Review: Life is Strange
Overview: Life Is Strange, developed by Dontnod Entertainment, and published by Square Enix, is a game that is really hard to describe. If i could pick a game it comes closest to, its the Walking Dead games. Instead of combat, like most games, its focused more on interaction with objects and people to solve puzzles and drive the story forward. These interactions come with a moral choice mechanic that will actually change the course of the story through the different chapters, and its one of the best games out there.
Story: Maxine "Max" Caufield, a teenage girl, wakes up in the middle of a photography class at prestigious Blackwell Academy, dazed from seeing a vision of a giant tornado destroy her coastal hometown of Arcadia, Oregon, she heads to the bathroom only to see another student (Nathan) kill a girl. In her shock, she finds that she some how has the ability to reverse time. After saving the girl from Nathan, she sets out to find an answer to why she has her powers and to stop the impending disaster from her visions, which is revealed to be five days away. As a B story, Max must also solve the disappearance of a girl named Amber.
Mechanics: The mechanics of this game flow smoothly, interact with a puzzle, figure out what you missed, press L2 to reverse time for a period and solve the puzzle. Thanks to the non-repetive style this never gets... repetitive as they will always find a new way to throw something at you. If there has to be a standout among game-play mechanics it's the moral choice aspect. I've never seen this mechanic approached in such a mature, engaging way. Often you will be given a moral choice, and instead of choosing between a purely good choice and a purely evil choice, puts most options in the grey area. This adds a bit of realism to the mostly sci fi story as you will have to make the best choice you can and live by the consequences, as in real life. There is a moment in chapter 2 with a character named Kate Marsh that had me panicking, not because what happened with her could have wrecked my game (nearly impossible), but because i was so engaged with her part in my story and i question if i had made the right choices in my interactions with her. This game actually made me feel for its characters and question my judgment.
Audio: The sound is great, though the hipster soundtrack annoyed me.
The voice acting, led by Hannah Telle, is great.
Music: See Sound
Graphics: The game has a nice cell shaded quality to it that make the surroundings look really pretty. Think of a less cartoony Walking Dead game.
Grade:
10/10
PLAY THIS GAME!