Life is Strange 2 | Episode 5 | PS4 Review (Spoilers)

*CONSTAINS SPOILERS FOR LIFE IS STRANGE 2: EPISODE 5*

Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Dontnod Entertainment
PS4 Review 

We have finally reached the end of the road with Life is Strange 2 and boy has it been sad, I found myself getting frustrated with the long wait and now it's here it feels very anticlimax which is kind of sad. I've had to remind myself over and over again to not compare 2 to the first Life is Strange as it's not a fair comparison which a lot of us need to remember but most of all we should appreciate the work and effort that has gone into making LIS2 and introducing us to a new story which definitely pulled at my heartstrings and came with a strong message about race.

I'm glad that LIS2 is different from the first game, after reading the comics I didn't want Max and Chloe's story dragged out further so it was time for new characters to take us on a different kind of journey. Sean and Daniel have been on the run for an awfully long time now, the law has caught up with Shaun and Daniel fell victim to a cult but what we can say for definite is that both boys have come a long way from when the events of the police shooting took place. I still feel awful that the one person they relied on and cared for them is gone forever from their lives but at the same time, we got to see how resilient both boys were.

Last time we saw the boys they were with their mother which must have been hard since she did abandon them all of them years ago but one thing is clear we will get to understand her a bit more which is something I wanted to know from the very start. I didn't think I would end up crying through this episode but because I waited so long to finally see what happened to the boys I was left with a sense of happiness and relief. Both boys were staying in the desert with their mother and a few other people who lived as a little community that was outcast but the boys settled in very well. Daniel was able to be free and open with his powers and Sean could be as creative as he liked, they had a place where they fit in and it was with their mum which was such a strange thing to see.

Time was passing fast and the police were catching up with the boys and their antics, so it was a matter of time before they had to make their way towards Mexico but nothing it that straight forward when it comes to this game, something will always get in the way. Before this all takes place we meet an unlikely character who I didn't recognise AT ALL, I was so shocked but at the same time excited. If you don't want to know this spoiler stop reading now... remember David from LIS1 who was Chloe's stepdad? He now lives with the community where the Diaz mother is and they're friends! If you saved Chloe you will soon learn this game carried on her and Max's story much like the comics and David was in contact with the girls, he even had some pics of them up in his trailer. He mended the broken relationship and even though Chloe's mother died when you saved her in LIS1 she was willing to give David a chance to be in her life despite their fights.

Now back to the boys, their life with their mum was going well and I wanted this to be their last stop where they could truly be happy but life is never that straight forward, they come up with a plan quickly with the help of their mum who was willing to help them no matter what it took even if that meant she was going to have to sacrifice the world she built for herself. You could tell how much she loved the boys and how much they began to care and love for her. Once they hit the road I was sat there mumbling "please don't let anything bad happen to them" and then BAM they run into trouble as soon as Daniel takes down the border wall to Mexico.

When this all occurred it was clear that the game was still very much focused on stereotypes and how people are seen based on their culture and skin colour, the boys were victims of this once again due to a father and daughter shooting at them and harming Daniel and I was fuming! The father, daughter and the boys were all taken in by the cops, poor Shaun was recognised and ended up being locked in a cell, I thought this was the end of him and that Shaun would have to deal with the consequences. Luckily all was fine with Daniel but being kept apart and hurt only made him angrier which helped with him and daniel being able to escape the police station they were being kept in.

One thing that has always worried me about Daniel was how he was going to cope harming more people due to his powers and when it came to breaking out of prison this fear smacked me right in the face because he was so scared and just wanted to get back to the border and be free with his brother. He looked up to Shaun more than anything and all this time Shaun has done his best to try and protect him and Daniel tries to do the same in the only way he knows he can, with his powers. Faced with not being able to get past all the cops blocking their way to Mexico a sacrifice is made and it's one that flips the game sideways taking us down a different route I didn't think was possible.

I don't want to give away the ending as it was an outcome I didn't expect, the game may have been slow at times but it built up to show us that the boy's determination helped them not only fight their way through discrimination but also through danger. They overcome all the bad feelings they had towards their mum, met family they never got to see before, made new friends and lost an adorable friend all along the way. This game showed me that people look for the good in others and are willing to help those they barely know in order to keep them safe. Each season opened up a new chapter that connects each one by the end of the series, it's pretty sad because they didn't even get to grieve their dad and knew instantly that the cop dying meant they would be to blame.

What I was most happy about the ending is it's open for the game developers to add more to the story if they wish, I would love to know more about what the boys end up getting up to as they get older and their choices in life but most of all I want to know how Daniel copes as he gets older with his powers now that he knows what he is capable! All in all, if you're avoiding playing LIS2 because you loved the first game so much and don't want it to be ruined have no fear, this game has a completely different story but still draws you in.