Life is Strange

[Shrinweck]

I bought it and it's basically a game where you go around talking to people to investigate their lives so you can either help them or feed on them. The combat is pretty meh. It's another one of their hoity-toity high in concept middling in execution games. If talking to people as a vampire interests you then it can be solid. Otherwise pass on it. I'm only a few hours in but I've sidelined it for other games at the moment.

Looking forward to the free Life Is Strange game that comes out later today (?) and LiS2 which got announced for late summer/early fall.

[Shrinweck]

The free thing had maybe.... 5% of the content a regular LiS episode usually has. Still some vaguely interesting setup for the next game. Curious if the child is the main character or if it's a mislead and he's a side character. The imagination stuff was kind of cute and a main character with an overactive imagination could lead to some interesting writing and possibly some engaging unreliable narration.

[Shrinweck]

I played the first episode of the sequel and liked it. It wasn't overly political but one asshole character mentions the wall and there are a couple mentions of it being scary in the country right now for various reasons. I wasn't super into it.

I'm curious where things will go. The story really gets going in a way that the original episodes didn't until later in the episodes.

[kali o.]

Have it downloaded - hopefully I get to play tonight.

[kali o.]

I played the first episode of the sequel and liked it. It wasn't overly political but one asshole character mentions the wall and there are a couple mentions of it being scary in the country right now for various reasons. I wasn't super into it.

Lol, you must be more desensitized than I am. I just finished the "intro" and its been all SJW nonesense (the subtle Trump texts, dads comments, the neighbor, the police)....

Fuck, I have a feeling this is gonna be a chore for me to get through - unless.things get amazing, I may be ending at ep.1.

Edit: ...and the gas station...OMFG. Thankfully, I was saved by a pedo, commie neckbeard buzzfeed writer! Who the fuck is writing this shit -- Europeans?

[Shrinweck]

Episode two was better. It only veered into politics once in my playthrough and it was the main character being thankful someone wasn't preachy so it wasn't that bad. Despite it taking them like four months, this gives me hope for the rest of the episodes. In any case this episode didn't make me feel grossed out about French people writing about American politics.

I did make an incredible amount of decisions I'm not happy with. I think I'm going to have to play through episode one again and get a better save file going lol

Edit: Replayed through them both and I'm actually pretty surprised at how much difference there is between the best possible ending of episode two and the worst possible ending. I guess this is something they can do because you're on the run and you don't have to deal with all of the ramifications of what you did if you just run away further next episode. It almost feels like this is a a way to "cheat" with choices that "actually matter" but not in a way a video game designer has to build a fuck load of additional content in order to support. It's kind of genius for a game series that I was kind of feeling bad about after the first episode. Other than the politics not being thrust in your face, the writing is still pretty on par with the first episode (except less magical Seth Rogan to the rescue) so I don't want to get your hopes up too far if you're having such a blast playing your Mickey Mouse game ;)

[kali o.]

Other than the politics not being thrust in your face, the writing is still pretty on par with the first episode (except less magical Seth Rogan to the rescue) so I don't want to get your hopes up too far if you're having such a blast playing your Mickey Mouse game

Subtle like a brick to the face
The politics definitely turned me off but the bigger issue is I just don't give two shits about these kids (Max & Chloe, I did). I think it is highly unlikely I will even torrent the remaining eps. Keep sharing your thoughts -- I read em and maybe I'll change my mind if you really end up liking it (your review/thoughts came off rather middle of the road).

And ya, KH3 isn't great. I suppose it is fun enough, but talk about an over-hyped series.

[Shrinweck]

Well I liked the second episode enough to replay it and the first episode again, so take that for what you will. But after the last episode in the last series I'm not going to say I'm over the hill for this game until they without a doubt don't fuck up the ending again

[Shrinweck]

Got around to episode three. The humdrum bulk of the episode didn't have a lot going for it but it was kind of nice and calming to play through. The end was big though. Probably the biggest cliffhanger other than the obvious one from the original at episode four.

I have an idea what happened with some of the stuff they left ambiguous but I genuinely have no idea what the next episode has in store. I have an idea who the antagonists are going to be by the end but given how different each episode has been so far I don't really have any idea how things are going to turn out.

It's hard to see them topping this in episode four. Maybe it won't be structured like the original.

Episode had a LOT in it though. This is probably the least (including the original) they've ever padded with "Walk around and talk to yourself while looking at things" style gameplay and I think it was better for it.

[kali o.]

Important question -- do you now "care" about these two brothers as much as you did Max & Chloe?

[Shrinweck]

Well I certainly like them more than I expected to, but no not really. If they maintain the momentum of episode three, the series will end better than the first one though. If it ends (at least one of the possible paths) the way I currently expect it to I think it could definitely outdo the ending.

If episode four is done right (I feel like this is a 50-50 chance) then I could see coming out of it liking the older brother a lot.

[kali o.]

Well I certainly like them more than I expected to, but no not really. If they maintain the momentum of episode three, the series will end better than the first one though. If it ends (at least one of the possible paths) the way I currently expect it to I think it could definitely outdo the ending.

If episode four is done right (I feel like this is a 50-50 chance) then I could see coming out of it liking the older brother a lot.

I await your next review then -- caring about Max/Chloe and what happened to them was the only thing that really made LoS worthwhile to me (even though the story didn't ultimately deliver). You could say the same thing for WD/Clem too. Speaking of which...I still need to play the final season.

[Shrinweck]

Episode four went in a somewhat different direction then I was expecting but it ended up being good after a slow opening with a particular short scene that was reminiscent of the bad stuff in episode one. I guess the opening also required a degree of suspension of disbelief even when considering that this is a series about supernatural powers. On a more positive note, there are a few techniques they used to show the point of view from a disability that I would say were very well done. I'm kind of bummed but not entirely surprised that a certain character got written out. I didn't expect them to be a permanent character. I definitely came out of the fourth episode liking the older brother more. Less teenage bullshit (not that that really hindered the original LiS) then the other chapters and a focus on getting something done.

I would say that at this point the older brother probably won't stick with me the same way Chloe and Max did, but when I'm actually in it and playing the game I get invested. The younger brother has potential to go somewhere very interesting... but hasn't yet. While I wouldn't put it past them after the way original ended, I do have hope that this is going to end in a way that I enjoy. We made all those posts guessing where the story was going to go in the original... This time I honestly have no idea what the last episode has in store. Unlike the original there's no super obvious upcoming confrontation and there's no unanswered questions that expectations dictate will likely be answered (and weren't). There's just a story to end. It's kind of nice.

Even if it ends terribly I'm kind of prepared to buy a potential Life is Strange 3 after this as long as previews imply more of a regular cast. I think a story on the move isn't terrible but it's not something I'd want to see more of for the series.

[kali o.]

Whenever you write about this, it comes across very... dispassionate/reluctant (to me), even though on the surface you appear to be trying to say good things. So many "but"s peppered throughout.

While its possible Im misreading you, I find the disconnect intriguing. Now I have to play it (probably torrent) -- just to solve this new mystery. Lol

Its interesting that you like the kid brother more than the older one. Ep1 definitely made it seem like the younger one would be obnoxious and a burden.

Will update with my thoughts when I catch up.

On a vaguely connected note - I heard Telltale was being resurrected.

PS - I know it's too early to review, but I just want to say that like 10 mins in, Episode 2 already pissed me off. That Mushroom incident was lame as fuck and lazy.

[kali o.]

I've decided to post my thoughts after each ep -- as that seems more interesting and we will see if my opinion changes.

Ep 2

The Good:
- I like how background actions/activity moves forward while you are doing the rather mundane "Look At..." gameplay.
- I liked the "Bad" ending I got for Chris, as it feels canon, albeit somewhat predicable.

The Bad:
- Mushroom.
- Lazy writing / unbelievable motivations / plot holes.
- Confronted at least twice with forced choices (entering Karen's room and market). Why offer me the option if you are going to force me anyway?

I have identified why I do not like this game so far. LiS2 is about two brothers, their interactions and their journey, to the exclusion of almost everything else. LiS1 was about a girl, her relationship with a lost/abandoned friend, a whole cast of interesting side characters, a looming mystery/catastrophe and all set in a highschool/town.

A game that almost exclusively focuses on two boys and their journey better damn well make sure that not only are the boys compelling, but that their journey is interesting. The boys aren't and crashing at an isolated cabin or going to grandmas house is not an epic adventure.

This episode is objectively a pretty poor game/story.

It's worth mentioning that ya, the politics was largely absent from this episode (maybe some implied racism from grandma). There was that dirty dread haired commie and the unbelievably shallow interaction with an angry guy to give her forced sympathy/righteousness...I mean, why not be actual writers and present a believable scenario for the confrontation...like she was leaving used rigs around or smoking pot or graffitiing something or hell, just annoyingly dumpster diving. Give the other party some logical motivation for the confrontation besides just angry white capitalist .

I'll do Ep3 tomorrow I guess.

[kali o.]

Ep 3

The Good:
- better cast of characters, single location
- Awkward sex scene / humor

The Bad:
- same shit writing (it borders on being unintentionally satirical)

After two incredibly shitty episodes, I am willing to call episode 3....OK. The writing is still bloody awful, the dialog is peppered with a stupid French-take of progressive absurdity, the boys are still largely not compelling, but this time around they are at least surrounded with some decently interesting side characters.

The bar is so low that OK feels like a massive compliment.

I will say the one bright spot was the sex/romance with Cassidy. Not gonna lie -- it felt a little odd seeing nudity here (how old is she supposed to be?). I get it, the developers are French...it just felt off. That aside, the awkwardness was pretty on point and I nearly lost my shit when she was asked "Did you guys just have sex" and she answered "Yeah...sorta".

On to ep 4

PS - I will say my current suspicion is that the powers are somehow related to the mother and why she "left". But the game doesn't seem to be making that question any sort of central premise...

[kali o.]

Ep 4

The Good: Nothing.

The Bad: Fucking everything.

LiS2, and this episode in particular, is every exaggerated negative stereotype and shallow trope about Americans, religion, etc, poorly written by a handful of French anti-American Faggots an ocean away. Fuck this game. I won't touch anything else that comes from this talentless studio.

A game of this type relies on telling a good story. There is nothing redeemable here besides the brief glimmer during episode 3.

The only reason I'm not totally livid over wasting my time on this hot garbage is because I find it useful when reading Shrin's opinions.

Now, on a less important note, I was obviously wrong about the Mom. She is just a selfish sociopath apparently. I can't expect they will tie up the origin of the powers in one episode (the wall..lol), so I guess just like the original, we won't get an explanation. "Butterflies and pumas or something, I dunno, whatever, fuck you player, viva la france".

[kali o.]

Episode 5 -- contained more stupid racist tropes about America (as understood by French faggots) and ended just as stupidly as expected.

I, and gamers in general I think, gave Life is Strange 1 a lot of slack....maybe the plot holes and lack of explanations had to do with budget/time constraints….or maybe just saying it was a first attempt. LiS2 proves that, no, Dontnod writers simply lack any talent and they can kindly go fuck themselves.

/review

[vondes]

I downloaded the game and started it the other day. I am at the very beginning so far, but I liked it a lot. It is interesting to discover how things will be developing further. I am from Cardiff [website redacted]. Are there any players from my area? Maybe you know some local community? I would like to create one for the discussion.