The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit Review

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit 
Developer: Dontnod Entertainment
Publisher: Square Enix
Reviewed On: Xbox One
Available On: Xbox One and PlayStation 4

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit was just one of the many surprises that came out of Xbox’s E3 2018 conference. Before the announcement trailer could even reveal it was a standalone adventure in the Life is Strange universe, many fans immediately recognized the atmospheric music and unique art style that has become associated with Life is Strange titles. While there is no mention of the classic duo, Max and Chloe, Dontnod still manages to leave a lasting impression with newcomer, Chris Erikson, in a short game that makes the mundane magical.

What’s fascinating about The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is how a simple premise stretches into roughly two hour’s worth of gameplay that takes us on a deep dive into the lives of two new characters, while simultaneously expanding on the people and places we are already familiar with from the Life is Strange universe.

We play as ten-year old Chris Erikson, a boy whose wild imagination could potentially put our own childhoods to shame. The events of the game take place on a cold Saturday morning, where the day is full of limitless possibilities for our young protagonist. Players are quickly introduced to Chris’s alternate-ego, Captain Spirit, a superhero designed from items around his house like an old sheet, tape, and Halloween makeup. Like any good superhero, Captain Spirit has enemies to fight and tasks to be completed.

These tasks, appropriately titled “My Awesome Things to Do”, drive some of the major elements of gameplay and trigger the cut scenes in Captain Spirit. Chris can complete most of the tasks in any order, and they range from assembling his Captain Spirit costume to fighting enemies like Snowmancer (the snowman in his backyard). Crossing some items off this task list can prove underwhelming, if you attempt to view one as more important than another.

While Chris will need his Captain Spirit costume to fight the water monster off his laundry room, something that seems like a big deal at first, upon its completion there is little sense of accomplishment. That sentiment is present throughout the entire list of tasks, and the end of the game can be triggered without having finished most of it. It’s best to simply go with the flow.

Similar to the other Life is Strange titles, choice-based gameplay makes its return, but decisions carry little weight in Captain Spirit and don’t affect the overall outcome of your playthrough. Gone are the intense moments of choice that make the edges of the screen bleed red, speed your heart rate up, and send your proverbial moral compass spinning. While the absence of those intense decisions works in tandem with the setting of Captain Spirit and the story Dontnod has presented, it makes you feel like a passive observer in Chris’s day, rather than an active participant who’s making important decisions on Chris’s behalf.

The affect of that over a two-hour period causes Captain Spirit to feel slow, and perhaps even a bit stilted, in all the wrong moments. It brings more attention to the fact dialogue between Chris and his father is stiff; and more than once it made me sigh over the new “power action” option when Chris interacts with items around the house.

As Chris goes about his morning dressed as Captain Spirit, mundane activities like heating up food or throwing items in the recycle bin become that much more exciting due to his imagination. “Power actions” are littered through the choice menus, so instead of just throwing away his father’s beer cans, Chris (as Captain Spirit) can “pulverize” them. The first couple of times Chris uses the power actions is fun to watch, but following those couple of times, not to mention the incessant vibrating of your controller, it just becomes sigh-worthy and tempting to skip the power action option altogether. I also noticed in several instances that Chris’s body blocks the options when he is standing in front of certain objects, and it either takes a complete readjustment of the camera, or you will have to approach the item all over again.

Outside of “My Awesome Things to Do” list, there is an entire house to explore. It’s this exploration that makes Captain Spirit really shine, and the environmental storytelling at play by Dontnod is just as strong, if not stronger, than what we saw in the first Life is Strange. 

A game that begins with a young boy with a beautifully untamed imagination, is slowly subverted by themes of parental alcohol abuse and untimely death. The vibrant colors that we were first exposed to in Chris’s room are replaced with a cold house in disarray- dirty dishes in the sink. Stains and open food in the fridge. Empty beer cans on the counter tops. The house suddenly feels claustrophobic, if not downright volatile, as the player becomes hyper aware the only other character around is Chris’s physically and verbally abusive father.

Where exploration in games is usually rewarding, in Captain Spirit it’s simply heartbreaking. Through a series of letters and paraphernalia scattered around the house and backyard, we learn not only what happened to Chris’s mother, but how he and his father have been coping with it. It’s through these letters and miscellaneous items that we also see Easter eggs in reference to Life is Strange, such as Arcadia Bay, Blackwell Academy, and a certain photography teacher who shall not be named.

All of this culminates in an explosive ending that took me by surprise and had me slowly raise my eyebrow. For some reason, though, it works and feels as though two hours of imagination and “power actions” were leading to that moment.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is a nice expansion on the Life is Strange universe. Chris’s story, while memorable, is bogged down with passive player decisions that do little to impact the overall narrative and even cause it to feel slow. Despite this, Dontnod has reached its peak with environmental storytelling and leaves players even more excited for Life is Strange 2.