gamescom 2018 - Life is Strange 2 Preview

The anticipated sequel to DONTNOD’s flagship title, Life is Strange 2, dropped on YouTube on Monday, and the next day the devs graced gamescom with the playable demo of the first chapter. In addition, footage of the chapter was also released on their YouTube channel, allowing those not at gamescom to catch a glimpse of the upcoming experience.

Chapter one of the first episode, Seattle, takes place in the fall if the Halloween decorations around town are anything to go off of. We see a school bus come to a stop, a few kids getting off. Our main character, Sean, is one of these kids as well as his best friend, Lyla. They talk about a party that’s apparently happening that evening as they walk toward home. They part ways after Lyla reveals she’s quite the wing-man, texting a girl Sean likes for him, Sean heading inside.

Here you finally start to control the character, exploring his home. Inside we find his little brother, Daniel, who has a sign on his bedroom door that says “Bear’s Lair” with a childish sketch of a snarling bear. Apparently he’s working on his Halloween costume. From here, you can also visit Sean’s father, working on a car in the garage, then to Sean’s room with a stop in the kitchen to raid the fridge and cupboard if you’d like.

To avoid any spoilers, I’m going to stop explaining from here, you can check out the video on YouTube if you’re okay with the spoilers therein. Basically, a tragic situation occurs, throwing everything entirely off course for the brothers, leading them to a journey across America searching for safety. It is intense, though at the same time it’s kind of something you see coming at a certain point. It’s unfortunate all the same, and absolutely qualifies as tragic.

The game feels much like the original, the graphics looking to be updated while the art still feels like the original. I would have liked a little more life in the faces of the characters, but that might just be me. In fact, I’d like to know if anyone feels the same or otherwise out of curiosity.

So far, Esteban is my favorite character. When Sean tries to leave the garage, his father stops him and says, “don’t you think your papito deserves a hug?” with his arms stretched wide. It’s these little moments that make you love the characters in the games in the Life is Strange universe.

All in all, I’m curious as to where this story is going to go and how impactful your decisions will be in the outcome of the game. Hopefully Sean and Daniel will be able to see it through to the other side. Life is Strange 2’s first five episodes are slated to come out 27th September across all platforms. Going off of the demo, I would have to agree. Life can be very strange indeed.