Life Is Strange 2 no longer a mystery

Written by Jack Allin — August 20, 2018 at 23:01

After slowly teasing a sequel to the acclaimed Life Is Strange through cryptic trailers and even a free standalone adventure, at long last Square Enix and French developer DONTNOD Entertainment have pulled back the curtain on the new five-part sequel set to debut next month.

While the first game (and its mini-prequel Before the Storm) were female-oriented adventures firmly rooted in the girls' home town of Arcadia Bay, the second season is about a pair of boys on the run. Brothers, in fact: 16-year-old Sean and 9-year-old Daniel Diaz, who experience a "tragic event that changes their lives forever." Now wanted by the police and being "threatened with both separation and incarceration, Sean decides to take his younger brother and seek a better life in their family’s home town of Puerto Lobos, Mexico." As they soon discover, however, "life on the road is dangerous and the brothers will be faced with tough decisions as they bravely undertake a journey that will test the bonds of brotherhood."

While retaining all the key elements that made the first game such a success, including "the mood, the cinematographic work and of course, the [style of] music," everything else promises to be new, such as "a new cast of characters, multiple new settings, new gameplay features and a brand new power." Controlling Sean, players will be confronted by "tough choices" that have real consequences in a story that will "focus on brotherhood alongside the need to guide and educate your younger brother whilst simultaneously coming of age yourself." The writers have once again embraced themes that will "cause moral dilemmas and require much soul searching," to be reflected in "the way Daniel will develop depending on the lessons you teach him and the role model you decide to be."

Although only getting these first substantial details now, the debut episode of Life Is Strange 2 is tantalizingly close, as the series is set to launch on Windows PC, PS4 and Xbox One on September 27th.
 

Update: For a more in-depth look at the upcoming first episode, check out a video of the first 19 minutes set in the brothers' home town of Seattle.