Developers from Dontnod have officially announced Life is Strange 2, a sequel to the game of the same name, released in 2015. Story about a girl Max Caulfield from Life is Strange, which received the ability to control time, won the hearts of many gamers. And today Dontnod officially announced the long-awaited second part of the game.

Official announcement of Life is Strange 2

Announcement Life is Strange 2 was realized through a video posted on official game. In it, the developers thanked the players for purchasing the first part and said that work on the second part was already underway. The developers haven't said anything about the title of the game or whether it will be distributed episode-by-episode. However, they announced that they will not perform at E3.

We can't wait to tell you about the next part of the game when the time comes, but for now we're working hard to make sure the game has the best experience possible. best quality that we can create. We are very grateful for your patience and ask for a little more time. New game won't be at E3 this June, but we'll be watching the show near you and wish everyone good luck!

The first part of Life is Strange was released in 2015 for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox360 and Xbox One. It was distributed in episodic format and received good reviews from critics. Our portal gives her 8 points out of 10.

Finally took place exit long awaited first episode Life is Strange 2 on all declared platforms! Those who wish to discuss the episode with others can do so VKontakte, V Discord or in Steam. We also opened album for your screenshots. There you can share your favorite moments and other interesting pictures.

In addition, we invite you to participate in the survey (below). Do you think it worked? DONTNOD keep the quality bar and maybe even exceed it, or have the developers lost ground? Don't forget to leave your detailed opinion in the comments!

Now let's move on to the news. Firstly, in Birmingham The exhibition recently ended EGX. Sosisych And Jean-Luc Cano, screenwriter of Life is Strange 2, decided to say hello to all fans of the series:

Meanwhile, there appeared on the Internet list of achievements for all episodes PS4—versions games. Total number of trophies 47 pieces. Please note that each trophy has its own description, so if you don't want to stumble upon various kinds Spoilers, please don't follow the link.

Secondly, before the release of the first episode, the game received various ratings, which cannot but rejoice. For example, the publication GameSpot appreciated first episode on 9 /10 , A Trusted Reviews exhibited game five stars! Overall, the new episode received positive reviews from critics. Based on approx. 41 reviews average score according to data OpenCritic amounts to 81 points from 100 !

Ratings for the second season of Life is Strange cannot but please

By the way, the release of the game did not bypass the fast food chain Arby's:

Insert Coin is also keeping up and has already released a line merch from Life is Strange 2:

More Alejandro Arque, game designer of Life is Strange 2, posted a photo on Twitter showing the “Good News Wall” in his office Square Enix. At the time of the game's release, the wall looked exactly like this.

Thirdly, voting is taking place right now Golden Joystick Awards! Life is Strange 2 claims to be " Golden Joystick"for the best audio design. If you agree with this nomination, then go here and cast your vote before October 25!

And fourthly. Feral Interactive stated who is working on porting Life is Strange 2 to Mac And Linux. The second season of the adventure will be available on these operating systems next year, the exact date will be announced closer to the launch. Considering such a quick announcement of the port, unlike the first season and Before the Storm, you won't have to wait too long.

The game will be released on Mac and Linux in 2019

Finally, let's mention a few news not related to games Life series is Strange. Firstly, the news recently broke that in the studio Telltale Games There were massive layoffs of employees, which put (almost) all of their projects in jeopardy. Michelle Koch, co-director of Life is Strange 2, left There is a post about this on my Twitter:

I was sad to hear bad news about Telltale. I've always been a fan of all the wonderful work these talented people do. To be honest, they were the reason I wanted to work on episodic storytelling, and if it weren't for them, Life is Strange wouldn't exist.

Thanks to them all!

And secondly, Koethe officially released a new song, which was previously "" on Spotify. As expected, it is dedicated to Life is Strange 2:

In Life is Strange 2, players found an Easter egg on The Last of Us. In one scene, Daniel and Sean may discover something strange on a tree. The first of the brothers will say what it looks like Nutcracker, and the older one will begin to imitate the sounds of the monster from the game Naughty Dog. Neil Druckmann, one of the managers The Last of Us 2, I seem to like the reference:

And if you don't like watching the end credits until the end, then you might be missing out on something else interesting in the game. As it turns out, the writers for the second season include: Steve Gaynor And Carla Zimonja from Fullbright, authors Gone Home. They supplemented the game script and refined the dialogue.

Steve Gaynor and Carla Zimonja in the credits of Life is Strange 2

In addition, we invite you to watch a video that will introduce you to the voice actors who lent their voices to the game characters:

Well, one last thing. We invite you to remember the news that we had in February.

Looking back at it, I want to say: “That was close...”

Naturally, there were some downsides (it’s a little frustrating that the developers weren’t able to fix all the bugs for release), but believe me, they’re all lost in the avalanche positive emotions, which will probably hit you right after the final credits roll across the screen. If anything, I warned you.

One of the characters, towards the end of the episode, expresses an interesting idea that “politics is everywhere these days.” Apparently, this is now one of the main beliefs of the Dontnod developers, since there is more of it in the sequel, especially when compared with the most apolitical first part. One of the main and key themes of Life is Strange 2 is racism (the main characters are Mexicans), so even one world-famous wall is mentioned in passing in one of the dialogues. That's not to say that it's a bad thing (on the contrary, it's great when video games tackle serious topics), but if you came here to escape from boring reality into a wonderful world " Strange Life”, then this political background can seriously spoil the “experience”.

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Sean is studying to be an artist, so at times he can practice his craft. There’s just one problem: helping the player with this will be more difficult than writing a masterpiece that will surpass the genius of Van Gogh’s paintings. According to the prompt on the screen, you need to hold down the left button and move the mouse back and forth on the table, but, despite my performing these simple actions, the hero refused to make even a small stroke in the notebook. On the other hand, perhaps this is an isolated bug, and you will have better luck in drawing, who knows.

Of course, after a successful first episode, everyone will be looking forward to the second (surely it won’t be long in coming), but don’t be under the illusion that Life is Strange 2 will turn into a science-fiction thriller. More precisely, not even like that. There will be a thriller, but the fantasy elements will remain nothing more than elements, since the story of human relationships has always been in the foreground in A Strange Life. Let us remember: even the developers themselves later admitted that the very superpower around which fans built many interesting theories initially played the role of a “grand piano in the bushes” in the plot, which was needed simply for the plot to happen.

So you should expect about the same from the second part. First of all, we have before us the tragic story of two brothers who are trying to get out of trouble, and nothing else. Without any doubt, there will be plenty of turning points and unexpected moments in the history of the Diaz family, but they are unlikely to be directly related to Daniel’s superpower.

From the point of view of history, the second part is quite a self-sufficient work (at least for now). And even if you haven’t completed the first part at one time, you can take on the second without any fears. Maybe you'll miss some interesting references, but that won't be that critical. Although the new thing, when creating the first save, carefully asks what choice you made at the end of the first part, so what else will happen.

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A road adventure without a cute dog assistant? No way!

But what definitely shouldn’t be doubted is the visual component of the new “Strange Life”. Life is Strange 2 looks much better than the first part. This applies to literally everything. Stylistically, of course, the game has retained its signature comic-cartoon style, but otherwise the changes are noticeable even to the naked eye. First of all, you notice how noticeably the environment has increased in detail: the forest looks exactly like a forest, and not like a small, closed corridor location with transparent walls.

The facial animation and character animation in general are pleasing. Let me remind you that one of the main problems of interactive films on PC was mediocre graphics and terrible “wooden” animations of the characters. And Dontnod finally and irrevocably resolved it. Now the characters (even minor ones) have finally become as similar to people as possible, and their movements no longer cause gag reflexes, since they have become smooth and more natural (the only complaint is about the main character’s running animation - it is still the same “oaky”).

It was thanks to such significant changes, coupled with the use of the engine, that system requirements. So, to enjoy American beauties at sixty FPS on “very high” settings, you will need at least an average (by today’s standards) computer: Intel Core i5-3470, 6 GB of RAM and a high-level video card Nvidia GeForce GTX 970. With this configuration, you can comfortably observe and directly participate in the misadventures of two brothers who find themselves abandoned to the mercy of fate.

The locations are still as straight as a ruler, but due to their size, the developers managed to achieve at least some illusion of freedom. And, in general, nothing more is required for an interactive film.

In addition, this very illusion of freedom is successfully created by our ward, Daniel. He not only follows in the footsteps of his older brother, but also actively interacts with the world around him, in which absolutely everything is new to him. In this he really resembles a real child.

Conclusion

We can say that the first episode was a success, and the developers did even more than everyone expected from them. But this is just the beginning, and there is no doubt that the “Roads” series is a kind of “warm-up” for something bigger. For example, the scene after end credits indicates that in the second episode the stories from Life is Strange 2 will intersect.

It is unclear when the continuation of the adventures of two teenagers will be released (the exact release date of the second series has not been announced), so all we can do is wait. But the wait is definitely worth it.

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Verdict: Life is Strange 2 is not just an incredible adventure in the best traditions. The second part of the series has noticeably improved in many aspects, and I would like to hope that until the very end of the series, the writers and game designers of Dontnod will not loosen their grip and make another great game, which, like the first part, will become a standard for the genre.

First episode rating: 9.0 (“Great”).

Ruslan Gubaidullin

Square Enix was pleased with the cooperation with Deck Nine, the authors, and we liked the game at the time. But, like all other fans, we were waiting for the real sequel, Life is Strange 2 from DONTNOD Entertainment. Summer , a mini-episode set in the same world, only whetted the appetite. Finally, the time has come for a new journey, with new heroes, but the sadness so familiar from previous parts in the narrator’s voice.

Life is Strange 2

Genre adventure
Platforms Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Languages English, Russian
Developer DONTNOD Entertainment
Publisher Square Enix
Website Steam

Sean Diaz is having a very big day. He is preparing for a high school party where he plans to meet the girl he likes. Best friend Leila, via Skype, helps the young man make a plan for a date and constantly teases Sean, either because of his indecisiveness or on the topic of sex. Teenagers are fooling around. Sean's little brother, Daniel, is obsessed with Halloween preparations, making a costume and whatnot in his room. The boys' father works in a garage. An idyllic picture, which in a few minutes will shatter into pieces due to nonsense, misunderstanding, and a wild coincidence of circumstances. In an instant, Sean and Daniel will lose everything, their father, friends, home and will be left alone against the whole world. They will be forced to flee and go wandering around America.

Life is Strange 2 begins in the Northwestern United States, in the suburbs of Seattle. In the first episode of the game, subtitled “Roads,” the boys will travel along the coast of Washington and Oregon and even visit Arcadia Bay for a while, the state of which depends on what you decide in the finale of the first Life is Strange solutions(there is no transfer of saves, everything is determined by one question when creating a new game).

The American outback in general and the Northwest in particular are clearly to the liking of the Parisians from DONTNOD: one-story America, tiny towns, half-empty roads, harsh, fantastically beautiful nature. Some shots from the game, especially at night, seem to have come out of the paintings of regional artists: a gas station in the rain, a car under a lamppost, a motel with a neon sign, a view of a coastal city from a recreation area... The studio’s artists work amazingly with the camera and the side light from low autumn sun, giving the picture warmth and evoking sadness about the passing summer. In a word, Life is Strange 2 looks even better than the original - it is warm, lively, sad.

With the second mandatory component of the Life is Strange games - an amazing soundtrack that you want to immediately send to the player, everything is in order here too. I am pleased with both the selection of compositions and their correspondence to the mood and situation.

The structure of Life is Strange 2 is a typical American road movie, and it’s not for nothing that the authors themselves cite films as sources of inspiration Into the Wild (2007) by Sean Penn and Of Mice and Men (1992) based on the story of the same name by John Steinbeck. The brothers, planning to get to Mexico, to their father's hometown, are trying to survive in harsh conditions, find food and shelter. On the way, they meet people who treat them differently, both those who want to hand over the fugitives to the police, and those who are ready to help them free of charge. And suddenly it turns out that there is too much politics in adventure games about children. Some characters do not hide their disdain for immigrants (the Diaz brothers are Mexicans) and even recall the wall on the southern border that President Trump promised to build. Politics is everywhere, as one of the game's heroes says.

Unlike the first part of Life is Strange, the main character of the sequel, and he is Sean, has no special abilities. All he can do is choose one of two or three available solutions in a critical situation. Hit or run away, argue or give in, etc. Sean's actions, both at key points and in everyday situations, determine how his younger brother will behave, taking an example from his older one. Steal a tent from a store by sending your child to distract the salesperson? Rob a car parked on the side of the road? Send Daniel out to beg? These decisions will not affect the main plot of the game, but they may change some nuances, the behavior of the younger boy, and his answers. A similar “moral compass” system is implemented in , where Clementine’s decisions determine how AJ will grow up.

However, Life is Strange 2 still couldn’t do without the supernatural. As in original game and the spin-off The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, one of the characters has paranormal abilities. Daniel, like Captain Spirit, does not know and cannot control his abilities; Sean, under the control of the player, will have to somehow humble this uninvited power. Judging by the post-credits scene of the first episode, we will find out exactly how in the next part.

If Chloe in Before the Storm limited herself to graffiti on specially designated walls, then Sean is a real artist, and in some scenes of the game he can sit on a chair/stump/bench and sketch the view he likes in a notebook. Unlike the girls in the previous parts of the game, the young man is in no hurry to pour out his soul to the diary, limiting himself to short phrases or drawings. In general, there is noticeably less text in the game.

The first episode of Life is Strange 2, as in the original part of the game, is only a prologue, introducing characters, setting the stage. It is very uneven in pace and mood and, despite such a tragic beginning of the story, does not reach the intensity of passions of some episodes of the first game and Before the Storm. This is probably what the authors intended, but the prevailing mood of the first episode is confusion and apathy rather than sadness and grief. This is explained by the shock that both Sean and Daniel experience as they try to forget what happened before their eyes in Seattle. However, despite this confusion and unevenness, the first episode of Life is Strange 2 is still good. This is a very interesting project, and we want to know the continuation of this story.

Release dates for the next episodes of Life is Strange 2 have not yet been announced. But, given the experience of previous games in the series, we can expect episodes to be released every two months. It will take you about 4 hours to complete the first part, which gives you approximately 18-20 hours for the entire game, which is actually quite a lot. On Steam, the first episode is available for purchase separately for 123 UAH, and the entire season for 609 UAH. (the discount could be more than 3%).

The fates of Telltale Games and DONTNOD Entertainment are similar in many ways. Both teams gained fame after releasing episodic interactive stories, which collected a huge number of prizes and showed excellent sales. After that, publishers began to hunt for the teams, they themselves began to actively expand (now the DONTNOD studio has more than 160 employees), launch new projects... In 2018, DONTNOD released three games at once: a controversial but very stylish vampire RPG, a free adventure and now full-fledged Life Is Strange 2. What the constant rush jobs and rework led to

Site evaluation

Pros: Atmosphere; fantastically beautiful picture; great soundtrack; heroes you empathize with; political subtext; moral compass system

Cons: The first episode is uneven in pacing and emotional tension

Conclusion: A beautiful and touching story of two brothers who are forced to run away from home. Decent continuation of Life is Strange