Life is Strange 2 News

At its core, Life is Strange 2 is a road trip game. Sean and Daniel’s journey from their home in Seattle takes them all across the western states of America: from the snow-covered gardens of wintery Beaver Creek, to the drifter camp under the giant redwoods in California, to the arid Nevada desert. Each environment adds something to the story and they are carefully crafted to feel unique but real: places you could almost go and visit in real life.

But locations only come to life when you put people in them. The biggest part of world building isn’t just where does this prop go, but asking yourself: why is it there? Who are the people that live there and what effect do they have on the environment, and the environment on them? Creating a world that feels lived in and is a place that makes sense narratively requires both careful environmental and character design.

To explore the creation of the memorable locations of LiS2, and the diverse cast of characters who live in them, we’ve sat down with Square Enix Art Director Rachele Doimo to discuss how the incredible art teams we work with at studios like DONTNOD bring everything to life

Let’s start with Environments first. And remember, as with our previous blogs: beware spoilers!

Can you tell us what research went into some of the environments covered in Life is Strange 2?

Everything started with a trip that the game directors did a few years ago across the USA. It was a journey through a continent that made quite a mark in their life and work. All the memorable places they visited and people they met have contributed to their vision of Life is Strange 2.

What were some technical challenges for the larger scope of Life is Strange 2?

Performance had to be monitored constantly from asset creation to final lighting pass on each shot. A high number of lights can significantly slow down performance, but at the same time, they can make a huge difference in the quality of each single shot so all assets in a scene, from character models, to props, to lights, to total number of polygons, have to be managed in order not to reduce the framerate.



Given the changing environments in each Episode of the game, were there any environmental assets you were able to re-use, or was it a case of starting with a fresh palette of trees, rocks, and ground textures every time?

Each location had to be bespoke. Only a small amount of props could be reused, which also impacted development time. Generic grass, for example, is used in multiple locations, but trees and specific flora needed to be consistent with the part of the country that each episode is set. Every asset and material contributes and builds towards the unique, captivating look of an environment in Life is Strange.

Into the woods in Episode 1 is the biggest environment to date. Do we see something similar in Ep4?

At the beginning of Episode 4, when Sean is heading to Heaven Point, the Nevada desert area is probably the largest location in the game, in terms of visible distance. Although not the highest in asset density, it hopefully successfully creates a sense of loneliness and highlights Sean’s separation from his brother: walking on a vast unknown road through an unfriendly territory.



With Life is Strange 1 we had a broad cast of characters but one that remained in a single location: Arcadia Bay. The town had a set number of inhabitants and wasn’t changing in the same way the environments do in LiS2. Though new characters were intermittently introduced, the cast broadly focused on a specific set of people.

In Life is Strange 2, the boys are on the road, passing through all manner of towns and communities on their journey south, which, out of necessity, required a much larger supporting cast – from the handful of major characters Sean and Daniel each Episode, to the innumerable secondary and background characters needed to populate each stop on their journey.

More characters were designed during the Episode 1 and 2 concept art stage than were designed for the whole of LiS 1. Rachele, with that in mind, we’d like to talk about how the art team develops characters that fascinate us, whether they feature in an episode, a scene, or are just seen in the background.

What’s the process of designing a cast of memorable secondary and tertiary characters?

The art process starts when an approved character biography is provided by the design team. This is the foundation of what the character should actually look like, the details of which all have to speak about who this person is and what they went through in life before the player encounters them.

Facial features and body shape are extremely important, but clothes and accessories play a crucial role too. Even small details like a pin on a jacket can add a lot to the character’s “visual story”. Designing a character is a rather long process that goes through many  concepts and revisions, from the mood board stage to digital sketches, to the very detailed in-game model, which can itself be revised multiple times – but it is extremely fun and rewarding when you see them being brought to life in the game.



The design process for Cassidy's tattoos went through a lot of development to make sure they represented her personality and character. No detail is too small!

Some characters obviously get more attention in the narrative of Life is Strange 2 than others. Do lesser-seen characters get the same special treatment in art and design as more primary characters? What does this process look like?

The main cast obviously is where the art team has spent most of their time, especially at the beginning of the project, but secondary and tertiary characters are no less detailed or less looked after.

Main characters, in this case Sean and Daniel, are designed and created at the beginning and then serve as a benchmark for the rest. What is built during this process sets the style for the entire cast, the level of detail, the level of definition in the textures and the overall rendering style. In Life is Strange 2 there was a major need for extras and minor NPCs in every episode. While those didn’t need the same “uniqueness” as the leads, they certainly still had to be consistent to the narrative, place and role in the story.



Similar to the intricacies of her tattoos, Cassidy's overall appearance went through many iterations to get her style just right.
Who is your favourite character featured in Episode 3?

Very tricky question… I like all the drifters, of course! They are fun to play and watch. I have a particular soft spot for Cassidy – she is visually very interesting, without being conventionally dressed or styled, it really allows her personality to shine through. Her punk-inspired style, with worn-out clothes and purple hair, makes her a very iconic and memorable character. She is both contemporary and unconventional, both with her style and her charismatic personality.

Many thanks to Rachele for walking us through these elements of environment and character design. What were your favorite locations and characters on the journey so far – do you have a soft spot for a background character?

Join in the conversation, and stay with us all the way to #JourneysEnd!

As we move past Episode 1 on the road to #JourneysEnd, we approach a first for the Life is Strange franchise. With The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, there was an opportunity to create an experience not only additive to Life is Strange 2 (and more specifically Episode 2), but to expand the universe by focusing on one side character in-depth – transforming a secondary character into the hero of their very own game. Whilst a rich and touching experience in its own right, Chris appears in Life is Strange 2 Episode 2 to Sean and Daniel for the first time, but as a fully-fledged character to the player.

We spoke to Co-Creative Director Raoul Barbet and Square Enix Senior Game Designer Alejandro Gallardo about Captain Spirit, it’s connection to Episode 2, and what the experience meant to them.

What excited you about getting the opportunity to deepen a connection to a side character by giving them their own chapter?

Raoul: We had been wanting to create a smaller project which would allow us to further develop a character since the very beginning. We chose Chris because his story made for an interesting mirror to that of Sean and Daniel. Chris is roughly Daniel’s age, so we also talk about education and family through his relationship with his father. Of course, it was a first introduction of these themes before diving into them in LiS2 with Sean and Daniel. It made for an interesting parallel and it also allowed us to develop themes we had been wanting to expand upon for a long time, namely childhood, loneliness and the imaginary worlds we create as children.

Was it always the plan to use Captain Spirit for a standalone slice of story or were other characters considered?

Alejandro: When we started talking about the standalone, there were other characters that we thought it would have been cool to explore, like the drifters. But the one that resonated the most with everyone was Chris’s story.



Chris doesn’t have a power, but his wild imagination allows for many more abstract and imaginary scenes than we’re used to seeing in Life is Strange games. Can you tell us about your favourite manifestation?

Raoul: Indeed, there isn’t really a power per se in Captain Spirit, but we see Chris’s imagination as a power of sorts. If memory serves, the first manifestation I wanted to see was the one in the long dark corridor Chris must walk through to turn on the water heater. The idea was to make this corridor longer because it embodies a childhood fear, and in our imagination, the corridor appears longer than it really is because we’re scared. It turned into the evil water heater that you need to turn back on, which became a scene in itself, and the basis from which we created all the other imaginary scenes.

I would say the water heater is my favourite because I love the monster we created, and because it’s what started everything else. My second favourite is the planet, as I think it’s amazing visually and it adds a very cool element of science-fiction.

Alejandro: My favourite manifestation was the Water Eater monster, because it reminded me of my childhood. Kid me and my brother always had a room in the house that was dark and we always imagined monsters living in there, so the fact that Chris needs his alter ego to go in there to beat the monster was very relatable.

How do you think the player’s time with Chris in Captain Spirit enhances their view of the character in Life is Strange 2 Episode 2?

Alejandro: By experiencing the world through Chris’s eyes, it allows everyone to connect with his story as soon as you see him in Episode 2, making the decisions from Sean’s perspective even more difficult, because you care from Chris and you want the best for him.

Hopefully you care even more about the bond that Daniel creates with Chris, because for the first time you have seen Daniel happy with a friend – and you know that both kids need each other.



Life is Strange is known for tackling difficult realities of life, and in this chapter we were exposed to a young boy living in a home struggling with loss. Whilst Chris takes solace in his imagination, his father suffers from alcoholism. Why is it important for games to explore these elements of life?

Raoul: We try to talk about the realities of our society, and we wanted to tackle these themes – communication issues between father and son, loss, grief, and first and foremost, how children often find an escape from grown-up issues through their imagination. We think video games are an ideal medium to tackle these issues because they involve the player, and by playing Chris, we get back into the spirit of being a kid, home alone. As we’re playing a game, it creates a particularly interesting parallel, it’s quite meta: we’re playing a game in which Chris is trying to play to stave off boredom and maybe also to take his mind off of his issues with his father and the loss of his mother. Talking about all this was very important to us.

After getting to know Captain Spirit in his Awesome Adventures, and in Episode 2, we move onto Episode 3 in our road to the #JourneysEnd.

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The Life is Strange series has always been synonymous with amazing music. While known for picking standout tracks from lesser-known artists and introducing them to players through memorable scenes, the series has also been gifted with nuanced, emotive scores.

For Life is Strange and Life is Strange 2, Co-Creative Director and Music Supervisor Raoul Barbet worked closely with musician Jonathan Morali, known best for his work with indie rock and folk band Syd Matters.

With Life is Strange 2, their now-seven-year collaborative relationship allowed them to develop a richer and more varied score, made possible because of the trust and familiarity created between composer and director.

Morali’s new score goes on a musical journey with Sean and Daniel, evolving alongside the story and the characters to which it introduces you. Today we wanted to share with you some insights into the score, and how it came to be, by sitting down with Raoul – Beware of spoilers ahead!

What emotions did you want to evoke when briefing Jonathan Morali?

Raoul Barbet: When I got in touch with him to ask him to work on the first Life is Strange score, I had already been a fan of his and Syd Matters’ work for a long time. Having chosen a few tracks he had composed, I wanted him to retain a similar style, to do something “Syd Matters”. Life is Strange 2, we wanted to do something quite different.

The idea was to have a rather stress-free intro that evoked the first Life is Strange, with a lot of acoustic guitar and this ‘cocoon’-like quality we knew from the first game - that tone runs through the whole Seattle section. As soon as the boys started hitting the road, we wanted to change the tone of the score, so we asked him to go with something a little different, with more electronic sounds. Colder, darker things, depending on the scenes, as we knew the brothers were going to face a number of difficulties on the road.

We talked about wanting to convey a general feeling for each scene. The themes we asked him to compose were either linked to a given scene and setting, or to a specific character. It’s all about that character’s past, the feeling we want to evoke upon meeting them, and what story we can tell through the instruments, melody, and music for each character and each setting.

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In the video above, feel how the scene is elevated when the score is added. It sets a severe, sobering tone as the boys lives are changed forever.

You had the full shape of the season mapped out before work began on the score, so were there any moments or characters you were especially looking forward to hearing with Jonathan’s music?

We had quite a lot of reference material for Jonathan to listen to when we started working on the game, in terms of mood and different musical styles. In Life is Strange 2, I wanted the combination of electronic music with other instruments. We began researching what it would mean to have the brothers on the road. We knew the theme that we called ‘Into the woods” corresponded to specific moments of their journey. We started working on this very early on, especially for Episode 1. We have specific themes for important characters after that. The drifters, for instance, in the camp in Episode 3 , have a score that is tailored to their community, with certain musical layers specific to each character.

In Episode 2, we have a dedicated, warmer theme for the grandparents. We tried to create a sort of family feel, to mirror what we experience with them in Episode 2. These are themes specifically linked to scenes or characters. We discussed this a lot for each episode and we tried to establish what important themes we needed for specific characters or scenes - Jonathan and I exchanged a lot of references and ideas for each character.

I’m also thinking of Karen, who has a very strong personality, and whose themes played for the first time when we see her in Episode 4, and which you will hear again in Episode 5. It’s a theme tailored to her, and there are a number of layers of the composition that play dynamically, depending on how well we know her and what we choose to do and talk about with her. For instance, as we start talking with her at the motel, we’ll add layers to the track – giving depth to the theme.

How has your relationship evolved with Jonathan Morali since you worked with him on the first Life is Strange?

Our relationship has evolved a lot, since we’ve been working together for seven years or so. We’ve become more efficient, as we now know each other better.

Life is Strange 2 has been a huge challenge because we tried to make its score a lot richer than that of the first game, and it has some rather complicated themes. Being a road trip, there are many different tracks to compose – but I would say that our relationship has grown easier because there is more trust between the audio team, Jonathan and myself.

We let him suggest more ideas than before. We did that all along, but now that we trust each other more, we let him suggest things earlier on. We also have technical and melodic needs, too, and sometimes things are missing, so we try to discuss everything as much as possible to speed up the process. For example, if we describe a theme linked to a setting or character, he will create an initial version and then come back to us maybe once or twice but that’s it. It’s a rather fast process and we’re very happy with the results – and I think Jonathan also feels more at ease when composing and making unique suggestions.



It’s notable that, as LiS2 goes along, there’s an increasing reliance on the score to soundtrack the key emotional moments, rather than licensed tracks. Was this a deliberate decision- and was it a conscious choice that thematically replicates the boys leaving behind all they’ve known?

That’s a really good question. Yes, that’s it exactly.

We wanted... Or rather, I wanted Life is Strange 2 to have a richer score than the first game because we love what Jonathan does. I think he’s an amazing composer, but we also knew we wanted licensed tracks for certain scenes. I really enjoyed picking the tracks, working them into the visuals, building on moments of the first game. We also wanted to continue in that vein because we knew the community enjoyed it and it spoke to our story.

There are many licensed tracks to evoke the atmosphere in Seattle, showing us Sean’s taste, what he’s listening to. They also allow us to talk about the characters he meets through the music they listen to. It gives us a quick point of entry to each character. For example, the intro to Sean and Lyla on the bus in Episode 1, set to Phoenix’s ‘Lisztomania’, or the scene with the drifters in Episode 3, with Justice’s ‘D.A.N.C.E.’. The fact that they’re existing tracks gives us a strong mood and adds impact to the scene.

We wanted to continue that way, but we also wanted the score to tell a story, to tell something about the brothers’ journey, so we have made the brothers’ themes evolve throughout the episodes with new tracks in each one. It was important to us that the score as a whole should evolve from something rather folky in Seattle, something that evoked the first Life is Strange, and continue developing until the end. As you’ll hear, Episode 5 has a very different score.

So that was the fundamental idea, and we’re really happy with how it turned out. There are fewer licensed tracks but there are still quite a few of them, and we’re thrilled with the artists we’ve been able to feature. The idea was to re-balance – or at any rate, to have Jonathan create an amazing, evolving score.



Many thanks to Raoul for taking the time to unveil some secrets of the soundtrack – we’ll be back next week with another deep-dive blog interview into Episode 2!

Stay with us all the way to the #JourneysEnd!

Today is our last day playing Episode 1: Roads! We have a special stream at 1PM PST/9PM GMT hosted by Dayeanne Hutton and special guest Mei Pak (Lyla!) on our YouTube channel.

Join the conversation! We’re giving away a LiS2 Collector’s Edition: http://sqex.link/ep1chat

To kick off the road to the #JourneysEnd, we wanted to give you your first sneak peek at Episode 5.

Click the thumbnail above to watch!