The best PC games of 2018: Life is Strange 2 Episode One: Roads

The nuanced, story-driven Life is Strange series returned for another shot at our heartstrings in 2018. With this first chapter in an unapologetically modern tale, titled ‘Roads’, Dontnod has proven once again that it knows how to deliver both larger-than-life superpowers and a poignant, gritty narrative within the political and social climate of a divided society. The story returns to America’s North West, just a hop away from Arcadia Bay’s conspicuous lighthouse. A close-knit and loving family, brought to life by all-too-familiar brotherly feuds, is torn apart by an otherwise humdrum event within a modern coming-of-age story. In traditional Dontnod fashion, brothers Sean and Daniel are pushed into a story of escape, survival, growing up, and understanding - as approachable as it is fantastic. As the story unfurls, we find the brothers on the run through the dense forest surrounding Seattle. The game is insistent that you find meaning and character growth in the smallest actions. Do you steal a chocolate bar to cheer up your unaware brother, or try to remain a positive influence as you come to terms with the new role forced upon you by the past day’s events?