Life Is Strange 2

Life Is Strange 2 is an episodic graphic adventure video game developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix. It is the second main entry of the Life Is Strange series. The first of five episodes was released on 27 September 2018 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Episodes from the series will be released for macOS and Linux by Feral Interactive in 2019.

Gameplay
Life Is Strange 2 is a graphic adventure played from a third-person view. The player takes control of Sean Diaz, who is on the run from the police with his younger brother Daniel. Sean can interact with the environment, obtain objects, and talk with non-player characters via dialogue trees. Decisions that were made in the game demo The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit will carry over into Life Is Strange 2; choices in Life Is Strange 2 will lead to different branches in the storyline and affect Daniel's behaviour.

Synopsis
After an apparent supernatural incident leaves their dad dead, brothers Sean, 16, and Daniel Diaz, 9, go on the run and travel from their hometown of Seattle to Puerto Lobos, Mexico.

Development
Prior to production, developer Dontnod Entertainment decided that Life Is Strange 2 would feature new characters and a new location to the original. Led by Life Is Strange directors Michel Koch and Raoul Barbet, development on the sequel began in early 2016, while the predecessor shipped its retail edition. Life Is Strange lead writers Christian Divine and Jean-Luc Cano and composer Jonathan Morali also reprised their roles. The concept was influenced by the photography of Mike Brodie, who would freighthop across the United States and take pictures of drifters. The game is structured like a road movie, inspired by the film Into the Wild and novella Of Mice and Men. Dontnod conducted field research on the West Coast of the United States, meeting people and taking pictures there. The two primary themes of the game are education and brotherhood. Using the Unreal Engine 4, they upgraded the animation system, physics, and shaders. According to Dontnod, one of the biggest challenges of development was the artificial intelligence of the character Daniel. The music will contain both original and licensed tracks.

Release
The first of five total episodes, Roads (formerly called Seattle), was released on 27 September 2018 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Feral Interactive will publish the macOS and Linux versions in 2019.