The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit was released this week as a free demo and "the first step towards showing you the true potential of Life is Strange, and the possibilities of a diverse universe filled with interesting characters and stories to tell." (This week also marked the official reveal for Life is Strange 2, though we don't have many confirmed details yet.)
While we have been able to visit Arcadia Bay by way of Deck Nine's prequel Life is Strange: Before the Storm, this demo has been DONTNOD's first return to Arcadia Bay since the conclusion of Life is Strange. As early as the menu screen, I knew I was in Arcadia Bay, and I instantly wondered what Before the Storm could have been, had it been developed by the original team behind Life is Strange, which wasn't necessarily a concern even when I was playing Before the Storm. From the UI to the music to the general aesthetic, The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is very clearly a Life is Strange game, and it doesn't need to have Life is Strange in the title to make that obvious. Captain Spirit even makes several direct references to the original game, from Chris's hand gestures to Hawt Dawg Man to a book of photography by Mark Jefferson.
However, the narrative doesn't depend on the previous game and absolutely stands on its own as a worthwhile narrative. Through an introductory sequence is reminiscent of Toy Story we are immediately drawn in to the imagination of Chris, a young boy with a less-than-ideal home life. Like the previous games in this franchise, Captain Spirit's primary mechanic is player choice. Will you be the responsible son and wash the dishes? Will you walk on eggshells or confront your father about his drinking? Will you sneak a cigarette in your tree house? Of course, this is just a short demo, so it's admittedly more linear and there's not as much time to see the consequences of your choices.
True to the franchise, Captain Spirit includes an odd assortment of realism. You won't see Chris put soap in the washing machine if you choose to do laundry, but the mac n' cheese actually takes 2 real-world minutes to cook in the game. There was only one point where I resorted to internet help, and that was in deciphering the Chris's father's phone PIN to play a Hawt Dawg Man game. The PIN ended up being an alphanumeric code for - you guessed it (but probably not) - hawtdawgman. I might believe this if it were Chris's phone, but I was searching for passcodes that had meaning to Chris's father. Not Chris. And this is probably the only reason I won't give Captain Spirit a full 5/5. A grown man and alchoholic is going to type an alphanumeric code for hawtdawgman every time he uses his phone? Sigh.
Where Life is Strange, and of course The Adventures of Captain Spirit really shine is the characters, and Chris is certainly compelling. His optimism and imagination are, quite frankly, adorable - especially when he interviews himself as Captain Spirit. You'll mostly interact with only one other character, your father (before he passes out in front of the tv anyway), but I didn't feel that the world was empty. There is a sad loneliness to an isolated and unsupervised child, but Chris's world is still full thanks to his exceptional imagination, and it reminds us of how we may have seen the world when we were children.
Since we won't be learning more about Life is Strange 2 until August, the next month is sure to be filled with critical analysis of Captain Spirit and how it might relate to the next installment in the franchise. Chris's story is not necessarily a happy one, which is entirely expected given the previous characters in Life is Strange. What we have come to expect, however, is superpowers. So you'd think with a character like Chris we'd get to see those powers right away, but Captain Spirit blatantly acknowledges and subverts this expectation several times, strategically planning shots that make it seem as though Chris is controlling objects with his mind, only to pan at the last second and reveal his other hand hiding a tv remote or flying a toy spaceship. This manipulation is what we really should expect from these developers by now - it's as delightfully refreshing as it is frustrating. It's only in the last few seconds of the game that we get a potential answer to this expectation, and I highly recommend you play for yourself (and then join in the speculation).
Welcome to the rollercoaster of emotions that you would expect from the finale of Life is Strange: Before the Storm. In case you were craving a few hours of whiplash between heartbreak, turmoil, anxiety, adrenaline, affection, and heartbreak again, Deck Nine has your back.