5 Things Fans Want To See In Life Is Strange 2
What people hope to see in a possible sequel to Life is Strange, based on actual fan feedback.
Life is Strange is the epitome of a sleeper hit. Released in 2015 with little prior hype, this episodic adventure game developed by Dontnod went on to clinch an impressive number of gaming award nominations and wins. At last count the game has sold in excess of one million digital copies worldwide with the recent release of a special limited edition pushing sales figures even higher. However, perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Life is Strange is the astounding fandom that has ensued. A quick search of Tumblr, Instagram, and Pinterest reveals a treasure trove of Life is Strange inspired cosplay, fan-art, and fan-fiction, the likes of which puts most other gaming franchises to shame. Now, more than a year since its initial release, the biggest question on fans’ minds is: will there be a Life is Strange 2?
Alas, nobody knows for sure. An erroneous Reddit translation has led many sites to wrongly announce confirmed plans for a sequel. In reality, the folks at Dontnod have mostly kept quiet on the issue, only dropping vague hints at “the opportunity to do another season”. Argh, the suspense!
That being said, we wanted to share a list of 5 things that Life is Strange fans hope to see in a (potential) sequel, should development of Life Is Strange 2 ever be confirmed. These suggestions have been put together from a wealth of actual feedback gathered from hundreds of ‘Strangers’ from all over the world. You can check out the original fan suggestions here and here – or just keep on reading this post! Warning: minor spoilers ahead.
Dontnod, if you’re listening, we hope you feel inspired by the fan-love!
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1. Keep The Art Style and Symbolism – It’s Hella Awesome!
Let’s be honest. Compared to other ‘big name’ games, Life is Strange’s graphics certainly didn’t push any hardware or engine boundaries. The game also received minor criticisms for its at times awkward animations and low-res textures, along with problematic lip-syncing (partially addressed in a recent patch).
But, in truth, fans of Life is Strange were hardly bothered by such technical imperfections. Instead, what ‘Strangers’ paid more attention to was the game’s unique overall art style. Arcadia Bay’s sunshiney / stormy hues, soft color palette, hand-painted textures, and ‘impressionist rendering’ all helped make the world of Life is Strange feel both visually unique and emotionally intimate. The subtle use of aesthetic symbolism to weave an unfolding story (e.g. Chloe’s blue hair being the same shade as the blue butterfly) was also highly effective, with many fans paying attentive notice.
“Arcadia Bay’s sunshiney / stormy hues, soft color palette, hand-painted textures, and ‘impressionist rendering’ all helped make the world of Life is Strange feel both visually unique and emotionally intimate.” – Alfie
Indeed, these same artistic qualities are what fans want to see again in a potential Life is Strange 2. As expressed by two Strangers:
Others echoed a similar wish for the artistic style to remain.
(Um, okay, we admit maybe the lip-syncing does still need a little work? Maybe a sequel is just the right fix!)
2. Wowser! That’s What We Call Music!
From the upbeat indie pop fuzz of Sparklehorse’s ‘Piano Fire’ to the daydream soundscape of Syd Matters’ ‘Obstacles’, the music of Life is Strange served as the perfect aural backdrop to some of the game’s most poignant moments. None of the songs are jarring; with each of them (most of which are semi-acoustic) melding into a coherent melodic and lyrical whole that compliments the gentle visuals of the game. Even better, songs were at times also foregrounded in some scenes to sketch the musical interests of key characters like Max and Chloe, helping players develop a shared aural bond with their personalities.
“None of the songs are jarring; with each of them (most of which are semi-acoustic) melding into a coherent melodic and lyrical whole that compliments the gentle visuals of the game.” – Alfie
This beautiful harmony of sight and sound is part of why so many ‘Strangers’ fell in love with Life is Strange. As best expressed by Hannah Telle (voice actress of Max Caulfield) herself:
“… one of the coolest aspects of being a part of this game [Life is Strange] … is because the soundtrack is amazing … There’s so many musicians that I really, really admire that are on this soundtrack. It’s, like, it’s so cool when there’s … good music playing in the background … It makes everything better.” – Hannah Telle
Naysayers might describe the soundtrack as being overly ‘hipster’ (whatever that means). However, fans of Life is Strange couldn’t care less. On the contrary, many are clamoring for Dontnod to feature more of the same kind of music in a should-be Life is Strange 2. Max & Matt certainly feel so.
Fellow strangers share the same sentiments.
We personally hope Dontnod decides to feature a few songs from Koethe. He’s a one-man indie artist and diehard ‘Stranger’ who actually wrote an entire album of music inspired by his love for Life is Strange. Now that’s fan commitment! His tracks would be a perfect fit for a sequel, don’t you think?
— Continues on Page 2: More Max and Chloe?
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Gabby Nono
I understand people ship Pricefield but maybe include some Grahamfield too like if you choose Warren to be Max’s love interest instead of Chloe, he should appear, stuff like this can make choices matter more. Im really sad they wont have the original cast though 🙁
Cookie monster
I want max to stay. Whether chloe is there or not was up to the player. I donr care who the new cast is as long as max has a major role like main character. I spent all that time getting to know and love max dont just get rid of her.
Lilah Nally
Im hoping to see more of Max and Warren. Perhaps finally going on that date?
Was kinda upset not seeing more of them together in the first game so thats a definite must see for me in the next game and im sure more people feel the same. Please make this happen if/when you make the sequel ????????????????
Raquel Lima
Um romance entre Max e Chloe, cairia perfeito na nova historia. Poderiam até colocar as duas como personagem principal da Life Is Strange 2, o jogador poderia jogar com as duas em alguns momentos do jogo. Criando novos personagens, claro, mas tendo em vista também os antigos. Life Is Strange sem Max e Chloe iria perder toda a emoção do jogo e da historia dele. Eu amei esse jogo, já chorei com ele, finalizei muitas vezes e até apresentei pra muita gente que se emocionaram muito com a historia presente no jogo.
Raquel Lima
Um romance entre Max e Chloe, cairia perfeito na nova historia. Poderiam até colocar as duas como personagem principal da Life Is Strange 2, o jogador poderia jogar com as duas em alguns momentos do jogo. Criando novos personagens, claro, mas tendo em vista também os antigos. Life Is Strange sem Max e Chloe iria perder toda a emoção do jogo e da historia dele. Eu amei esse jogo, já chorei com ele, finalizei muitas vezes e até apresentei pra muita gente que se emocionaram muito com a historia presente no jogo.
Mario Talpai
Life is strange was a great game. No matter what anybody says it was and still is. If they are going to do a second season then they should really consider a few things. 1.) The artistic style of the game is fantastic. It should not be considered as ” good graphics ” maybe more of ” interesting graphics ” like Minecraft. The graphics are really memorable…But, in my opinion they are kind of repeating themselfs…I mean there were a over sunsets or sunrises ( almost the same ) and even if it fits the vibe of the game it’s kinda noticeable. The needed improvements for the graphics are the mouth and voice, the shadows the lights shouldn’t be so repeating and even if the artistic style looks good it should be just a little bit more realistic and the ” symbols ” of the game should be renewed ( Polaroids , graffities ). 2.) The music of the game was awesome and it’s really touching but the music ( I get that it’s mostly indie ) mostly gives the ” sad ” vibe. So a little big more music to cheer you up, like Max&Chloe which even if it’s emotional it’s not ” sad ” it reminds us how their friendship is wonderful. Koethe must be included ! 3.) The taboo stuff of the game is alright. I and everybody gets that it’s needed for the game to be interesting but , I really don’t know if I’m the only one who got the ” too much ” vibe. I mean, suicide , drugs, serial killers, conspiracy. It’s like it’s needed for us too connect to the characters. Like in the beggining of the game we talked with Kate about coffee but then again the only thing that connects us to Kate is that she’s drugged and tries to commit suicide. The second is too much characters are connected to drugs ( Nathan, Jefferson, Prescotts, Frank,Rachel ). The serial killer part is perfectly fine it’s just needed to be in the game for some ” detective action “. The biggest shame is that we almost don’t know anything about the Prescotts and the ” conspiracy ” with the police, the principal and Jefferson. These taboos in some ( almost unnoticeable ) way forces us to connect to the story and the characters but they don’t gen enough backstory or there are just too much and they sometimes really mess up the atmosphere because we don’t get enough ” happy moments ” ( like with the mentioned Kate ) . 4.) The chaos theory was perfect in episode 5 ( all the crazy nightmares, changing things, an the butterfly effect ) but then again we don’t get too much back story or reasons why can’t we mess with time of faith. It would be really nice from Dontnod to give us some kind of explanation of all the ” time stuff ” . The consequence stuff is perfectly fine, the idea is great but they don’t show enough consequence only the Warn Victoria have shown a ” major or important ” consequence the rest was all just a bonus. It should have been like this : A few variations of the story depending on the choise you make. For example if Chloe shoots Frank, the police catches her puts her in prison so we need to free her and catch Jefferson. See ? Just a variation but mostly the same story. 5.) The Pricefield is really complicated. If Dontnod eventually keeps them then we should see Max and Chloe together ( Sacrifice Arcadia Bay ending ) or to see Max suffer without Chloe ( Sacrifice Chloe ). Because of this they would need to write two different stories. Which is a lot of work. Or they could just do the mentioned ” Variations ” if we see Max and Chloe then they solve crime again for example but if Chloe is dead then we see max solve them alone. Ok, sure if they change the characters then a few things here : If it’s going to be two girls then the story would only repeat itself. If it’s two guys then it’s weird and pointless. If it’s a guy and a girl then they need to pay attention for it to not bee too romantic like in the romantic movies. So they should or make a lone character without a love interest ( which would be kind of interesting to see because of character development ) or make two siblings ( same connection as pricefield without beeing to ordinary like friends or love. ) or just two female characters ( and being careful for the repeatable story ) but if they make male female then no ” way romantic ” relationship . These are only my personal thoughts not trying to be rude or offensive just a few advices for Dontnod to make as a new amazing game. Good luck. 🙂
Alfie Lee Atton
Wow, thank you for your valuable insights! We agree with a lot of what you say. Life is Strange is absolutely fantastic, and we have no doubt that a sequel will be phenomenal. However, there were some parts that could have been better addressed, for example (as you mentioned), the resolution of certain branching stories. The last episode also felt a bit rushed, trying to cram in too many things in too short a time!
Mario Talpai
I’m really sorry if some parts were not understandable, but English is not my first language so it’s sometimes hard to express myself. So, it would be nice from you to point out everything what was wrong with my comment or which would be really really cool to contact me and to have a short chat or something so I can explain everything. But back to the branching story thing…So if we imagine the game like a tree ! The game is currently a small tree you know, it does split into multiple choices ( usually 2 ) but the consequences of the choice are actually pretty unnoticable or there are none at all. That’s what I was trying to say ! If we do kill Frank somehow the only ” consequence ” we get is Chloe being hurt and sad. Apsolutelly nothing else ! One damn video . And that’s not even close to the deepnes and potential of the story. So Dontnod should make ( if there are two ) one of the choices leads the story on normally but the other one should have a real longer consequence with would pop up a few times in the story. Like I said Chloe shoots Frank, gets in prison, we free her and the story continues on. So that branch as you said should be longer and deeper. A story which is from the moment of the choice it’s different from the other story but with more gameplay and video ( all that stuff ) blends into the original in the end . Because I sometimes got the feeling that whatever I do the game will continue with the story with one video bonus. Other examples : When we accuse Nathan. He destroys our wall in our dorm but then ? What else ? Nothing ! That’s the bad side…We could have got something like he trethens or attacks us on the street or something , so we could again find a way to ” fix ” it. Or when we side with Chloe. David and Joice have a short fight and David gets kicked out. But then ? Nothing else ( sorry trying my best to explain it all ) . We could have got a when he tries to apologise to Joice or something. Anything but more . Life is strange is beautifull so we want the best of the story and as much as possible from it. Episode 5 was really hurried away but it was cool to see all that crazy things happen. If you need anything else to explain just reply. 😀
Luca Murrey
I fell in love with the original cast (especially Warren) but also the game in general. I discovered the wonderful music of Syd Matters, who is now one of my favourite artists. As much as i’d love for the original cast to be in the second game, it just wouldn’t work. As hard as it is to say is, there’s nothing left for the characters. It would be lovely to have another great cast which had the same affect as the first lot. If the original cast was to be in the second game, it would have to be so thought out and take into account the choices like Kate, and Chloe and maybe even the small things like Frank’s dog. I’d love love for there to be more LGBT+ in the second one and yes, romance wasn’t exactly the key plot for the first game, but for there to be a wider choice of love interests for the main character. Maybe have a boy as the main character? Who knows, but whatever the creators decide, i’m behind them all the way.
Eva Dumbrowski
#PRICEFIELD please!!