Life Is Strange vs Life is Strange 2
Life Is Strange is an action-adventure game from Don’t Nod (2015) while Life is Strange 2 is a puzzle game from DONTNOD Entertainment (2018).
Quick answer: Life Is Strange rates higher, 8.4 to 7.6 on the GamingPickz Score.
What each one is
Life Is Strange is filed under Action-Adventure. In contrast, Life is Strange 2 under Puzzle.
Episode 1 now FREE! Life is Strange is an award-winning and critically acclaimed episodic adventure game that allows the player to rewind time and affect the past, present and future.
After a tragic incident, brothers Sean and Daniel Diaz run away from home. Fearing the police, and dealing with Daniel's new telekinetic power, the boys head to Mexico. Each stop on their journey brings new friends and new challenges.
Story, characters and reception
Reception
The series' reception has been generally positive, with all games receiving "generally favorable" reviews according to aggregator Metacritic . Michel Koch has described the series and the approach to its characters as an anthology series similar to TV series like True Detective or American Horror Story in 2015. Life Is Strange received generally favorable reviews, with a Metacritic score of 85/100 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. (Wikipedia)
Plot
In October 2016, 16-year-old Sean Diaz lives with his 9-year-old brother Daniel and father Esteban (Amador Plascencia) in Seattle , after their mother Karen (Jolene Andersen) left them following Daniel's birth. The day the game begins, Sean intervenes when their neighbor Brett (Robert Shearer) harasses Daniel, inadvertently injuring Brett as a police officer passes by. Esteban arrives at the scene and is shot and killed by the officer. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical reception The game received "generally positive reviews"—except for PC version, which was met with "mixed or average reviews"—according to review aggregator platform Metacritic . Its portrayal of Hispanic Americans and relation to racial issues in the US was debated in media articles. The game's themes received generally positive reviews. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Life Is Strange | Life is Strange 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.4/10 | 7.6/10 |
| Steam rating | Overwhelmingly Positive (96%, 175,705) | Very Positive (87%, 40,943) |
| Critic aggregate | 85/100 | 70/100 |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Install size | 5 GB | 40 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | verified |
| Released | 2015 | 2018 |
| Developer | Don’t Nod | DONTNOD Entertainment |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Life Is Strange vs Life is Strange 2, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Life Is StrangeAction-adventure gameLife is Strange 2Puzzle gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Life Is StrangeStory Rich, Choices Matter, Female ProtagonistLife is Strange 2Choices Matter, Story Rich, AdventureThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Life Is Strange ✓Score 8.4 · 96% on Steam · 85 criticLife is Strange 2Score 7.6 · 87% on Steam · 70 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Life Is Strange175,705 reviews · 1 add-on · 5 GBLife is Strange 240,943 reviews · 6 add-ons · 40 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Life Is StrangeFreeLife is Strange 2FreeRead live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Life Is StrangePlayableLife is Strange 2 ✓VerifiedValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Across the rounds a number can settle, it is level at 1 each. Which one is "better" is the part no figure decides, so we leave it to what you want from the two.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueLife Is Strange and Life is Strange 2 on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Mobile
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Life Is Strange (GamingPickz Score 8.4)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Life is Strange 2 (verified)
- Lighter on storage: Life Is Strange (5 GB)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Life Is Strange (175,705 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
Story RichChoices MatterGreat SoundtrackAtmosphericEpisodicSingleplayerAdventureMystery
Where they differ
Female ProtagonistTime TravelTime ManipulationMultiple EndingsIndieCasual
DramaSexual ContentChoose Your Own AdventureNudityPuzzleComedy
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Life Is Strange is relaxed, easy to pick up. Life is Strange 2 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Life Is Strange | Life is Strange 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | ATI | Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 2GB |
| Minimum CPU | Dual Core 2.0GHz | Intel Core i3-2100 (3.1GHz) |
| Minimum RAM | 2 GB | 4 GB |
| Install size | 5 GB | 40 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Life Is Strange · Life is Strange 2.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 4 accessibility features for Life Is Strange and 4 for Life is Strange 2. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Life Is Strange and Life is Strange 2 in scope?
Life Is Strange has drawn 175,705 Steam reviews, ships 1 add-on and installs in 5 GB. Life is Strange 2 has drawn 40,943 Steam reviews, ships 6 add-ons and installs in 40 GB.
Is Life Is Strange or Life is Strange 2 better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Life Is Strange rates higher (8.4 to 7.6). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Life Is Strange or Life is Strange 2?
Life Is Strange is cheaper right now at Free, against Free. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get Life Is Strange or Life is Strange 2?
Life Is Strange rates higher, 8.4 to 7.6 on the GamingPickz Score. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.