Background

I’ve always had a soft spot for adventure games, going all the way back to the DOS era. The depth of their stories and characters always resonated with me more than the often bare-bones narratives found in many contemporary games. The golden age of LucasArts adventures in the '90s produced a string of classics that still stick with me today. While the 2000s were something of a fallow period for the genre, the 2010s brought about a revival, largely driven by indie studios. This resurgence also marked a split in the genre between traditional puzzle-heavy games and more narrative-driven experiences, popularized by Telltale’s The Walking Dead.

Life is Strange 2 falls firmly into the latter camp, aligning more with the narrative style of Telltale’s work. I’ve played through most of the Life is Strange series up to True Colors, but I had put off playing Life is Strange 2 until recently. The premise never grabbed me as much as the others, and early online discourse suggested it wasn’t as strong as the rest of the series.

Production

As a narrative-driven adventure game, Life is Strange 2 lives or dies by its story and writing. Structurally, the game takes a road trip approach, a notable shift from the first Life is Strange, which was largely confined to a high school and its surrounding town. While this new format offers more variety in terms of settings, it comes at the cost of character depth. The transient nature of the story means most supporting characters appear in only one or two episodes, often reducing them to broad archetypes rather than fully fleshed-out individuals. This stands in contrast to the original game, where the static setting allowed you to grow familiar with a cast of well-developed personalities.

The heart of the narrative lies in the relationship between Sean Diaz, the player character, and his younger brother, Daniel. By centering the story on two Mexican-American protagonists traveling through a politically tense, Trump 1.0 America, the game directly engages with themes of racism and social justice. While these are bold and commendable narrative choices, the handling can feel a bit heavy-handed at times, likely due to the limitations of the episodic structure and limited runtime per chapter.

One of the game’s biggest weaknesses is its pacing, especially in the early episodes. The first episode, in particular, drags in places and struggles to find narrative momentum. Fortunately, this improves in later chapters as the writing team appears to find its rhythm and better balance character development with plot progression. The episodes also feel more self-contained and rarely end on cliffhangers like those in Life is Strange 1, which reduces the urgency to immediately jump into the next episode.

Where Life is Strange 2 truly shines is in how it handles player choices. While it also concludes with a major final decision, the game’s ending is much more responsive to the cumulative decisions made throughout the journey. This gives the story a more organic and emotionally satisfying denouement, especially compared to the binary choice that closed the first game. In fact, I’d argue that Life is Strange 2 sticks the landing much better whereas Life is Strange 1’s final episode felt rushed and tonally inconsistent, the sequel ends on a far stronger note.

On the production side, the art direction is excellent. It builds on the digital painting art style of the first game with a more refined look. Character models, especially for background NPCs, are noticeably improved, adding a level of polish that helps elevate the overall presentation.

Gameplay

Gameplay in this genre will always be somewhat limited, and Life is Strange 2 is no exception. Unlike the first game, which featured a time-rewinding mechanic that played a central role in both puzzles and narrative choices, the superpower in Life is Strange 2 has a much lighter touch in terms of gameplay. It’s more of a narrative device than an interactive mechanic.

Traditional puzzles are virtually nonexistent. While there are moments where your decisions influence the story, these choices tend to shape character relationships or determine minor outcomes rather than create complex branching paths. The game follows a mostly linear structure, and it lacks the high degree of narrative divergence seen in titles like Detroit: Become Human.

Conclusion

While I had to push myself through the slower early episodes, the journey that Sean and Daniel go through gradually grew on me. Life is Strange 2 ultimately tells a stronger story than its predecessor, but the less engaging superpower mechanic and a cast of less memorable side characters hold it back. It lands as a solid, upper-tier “mid game” which is more emotionally resonant than mechanically compelling.

7/10 Worth playing for any gamer