Life is Strange 2 - Episode 1: Roads Reviews
I’m glad I gave it a chance.
Episode 1 can be guardedly recommended, then. It stumbles in parts, sure, but it also proves that DontNod has some ambitious ideas for this instalment of its teen adventure series. On top of that, it ends intriguingly enough to ensure that many who play through it will want to see what the next episode holds.
Despite some questionable moments in the second episode, Life Is Strange 2 is off to an excellent start. Daniel and Sean's journey is a tough, racially-heated story that will draw you in, even as it breaks your heart.
Getting used to Life is Strange 2 characters takes a lot of time and the game might not be able to get your attention as much as the first series. But after playing for half an hour you will notice that LIS 2 is still an emotional and effective game and Dontnod still hasn't lost his skills as a writer and director. With the usual issues with episodic video games, experiencing the first episode of Life is Strange 2 will not be amiss.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Life is Strange 2's first episode kickstarts an emotionless journey that employs critical topics in the worst ways. It fails in many aspects and doesn't even get close to being as good as the first game, but at least it makes the player reflect a bit.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Life is Strange 2, while off to a rocky start, has potential for its future episodes I am interested to see how the events that Sean and Daniel have been through intertwine with the lives of Chris and his abusive, alcoholic father. Ultimately, both stories seem to be leading to one conclusion and it will definitely be an emotional and gut-wrenching journey for all of the main characters going forward.
Life is Strange 2 isn't re-writing DONTNOD's rulebook when it comes to gameplay, but the tale being told this time around is a far bigger statement than their last. And it's only just begun.
Verdict time! I can give this an 8/10. Yeah, why not. It was a good start to the second installment of the Life is Strange franchise and I am actually looking very optimistic about this game. Hopefully, it will not only keep up with this pace, but get even better. Life is strange 1 had this downfall of starting out strong and finishing as a tired horse … I really hope this isn’t the case for Life is Strange 2.
A beginning of a political and troubling story, with some “uncanny valley” animations and dark themes - Dontnod once again proving they are the top of this genre.
Delivers a heavy dose of truth through beautiful narrative.
The loyal fans of the first chapter were hoping a sequel about the dramatic story of Max Caufield and Chloe Price but, cause of the different finales available, would have been really hard to build up a new story. So it’s clear that Life is Strange is a saga that wants to tell us how strange and unpredictable can be the consequences of hard choices, through episodes and stories that mix characters and worlds different from each other.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Episode 1: Roads sets Life is Strange 2 up for potentially great things, but the entertaining moments are extremely fleeting in what is clearly intended to be an emotionally-driven adventure that works to set the tone for what is to come, with particular value placed on the story of brotherhood. The supernatural element at play as the main plot device is interesting, but it again only works to serve as a teaser for what is lying further down the road for the brothers. Not as gripping as season one, but this short episode does its job.
Life is Strange 2 Episode 1 was short, boring and overall forgettable and felt like a bad opening to a new season.
A line from a certain character is very apropos to how this game sees our current year politics and culture: "Everything is political, Sean." I think the game has a good road movie story in there with the two brothers, however the heavy-handed politics are written for pretty much only one crowd: the folks who think our current president is literally Hitler..
With a new story and protagonists, the second instalment of the anthology delivers a range of emotion as two brothers find their way across America.
There are a couple of technical issues that hold back Life is Strange 2, it's got some weird visual glitches, and I encountered a few crashes in the short, but ultimately interesting story of two brothers, and their suddenly upended life.
Life is Strange 2 tells a brand new and almost independent story which focuses on teenagers' strange life, and Episode 1 is a good start. The dramatic beginning of episode 1 is shocking, and the characters are impressive. Choices are not as important as I wish, but the money management system greatly makes up those flaws.
Review in Chinese | Read full review
Unfortunately the episode is let down by the less than subtle way it deals with delicate subjects like racism, as well as gameplay that means this episode feels like quite a slow start to the story. There are several hints throughout the episode to suggest the gameplay may be spiced up in the future, and it may need it if players are going to make it through to the end of the story.
Compared to Life is Strange, this thread of relationship and bond is reminiscent to the friendship between Max and Chloe – albeit very different in terms of specific elements.
Life Is Strange 2, is a successful attemp to shake adventure genre a little bit. It has a brand new story-line, totally different than the one in the first game, but somehow it feels connected to the previous events. The graphic design is spectacular, and the music is joyful. If you're willing to engage in Mexican brothers' story, this game won't disappoint you.
Review in Persian | Read full review