Life is Strange: Episode 2 - Out of Time Reviews
Life is Strange still suffers from some problematic dialogue and "gamey" sequences, but the emotional payoff is worth the effort.
If you played Episode 1, this is a must-play. If you're new to the series and still not sure, I'd say that five dollars a chapter is more than worth the price to give it a chance.
With Life is Strange: Episode 2 - Out of Time, developer DONTNOD Entertainment has lessened the wow factor and upped its focus on development. Through this, some pacing issues are created, though the final product remains decent and has a few memorable moments up its sleeve.
Maybe at a more discounted price or if you just love a narrative but for these reasons it’s hard to see the series as anything more than okay. It hits the points it needs to, there just isn’t enough to elevate it beyond the basics.
Out of Time may not be as captivating as the first episode, but it leaves plenty to look forward to and answers just enough questions to ask a few more. Coupled with the painting art style, DONTNOD has created a rather lovely and intriguing picture. It's going to be hard to wait for May for the third episode.
In places, Life Is Strange utilizes familiar gestures toward unhurriedness, allowing the player to direct Max quickly to the obvious and clearly designated story/action waypoints, or to meander instead, examining objects and pursuing optional conversations. The moments in the second episode that truly stand out, however, are the ones where the game allows Max to just sit down, and, after a bit of not-great but not-awful internal monologue, just be where she is, as long as she and the player want.
While the second episode is flawed, I'm still invested in these characters and curious how things will turn out
While Out of Time has a tendency to meander (like Max herself), it hits hard in its critical moments. This episode succeeds in that it's adept at creating sincere concern for most of the inhabitants of Life is Strange. That depth is appreciated, but Out of Time felt like a giant step to the side, as we aren't much further along than we were at the end of episode one.
It's an improvement on episode one, but there's too much inane padding in Out of Time for it to warrant a hearty recommendation.
Life Is Strange: Episode 2 – Out of Time has an excellent ending, but it's letdown by pacing issues that make the events leading up to that point feel inconsequential. There are a lot of interesting and engaging elements working in this release's favour, but it's yet to really pull them all together in a fulfilling manner. In some ways, this is an improvement – the dialogue's better for a start – but it really needs to step up soon. To use a tired baseball analogy, it's had two strikes now – one more and it's out.
Life Is Strange has a few more episodes to prove me wrong—and as always, I sure hope they do. They still have time, but unlike Max's, it's running out.
'Out of Time' is a step back for the burgeoning 'Life Is Strange'. I can't see the forest through the trees, so to speak, and this episode had some difficulty in keeping me interested. The first hour or so especially almost lost me. There are enough plot threads to warrant a mild interest for the next episode, but I hope we haven't already seen the best of what Dontnod has to offer.
At this point, there's a ton of sh*t going down in Arcadia Bay. It isn't until the end of the episode that you get a sense for how it's all coming together in an overarching plot. There's still a lot I'm unsure about, but a cliffhanger at the end of Out of Time has me waiting on edge for the release of Episode 3: Chaos Theory.
The key is, I do enjoy playing it. I'm still far from finished, but have played for an awfully long time. For a tenner, that's a lot of game. It's somewhat obnoxious, but special for just getting on with being a game.
Life is Strange's momentum could do with a little shove for the next episode, but once again I find myself eager for more. At times the episode treads water, but the optional discoverable details turn out to be important aspects that make the exploring worthwhile. It's just a shame that we have to wait six weeks (at least) for more.
If you weren't a massive fan of the first episode then this second one is unlikely to change your opinion of the series, but if you enjoyed exploring the world and characters in that first episode then Out of Time has a lot to offer.