel or the end of the world.
It's about real-world relationships.
It's about that delicate acoustic guitar.
For more on Life Is Strange,
check out our review of the tie-in episode
The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit
and to the prequel series Life Is Strange: Before the Storm.
And for everything else, stick with IGN.