If the advertising leading up to the release of the game didn’t tip you off enough, this entry into the series would be significantly Darker and Edgier than its predecessors. Sean and Daniel Diaz, aged 16 and 9, are on the run for the death of a police officer who killed their father, and they have a long way to go to reach The Promised Land of Puerto Lobos, Mexico. Unfortunately, it only gets worse from there..
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General
- Let's be honest, the entire game is pure fear on the grounds of it being based around two brothers, one 16 and one 9, on the road with very little money, food, or parental supervision on account of their father being shot and killed right in front of them.
- Sean and Daniel, being two Mexican-American boys in late 2016, are consistently harassed by racists just for their ethnicity, even if they remain straight-laced and avoid all confrontation. This can really hit home for fellow Hispanic players, or any minority who has also experienced racism.
- The Diaz brothers are on the run for a crime they didn't even commit, and it's even worse considering that it was supernatural, due to Daniel's telekinesis being awakened by trauma. If the police get ahold of them, Sean can be thrown in jail and Daniel can be put in foster care at "best", or Daniel could be captured by the government and studied/experimented on at worst. And in no ending, absolutely no ending, will their lives ever be normal again.
Episode 1 - "Roads"
- Esteban Diaz's death is so horrifically sudden and unjust, but the real icing on the cake is how it happens right in front of his sons, even being the trigger for Daniel's powers. There's no doubt that this tragedy will haunt them for the rest of their lives.
- Some of it isn't even about Esteban's death. It's about just how quickly and efficiently the event took away the boys' normal life, or even life in general from them. Nothing will ever be the same again.
- Sean and Daniel's hike through the woods is this in-universe for Daniel once night falls. Sean can make it even worse by telling him a scary story, and/or encouraging Daniel's fear of bears. Really, the whole trip through the woods can be this to players just due to it being an unfamiliar, wild environment way out of Sean and especially Daniel's element, and it would be even worse if Sean didn't already have experience thanks to their father.
- The boys' stop at Bear Station is actually pretty tense. Being newly-wanted fugitives, Sean feels as though he's being watched by everybody, and the only sanctuary in the situation is Daniel being blissfully unaware. He has to juggle hiding the truth from the storeowners, customers, and Daniel alike, and he's handling it by the skin of his teeth.
- Hank, the store's owner, appears out of absolutely nowhere (well, you could see his car pulling up shortly before if you look closely, but still), serving as a subtle Jump Scare as the boys were checking a map together. He seems to just be dropping by to say hello. He finds it peculiar that the boys are all alone "camping", but then...
- Hank's kidnapping of Sean is just as horrific as you might imagine. Before doing so, he punches Sean in the stomach, knocking him out cold, and can even strike Daniel across the face if Sean tries to discuss the situation. When Sean is at his mercy, Hank coldly interrogates him and makes it clear if it wasn't already to the player that he knows exactly who the brothers are and what happened in Seattle. He calls the local police and plans to get the boys arrested, even snarkily suggesting calling ICE because he assumes the boys are illegal immigrants and that they're the reason America needs a wall built. When Hank is knocked down by a burst of Daniel's telekinesis, if Sean tries to steal some camping gear, Hank will call Sean a racial slur and once again threaten to get them arrested, trying to assault Sean one last time.
- At the beginning of the game, the player is asked about the final choice made in the first Life Is Strange of whether or not they sacrificed Arcadia Bay. If the player did, they are given a painful reminder later in the episode when Brody stops at a cliffside that overlooks Arcadia Bay. All that's left of the town is nothing but a bunch of dark, desolate ruins completely covered in fog, making it look like a literal ghost town. Sean even makes a chilling remark on how his life feels exactly like Arcadia — completely destroyed and empty with nothing left.
- Daniel's realization that his father was Dead All Along and Sean's been lying this whole time causes his powers to once again go haywire. The whole motel's electricity starts malfunctioning and he makes the whole room spiral, causing his newly-adopted puppy Mushroom to cower in fear and Sean to look on in awe. Daniel is absolutely furious at Sean for lying, and can keep pushing him back with his power, damning him and threatening him not to come closer. It's a very intense scene and really demonstrates how dangerous not only the power is, but Daniel could be if he experiences some devastating trauma.
Episode 2 - "Rules"
- Mushroom's untimely death at the hands of a cougar. That's not even the worst part; Daniel's reaction is. Daniel runs off way ahead of Sean while the latter gathers all of their stuff, and while he catches up, he finds Mushroom's bandana and a trail of blood leading further up into the forest. When Sean finally reaches him, Daniel is completely frozen in shock, and instantly snaps when Sean asks him what's happened, picking up the cougar with his power in order to kill it. If Sean doesn't intervene, Daniel coldly and brutally snaps the cougar's neck, and is almost instantly horrified by his actions.
- If Daniel does not tell Chris the truth that he's not the one with powers, combined with Sean forbidding Daniel from using them more than he has to, Daniel will do nothing as a cop car speeds towards the brothers and Chris runs in front of it, attempting to stop it. Daniel calls Chris' name, but to no avail, as Chris gets run over by the car, horrifying Daniel, who has spent the last few days bonding with him.
Episode 3 - "Wastelands"
- The confrontation between Sean, Daniel, Finn, Merrill, and possibly Cassidy and Big Joe near the ending. They are caught breaking into Merrill's house in an attempt to steal the money they've been gimped out of, being greeted with Merrill's shotgun. Merrill goes on a Motive Rant about how dumb the kids are, and how he also has a family to provide for. If Sean botches the situation, namely staying passive and denying Daniel the chance to use his powers, or using the gun he might've picked up to shoot Merrill, the latter will immediately follow this up with a fatal shotgun blast to Finn's chest. As if Daniel needed any more Despair Event Horizons, he is completely shaken up by Finn's death, and will become absolutely livid with Sean, freaking out and causing a massive burst of energy in the house, almost completely destroying it and knocking everyone unconscious. To top it all of, no matter how the situation goes, Sean will wake up the next morning to a glass shard through his left eye.
Episode 4 - "Faith"
- This is probably the most nightmarish and dark episode of the whole game. Very few moments are Played for Laughs or lighthearted, and Sean really goes through Hell trying to find Daniel.
- This isn't necessarily scary and more of a Tear Jerker if anything, but the reality of Sean losing an eye is pretty heavy, and just another reminder of how dangerous Daniel is when he's under distress.
- Sean is basically under arrest, especially if he agreed to the heist with Finn, and the cops don't give a shit about Daniel, instead exploiting his concern for his brother in an attempt to force a confession out of Sean for his "murder" of Officer Matthews. Sean decides to take matters into his own hands and escapes the hospital, possibly knocking out a guard or staging an assault on the nurse he befriended, Joey, and stealing a car, which will undoubtedly get him in much more legal trouble.
- Stopping off the road and falling asleep, Sean is forcefully awoken from his tender dream about his father by two racist hillbillies, who pester him because he's apparently on their property. Sean tries to defuse the situation peacefully, but Chad, the more aggressive racist, threatens to call the police if he doesn't step out of the car. Sean complies, and is interrogated about his motives and something as petty as what happened to his eye. Chad doesn't believe it and asks Mike to search Sean's belongings. All Sean has are Daniel's toys, which Chad uses to mock him. Sean gets upset over him messing with his brother's stuff, and can optionally try to snatch it back, to which Chad strikes him. Chad then forces Sean to say humiliating and racist things in Spanish, ending with him wanting to hear a song in Spanish. If Sean complies, he is humiliated to the point of becoming a sobbing wreck, and if he doesn't, he gets savagely beaten by Chad, and sent off. These actions are so cruel and sadistic that even Mike is disgusted and begs his friend to just let Sean on his way. When Sean finally drives away, the player gets treated to a slight Jump Scare in which Sean lets out a massive Atomic F-Bomb in anger, breaking down in tears.
- Sean ditching his car to walk along the huge, blistering Nevada desert is pretty hard to watch. He is glowing bright red, soaked in sweat, and stops frequently to catch his breath or drink what little water he has left. It's possible for him to sit down and draw, one of the two options being a drawing of his surroundings as Hell. Eventually, a truck pulls up right next to him, being driven by an old white man, and at this point, it wouldn't be unreasonable for Sean to be very hesitant to hop in, as he can just deny it. Thankfully, accepting Anton's request pays off gloriously for Sean, as he's actually a complete Nice Guy and gives Sean not only a ride in his air-conditioned truck, but his sandwich free of charge, completely replenishing Sean for his journey to find Daniel.
- Daniel's indoctrination into the Universal Uprising Church and the resulting cult-like worship of him and his powers is all very creepy. In the advertisements
for his spectacles in particular, his expression is very dull and blank, a complete contrast to his cheery and bright demeanor from previous episodes, and it's plastered on the body of an adult Jesus Christ.- Daniel is completely brainwashed by the cult, and even though he's extremely happy to see Sean considering the entire reason he's here was the belief that he killed Sean and wanted forgiveness, he's doesn't budge towards the idea of leaving, and considers it his "family". Nicholas then forcefully pulls Sean out of the church, and threatens him with a gun if he doesn't leave.
- Jacob ran away from the church due to being forcibly put through "conversion therapy" for his homosexuality. The staff was also very negligent of his health in general, which raises plenty of concern for his younger sister Sarah, who is suffering from an illness and is similarly being denied any actual medical treatment in favor of "spiritual healing".
- The finale is thoroughly hellish. The fact that the church is literally going down in flames is almost certainly intentional thematically. Sean and their mother Karen fight to get Daniel back, who's completely conflicted on who to trust, even after finally getting his wish to see his mother for the first real time in his life. Reverend Lisbeth Fisher is extremely aggressive in keeping Daniel away from his real family, and orders her henchman Nicholas to beat the hell out of Sean with his gun as Karen begs him to stop. Eventually, Lisbeth orders him to shoot Sean dead, which notably horrifies even Nicholas. This is the final straw for Daniel, who snaps out of his brainwashed state and saves his brother. How Daniel handles the situation from this point forward can be pretty terrifying to watch, as he is rightfully furious at Lisbeth for manipulating him. He can either push her aside aggressively, or just flat-out murder her, depending on how Sean taught him up to this point. Otherwise, Sean can take the reigns and shoot Lisbeth while she's suspended in the air so Daniel doesn't become/get used to being a murderer, which takes a heavy toll on his consciousness, much like Daniel with the cougar.
Episode 5 - "Wolves"
- When Sean and Daniel reach and break through the US-Mexico border, everything seems.. oddly.. fine? ..And then Daniel gets shot through the shoulder. Sean frantically checks Daniel to make sure he's okay, only to be captured and unlawfully arrested by redneck vigilantes. Thankfully, they get arrested by the police. Unfortunately, when Sean gets the sack removed from his head and sees Daniel being carried away by the authorities, he instinctively shouts his name, leading Officer Campbell to connect the dots and realize that he's rescuing none other than Sean Diaz, promptly arresting him.
- In the El Rey Police Department, Sean awakens to see himself sharing a cell with a Mexican couple, Diego and Carla Morales, illegally crossing the border in an attempt to pursue a better life, and the cell right next to them occupied by the vigilantes who shot Daniel. The couple warns Sean that Mexico is not a place he'd want to escape to, and the vigilantes trade barbs with the Hispanic group, making it clear that they'r not too fond of their kind, even if Luke, the older vigilante, is genuinely regretful for having unknowingly shot a child. His daughter Madison, however, isn't that courteous.
- Sean is pretty much having the book thrown at him, especially if he committed plenty of optional crimes along the way. Through all of this, he's stressing over not knowing if Daniel is okay, even after Carla's reassurance that the authorities wouldn't harm children. After a period of interrogation, Daniel breaks free and goes on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge to rescue his brother. Sean can optionally order Daniel to kill some cops that give them trouble, and Daniel can comply depending on his morality.
- Sean and Daniel are cornered by a bunch of cops at the border. This is where the player is given the traditional "final choice", to either surrender or cross the border.
- If Sean surrenders but Daniel's morality is low, Daniel will refuse to give up and forces Sean to stay inside, driving them past the blockade. The police completely light up the car, with Daniel tossing around cops like ragdolls and deflecting bullets. This sounds like it'd be a Moment of Awesome for Daniel, right? Wrong. Daniel missed one fatal bullet, hitting Sean in the neck, causing him to choke on his own blood. Daniel is absolutely destroyed by this revelation, and sobs hysterically as his brother dies.
- After this scene, we see Daniel, now 16 years old, living in Puerto Lobos, alone. He has a much more rugged appearance, and as we see from numerous newspaper clippings, has become a huge, unrepentant criminal with absolutely no goal in life besides picking up art from his late brother. We see three thugs harass him on the beach, and he effortlessly tosses two of them to the side, and when the leader pulls a gun on him, Daniel uses his power to move the gun up to the thug's chin, scaring the absolute shit out of the poor sap until he backs out, letting him run away with his life. Daniel has become a full-blown, extremely dangerous Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds.
- If Sean decides to cross the border with Daniel's morality being low, they'll callously break through the blockade, possibly killing many police officers. Once they're in Mexico, we see through newspaper clippings that Sean and Daniel are implied to have become criminals or at least have involved themselves in illicit activities to help support and protect themselves in this new environment. As they unwind in Sean's new auto shop, the three thugs show up, possibly trying to rob the place. Daniel similarly tosses two of them aside and lifts the leader up with his power, scaring him and making the gang cower out of the shop.
- If Sean surrenders and Daniel has high morality, Sean gets arrested for 15 years while Daniel gets to live a normal life with their grandparents. During his and Daniel's hike through the Mt. Rainier National Forest from the first episode, Sean breaks down sobbing at the campfire, to which Daniel has to comfort him. What exactly happened in those fifteen years to crush his spirit so badly?
- If Sean decides to cross the border with Daniel's morality being high, it is revealed that the government has put a anklet monitor on Daniel after he surrendered himself to the authorities. While it is implied that he has enough of a radius to visit his mom in Arizona, he can no longer freely visit Sean due to the government tracking him. Why does he have it to begin with? Is it because he's under a lenient house arrest for willingly aiding a suspect? Is it because the government now knows that he has telekinesis and wants to see how it is developed?
- If Sean surrenders but Daniel's morality is low, Daniel will refuse to give up and forces Sean to stay inside, driving them past the blockade. The police completely light up the car, with Daniel tossing around cops like ragdolls and deflecting bullets. This sounds like it'd be a Moment of Awesome for Daniel, right? Wrong. Daniel missed one fatal bullet, hitting Sean in the neck, causing him to choke on his own blood. Daniel is absolutely destroyed by this revelation, and sobs hysterically as his brother dies.
