Ever read those choose your own adventure books? I remember turning to page 74 and being disappointed with the result, wishing I could rewind time and choose another option. In Life Is Strange, not only is rewinding time an option, it’s a requirement to solve almost every puzzle! Life is Strange is an episodic story driven game that focuses on college student Maxine Caulfield. Maxine (Max for short) is your typical, awkward eighteen year old who just moved back to her hometown of Arcadia Bay to attend the prestigious Blackwell Academy. This third person adventure puts you into Max’s shoes as she discovers her powers, makes awkward dialog choices and attempts to solve a murder mystery! So, pretty much the average first year at university.
The story in Life is Strange was actually a lot darker than I first anticipated. It kicks off with some extremely heavy topics. As to stay spoiler free, I have to be vague, I don’t want to rob anyone of this experience. The pacing of the story was good and the puzzles were easy enough. But where this game shines is in the character development. By the end of my time with Life is Strange, I had laughed, I had cringed, I had cried and I had been left speechless. I found that each of the main characters were relatable to some degree and as the adventure progressed, you saw them grow and change because of the choices they’ve made. At one point I failed to save someone and I actually put the game down and took a walk, I was devastated. The story left me always wanting more at the end of each episode and left me satisfied at the end.
No game is perfect however, and Life is Strange is no exception. Character dialogue options made me cringe on more than one occasion. The music really failed to set the tone, although the sound effects were spot on. Some of the puzzles were unannounced and one in particular had no indication of how to find the last “piece”, which lead me to an hour trying to find it, then to Google to just find the location. Some awkward camera angles also make their appearance awkward from time to time, but not too often for me to judge them heavily.
The town of Arcadia Bay is a wonderful looking place that reminds me of a small coastal town. Everything looked spot on and nothing was out of the ordinary, minus the eighteen year old who could rewind time. All the locations and backdrops were pleasant to look at and even the dark moments were reinforced with how polished everything looked.
All and all Life is Strange was a breath of fresh air in the Episodic gaming genre. Your choices did have a meaningful impact, unlike any Telltale game I’ve ever played. The characters were realistic, unlike any Telltale characters I’ve ever seen. And the game left an impression on me as the credits rolled, yes, unlike any Telltale game I’ve ever played. I was left to contemplate if i made the right choices by the end and I’m not sure if I did, which is very rare for any game to do. I recommend you pick up Life is Strange on one of its many sales, not because it’s not worth full value, but because it’s usually 30% off every other week.
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