The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit

Last updated

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit
The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit.png
Developer(s) Dontnod Entertainment
Publisher(s) Square Enix
Director(s)
  • Raoul Barbet
  • Michel Koch
Producer(s) Luc Baghadoust
Designer(s) Kevin Poupard
Programmer(s) Nicolas Sérouart
Artist(s) Michel Koch
Writer(s)
  • Christian Divine
  • Jean-Luc Cano
Series Life Is Strange
Engine Unreal Engine 4
Platform(s)
Release25 June 2018
Genre(s) Adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is a demo adventure game in the Life Is Strange series developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix. It was released in June 2018 for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One as an introduction to Life Is Strange 2 . The plot follows Chris Eriksen, a young boy who creates the superhero alter ego Captain Spirit to deal with the loss of his mother. Square Enix External Studios worked with Dontnod for the development. The game received generally favourable reviews, praising the narrative, main character, and script, but criticising the game mechanics and aspects of the writing.

Contents

Gameplay and setting

The player assumes the role of a young boy named Chris Eriksen. [1] [2] [3] [4] It takes place in Beaver Creek, Oregon, where Chris lives with his father, Charles, who is struggling with the death of Chris's mother. [2] [5] One Saturday morning, Chris creates the superhero alter ego Captain Spirit and projects his imagination onto reality. [4] He imagines his various chores as supervillains to be defeated. After an argument with his father, Chris falls from his treehouse, but mysteriously levitates instead of hitting the ground, and spots two boys watching from afar (who appear in Life Is Strange 2).

His costume is customisable, while the environment can be interacted with and contains quests like treasure hunting and exploring an imagined planet. [2] Dialogue trees are used to respond to non-player characters. [5] The choices that the player makes in The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit affect some parts of Life Is Strange 2 , in which Chris also makes an appearance. [6] [7]

Development and release

According to developer Dontnod Entertainment, the game fulfilled their wish to expand the Life Is Strange universe, which arose during the production of Life Is Strange 2, [1] for which it serves as a demo. [8] [9] Co-directors Raoul Barbet and Michel Koch collaborated with writers Christian Divine and Jean-Luc Cano to create the story and characters. [2] [10] They researched the location with reference to what the protagonist's father could bear the expense of, including the nature of his work. [10] Dontnod used the game to experiment with mechanics from Life Is Strange; [11] dialogue trees were improved to allow responses while moving. [5] Using the Unreal Engine 4, [7] Dontnod developed a new facial and physics animation system [12] and designed original assets. [11] It was influenced by the Japanese anime series Sailor Moon and Saint Seiya , according to Barbet. [13] Sufjan Stevens' song "Death with Dignity" is used to represent the theme of loss. [2] The game was revealed at Microsoft's E3 presentation on 10 June 2018 for released on 26 June, [1] [3] [14] but was found to release on 25 June. [15] A version localized and dubbed in Japanese was released on 6 February 2020. [16]

Reception

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit received generally favourable reviews, according to Metacritic. [17] [18] [19] Destructoid 's Brett Makedonski was most struck by the narrative, which also left him wanting more. [20] Joe Juba of Game Informer concurred and appreciated the parable between Chris' imagination and its real life counterpart. Its explicit connections to Life Is Strange 2 excited him. [21] Michael Leri, writing for Game Revolution , enjoyed playing as Captain Spirit, noting that the character's function to contrast the mundane "livens up interactions". [22] James O'Connor at GameSpot thought that Chris succeeded "as a sympathetic figure", while also praising the cutscenes for being visually inventive. He saw the script as "tight" and called the storytelling "smart". [23] GamesRadar+ 's Andy Hartup commended that it is free-to-play, agreed with O'Connor about the script's succinctness, and said it contained charm and "genuine human drama". [24] Writing for IGN , Louisa Blatt found the father-son dynamic to be emotionally satisfying, never once growing bored with the story. She also declared the setting "the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever seen in a Life is Strange game". [25] Adam Cook of VideoGamer.com wrote in his verdict, "As a teaser for Life is Strange 2, Captain Spirit does its job", citing its length as what it did well. [26]

Conversely, Makedonski disliked that it ended on a "gratuitous" cliffhanger. [20] Juba thought the weakest segments were the ones using traditional adventure game mechanics. [21] Leri disparaged the writing for its "extreme" tonal shifts and "mediocre" dialogue. [22] O'Connor criticised the characters for being clichéd. [23] Hartup accused the game of being too short. [24] Blatt was usually annoyed with the primary mechanic and wrote that the quests fell short of challenging her. [25] Cook questioned the subtlety of the writing. [26]

Awards

The game was nominated for "Game, Franchise Adventure" at the NAVGTR Awards, [27] and for the "Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award" at the SXSW Gaming Awards. [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deck Nine</span> American video game developer

Idol Minds, LLC is an American video game developer based in Westminster, Colorado. The studio was founded in April 1997 by Mark Lyons and Scott Atkins and developed games exclusively for PlayStation consoles until 2012. Subsequently, it shifted to mobile games among other things before rebranding as "Deck Nine" in May 2017 to develop narrative-driven games. Lyons serves as president and chief technology officer of the company.

<i>Remember Me</i> (video game) 2013 video game

Remember Me is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Capcom. The game's plot focuses on Nilin, a memory hunter working for an underground resistance called the Errorists. When the game starts, she has been stripped of nearly all her memories by megacorporation Memorize. With the help of a mysterious man named Edge, she goes on a quest to bring down Memorize and recover her lost memories. Throughout the story, she is permitted to use her Memory Remix power to ultimately refurbish people's recollections. The combat consists of a modified combo system called Pressen.

<i>Life Is Strange</i> (video game) 2015 episodic video game

Life Is Strange is an episodic adventure game developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix. The first installment of the Life Is Strange series, the game was released in five episodes periodically throughout 2015 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. It was ported to OS X and Linux in 2016, and iOS and Android in 2017–2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't Nod</span> French video game developer

Don't Nod Entertainment SA is a French video game developer and publisher based in Paris. Founded in June 2008, it started development on Remember Me (2013). Because of its poor return on investment, Don't Nod entered "judicial reorganisation" in 2013. With the help of French agency funding, it developed Life Is Strange, whose successful release raised Don't Nod's industry status. It began third-party publishing with Gerda: A Flame in Winter in 2022.

<i>Vampyr</i> (video game) 2018 video game

Vampyr is an action role-playing video game developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Focus Home Interactive. It was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on 5 June 2018, and for Nintendo Switch on 29 October 2019. The plot relates how Jonathan Reid, a doctor who has turned into a vampire, is torn between the Hippocratic Oath and his newfound bloodthirsty nature.

<i>Life Is Strange 2</i> 2018–2019 graphic adventure video game

Life Is Strange 2 is an episodic adventure game developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix. Its five episodes were released between September 2018 and December 2019 for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One and later for Linux, macOS and Nintendo Switch. A main sequel in the Life Is Strange series, the game's plot features Hispanic American brothers Sean and Daniel as they travel along the US West Coast as fugitives from the police after the younger brother discovers his telekinetic abilities. In the game, which is played from a third-person perspective, Sean must make crucial decisions that will lead to different branches in the storyline, while serving as a surrogate parent for Daniel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chloe Price</span> Fictional character

Chloe Elizabeth Price is a fictional character from the Life Is Strange video game series published by Square Enix. Created by French developer Dontnod Entertainment, she first appears in the 2015 video game Life Is Strange and its prequel Life Is Strange: Before the Storm as the main protagonist. She is portrayed by actresses Ashly Burch and Rhianna DeVries.

<i>Star Trek: Bridge Crew</i> 2017 video game

Star Trek: Bridge Crew is a virtual-reality action-adventure video game developed by Red Storm Entertainment and published by Ubisoft for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Oculus Quest.

<i>Strange Brigade</i> 2018 video game

Strange Brigade is a cooperative third-person shooter video game developed and published by Rebellion Developments. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on August 28, 2018, on August 1, 2020 for Stadia, and on June 15, 2021 for Nintendo Switch. In the game, the player fights against different mythological enemies and solves puzzles.

<i>Life Is Strange: Before the Storm</i> 2017 graphic adventure video game

Life Is Strange: Before the Storm is an episodic adventure game developed by Deck Nine and published by Square Enix. Its three episodes were released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in late 2017. It is the second entry in the Life Is Strange series, set as a prequel to the original game, focusing on 16-year-old Chloe Price and her relationship with schoolmate Rachel Amber. Gameplay concerns itself mostly with the use of branching dialogues and interacting with the environment. In September 2018, it was ported to Linux and macOS and later that month to Android and iOS. A remastered version of the game was released as part of the Life Is Strange Remastered Collection in February 2022.

<i>Dragon Quest Builders 2</i> 2018 video game

Dragon Quest Builders 2 is an action role-playing sandbox game developed by Square Enix and Omega Force, with Square Enix publishing it. It is the sequel to Dragon Quest Builders, and was released for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in Japan in December 2018 and worldwide in July 2019, for Windows in December 2019, and for the Xbox One in May 2021. The game shipped over a million copies by August 2019 and received generally favorable reviews from critics.

<i>Lost Sphear</i> 2017 video game

Lost Sphear is a Japanese role-playing video game developed by Tokyo RPG Factory and published by Square Enix. The game is the second to be developed by Tokyo RPG Factory, and considered a spiritual successor to their first title, I Am Setsuna. It was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Windows in Japan in October 2017, and worldwide in January 2018.

<i>Twin Mirror</i> 2020 video game

Twin Mirror is a 2020 adventure game developed and published by Dontnod Entertainment. The game was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on 1 December 2020. It received mixed reviews from critics.

<i>The Quiet Man</i> (video game) 2018 video game

The Quiet Man is an action-adventure beat 'em up video game developed by Human Head Studios and published by Square Enix for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4. The game's story is told through lengthy full motion video sequences, some of which feature live-action actors, inserted between the gameplay sequences. It features a deaf protagonist, reflected by having most of the events having muted sound with no subtitles.

<i>Destroy All Humans!</i> (2020 video game) 2020 remake of the 2005 video game

Destroy All Humans! is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Black Forest Games and published by THQ Nordic. The game is a remake of the 2005 original game and the fifth installment in the Destroy All Humans! franchise. This remake is the first entry in the franchise since Path of the Furon (2008).

Life Is Strange is a series of adventure games published by Square Enix's External Studios. Created by Dontnod Entertainment, the series debuted with the eponymous first installment, which was released in five episodes throughout 2015. It was followed by a prequel, Life Is Strange: Before the Storm, which was developed by Deck Nine and released in three episodes throughout 2017, with a downloadable content (DLC) bonus episode released in early 2018. The sequel Life Is Strange 2 and its spin-off The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit were developed by Dontnod and released between 2018 and 2019. A third main installment, Life Is Strange: True Colors, was released in its entirety on 10 September 2021. Additionally, a remastered collection of the original game and its prequel was released in February 2022.

<i>Life Is Strange: True Colors</i> 2021 graphic adventure video game

Life Is Strange: True Colors is an adventure game developed by Deck Nine and published by Square Enix. It was released on September 10, 2021, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Stadia; a Nintendo Switch version released on December 7, 2021. The plot focuses on Alex Chen, a young woman who can experience the emotions of others, as she tries to solve the mystery behind a tragedy that happened in her life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Caulfield</span> Video game protagonist in the Life Is Strange series

Maxine "Max" Caulfield is a fictional character from the Life Is Strange video game series published by Square Enix. Created by French developer Dontnod Entertainment, she first appears in the 2015 video game Life Is Strange as the main protagonist. She is voiced by Hannah Telle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Amber</span> Video game character

Rachel Dawn Amber is a fictional character in the Life Is Strange video game series by Square Enix. Created by Dontnod Entertainment for the original Life Is Strange game released in 2015, Rachel's character was significantly expanded upon by Deck Nine for a prequel game titled Life Is Strange: Before the Storm released in 2017. She is voiced by actress Kylie Brown.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Farokhmanesh, Megan (10 June 2018). "New Life is Strange game, The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, coming June 26th". The Verge . Archived from the original on 10 June 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Wilson, Aoife (10 June 2018). "25 minutes with Life is Strange 2's brilliantly unexpected free prequel". Eurogamer . Archived from the original on 12 June 2018.
  3. 1 2 Kuchera, Ben (10 June 2018). "The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is a '100 percent free' game in the Life is Strange universe". Polygon . Archived from the original on 10 June 2018.
  4. 1 2 Dontnod Entertainment (25 June 2018). The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit (PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One). Square Enix.
  5. 1 2 3 Futter, Michael (13 June 2018). "'The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit' Sets Stage for 'Life is Strange 2'". Variety . Archived from the original on 14 June 2018.
  6. ↑ Jackson, Gita (24 January 2019). "Life Is Strange 2 Is More Moving If You've Played Captain Spirit". Kotaku . Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  7. 1 2 Stevens, Colin (11 June 2018). "Choices Made in Captain Spirit Will Affect Life Is Strange 2". IGN . Archived from the original on 11 June 2018.
  8. ↑ Warr, Philippa (28 June 2018). "The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is a hit and miss teaser for Life is Strange 2". PC Gamer . Archived from the original on 4 July 2018.
  9. ↑ "The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit". PlayStation . Archived from the original on 4 July 2018.
  10. 1 2 "The Awesome Adventures Of Captain Spirit preview and interview – Life is Strange too". Metro . 19 June 2018. Archived from the original on 23 June 2018.
  11. 1 2 Francis, Bryant (14 June 2018). "How Captain Spirit is helping Dontnod prep for Life is Strange 2". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on 15 June 2018.
  12. ↑ Vincent, Brittany (14 June 2018). "E3 2018: Dontnod Entertainment's Michel Koch Talks The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit". Shacknews . Archived from the original on 15 June 2018.
  13. ↑ Frank, Allegra (19 June 2018). "Life Is Strange spinoff draws inspiration from a classic anime". Polygon . Archived from the original on 19 June 2018.
  14. ↑ Summers, Nick (10 June 2018). "'Life is Strange' returns with 'The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit'". Engadget . Archived from the original on 10 June 2018.
  15. ↑ Dale, Laura Kate (22 June 2018). "The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is Releasing a Day Early". Kotaku UK . Archived from the original on 30 June 2018.
  16. ↑ 徹也, 稲元 (6 February 2020). "無料配信タイトル「オーサム・アドベンチャーズ・オブ・キャプテン・スピリット」プレイレポート。「ライフ イズ ストレンジ 2」へとつながる物語を体験しよう". 4gamer.net (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  17. 1 2 "The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit Critic Reviews for PC". Metacritic . Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  18. 1 2 "The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit Critic Reviews for PlayStation 4". Metacritic . Archived from the original on 11 June 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  19. 1 2 "The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit Critic Reviews for Xbox One". Metacritic . Archived from the original on 15 July 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  20. 1 2 3 Makedonski, Brett (25 June 2018). "Review: The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit". Destructoid . Archived from the original on 30 June 2018.
  21. 1 2 3 Juba, Joe (25 June 2018). "The Awesome Adventures Of Captain Spirit". Game Informer . Archived from the original on 25 June 2018.
  22. 1 2 3 Leri, Michael (25 June 2018). "The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit Review – More Like "Relatively Decent Adventures"". Game Revolution . Archived from the original on 30 June 2018.
  23. 1 2 3 O'Connor, James (25 June 2018). "Life keeps getting stranger". GameSpot . Archived from the original on 30 June 2018.
  24. 1 2 3 Hartup, Andy (25 June 2018). "The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit review: "Completely free to download, and a wonderful couple of hours of gaming"". GamesRadar . Archived from the original on 30 June 2018.
  25. 1 2 3 Blatt, Louisa (26 June 2018). "The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit Review". IGN . Archived from the original on 30 June 2018.
  26. 1 2 3 Cook, Adam (25 June 2018). "The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit review". VideoGamer.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2018.
  27. ↑ "Nominee List for 2018". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. 11 February 2019. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019.
  28. ↑ Trent, Logan (11 February 2019). "Here Are Your 2019 SXSW Gaming Awards Finalists!". South by Southwest . Archived from the original on 14 February 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.