I let out an audible gasp when I watched my choices play out in gut-wrenching ways. It isn’t until the final act of Episode 3 that it becomes what I know and love from the series: finding and using objects as a way of problem-solving, then rushing to a dangerous scene only to make choices that could literally be life and death. Other than that, there’s another training session between Sean and Daniel involving picking objects for target practice and other drills that don’t offer anything new to the series. It’s a moral quandary that I struggle with each time but, three episodes in, it’s becoming a bit tired. With so many people around Daniel’s powers take a backseat, but there are still moments where I was forced to choose between using them or risking harm to others.
The forced multitasking is supposed to make me feel like Sean but all I was left with was mild frustration. It was difficult to choose what to say (or not to say) while also trying to press LT and RT at the right time, which is sort of the opposite of what it’s like to talk during while doing menial, mindless work. These always feel more realistic than standard choices, but in a game where decisions can matter so much it felt uncomfortably rushed. Additionally, timed dialogue options will pop-up on the screen. It’s fitting that this boring activity intentionally mirrors the boring work the group complains about as you’re doing it, but it’s also just a sloppy experience to play through when you can only clean your scissors by interrupting your cutting. While the section is only a few minutes long, I had to trim buds and clean my scissors in the form of quick time events. There weren’t any times where Sean directly blew Daniel off in my playthrough so the friction between the two brothers feels at odds with itself. Sure, he’s “just a kid” but most of his outbursts before Episode 3 have been warranted. “His reactions aren’t in line with how I played the vast majority of the episode, making Daniel’s anger feel unfounded. It’s made worse in Episode 3 when Sean approaches Daniel at a party and says he's happy hanging out on his own with the others from camp, but a few scenes later he’s mad that Sean left. family is frustratingly contradictory: in Episode 2 he's risking it all to hang out with Chris, but now he's lashing out over Sean's new friendships. The nuances here aren’t handled well, making Daniel come off as irrational and overly aggressive. Daniel, on the other hand, spends the episode yearning to be seen as an adult while feeling ignored and unwanted by his big brother in favor of friends his age. Sean’s other potential kisser (which never appeared as an option for me) came across completely platonic in my playthrough. Even their more intimate moments failed to give me chills – granted, I always opted for less flirty dialogue, but that’s all the more reason the relationship felt forced. Developer Dontnod does a good job giving me a sense of who these characters are, especially through overhead/optional conversations, but I’m still kept at arm's length and that makes it difficult to care.īuilding on episode 2, Cassidy becomes a potential love interest for Sean but the chemistry is never really there aside from some light flirting. Unfortunately, moments like this are sparse. I loved soaking all of this in, watching Sean sketch the scene with an option to take a hit of the bong by the fire.
Instead, that evening made each character feel a bit more real with Penny sharing why he wears a coin around his neck, Jacob discussing his faith (or lack thereof), and even Daniel reflecting on all the people he feels he let down. Despite Finn asking everyone around the campfire to “share their worst memory,” this group of train-hopping teens never became the cliches they seemed they might be on the surface. They’re lovable characters who lookout for the Diaz brothers in their own ways. Underneath the played out acoustic guitar and appropriated dreads, Cassidy and Finn go beyond their archetypes. Everyone is there for their own reasons, which takes the focus off of the Diaz brothers but never redirects it anywhere meaningful. “They are the friends you only see around the office, not the ones you hang out with on the weekends.
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