Life is Strange 2

In Life Is Strange 2, players guide Sean Diaz's decisions as he embarks on a perilous road trip from Seattle to Mexico with his younger brother Daniel, grappling with loss, newfound powers, and the complexities of brotherhood. From the bustling streets of Seattle to the rugged landscapes of California and Nevada, the Diaz brothers' journey is fraught with danger, heartache, and unexpected connections. Along the way, players must navigate moral dilemmas, forge relationships, and confront the consequences of their actions, shaping the fate of both brothers and the people they encounter. Narrative themes include police brutality, death & loss, and racism.

• Release date: 09-26-2018
• Developer: Feral Interactive & DON'T NOD
• Publisher: Square Enix & Feral Interactive
• Platforms: Linux, MacOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows PC, Xbox One

Triggers for this game

Animals & Wildlife

• Arachnids

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Spiderweb in Episode 1 that the brothers stop to marvel at for some time.

  • Can't be avoided

• Cats

  Cougar

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  The Diaz brothers' dog, Mushroom, is killed by a cougar. If the player decides not to intervene, Daniel will use his powers to break the cougar's body, killing it.

  • Can't be avoided

• Dogs

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  The Diaz brothers' dog, Mushroom, is killed by a cougar.

  • Can't be avoided

• Insects

  Scorpion

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Scorpion is visible several times in last episode.

  • Can't be avoided

• Snakes

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  In episode 4 you can see a snake if you try to walk too far away from the road

  • Can't be avoided

Crime

• Being Held Against Will

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  At the end of the gas station scene, an older racist & xenophobic man kidnaps and traps Sean, handcuffing him to a rail. Sean escapes and has an opportunity for revenge.

  • Can't be avoided

• Guns & Shooting

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Unavoidable — The conflict of the story starts when a man is shot and killed by a policeman. Avoidable — A gun might be used in Episode 3 if the player allows it.

  • Is avoidable
  • Can't be avoided

• Kidnapping

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  At the end of the gas station scene, an older racist & xenophobic man kidnaps and traps Sean, handcuffing him to a rail. Sean escapes and has an opportunity for revenge.

  • Can't be avoided

• Murder

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Unavoidable — Episode 1 — The main character gets into a fight with the neighbor kid, who ends up getting pushed over hitting his head on a rock. He dies, but not before struggling to breathe. Avoidable — Episode 3 — The teens are threatened at gunpoint and, depending on the actions taken by the player, Finn is shot in the leg and/or killed. Episode 5 — You can command Daniel to kill two police officers. He will kill them by crushing every bone in their body with his powers.

  • Is avoidable
  • Can't be avoided

Death & Loss

• Abandonment

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Characters' mother abandons them out of nowhere. During the game, they reconnect. There are options to repair the relationship or not.

  • Can't be avoided

• Death of Friend

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Episode 3 features some physical violence between the teens and two adult men they're working for. The teens are threatened at gunpoint and, depending on the actions taken by the player, Finn is shot in the leg and/or killed.

  • Is avoidable

• Death of Parent

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Sean and Daniel's father is killed in the first episode when a policeman shoots him in the chest. His dead blood-covered body can be seen a few moments later.

• Death of pet

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  The Diaz brothers' dog, Mushroom, is killed by a cougar.

  • Can't be avoided

• Death of Wild Animal

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  The Diaz brothers' dog, Mushroom, is killed by a cougar. If the player decides not to intervene, Daniel will use his powers to break the cougar's body, killing it.

  • Is avoidable

• Suicide

  Self-sacrifice

  • Is avoidable

Disturbing Sounds & Sound Design

• Bone Crushing

  Breaking

  • Can't be avoided

• Screams

  • Can't be avoided

Drugs & Alcohol

• Alcohol Consumption

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  During the party scene in Episode 3, the player (as Sean) has the options to smoke weed and drink. If you choose to do so, Daniel is angry and effected on some level, locks certain dialogue prompts, and causes Sean's sketch to be messy.

  • Can't be avoided

• Alcoholism

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  In Episode 2, you meet a character dealing with alcoholism.

  • Can't be avoided

• Casual Drug Consumption

  Weed

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Episode 3 is set on a marijuana farm. During the party scene in Episode 3, the player (as Sean) has the options to smoke weed and drink. If you choose to do so, Daniel is angry and effected on some level, locks certain dialogue prompts, and causes Sean's sketch to be messy.

  • Can't be avoided

• Tobacco & Smoking

  • Can't be avoided

Financial & Resource Management

• Homelessness

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Throughout most of the game, the main characters are homeless.

  • Can't be avoided

Gore

• Animal Violence

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Unavoidable — The Diaz brothers' dog, Mushroom, is killed by a cougar. If the player decides not to intervene, Avoidable — Daniel will use his powers to break the cougar's body, killing it. Episode 5 — Daniel may try to torture a scorpion by floating it in the air with his powers but Sean can make him stop.

  • Is avoidable
  • Can't be avoided

• Blood

  • Can't be avoided

Hate & Discrimination

• Ableism

  & sanism; R slur

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Episode 1 — The boys' neighbor Brett makes a comment on 'being back from the loony bin', as well as calling Daniel the r slur.

  • Can't be avoided

• Homophobia

  Slurs (Episode 4)

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  F slur used in violent situation at the church

  • Is avoidable

• Racism

  Racism against Latinx / Latin@ / Hispanic individuals, including several slurs

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  The game makes numerous references to the ill treatment of Latinx / Latin@ / Hispanic individuals, including migrants. If you check Sean Diaz's Facebook (in-game) following the death of the cop in episode 1, some of the comments will display ethnic slurs and death threats. Episode 1 — Towards the end of this episode, the main character gets called a slur commonly used against Latinx / Latin@ / Hispanic people. Episode 4 — The main character gets called a slur used against Mexican people several times.

  • Can't be avoided

Horror Themes

• Jump Scares

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Minor scare when in the woods with Daniel

  • Can't be avoided

Law Enforcement

• Police Brutality

  & racism

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Episode 1 — Sean and Daniel's father is killed in the first episode when a policeman shoots him in the chest. His dead blood-covered body can be seen a few moments later. Episode 2 — Depending on the player's interactions with Chris, the latter could accidentally be hit by a police car. It's never made clear if Chris survives his injuries.

  • Is avoidable
  • Can't be avoided

LGBTQ+

• Misc. LGBTQ+

  Conversion therapy

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  In Episode 4, Sean finds a file that says a character was sent to conversion therapy.

  • Can't be avoided

Mental Health

• Grief

  & guilt

  • Can't be avoided

• Mental Illness

  • Can't be avoided

• Panic Attack

  • Can't be avoided

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

  • Can't be avoided

• Psych Ward

  Discussed

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  one of the characters has been implied to have gone to a mental hospital in the past, with a minor antagonist saying "back from the loony in?". If you later choose not to contact this character I believe it is implied that their mental health deteriorates and they have to go back.

  • Can't be avoided

Non-Sexual Abuse & Violence

• Child Abuse

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Episode 1 — A man kicks the 16-year-old protagonist in the face hard enough to draw blood. Episode 2 — It's implied that a child is verbally abused and neglected by their parent. Episode 3 — Characters younger than 19 are physically harmed by middle-aged people and exploited for their labor. Episode 4 — A child is psychologically abused and religiously indoctrinated. Another child is medically neglected. An individual shares that they were forced into conversion therapy as a child. Episode 5 — Children are threatened by police.

  • Can't be avoided

• Child Endangerment

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Episode 1 — A man kicks the 16-year-old protagonist in the face hard enough to draw blood. Episode 2 — It's implied that a child is verbally abused and neglected by their parent. Episode 3 — Characters younger than 19 are physically harmed by middle-aged people and exploited for their labor. Episode 4 — A child is psychologically abused and religiously indoctrinated. Another child is medically neglected. An individual shares that they were forced into conversion therapy as a child. Episode 5 — Children are threatened by police.

  • Can't be avoided

• Gaslighting

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Sean lies to Daniel about the death of their father to protect him.

  • Can't be avoided

• Mutilation

  Self-harm mention (past)

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  No one self harms in the story but it is mentioned that a friend of one of the secondary characters used to.

  • Can't be avoided

Phobias

• Arachnophobia

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Spiderweb in Episode 1 that the brothers stop to marvel at for some time.

  • Can't be avoided

• Claustrophobia

  • Can't be avoided

• Emetophobia

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Episode 1 — If Daniel eats the red berries, he will vomit. The black berries are okay to eat.

  • Is avoidable

• Hemophobia

  • Can't be avoided

• Merinthophobia

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  At the end of the gas station scene, an older racist & xenophobic man kidnaps and traps Sean, handcuffing him to a rail. Sean escapes and has an opportunity for revenge.

  • Can't be avoided

• Ommetaphobia

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  A character gets a shard of glass stuck in their eye. They have to do constant maintenance on their eye to keep it from getting infected, including cleaning it with a Q-Tip and applying medicine, although it is usually obscured and the character wears an eye-patch. He loses the eye. Later on, the character is seen without the eye-patch and depending on the player choices the eye will be either white or black.

  • Can't be avoided

• Trypanophobia

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Optional tattoo choice in episode 3

  • Is avoidable

Physical Health & Body Issues

• Hospitalization

  Episode 4

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  The first part of episode 4 is set in a hospital

  • Can't be avoided

• Terminal Illness

  Cancer

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Episode 1 — In Brody's note at the end of the episode, he states that he's heading back to Utah to see his mother who is dying from cancer. Episode 2 — There is a letter on the dresser in the cabin bedroom that implies that the old owner of the cabin had cancer. Episode 5 — It is implied that Joan is battling cancer, but not explicitly stated.

  • Can't be avoided

Sex & Erotica (Consensual)

• Consensual Sex

  Episode 3

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  In episode 3, after a swim in the lake, Cassidy and Sean can go in a tent and have sex. Her bare breasts are briefly shown. She will get angry if Sean refuses sex. (This all requires building up the relationship with her, which is optional.)

  • Is avoidable

• Kissing

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  You can kiss either Cassidy or Finn or both or neither

  • Is avoidable

• Nudity

  Episodes 3 & 4

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Episode 3 — After the prologue of episode 3, a topless teenage girl walks out of a tent and her bare breasts are visible for a few moments. In episode 3, Cassidy invites Sean to go skinny dipping with her. She takes off all of her clothes and her nude body and bare buttocks can be seen from a distance. Sean does the same and there's a brief shot of his bare buttocks. No breasts or pubic nudity at all. Episode 4 — Sean is seen taking a shower. His upper body is seen including nipples. He then gets out of the shower displaying his upper buttocks for a brief second. He goes to change into his pajamas where we see his upper body (including nipples and stomach) down to his v-line

  • Is avoidable

Traumatic Events

• Accidents

  ShowHide potential spoilers or triggers

  Police car flips. Avoidable — Episode 2 — Depending on the player's interactions with Chris, the latter could accidentally be hit by a police car. It's never made clear if Chris survives his injuries.

  • Is avoidable
  • Can't be avoided

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