Life is Strange Collection includes Life is Strange Remastered, Life is Strange: Before the Storm Remastered, Life is Strange 2, Life is Strange: True Colors Deluxe Edition, and Life is Strange: Double Exposure Ultimate Edition. Along with the games themselves, Life is Strange Collection will also include all of the DLC and pre-order bonuses that were released for each game.

All of the Life is Strange games included in the collection tell their own stories with unique protagonists, from Max Caulfield in the first game, to Chloe Price in Before the Storm.

Life is Strange Collection will feature True Colors and Double Exposure in the form of physical discs, while the other three games, along with all DLC and pre-order bonuses, will be available in the form of a code that has to be redeemed online.

The latest game in the series, Life is Strange: Double Exposure, was released back in October 2024. The game features the protagonist of the original Life is Strange–Max Caulfield–and takes place a decade after the events of the first game. Life is Strange: Double Exposure takes place in Caledon University in Vermont.

Max works as a photographer, and ends up awakening to new time-based powers after discovering her best friend Safi dead in the snow. The core gameplay mechanics in Life is Strange: Double Exposure revolves around Max being able to swap between two different timelines. Using this power, Max must figure out how Safi died, and maybe even try and prevent her death to begin with.

In our review, we gave Life is Strange: Double Exposure a score of 9 out of 10. We praised its premise, characters, and the kinds of choices that players are forced to make, while criticising technical rough edges and the rare bout of sloppy writing.

Other titles include Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, Haven, Life is Strange: True Colors, Rainbow Six Extraction and Tchia on PS4 and PS5. PS4 players also get Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, Immortals Fenyx Rising, Life is Strange 2, NEO: The World Ends with You, RAGE 2, Street Fighter 5 Champion Edition, and Untitled Goose Game. Of course, these are all playable on PS5, thanks to backward compatibility.

For Premium subscribers, Ape Escape 2 and Ridge Racer Type 4 for PlayStation One are coming along with Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror from the PlayStation Portable era. The latter benefits from up-rendering, quick saving, video filters and a rewind function. Stay tuned for more details when the above titles go live next week.

Square Enix has announced that Life is Strange 2 is releasing for the Nintendo Switch. It will launch for the platform in a few days’ time, on February 2, with pre-orders now available on the Switch eShop. As per the game’s eShop page, it will require 26.5 GB of free storage space- which, by Switch standards, is surprisingly hefty.

In our review of Life is Strange 2, which is the last game in the series to be developed by Don’t Nod, we awarded it a score of 9/10, saying, “The jury is out on whether or not Life is Strange 2 is superior to the first game, but it is undoubtedly bolder and more ambitious, with something meaningful to say.” Read the full review through here.

Experience the critically acclaimed Life is Strange 2 by @DONTNOD_Ent on-the-go for the very first time on #Nintendo #Switch.

Available to pre-order now from the Nintendo eShop and will release on February 2 2023.

Pre-order now: https://t.co/fk6EPaBs80 pic.twitter.com/AtNujjf7C7

— Life is Strange (@LifeIsStrange) January 23, 2023

But that’s not what Life is Strange 2 does, for better and for worse. With the second season in this series, Dontnod are determined to tackle deeper and darker depths of human shortcomings, both on a more intimate and personal micro- scale, as well as a broader, social, macro- scale. The result is arguably one of the most ambitious games ever, a game that has something to say, and does say it, without any fears of whom it may alienate along the way. At a time when the likes of Ubisoft and Activision bend over backwards to assure us that their war simulation games are absolutely not political, no sir, Life is Strange 2 steeps itself in the present-day turbulence.

The original Life is Strange dealt with some issues of divisive rhetoric, that split the student body of Arcadia Bay’s Blackwell Academy, so this isn’t entirely new ground for developers Dontnod. But the extent to which they deal with the issues of racism in America, the fear of immigrants, and the very real threat of violence and civil unrest in the country, is honestly surprising and refreshing – Life is Strange 2 does not blink, and does not hold punches, when it comes to presenting its players with the uncomfortable truth.

"Life is Strange 2 does not blink, and does not hold punches, when it comes to presenting its players with the uncomfortable truth."

The new season follows Sean and Daniel Diaz, sons of Esteban, an immigrant from Mexico who has made a living in Seattle as a mechanic. Esteban is portrayed as a sort of ideal figure for his sons, a single dad who has raised his children and imparted the values of hard work and ethics. Unfortunately, those values are tested when Esteban finds himself dead as the result of a shootout with a trigger-happy cop, causing the brothers to go on the run. They don’t have much idea of where they are going – at first, younger brother Daniel doesn’t even know his father is dead, out of Sean’s misguided attempt to protect him from that realization – but Sean has a vague idea of traipsing across America and go to Mexico, to their father’s homeland, where they can, hopefully, be safe from the turbulence in the United States.

There is a reason I am lingering on the political backdrop and context so much in this review—that is literally all the game is about. As anyone who has ever played any game in this genre before (Telltale, Dontnod, or otherwise) knows, these games are all about their story, writing, and characters. There isn’t any gameplay—you walk around, you examine things, and you talk to people. The primary “gameplay” is in that interaction with others, and how you choose to respond to them, which, in turn, alters the course of the story based on your choices. The story, therefore, very literally is the game. Life is Strange 2 very explicitly is all about its central themes and the narrative juxtaposition against those themes. It doesn’t shy away from any of this, either – one of the first text conversations you can see Sean had with his friend Lyla is about Trump’s election speeches, and the unrest they are causing in the country.

And honestly, it’s hard to imagine a story handling the range of charged subjects Life is Strange 2 chooses to tackle better or more gracefully than this game does. While there is heavy-handedness and a lack of subtlety to the game’s treatment of its themes, I venture to guess that that lack of subtlety was the point, that the game isn’t trying to tiptoe around quote-unquote offending anybody. It wants people to think about what it has to say.

"Its two protagonists, bonded as they are by circumstances far bigger than them, and out of their control, present a heart-wrenching tale of brotherly love and loss, which will stay with you far beyond your time with the game."

This is easily something that can go awry, especially with the aforementioned lack of subtlety leading to a potential for easy caricaturization, but Life is Strange 2 avoids this primarily on the back of its incredibly strong characters. Its two protagonists, bonded as they are by circumstances far bigger than them, and out of their control, present a heart-wrenching tale of brotherly love and loss, which will stay with you far beyond your time with the game—and every other character they meet along the way, good or bad, from the racist staff of a gas station to the persons cultivating marijuana on a farm in California, is equally well developed, and feels real. They all feel like people that exist beyond the scope of the story, and the two protagonists, and their interactions with those protagonists—as if they are real people, and what we see of them through the course of the game is only a very small part encompassing their lives and who they are as people.

The most important way the game achieves this is by avoiding the one storytelling pitfall it seems too many stories across all media fall into – it avoids making excuses for its characters. With the possible exception of one, all characters in Life is Strange 2 are unflinchingly presented as they are for what they are. Good or bad, flaws and all, they are who they are as people, because who they are as people is the result of the cumulative choices they have made through the courses of their lives – questioning why they are the way they are makes no sense, and so, the game doesn’t explain it. These are people you meet, not characters in service of a broader story, and that, more than anything, is this game’s greatest strength.

The actual story itself isn’t as much of a triumph in execution as the characterization or the treatment of the central themes is. It is often slow, and can feel unbearably meandering, particularly in the middle batch of episodes. It all leads to an incredibly emotionally-charged payoff, to be clear, and in the end, every minute I spent with the game felt well-earned and worth it. But the ending comes, well, at the end, and until you get there, the slow pacing of the game can undoubtedly feel frustrating – especially because there isn’t a hook like Max’s time alteration powers, or the larger mysteries of Blackwell Academy, to provide an overarching framework.

Which, in turn, means that the gimmick of being able to try out all dialog choices before committing to one from the original game is no longer present in Life is Strange 2. There still is a supernatural power that is a central plot point – Daniel’s Force-style telekinesis – but that doesn’t manifest itself in gameplay much at all, and even when it does, it feels further removed from your agency as the player, because you are playing as Sean telling Daniel to use or not use the power – so it’s just another dialog option.

"In spite of that slow pacing, or lack of the immediate cliffhanger to keep things going, Life is Strange 2 kept my attention, even when it got disconcertingly uncomfortable."

In spite of that slow pacing, or lack of the immediate cliffhanger to keep things going, Life is Strange 2 kept my attention, even when it got disconcertingly uncomfortable. Whether that’s because the earnest authenticity of the game’s honest portrayal of its characters and themes, or because the endearing and enduring bond between two brothers is overwhelmingly well done, and makes you want to see their story through to the end, Life is Strange 2 manages to keep players engaged even when there is a lack of an immediate reason to be invested or care where the story is going—even when sometimes it isn’t even clear what the story is. Simply making sure Daniel turns out to be the best person he can be, in spite of the circumstances, by my actions and interactions with others, all of which will influence him, is enough, honestly.

On other fronts, too, Life is Strange 2 delivers. Graphically, it is gorgeous, with Dontnod pairing their penchant for strong art with their best technical execution of visuals yet. The music, which is a mixed of original and licensed tracks, like the first game, is similarly enchanting, and perfect for the mood of the game. The actual dialog and writing feels far superior to the first game’s, which, for all its unctuous earnestness, often veered into awkwardness.

I don’t know whether or not Life is Strange 2 is better than the first game, but I do think it’s bolder, more ambitious, and more important. I feel like it’s a game that has a lot to say, and it says it well, and that, no matter how uncomfortable it might make us, that makes it worth playing. The bond between the two brothers, that lies at the center of it all, surrounded by the turbulence of modern times? That’s the icing on top of an already gourmet cake.

This game was reviewed on Xbox One.

Life is Strange managed to really make a splash when the first game released. A narrative adventure game with an indie film twist was really not like anything else being produced by the mainstream. People fell in love with the setting and characters (especially the pairing of Chloe and Max). The sequel, however, went an anthology route by staying in the same universe but following vastly different characters in a pair of brothers thorough a vastly different situation. If the series continues onward, it will keep with that same trend.

In an interview with GameSpot, Dontnod’s Michel Koch and Jean-Luc Cano talked about a potential continuation of the series. They said that the stories told in the Life is Strange games were both a beginning and ending for those characters, and that if Sqaure Enix greenlights a Life is Strange 3 it will also have its own story and identity independent of those games even if there will be similar hints to the shared canon.

“You know, we don’t really know what we are going to do now because the game has just been released,” said Cano. “For the next adventure we don’t really know yet, but we have some ideas and stuff we want to explore, but we don’t really know what will be our next game. The thing that I can tell you is for us the story of Max and Chloe in Life is Strange 1 is done, it’s told, and the story of Sean and Daniel is told in Life is Strange 2, so, maybe we can see them again.”

“You saw just a bit of Max and Chloe in Life is Strange 2, so definitely, if we are going to work on another Life is Strange, it’s a shared universe so there are possibilities,” Koch added. “But definitely as a full story, I think those games are both a beginning and an ending for them, and I think we really want to continue to explore new characters, new themes, and new ways of storytelling.”

Life is Strange 2 just concluded with its final episode, and the sequel didn’t quite seem to have the same buzz as the original Life is Strange, though as of now no official sales numbers have been released. Hopefully, it did well enough to get another entry because there’s nothing out there quite like these games. At least for next year, Dontnod is partnering with Microsoft for Tell Me Why, which seems to be in a similar vein.

The next narrative driven game from Dontnod Entertainment was announced earlier in Tell Me Why, a tale of two siblings with conflicting memories you’ll have to weave through. But the previous title from the studio is about to wrap up with Life is Strange 2 with the last episode coming at the beginning of next month. Today we got a trailer as a sort of send off to the tale of the Diaz brothers.

Unfortunately, the game didn’t seem to strike the same cord as the first season of the series did, but overall it’s been a pretty excellent story of two brothers in a sad and brutal situation as they must trek through America in hopes of escaping to Mexico. The trailer gives some of the highlights of what’s happened so far in previous episodes to brush you up in case you don’t quite remember considering the length between episodes.

Life is Strange 2 episodes 1-4 are available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The fifth, and final episode, launches on December 3rd for all platforms digitally, with a physical release encompassing the entire season coming soon afterward.

Next month will see the finale to Life is Strange 2. The Co-director of the game has mentioned that the final episode is almost finished. The game follows two brothers as they struggle on a harsh journey. From the beginning, there’s been a system in place where the younger brother, Daniel, is affected by Sean’s decisions. It’s never been entirely clear what the system entails, but now we have a video breaking down the surprisingly complicated system.

There’s actually two systems in place: morality and brotherhood. Daniel will see how Sean reacts through your player choices and that will affect both how he reacts both in general in the narrative, but also specifically towards Sean. And it’s not only the major story decisions, there’s also over 50 minor decisions that will impact his behaviour. Check it out below.

Life is Strange 2 Episodes 1-4 are available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The final episode will launch for all platforms December 3rd, and a physical version of the game will launch afterward.

Much like the brothers the story focuses on, it seems to have been somewhat of a tough road for Life is Strange 2. It didn’t manage to capture the attention and imagination like the first game did, and neither Square Enix nor Dontnod have released any official sales numbers, so it’s up in the air how well the game ended up doing financially. Well, regardless, for those on the ride, it’s been a great one and it seems the ending will arrive on time.

Co-directer Michel Koch took to Twitter to say that the game’s fifth and, as of now, final episode is almost done. The episode was scheduled to come at the end of the year already so it seems it will make that date and not get delayed, which is good since the length between episodes have already been incredibly long.

Episode 5 is slated to hit all platforms on December 3rd, which is also the same day European customers can get their hands on a physical release, though those in the Americas will have to wait until the beginning of next year.

I'm leaving tomorrow for a long holiday.
EP5 is almost done and the team is hard at work on polish and bugfix.
I'm extremely proud of this episode, and our amazing team! Can't wait for you all to discover how the wolf brothers journey ends (and how it ends for each of you ^^)

— Michel Koch (@DONTNOD_Michel) October 26, 2019

Life is Strange 2 is a heart-breaking tale about two brothers on the run. While it’s not quite enjoyed the buzz the original game got, it’s still been quite the ride with an ending that’s coming at the year’s end. Those who chose to sit it out until the whole deal is done will get some options as it was announced today that the game would see some physical releases for the patient among us.

As announced via the official Tumblr, the game will get both a standard and collector’s edition release. The standard edition will include all episodes, the set of digital pre-order patches and The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit bonus game that will run £34.99/€39.99/$39.99. The Collector’s Edition will see all of that plus a hardcover art book, patches, the game’s soundtrack and vinyl figures of the brothers. That’ll set you back £64.99/€69.99/$69.99 and will be exclusive to the Square Enix store. 

Life is Strange 2 is available to purchase now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The final episode will go live on December 3rd. The physical release will drop on that same day for Europe, but those in America will have to wait until next year on February 4th 2020.

While the first Life is Strange ended up striking a nerve with a lot of people, being somewhat of an unexpected hit, it’s sequel doesn’t seem to be sparking that same fire. Publisher Square Enix hasn’t released any numbers on what the game has sold yet, but there’s a distinct lack of discussion and buzz around the game it seems. There’s a lot of reasons for this, I wager, but the biggest one is probably the huge gaps between episodes. The last episode released at the end of last month, and the fifth (and final) episode won’t come out into December. Why the long wait? Well, Co-director Michael Koch breaks it down, and the explanation isn’t strange at all.

In an interview with Dualshockers, Koch gave an extensive overview of the game so far. When asked about the gaps between episodes, he gave simple reasons. First, the game is simply bigger in its production than the first game, which overall was a much more modestly produced title, and then second is that Dontnod has taken more time between each episode since each one is more of a standalone type story as opposed to the more serial type of storytelling of the first game.

“The game is much bigger, it’s a bigger game with longer episodes. I think in the first season episodes were two hours long, here is more like three to four. It is also a much more ambitious game in the fact that we are using this road movie structure where each episode you are meeting new characters in new environments in new seasons so it’s a much bigger task to create the game which also ends up needing a longer development time for each episode. And yeah you’re right, I think the window between each episode has been three to four months instead of two to three in the first game so it’s longer which can be a bit frustrating for the players, but we also have this structure where each episode is really a small story during the road trip.

In the first Life is Strange each episode was taking place in one day of the same week. In the second Life is Strange each episode is a few days during a whole year for the game and there is an ellipse of several weeks, sometimes months, between the story of each episode so I think the ellipse between the episode makes sense with the wait time in-game and makes sense with the time out-game for the players. Personally, I would love to be able to reduce this time and see next game if we can maybe be more advanced in the creation of the content and start releasing the episode later. When we finish one episode, we still have a lot of work for the next episode. It allows us to see the community reaction and the reviews and maybe use some of that directly in the creation of the next episode, but it also creates a longer time capsule. If we later try to reduce the gap between episodes we might not be able to react that much to what the community is saying. It’s a tough question and we need to find a way to improve.”

Life is Strange 2 is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The game has released four episodes so far with the finale set to hit December 3rd.