A very impressive beginning.
I started the first game, but never finished for a variety of
reasons, none to do with the game itself. There was a lot to like,
albeit perhaps a bit "teeny" for me, and the time wind back
aspect was particularly interesting.
There was then a prequel (apparently) and now a sequel, but seemingly
in name only. The teeniness is still here, but we have a completely new
cast, and you don’t wind back time. Life though is indeed still
strange.
Sean Diaz is 16, and its Seattle in October 2016. Like many boys his
age, partying, girls and college are part of life's tapestry. So too is
a younger brother, and his best friend Lyla. Alcohol and condoms feature
as well, at least tonight.
Scratch a little deeper and we find a presidential debate. And what
Lyla and Sean think about some of the issues discussed. It frames what
is to come. The socio-political landscape is reflected and never far
away.
It's a guided story, with your choices affecting the narrative. Steal
or don't steal, empathise or not. I have no idea how much the choices
effect how the story unfolds, but the beauty of such things is in the
retelling.
The voice acting is excellent, the characterisation almost exemplary.
There is a rich detail that imbues every character, be they central or
not. Many of the peripheral objects and actions contribute to that
detail, so explore everything, poke around, read your texts and rummage
through your backpack. You will be glad you did.
While it's relatively slow paced, there are bangs that interrupt the
events. To tell would be to spoil. Suffice to say we are no longer in
Seattle, and brothers look out for each other.
The soundtrack and the visual world admirably hold up their ends. The
game saves automatically and periodically, and you pick up from the last
save. It is completely mouse driven. There isn't really any puzzling,
although there are some situations to work through. Occasionally I
wanted something more to do, but the story is the thing. I very much
look forward to the rest.
I played on:
OS: Windows 10, 64 Bit
Processor: Intel i7-6700 4GHz
