Max’s return to her home town after 5 years away hasn’t even remotely gone like she might have imagined. Cool as they are, her new powers have come with rather alarming visions of impending disaster. She’s let one friend in on her secrets, but both of them also have other personal issues to attend to… 
Episode 1 of Life is Strange established a compelling mix of mysteries, characters, and atmosphere that I enjoyed quite a bit. For the most part episode 2 capitalizes and expands on the potential shown. One of the best parts is that the major decisions made in episode 1 carry over and influence a good bit of dialogue and some pieces of major developments. So far this is the best integration of this type of carryover I’ve seen. There’s a big, tough choice at the end that looks to have similar ripple effects going forward. The time mechanic is interesting and continues to be well implemented and integrated. Hints and foreshadowing are everywhere, but it’s hard to see where it’s all going. I love that kind of story.
The biggest weakness of this episode is in the middle where in an attempt to break up the tension a little there is a fetch quest that slows things down way too much and is frustrating to finish. It’s an unfortunate misstep that derails most of the momentum that had been built up. Things recover nicely though, with three harrowing scenes later one and the big choice I talked about earlier to finish. There’s still a strong feeling of “no right answer” to most of the choices, which is a great accomplishment.
Overall a good follow up and I’m still extremely invested in Life is Strange and eager to continue with the next episode.
Derailments of Thought 