Life Is Strange 2 - Episode 2: Rules Reviews
Life is Strange 2 Episode 2 feels more like a crossover bonus sequel to The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit than a true continuation of the first episode
Second Installment Syndrome further infects the Second Episode of this Second Installment of Life is Strange.
“Rules” feels like emotional torture porn without any of the thematic follow through to make it worthwhile.
Episode 2 doesn’t compare to the excitement I felt with Episode 1—mainly due to its lull in action (and suspicious amount of calmness) and feeling like I had little control over certain events as a player.
While Life Is Strange: Episode 2 has a lot of much-needed character-building, it suffers from some significant pacing issues and occasional technical trouble. It’s by no means a major failure, and I can’t wait to see where the story goes next, but after the four months we’ve anticipated seeing the brotherly companions return, it’s not quite worth the wait.
Rules is a backwards step after a strong opening for Life Is Strange 2, feeling more like a filler episode which squanders the momentum of the Diaz boys' story.
Life Is Strange 2: Episode 2 is a disappointment. While it contains a number of revelatory moments and a couple of scenes that pack real tension, thanks to its lousy pacing and absence of agency, only the most committed fans of this series are advised to pick it up. Here's hoping Episode 3 picks up the pace.
Aside from the pacing, the episode is let down by a variety of technical issues which add a layer of frustration and detract from the experience. Fortunately we can see that the pace of Episode 3 is likely to pick up, and hopefully that finally reaches the potential this story is promising.
Life Is Strange 2 feels like it's flying under-the-radar, which is unfortunate because this sequel has all of the hallmarks that made its predecessor a success. Episode 2: Rules is slow, but DONTNOD is still easing its new cast of characters in. There's definitely something good brewing here, but for whatever reason we can't shake the feeling that the developer has utterly failed to capture the imagination of Arcadia Bay's biggest fans.
A lovely little diversion for the wolf brothers finds their biggest problem not to be the law, but inconsistencies in their own animation.
Whereas the first episode was emotional, tense, and compelling, this second episode kind of feels like it's just getting itself from point A to point B in the story. It's not a bad episode, but it feels very underwhelming when compared to the first.
Life is Strange 2 needs to get to the point as I'm losing interest, pair that with a constant water noise in the background and poor pacing for a bad time.
Regardless of the issues, it's still too early to say whether or not this arc will pay off. Right now it feels like the story has a firm grasp on the concepts they want to touch on, but they don't know how to tell a narrative that fits it. It's clear the next episode will deal with Cassidy the drifter and we will likely meet their mother at some point, but right now the story is spinning wheels. It will be interesting to see if the climax gives us the ability to see two radically different endings or possibly the most common outcome leading to the future franchise canon but we will have to see where the rails take us.
Besides some boring fetch quests, Rules continues to head in a good direction. Thanks to a strong cast of characters, and the bond between Sean and Daniel, players can rest assured that Rules will take care of their Life Is Strange needs. There are those memorable moments that will linger in the mind of fans upon the credits rolling, keeping them anticipating what’s to come next.
Life is Strange 2 Episode 2 Rules is strong follow-up from the hard-hitting first episode but plays a little too safe at times
Rules isn't eventful as the first episode but extremely essentials to understand what actually happened and to work on Sean and Daniel relationship dynamic.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
The second episode of Life is Strange 2 continues the journey of the two brothers and explores more of Daniel's power. The presence of Captain Spirit is interesting. Certain events, however, did not cause the impact they intended to because they were too predictable. The consequence at the end of the episode was also not my intention considering my choices. It is a relatively good episode and provides more information about the family of the two brothers, but has few interesting moments.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Rules is a good way to continue the story of Life is Strange 2. This chapter that makes us make some tough decisions regarding the situation can be depressing, soothing, shocking, moving and we are really looking forward to know where Sean and Daniel are taken next time.
Review in French | Read full review
Rules maintains the series' dual coming-of-age narrative, but often undermines its central pillar of choice.
Story in "Life is Strange 2: Rules" is too slow, full of routine and strange actions. We hope that potential romantic line and the change of setting will bring some variety to the gameplay next time.
Review in Russian | Read full review