Developer: DONTNOD Entertainment
PS4 Review
Available on: Steam, Xbox One, PS4
I have been waiting for something like this to come out, the artwork and elements from the other games, Max and Chloe's journey was an emotional one and I could go back and play over and over again even though I have got all the trophies for both Life is Strange and Life is Strange before The Storm, Square Enix was able to suck me into the lives of Max and Chloe, wanting to reassure them and help them, I felt helpless watch both stories unfold but it kept me hooked. Square Enix recently released a mini-game under the name of The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit about a young boy named Chris who lives with his father, from the get-go it's obvious he doesn't have the best life but with the help of his imagination, he gets through it.
Chris is a very enthusiastic little boy whose imagination can take him on all sorts of adventures, he loves comic books and his toys and although he makes the most of his life it can be hard living with his dad who has a lot of issues he takes out on Chris, Chris's mother died so it's just the two of them getting by. I feel like his dad needs to give Chris a break and let him be a child instead of bossing him about. The game isn't the longest and is just a small snippet into Chris's life but from what you do get to play you feel for Chris and want him to have a normal childhood, even his neighbour is concerned for him. His dad punishes him a lot just because he looks like his mother and has a lot of resentment towards him, he releases what he is saying and regrets it after but still manages to upset poor Chris, it's tough enough growing up without a parent let alone dealing with being hated for looking like the one that was lost.
The first play through I chose to wake to Chris's dad which ended in a short play through as I hadn't completed everything I needed to do but the second time instead of waking him up before completing the list I spent explored more, but once you have finished all that's needed you will need to wake his dad up although his dad isn't a nice drunk. Whilst I was exploring I found out that his dad was in over his head, he had been missing his mortgage payments, his been having issues with his new girlfriend and lost his job, there must be a lot of tension between father and son but I would hope is dad would want to better himself for his son.
In order to go into Chris's fantasy world, you will need to put his costume together first, it's not obvious where each item is but just by exploring they are easiest to find, I went away from the game for a bit then came back to discover I forgot what I had to do in order for him to put the costume together but I worked it out eventually, I had to go up to the item and press L2 so the x button comes up to put the makeup and spray paint on Chris. Once you find what you need it will go to a cut scene where you see Chris firing beams from his hands, so he has a pretty cool superpower, after this, I went to the car to let Chris play and he was transported to another world where he had to fight against mantroid which he wasn't successful in doing, I have seen a few people saying that at 10 he is too childish but I was still playing Barbies with my younger sisters until I was a teen and there is nothing wrong with still having an imagination even as an adult.
There is a checklist Chris has and throughout the game it's your job to find out how to complete it, some are obvious some are not so obvious, my favourite one out of all of them was when he tamed the water eater (heater) he went into the boiler room which is dark and scares him and faced the water heater that scares him, another one which I enjoyed was throwing snowballs at the cans, simple yet fun! I would love to be a kid again, my sisters and I had hours and hours upon fun with our imaginations.
In a way I think Chris uses his imagination as a coping mechanism to make life without his mum better, this isn't a bad thing, I do a similar thing when it comes to gaming, it's like an escape for me from my problems and my chronic illness but there is no harm in it. I get such a Max vibe from this game, I think because Max had powers it has that magical feel to it like anything could happen. What I really liked was Chris's treasure hunt it reminded me of Max and Chloe's one in the bonus episode of Before the Storm, his treasure was a little different though, it's the memories of his mum which is heartbreaking. His mum died in a hit and run and his dad blames Chris for the death of his mum, it's never ok to blame a child but Chris as hard as he tries can't always let it go over his head.
I'm happy that they kept the graphics and artwork the same in this game, I guess because it happens in the same universe/world as Life is Strange they had to. I do find it very sad that the kids within these games have to go through so much and face losses at such a young age but the games are a great way of how children cope with trauma and they don't sugar coat it. Even down to showing how Chris copes without his mum, there are plenty of children who would cope in the same kind of way, I just wanted to go give him a big hug and ask him if I can join in and play. The button system with the game is simple and easy to use, you can't run so you will find it slow at times but this helps you take in your surroundings and makes you look to see if you missed anything, I'm really looking forward to his story to continue so I give this game 5/5.
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