Critical Play: Mysteries
Life is Strange 2
LIS2 is a title produced by DONTNOD Entertainment in 2018 and is a story of two brothers on a road trip across the Pacific West. The game primarily consists of cutscenes interjected with multi-choice action scenes and in design and idea is reminiscent of The Last of Us recasted into a visual novel.
As with any novel, the objective of this game is to experience more narrative, and in that it primarily focuses on drama and escapism aesthetics. The core plot of the game consists of the protagonist (Sean Diaz) exploring the heavily scripted 3D world with an NPC companion (his younger brother, Daniel)
The game mechanics primarily consist of cutscenes interjected with multi-choice action sections. The choices the protagonist makes result in minor variations in the plot, but also (more importantly) they contribute to building the empathy and bond between two brothers. I have played the first game episode (3.5 hours), and the resulting score does not seem to affect the main story arc much; presumably the game may diverge more towards the end and have different finals depending on the relations in the duo.
The main mystery in Life is Strange 2 lies in capabilities of Daniel, who seems to command paranormal powers. The hint to that mystery is given in the opening scene, with details gradually unfolded across the remaining game episodes. In addition to a plot-driven mystery, every action scene involves solving mini-quests in the form of following the right sequence of actions or collecting the objectives, and the game employs several mechanics to assist the gamer in making a steady progress.
First, the movements of a character are bounded within a spatial box; an attempt to walk out of that box is physically impossible or generates a nudge to turn back. Moreover, during the gameplay the characters may become separated by architectural elements (such as doors) that will appear permanently locked until the player fulfills some objective, thus preventing the unnecessary (and unscripted) interactions.
Second, the game uses a system of hints that helps the player understand what he is supposed to do in every moment. These short-term objectives are communicated with hints pointers towards the useful objects.
If the player misses a hint or spends too much time in the area, he may receive an explicit on-screen reminder — or a suggestion from his NPC sidekick. These suggestions are usually camouflaged as complaints or questions.
Third, the game tracks the mid-term objectives with a to-do list found in player’s inventory:
Finally, the long-term objectives and the entire mind-map of the game are kept in the form of a diary that allows the gamer to check back with his experience so far and relate better with emotions of his character:
This combination of nudges, hints and limits works together to push the narrative forward and keep it tight; at no time the quests and tasks are designed to be complicated enough to keep the player from making the steady progress.
At the same time, most action scenes in LIS2 still permit dwelling on some visually or emotionally captive moments of gameplay for better immersion and mood setting — which is an aspect of this game that seems to work very well.
Therefore, the mechanics of the game assist in unfolding the narrative, and the narrative leads toward discovering the mystery. In turn, the unfolded mystery becomes a part of the narrative thus forming a game cycle. This architecture works quite well for the visual novel as the player’s interest can freely shift between adventure, emotional attachment to teenagers, immersive visuals, and the world of paranormal effects.
