The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit (2018)

Life Is Strange 2 is the third entry in the episodic graphic adventure video games where the players' decisions determine the twists and turns in the story. This video game consists of five episodes of roughly four hours each that have been released between September 2018 and December 2019. The physical release also includes The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit based upon a side character of the main game. It's the same game genre but should rather be seen as a side quest that takes not more than two hours to complete.

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit revolve Christopher Eriksen, a boy who is living in rural Beaver Creek, Oregon. His mother was killed in a hit-and-run. While Christopher Erikson's father is drowning his sorrows in alcohol and getting more unreliable every single day, the child fashions himself into superhero Captain Spirit. He considers his daily tasks such as cleaning his room or setting up the house for Christmas as supervillains he must beat. While imagining this world of fantasy, Christopher Eriksen will also try to find the strength to inspire his father to change his ways and overcome his mother's absence. At the same time, he also encounters the two protagonists from Life Is Strange 2 who are living next door with their grandparents.

This little game should especially be entertaining for boys and young male teenagers. It's easy to empathize with the creative, dynamic and quirky Christopher Eriksen. His tasks are equally amusing and entertaining while the background story offers shows optimism in difficult moments and has some philosophical depth. The graphics and soundtrack are beautifully done and provide an almost comfortable and homely atmosphere that is at times interrupted by sudden and gloomy unpredicted events. The game finds the perfect balance between fantasy and realism here.

On its own, this short game doesn't have that much value but it's a welcome complement to Life Is Strange 2. It wouldn't be surprising to see Christopher Eriksen's character again later on in the franchise to see how he is overcoming his struggles as an older teenager or adult. This graphic adventure game is quite entertaining and highly recommended to older children and younger teenagers.

Detailed rating:

Atmosphere: 8 / 10 

Challenge level: 7 /10

Controls: 7 / 10

Game flow: 8 /10

Graphics: 9 /10

Length: 6 /10

Long-term fun factor: 6 /10  

Sound: 9 /10

Soundtrack: 9 /10

Story: 8 /10

Total score: 77 / 100