Life is Strange 2 - Episode 1

Disclaimer:  This blog contains major spoilers for the “Life is Strange” series of video games.

The first thing "Life is Strange 2" asks you is whether you chose "Sacrifice Arcadia Bay" or "Sacrifice Chloe" at the end if LiS1 (similar to the beginning of KotOR2).  Oddly enough, I had to think about that for a minute.  Here's the thing... well, let me ramble a little first.

If I’m going to write a blog I like to do it as soon as possible, while the details are still fresh in my head.  But sometimes it takes a while for my opinions to really settle, and my initial opinions don’t match my long-term view of the game/movie/book/etc.  I know I’m beating a dead horse, but before I really get into LiS2, I want to lay out a couple of after-afterthoughts for LiS1 and BtS.

The more I think about it, the more I feel that the perfect order to play them in is chronological (in-universe).  Play the BtS bonus episode first, then BtS Episodes 1-3, then the original Life is Strange.  Rather than be introduced to Chloe when she’s a world-hating rebel, introduce her as a fun-loving kid who gets hit by tragedy.  Jump forward a couple of years to see how it affected her, and witness her character arc as a new friendship starts to make her a better person.  Then another time skip, Rachel disappears, Chloe regresses, and we get another character arc.  Unfortunately with this much buildup, it makes the “Sacrifice Chloe” ending of LiS1 a “Shoot The Shaggy Dog” story. 

…but I’ve come around on that, too.  While I chose to sacrifice Chloe when I played, I’m starting to consider “Sacrifice Arcadia Bay” the true ending.  Not only does it leave more room for sequels (like the comic book series), but I’m also starting to come around on the morality of it.  No, I’m not saying Chloe’s life is worth more than all the other people in town.  I just mean that Max didn’t even know for sure it would work – they were just working on a theory, that the tornado was caused by Max’s time travelling.  For all they knew, going back and letting Chloe die wouldn’t affect the tornado at all.  Or worse, trying to fix time travel with more time travel might have made the tornado even bigger.

So while the town ended up being better off if you sacrifice Chloe, I think the actual decision to let her die was the riskier choice, given the information the characters had to work with at the time they had to make the decision.  Besides, the “Sacrifice Chloe” ending makes the whole game kind of pointless.  Why would the Powers That Be suddenly grant Max this power, only to show her that it was better to have never used it?  Plus, frankly, I refuse to be held responsible for the weather.  Going forward, I am going to accept “Sacrifice Arcadia Bay” as my personal canon.

So anyway, that's my long-winded way of explaining why, when LiS2 asked me what I chose at the end of LiS1, I lied and picked the "Sacrifice Arcadia Bay" option.  I don't typically lie to my electronics, though the toaster's been asking me a lot of inappropriate questions lately.

So far, the only thing it affects is a scene where you see Arcadia Bay from a roadside overlook.  Its condition is determined by which LiS1 ending you picked.    This… bothers me, for reasons that are hard to put into words.  Part of me would rather they had picked a canon ending and stuck to it.  I was kind of hoping they might revisit Max and Chloe in a future game, going off the “Sacrifice Arcadia Bay” ending.  But this sets a precedent.  Any future LiS game that decides to reference any earlier LiS game, will probably ask you for your final choices of said previous game(s).  This means that there will never be official canon, which also means it will be harder to revisit old characters in future games. 

I mean, okay, if you tell a LiS sequel that you chose “Sacrifice Arcadia Bay” in LiS1, then sure, you might run into Max and Chloe themselves as cameos at some point.  But they can’t be too integral to the plot, because the more screen time they’re given, the more screen time they also have to program for the “Sacrifice Chloe” version of that sequel’s universe.  In other words, we’ll never see another game where M&C are the protagonists.  Not that I expected one, but I hate the door being closed forever.  But maybe I’m reading too much into it.  The whole series feels experimental, so they’re not necessarily bound by these rules. 

It’s weird to me that the writers gave Daniel wind powers.  Wind was such a strong theme in LiS1, so it looks like wind is an overall theme for the series.  Except BtS had a fire theme.  This makes me wonder if they’re going to do seasons based on water and earth.  But if so, why two wind games before we get to the other elements?  I’m probably reading too far into it.  They probably don’t even have any ideas for future sequels yet.  Plus, I'm not 100% sure yet if Daniel's powers are actually meant to be "wind", or just generic levitation powers.

I guess I’m hoping this is all building to some future game where the characters from LiS1, LiS2, and a few more sequels all meet and save the world.  The “Emo Avengers” or whatever.  I won’t hold my breath, but ya never know.

There is a strong racism theme in LiS2.  The first two games had a lot of gay subtext, but it was so subdued that sometimes I thought I was imagining it.  But LiS2 isn’t afraid to show off its social awareness.  Between mentions of Trump’s wall, a prejudiced cop, and a bigoted shopkeeper, this game is probably going to be hated by a certain subset of gamers for being too "SJW-ish" or whatever.  Well, screw ‘em.  Not enough games have the courage to deliver this kind of social message.

But I also feel... I don't know, cheated?  I love that LiS1 and BtS featured GLBT representation.  I also like that it treated it as no big deal, just another minor aspect of some complex characters.  But after seeing how well LiS2 calls attention to bigotry, I almost feel cheated out of a good “GLBT person overcomes oppression” story.  Maybe LiS3 could star a transgender character.  With water powers.  I’d play that.

I like that you’re not directly controlling the character with the power this time.  As much as I loved LiS1, the time travel aspect was my least favorite part of it.  The writers did such a good job with the themes, moods, music, and characterization, that they didn’t need to include the more traditional video game elements.  I preferred BtS (even if the story wasn’t as interesting), because it felt less gamey and more like interactive fiction.  I think LiS2 is the best of both worlds, because it holds onto the supernatural elements while not requiring you to control them directly.  I just wish I liked the characters as much as Max and Chloe.

The way you influence Daniel is revolutionary.  I don’t know if it’s the first game to do it this well, but it’s certainly new to me.  Decisions you make influence your little brother’s developing personality.  Just like raising a child in real life, your actions teach him far more than any verbal lessons you could give him.  The best way to insure he becomes a good person is to be a good person yourself.  But what is “good” in a world where authority figures judge you by your skin tone?  The LiS series is excellent at placing you in situations where there is no right answer, and the decisions are doubly difficult when you’re bringing up a kid with such deadly powers.   Be a bad influence, and you could find you’ve created a super villain. 

In a way, this game is the world's longest escort mission.  But that's okay, since it's not an action game.  It's not like Elder Scrolls where your companion are constantly getting themselves killed.  I love the way the conversations work in this one, they feel very dynamic.  Sometimes you can perform other actions while talking, and the conversation will change to reflect what you're doing.  On the downside, sometimes two characters talk at once and you'll miss something.

The new inventory system is like something out of an RPG.  For the first time in a LiS game, you actually collect a large number of items and store them, rather than just carry a few quest items until you solve a puzzle.  And you actually have to keep track of money now.  It's really difficult to decide what overpriced food to buy at a Mini Mart to get the most out of your limited funds.

In LiS1, Max takes pictures that give you achievements.  In BtS, Chloe draws graffiti.  LiS2 appears to have two achievement methods - collecting souvenirs for your backpack, and sketching landscapes.  The sketching mechanic is interesting, but takes a lot longer than Chloe's graffiti or Max's snapshots.  I hope there's not a lot of them, they could get annoying.

This episode has a lot of walking.  It sets the mood - wandering through the woods puts you in the same mindset as the characters, so you feel their aimlessness.  These are characters who have no idea where they're going, with no definite goal except escape, and they're just looking for something to find.  Unfortunately, it got old after a while.

The plot feels part Thelma and Louise, part The Fugitive.  The kids witness the death of their father by a trigger-happy cop, so they go on the run without really knowing for sure if they're actually in trouble.  Now they're just making their way across the country, feeling like it's just them against the world.

While I enjoyed it for what it was, I do hope the plot of Episode 2 feels more focused, less aimless.  If each episode is just them finding the next safe place until they finally find a forever home, it will feel repetitive. 

My choices: