After numerous teases, a free tie-in game and what feels like a very long wait, we finally got an in-depth look at Life is Strange 2 last night at a pre-Gamescom showcase. Two early sequences from the game were shown, one of which will be playable on the show floor, giving us our first (proper) look at Life is Strange 2's main characters and teasing what the long road has in store for them. We're not in Arcadia Bay anymore, everything looks very different, and really, that's a very good thing indeed.
Life is Strange 2 focuses on the journey of two brothers, Sean and Daniel Diaz, who are on a dangerous road trip after a series of tragic events near the beginning of the game force them to go on the run from police under threat of separation and arrest. It's set three years after the events of Life is Strange 1 - so, 2016 - and begins a few nights before Halloween. Sean is the older brother and the playable character, a talented 16 year old would-be artist who hates parties, has a crush on a girl named Jenn much to the amusement of his best friend Layla, and likes chilling in his room while listening to The Streets. His younger brother Daniel is 9, loves Halloween, zombies and chocolate bars, and has a mini-crush on Layla, much to the amusement of Sean. They seem to have a fairly quiet life with their father in suburban Seattle until things unravel shockingly fast and they're forced to go on the run with nothing but the clothes on their back, stolen party supplies, and a small helping of pocket money.
The game charts the brothers and their journey along the west coast of America from Seattle to their father's former home, Puerto Lobos in Mexico. The road trip setting is quite a departure from the fixed location of Arcadia Bay in the first season, but developer Dontnod says it means the pair can meet a lot of colourful characters along the way. Were the studio worried about not having a single main location or town to anchor players and build a sense of time and place?