Life is Strange 2 |OT| Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (Episode 5 out now!)
- Thread starter JehutyRunner
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I finished LIS2 this weekend and even though my expectations were pretty low considering i loved LIS1 and BTS, i must say that LIS2 is one of the most disappointing games in recent history.
A game like this relies so much on its story and characters and LIS2 fails on both subjects. Sean is too much of a blank canvas to be interesting or remind you of an actual person, and his relationship to his little brother must have sounded good on paper, but gets old really fast.
The biggest problem with both Sean and the plot of LIS 2 is that the whole adventure is based on so many bad decisions. Why did he run away in the first place? Why won't he just surrender and stop putting his little brother's life in danger for nothing? You can of course justify this by him being young, shocked and panicking from what happened to his dad, but i feel that you as a game developer can't base your whole game on a journey that the player just wants to end. By the end the writers seem to recognize that surrendering is a good choice and.. yeah it was obvious from the start. It was never as much of a hard decision as the writers seemed to have thought they created. It's definitely the most unnecessary adventure to ever take place in a game.
For my whole time with the game i was amazed by how Dontnod have created a game that looks and plays like LIS but contains almost nothing of the magic that you felt during the first game. The scene with Arcadia bay and later meeting David was really cool but somehow it felt like two worlds colliding more than this being the same universe. When David talked to Sean about just surrendering and giving up it felt symbolic.. like LIS telling LIS2 that this shit was never a good idea and everything should just be over with.
I love the fact that Dontnod made another LIS. But honestly i feel like they no longer understood what made LIS 1 so good and loved. A wierd thing about this is the fact that they offshored Before The Storm to Deck Nine and that game in my oppinion had almost the same magic as the original game. Maybe LIS 3 should be put in Deck Nines hands from the start?
Enough whining, this was good about Life is Strange 2:
*The graphics - The game looks amazing in UE4. Kinda wish they would recreate the original game in this engine.
*Just enough things happen - My biggest problem with the first game is that there is just too much shit going on at all time. LIS 2 is more relaxed and that was a good thing.
*The Adventures of Captain Spirit - This was the only time that LIS 2 could be confused with the first game. A beautiful gray area of tragedy and hope.
*The endings - All four of the endings felt really well made and well thought out. The scene with the boys back in the woods was pretty damn amazing.
The biggest problem with both Sean and the plot of LIS 2 is that the whole adventure is based on so many bad decisions. Why did he run away in the first place? Why won't he just surrender and stop putting his little brother's life in danger for nothing? You can of course justify this by him being young, shocked and panicking from what happened to his dad, but i feel that you as a game developer can't base your whole game on a journey that the player just wants to end. By the end the writers seem to recognize that surrendering is a good choice and.. yeah it was obvious from the start. It was never as much of a hard decision as the writers seemed to have thought they created. It's definitely the most unnecessary adventure to ever take place in a game.
For my whole time with the game i was amazed by how Dontnod have created a game that looks and plays like LIS but contains almost nothing of the magic that you felt during the first game. The scene with Arcadia bay and later meeting David was really cool but somehow it felt like two worlds colliding more than this being the same universe. When David talked to Sean about just surrendering and giving up it felt symbolic.. like LIS telling LIS2 that this shit was never a good idea and everything should just be over with.
I love the fact that Dontnod made another LIS. But honestly i feel like they no longer understood what made LIS 1 so good and loved. A wierd thing about this is the fact that they offshored Before The Storm to Deck Nine and that game in my oppinion had almost the same magic as the original game. Maybe LIS 3 should be put in Deck Nines hands from the start?
Enough whining, this was good about Life is Strange 2:
*The graphics - The game looks amazing in UE4. Kinda wish they would recreate the original game in this engine.
*Just enough things happen - My biggest problem with the first game is that there is just too much shit going on at all time. LIS 2 is more relaxed and that was a good thing.
*The Adventures of Captain Spirit - This was the only time that LIS 2 could be confused with the first game. A beautiful gray area of tragedy and hope.
*The endings - All four of the endings felt really well made and well thought out. The scene with the boys back in the woods was pretty damn amazing.
For context I played until episode 3 of LIS 1 and watched my ex finish a whole playthrough. I would say I enjoyed it a lot.
Started this one the other day and I'm liking it so far, except for Daniel. I'm still on chapter 2 but will stop being nice to the little shit, I can't stand his annoying behaviour in every fucking scene.
Started this one the other day and I'm liking it so far, except for Daniel. I'm still on chapter 2 but will stop being nice to the little shit, I can't stand his annoying behaviour in every fucking scene.
Bought this with the PSN sale and finished episode 1. I' m enjoying it so far, big plus that I'm experiencing a familiar perspective instead of another white school kid.
I finally finished the season, and I have to say that the ending made me pissed off.
All in all, I'd definitely want Dontnod to make LiS 3, this time with maybe less focus on superpowers or at least make them more grounded, or something that only the main character is aware of like in the first season. I'd also appreciate not hand-holding another little brother through the whole journey :p
I got the ending with Sean being locked away for 15 years. It's basically the ending you're supposed to get if you played as a decent human being teaching your brother to be a good person and not abuse his powers, and the game punishes you hard for doing that.
I get it that it's somewhat realistic, especially them being non-white in America, so there might be political overtones but after all the shit the brothers have been through these 5 episodes you'd expect to have some positive ending for them.
Instead, Sean of course got fucked hard and he's probably gonna have mental issues for the rest of his life, it was hard seeing him as an empty shell and then breaking down in the forest while Daniel was supposedly telling him some nice stories..
Man, fuck that. It's either that or they go be supervillians in Mexico (or just Daniel while Sean dies, or they live their life completely apart.. either way all endings are somewhat pretty sad and depressing). Ugh, I wanted some feel good at the end but that was the most depressing episode by far.
In one way, it means that they achieved their goal in building the characters and how the story goes and how you get attached to them, but damn, again - I wanted something positive :(
oh well, that's life I guess.
I get it that it's somewhat realistic, especially them being non-white in America, so there might be political overtones but after all the shit the brothers have been through these 5 episodes you'd expect to have some positive ending for them.
Instead, Sean of course got fucked hard and he's probably gonna have mental issues for the rest of his life, it was hard seeing him as an empty shell and then breaking down in the forest while Daniel was supposedly telling him some nice stories..
Man, fuck that. It's either that or they go be supervillians in Mexico (or just Daniel while Sean dies, or they live their life completely apart.. either way all endings are somewhat pretty sad and depressing). Ugh, I wanted some feel good at the end but that was the most depressing episode by far.
In one way, it means that they achieved their goal in building the characters and how the story goes and how you get attached to them, but damn, again - I wanted something positive :(
oh well, that's life I guess.
All in all, I'd definitely want Dontnod to make LiS 3, this time with maybe less focus on superpowers or at least make them more grounded, or something that only the main character is aware of like in the first season. I'd also appreciate not hand-holding another little brother through the whole journey :p
I just finished it and the Post Game Depression is real. I feel like I went on the adventure with them. So many awesome and memorable characters. It made me sad for the little brother I never had, my mother miscarried.
Looking at the endings I didn't get the ending I wanted. I got Blood Brothers. I wanted Parting of the Ways.
*edit* Man this game has ruined me. I feel worse today than I did yesterday.
Looking at the endings I didn't get the ending I wanted. I got Blood Brothers. I wanted Parting of the Ways.
*edit* Man this game has ruined me. I feel worse today than I did yesterday.
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Finished it today. Got the
.
I gotta say, I waited a lot to get started on this, as I kept reading it wasn't up to LiS 1. I really enjoyed my time with it! Loved the soundtrack as well, the main theme is so fitting! Looking forward to what Dontnod brings us next!
ending where Sean goes to prison for 15 years and Daniel lives with his grandparents. I though it was fitting with how the story was leading us. I was not satisfied with the escalation on the police department, and would have prefered the option to surrender a little earlier (it is mentioned when you are at Karen's camp etc). And 15 years? That seems way to harsh for the little to no evidence, but I guess that injustice/racism is the overall theme of the game.
I gotta say, I waited a lot to get started on this, as I kept reading it wasn't up to LiS 1. I really enjoyed my time with it! Loved the soundtrack as well, the main theme is so fitting! Looking forward to what Dontnod brings us next!
Just finished this due to it leaving Game Pass next week... And as a huuuuge fan of the first game and BTS, I'm very disappointed by this.
Characters are so shallow in this game - they look more like stereotypes than characters, in fact. Everything is extreme - someone is either too good or too bad - and its quite obvious too. Like, the first time you meet a certain character, you can totally tell if he's good or evil. There's almost no middle ground.
The episode structure also helps to make these characters less interesting: you meet a bunch of people in an episode, then you move to the next one and you never see them again. There's no development. I know this is kind of expected with this "on the road" structure, but I felt like many games with similar concepts did a much better job in character development.
I liked how things started and I really enjoyed Episode 3. But then, the overdone concept of Episode 4 and the very boring Episode 5 just highlighted these problems for me. I couldn't enjoy the game anymore.
Lastly, I never felt like I was making any hard decisions nor I had any emotional moments like the first two games. Even the soundtrack, one of the best things of the first game, I can't even remember a single song that stick to my mind.
Overall, this game had a huge improvement in cinematography and art direction in general. Graphics looks way better, shots looks amazing. Everything else feels like a downgrade and, overall, a bad game with some nice moments :/
Characters are so shallow in this game - they look more like stereotypes than characters, in fact. Everything is extreme - someone is either too good or too bad - and its quite obvious too. Like, the first time you meet a certain character, you can totally tell if he's good or evil. There's almost no middle ground.
The episode structure also helps to make these characters less interesting: you meet a bunch of people in an episode, then you move to the next one and you never see them again. There's no development. I know this is kind of expected with this "on the road" structure, but I felt like many games with similar concepts did a much better job in character development.
I liked how things started and I really enjoyed Episode 3. But then, the overdone concept of Episode 4 and the very boring Episode 5 just highlighted these problems for me. I couldn't enjoy the game anymore.
Lastly, I never felt like I was making any hard decisions nor I had any emotional moments like the first two games. Even the soundtrack, one of the best things of the first game, I can't even remember a single song that stick to my mind.
Overall, this game had a huge improvement in cinematography and art direction in general. Graphics looks way better, shots looks amazing. Everything else feels like a downgrade and, overall, a bad game with some nice moments :/
ah that's sad.
I think episode 5 is better than Life is Strange episode 5 actually.
And the music is really good in Life is Strange 2 as well.
I am almost at the finish but decided to comment before I get to the ending. I am in the middle of the last episode and to me this is much better than LiS1 (not to mention Before the Storm, which I found pretty awful). One of the best light adventure games I played. It feels like a real journey. I wonder if the ending is going to sour me on this.
It shouldn't. I believe they put a lot of effort into the endings based on how you raised Daniel through the game.
I also like LiS 2 a bit more than LiS 1. It's a matter of difference in story delivery. LiS 1 was a bit slower paced in one location giving plenty of time to get acclimated to the characters in a familiar school setting.
LiS 2 didn't have the same luxury of staying in one place, which resulted in less screen time for the characters they encountered but seemed like a real journey to me so by the end, I felt they really had been through a lot.
I just finished the game. Overall I liked it. I felt like it had some slower parts that I didn't enjoy as much. I also liked the gameplay in life is strange 1 more for some reason. I know the gameplay doesn't change much between the two games, but for some reason I felt like I wasn't interacting with the game as much in Lis 2 compared to the first one. Maybe it is because you play as a character without powers, I don't know.
All that aside though the game looked absolutely incredible and the story was great. I definitely started crying a little
. I liked the ending I got, even if it was a little sad.
All that aside though the game looked absolutely incredible and the story was great. I definitely started crying a little
when Sean broke down and started crying in the woods after reuniting with daniel
Discovered this Japanese trailer from this. It makes the game seem like an anime.
Just finished the game and i fully share your opinion ,got the same ending which made me sad and angry...depressing ☹
Anyway, i loved the game!
Just finished. Also got the "15 years later" ending (with Lyla and Karen) and I quite liked that one.
The rest of the game was a bit of a miss for me tho. Didn't get me nearly as emotional as the original, and a lot of the characters felt kinda cliché and underdeveloped. I played Episode 2 in December 2019 and it tired me out so much that K literally took a year's break after that lol - only picked it up again a few days ago and powered through the remaining episodes.
I really felt like Daniel's powers didn't really work very well with the narrative here - felt like they belonged in a typical action movie or something. Max's time travel stuff felt a lot more relevant to the storyline and were a lot more interesting to play around with, and I loved how they turned the"Telltale" choice system on its head. The powers here were kinda bland in comparison, and much less engaging since you're not in control of them...
Overall it was an enjoyable enough experience - a solid 7/10 for me, I think. I liked the ending, the themes, and some of the locations/settings, but some parts just didn't work for me at all. I guess I preferred it over BTS tho, and I did like the David cameo in the final episode :)
The rest of the game was a bit of a miss for me tho. Didn't get me nearly as emotional as the original, and a lot of the characters felt kinda cliché and underdeveloped. I played Episode 2 in December 2019 and it tired me out so much that K literally took a year's break after that lol - only picked it up again a few days ago and powered through the remaining episodes.
I really felt like Daniel's powers didn't really work very well with the narrative here - felt like they belonged in a typical action movie or something. Max's time travel stuff felt a lot more relevant to the storyline and were a lot more interesting to play around with, and I loved how they turned the"Telltale" choice system on its head. The powers here were kinda bland in comparison, and much less engaging since you're not in control of them...
Overall it was an enjoyable enough experience - a solid 7/10 for me, I think. I liked the ending, the themes, and some of the locations/settings, but some parts just didn't work for me at all. I guess I preferred it over BTS tho, and I did like the David cameo in the final episode :)
I started to play this a couple days ago, just finished episode 2.
I have to say I'm baffled by how badly this game was received, since, so far, its miles better than LiS1. Might be because, as a gay man, i can play as a canonically queer male lead for the first time in my life, but i don't think so, LiS2 simply stepped up the game and feels like a more well realized game.
I feel the characters in this game are much more complex and human than those from the original, which always felt a bit one dimensional, and i think the melancholic atmosphere of the game is more fitting, since the situation is more serious and urgent than LiS1 was for the most part, or until the real shit started happening. I also never really liked Max as a protagonist, she was kinda always depressed (sometimes for no apparent reason) and gloomy, while Sean and Daniel have a more realistic range of emotions.
Anyway, I'm glad I didn't listen to the internet in this one, I'm starting chapter 3 later today and I can't wait to see what the game has in store for me.
I have to say I'm baffled by how badly this game was received, since, so far, its miles better than LiS1. Might be because, as a gay man, i can play as a canonically queer male lead for the first time in my life, but i don't think so, LiS2 simply stepped up the game and feels like a more well realized game.
I feel the characters in this game are much more complex and human than those from the original, which always felt a bit one dimensional, and i think the melancholic atmosphere of the game is more fitting, since the situation is more serious and urgent than LiS1 was for the most part, or until the real shit started happening. I also never really liked Max as a protagonist, she was kinda always depressed (sometimes for no apparent reason) and gloomy, while Sean and Daniel have a more realistic range of emotions.
Anyway, I'm glad I didn't listen to the internet in this one, I'm starting chapter 3 later today and I can't wait to see what the game has in store for me.
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At chapter 4 and SO HEARTBROKEN by what Sean is going through :((( he's a little angel and doesn't deserve that, the game is making me depressed.
The scenes where he
is one of the most powerful things I've ever seen in a videogame. I was devastated after that.
This game is incredible, I still can't understand the bad rep it gets, it's on a whole other league than LiS 1.
The scenes where he
is assaulted by two bigots and is made to sing in spanish
This game is incredible, I still can't understand the bad rep it gets, it's on a whole other league than LiS 1.
Oh man just wait until the ending. It's just incredible, trust me. It left me absolutely bawling :|
just to say, after news from yesterday, i am glad you guys now have powerful backing and financial security so i am looking forward to your new games in the future! 😃
You're looking forward to it, I'm working toward it, all is good ^^
Thank you for presenting us with this beautiful, beautiful story!
It resonated with me in a lot of ways, and I'm sure It was the same for many people. It's the kind of representation we need more in the game industry.
Finally finished episode 5 a couple days ago, and i think this is the most touched I have been by a video game in my life. Post game depression hit hard, and has been lasting for days. I can't stop thinking about the Diaz brothers and their struggle.
I was hoping that, after so much grief, they would be able to find a happy ending, but i understand the game was true to its real life approach until the very end. I like the ending i got, and i think it's the best overall, but it's still bittersweet.
Anyway, this game is gonna leave a mark on me for a long time. I'm looking forward to anything DONTNOD makes, and hope they will stay true to their political views and keep going places that were unprecedented in videogames.
I was hoping that, after so much grief, they would be able to find a happy ending, but i understand the game was true to its real life approach until the very end. I like the ending i got, and i think it's the best overall, but it's still bittersweet.
I got the "Parting ways" ending, where Sean escapes by himself to Mexico and Danny stayed behind and turned in to the police. I was content with the ending, and i think it was the best scenario overall. Sean sacrifice everything he possibly could for Daniel, so what o wanted the most is that he could be happy after his job was done, and I think this ending delivered that.
I was a bit disappointed that they didn't show him in Mexico (only a photo), but i understand they did that to leave it open to the players imagination, since he was the character you were controlling. But nonetheless, we can see he's definitely happy and with the person he loves (Finn, in my case), and that's enough for me. The poor guy suffered so much, and was nothing less than a hero by the end of the game, all i wanted is that he could finally find peace.
As for Daniel, i know he's implied to be in house arrest and is definitely being watched by the government, but we can see he is having as normal of a life as possible, with many happy moments. He gets to grow up with his family and friends, while Sean is away from everyone in a different country and probably living like a nomad, so both of them had to compromise, which is fair. Also, the house arrest isn't going to be forever, so I like to believe he will be able to reunite wwith Sean even sooner than 15 years.
The only thing that really bothered me about this ending is that it was out of character for Sean to just run away and leave Daniel behind. They could have easily made him cross the border and stop the car when he realized Daniel jumped off, and then Daniel could put the gate or pile up the cars to block him from coming back. Sean already knew he wouldn't be prosecuted, so they would look at each other one last time and understand that their paths must diverge from there. That would have made more sense and be more faithful to the character.
The other endings are all bad in various degrees, but the worst of all is probably the one where Sean goes to jail for 15 years and is completely broken by the time he gets out, he DOES NOT deserve that after all he did for his brother, it's too unfair.
I was hoping for a true happy ending where somehow they get free of all charges, or maybe they go together to Puerto Lobos and manage to live happily there (without getting involved with crime), but i think this just isn't like LiS. I could imagine an ending where Sean decides to turn himself in at the border but is shot, and then Daniel loses controls and starts to lash out at the police, showing his powers. Then Sean (still alive), reaches him and makes him calm down. That way the police would understand that everything that happened was because of Daniel's power, so Sean could get some community service time for minor felonies, while Daniel would be put in a watch, just like he was in Parting Ways. They both get to stay in the US, happy with their family, and together. But yeah, didn't happen.
I was a bit disappointed that they didn't show him in Mexico (only a photo), but i understand they did that to leave it open to the players imagination, since he was the character you were controlling. But nonetheless, we can see he's definitely happy and with the person he loves (Finn, in my case), and that's enough for me. The poor guy suffered so much, and was nothing less than a hero by the end of the game, all i wanted is that he could finally find peace.
As for Daniel, i know he's implied to be in house arrest and is definitely being watched by the government, but we can see he is having as normal of a life as possible, with many happy moments. He gets to grow up with his family and friends, while Sean is away from everyone in a different country and probably living like a nomad, so both of them had to compromise, which is fair. Also, the house arrest isn't going to be forever, so I like to believe he will be able to reunite wwith Sean even sooner than 15 years.
The only thing that really bothered me about this ending is that it was out of character for Sean to just run away and leave Daniel behind. They could have easily made him cross the border and stop the car when he realized Daniel jumped off, and then Daniel could put the gate or pile up the cars to block him from coming back. Sean already knew he wouldn't be prosecuted, so they would look at each other one last time and understand that their paths must diverge from there. That would have made more sense and be more faithful to the character.
The other endings are all bad in various degrees, but the worst of all is probably the one where Sean goes to jail for 15 years and is completely broken by the time he gets out, he DOES NOT deserve that after all he did for his brother, it's too unfair.
I was hoping for a true happy ending where somehow they get free of all charges, or maybe they go together to Puerto Lobos and manage to live happily there (without getting involved with crime), but i think this just isn't like LiS. I could imagine an ending where Sean decides to turn himself in at the border but is shot, and then Daniel loses controls and starts to lash out at the police, showing his powers. Then Sean (still alive), reaches him and makes him calm down. That way the police would understand that everything that happened was because of Daniel's power, so Sean could get some community service time for minor felonies, while Daniel would be put in a watch, just like he was in Parting Ways. They both get to stay in the US, happy with their family, and together. But yeah, didn't happen.
Anyway, this game is gonna leave a mark on me for a long time. I'm looking forward to anything DONTNOD makes, and hope they will stay true to their political views and keep going places that were unprecedented in videogames.
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