Life Is Strange is an interactive graphic adventure game developed by DONTNOD Entertainment. The game will consist of five episodes in total and is scheduled to release periodically; the first episode, Chrysalis, is available now. The player takes control of Max, a talented photography student who discovers that she has the ability to rewind time, affecting the world around her by changing the fate of not only herself, but everyone else in Arcadia.

“this isn’t anime or a video game”

The game play is similar to the interactive story style of many of the Telltale Games’ franchises, such as The Wolf Among Us. Having said that, as it spins its tale of intrigue, Life is Strange opens the story book wider than its genre predecessors. One of the first things I noticed about Life is Strange is that it feels a lot more open than other interactive graphic adventure games. While still linear in plot, it’s not as closed in, you’re free to wander around large areas and interact with a higher number of objects and people. Even when faced with an enclosed area, you’re spoilt for choice with the amount of things you’re able to do.

You can easily spend much of your time exploring your surroundings to their fullest, or even just sitting for a while and contemplating your life, should you wish to. Of course, every little item you look at gives you more insight into the world of Arcadia, and hints at where the plot might travel next. I absolutely loved this about Life is Strange, everything I examined made me begin to wonder how it would tie in with the overall story. Snooping around proves just how much detail was put into the game; the execution of tying in random items and clues into the plot was perfectly done. If you were to rush through the game without exploring, you’d definitely be missing out on these little signs. The item you just walked right past could have been a clue to a larger plot point that you encounter a little further on, you just have to take the time to see it. After all, you have the ability to rewind time as you see fit, so you have all the time in the world to check things out.

The real way in which Life is Strange breaks away from the staples of its genres is with Max’s ability to rewind time. Interactive graphic adventures are defined by the choices that players make, that’s what shapes the plot of each game. However, in Life is Strange, all those choices and consequences can easily be reversed with the press of a button. You’d think being able to back-track and change what you just did would make the decision-making easier, well, you’d be wrong. More often than not, it makes deciding what to do even harder, and in some scenarios, you’ll find that there is no perfect outcome. There were a few times where I kept reversing time and choosing between two different options over and over, unsure which action to ultimately settle for. Another interesting factor was although you can see the immediate consequences, changing certain actions and outcomes will have consequences that you don’t necessarily see right away, so make sure you choose wisely. Because of the many, many choices you make throughout playing, the story of Life is Strange will be shaped by your decisions and result in different scenarios and eventually, different endings.

As with most games, you could power through and complete it more quickly, but you’d be doing yourself and the game an injustice by doing so, as you’d be missing out on a heap of interesting game play. Comparing it to other episodic games of the same nature, Life is Strange has so much content that as long as you’re willing to take the time to explore, the game will keep you occupied for quite some time.

Because of the multitude of different scenarios, even infinitesimal events, the replay value of Life is Strange is really high. I know I’ll be playing through again as I want to see how else I could have progressed through the game, as well as discover what other elements of the plot I missed in my first playthrough.

“Are you cereal?”

The story of Life is Strange is gripping from the moment you load up the game; you’re instantly given many questions and not a great deal of answers. Get used to that, you’ll find that will happen a lot as you continue. While you can marvel at the way all the little elements of Life is Strange are beginning to weave together, they won’t net you any real closure, but then I expected as much from only the first episode of the game. Chrysalis is the perfect opening to an episodic game, it immediately made me want to know more about the game and left me desperate for the next episode.

Life is Strange is full of intrigue and mystery, yet it’s juxtaposed perfectly with the normalcy of high school life. The keystone of the story is Max and she is the perfect protagonist. She’s easy to relate to as a character, and she’s hard to dislike with her adorable dorky nerdisms. The geekiness doesn’t stop with Max either, there are subtle pop culture references throughout the game; just take a look at the number plates of the cars that allude to The X-Files and Twin Peaks, or the World of Warcraft reference when Max replies to Warren with “kek”. There’s also a novel reference where Max mentions wanting to watch Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within; I do love it when companies make references to their other works.

Picture perfect

The graphics aren’t ground breaking in realism, but then I don’t think that is what DONTNOD Entertainment was aiming for. Life is Strange is beautiful in its own unique visual style, enabled largely by the team hand-painting every texture in the game. It’s hard to not see the world through the eyes of Max, as everything about the game reminds you of the photography student. It’s more than just appreciating the pop culture references around you that you know Max would love. The way you perceive the world is shaped by Max, such as how the game appears to take on elements reminiscent of photos and developing images. For example, the burning effect when Max attempts to rewind time for too long, or the double-exposure look of the doe at the lighthouse. Even the menu and options in the game are indicators of Max’s personality, as they appear as scrawled notes and journal pages, just like Max’s own journal.

Life is Strange features a licensed indie soundtrack that is absolutely stunning; it’s perfectly suited to the theme of the game. When dealing with a situation where the characters are primarily teenagers in school, you often find that the voice-acting can be a bit on the corny side. However, the characters in Life is Strange are all voiced extremely well, which helps make their characters even more believable.

Verdict

Life is Strange is most definitely going to be one of the highlights of 2015. It breaks boundaries within its own genre and carves out a new path for itself, taking the lucky player along for the ride. It’s extremely easy to find yourself immersed in the plot of the game, even the simple events of school life. The mystery that is at root of the game is one that I hope will be unravelled with as much style as its débuted with in Chrysalis. I’m really looking forward to the next episode, if you haven’t checked out Life is Strange yet, I urge you to do so.

Meg Pelliccio

Editor at Geeks Don't Lie

Meg appreciates gaming on all formats, but primarily spends her time achievement hunting to the extreme. Her passion for gaming began as a child, when first introduced to the Amstrad. A collector of gaming consoles past and present, Meg spends as much of her time rediscovering old classics as she does playing the latest releases.