Life is Strange - Review

Spoiler Alert

When the closing credits of the third episode of Life is Strange began to roll up my screen, my mouth was agape, my palms were sweaty, and, no, I wasn't crying, there was something in my eye, I swear. My choices led me to this moment, I was responsible. The singular, monumental accomplishment for Dontnod's second game is that the entire experience felt intimate. Each choice, whether it's a major plot point or the simple act of watering a plant felt as though they had tangible consequences, large or small. Even the choices that were out of the player's hands somehow still created the illusion that you had made them as a player. Unfortunately, some bizarre writing choices and wonky lip-syncing can pull you out of the experience. Combined with a lackluster final act, these missteps hold Life is Strange back from being an outright classic.

Nonetheless, the meticulously crafted environments begging to be explored, the sincere, heartfelt relationships that develop completely naturally, and a superb, perfectly paced central mystery all make for an unmissable title.

Characterization is Key

Max Caulfield is pretty much the exact opposite of the muscle-bound, alpha male video game hero that the medium is saturated with. Slight and shy to a fault, she's a high school nerd with a good heart who accidentally happens upon the power of time manipulation. But rather than attempting to save the world, she utilizes her power to help those around her as best as she can, instantly making her infinitely more relatable than grizzled-military-veteran-of-the-week typical of other mega game franchises. Slowly, piece by piece, choice by choice, she begins to gain confidence in a way that feels earned. Max's ex best friend Chloe also plays a major role in the story and is an equally deep and nuanced character. A major component of Life is Strange is the two of them reigniting their friendship and this relationship is handled beautifully throughout creating some truly poignant moments similar.  The last time that I've cared this much about a pair of lead characters was in The Last of Us but Max and Chloe manage to do it without all the post-apocalyptic shenanigans. It must be stated that despite the occasional awkward writing and offputting lip-syncing, both Hannah Telle and Ashly Burch who play Max and Chloe respectively absolutely nail their characters and are universally excellent throughout the 20-hour game. Dontnod surrounds their two stellar leads with a compelling supporting cast who break stereotype and drive the plot forward whether it's an overzealous security guard or a sensitive religious girl caught in a scandalous situation. Creating, establishing and expanding upon relationships is Life is Strange's greatest success, delivered by spot-on voice actors embodying a fascinating set of characters.

Time Twister

Turning back time is the primary gameplay mechanic and Dontnod cleverly evolves this ability as the series progresses. In episode one, you reverse time to see the immediate consequences of major decisions or to learn  new information from a character to open up new dialogue options.  By episode four, you'll be teleporting, freezing the world, and making huge leaps through time by taking advantage of Max's voracious photography obsession. The discovery of new abilities is expertly paced, always giving you something new to check out just when the old formula is growing stale. A major plot point based around these abilities at the end of episode 3 changes everything you think you know and will have you shocked to your core. Manipulating time isn't just a gameplay gimmick either but rather it serves as a primary driving force of the overall narrative, exploring the convoluted nature of the Butterfly Theory (the theory that if you go back in time and change the smallest thing, like a butterfly landing on you, it could have dire repercussions for the future).

Modern Day Nancy Drew

Opening with a gargantuan, beautifully-animated tornado tearing through a small town, the game immediately has you ask a question: Can I possibly stop this? It's a gripping introduction that is continuously hinted at throughout all five episodes before concluding in the final episode. Similarly, the way that Life is Strange slowly introduces and builds the overarching mystery of the story is phenomenal. It starts slowly, incrementally by having you simply read one of the many Missing Person posters scattered around the Blackwell Academy's halls. Before you know it, the outcome of your impromptu investigations leads you down a deep, dark rabbit hole that is both shocking and terrifying. The entire mystery of the disappearance of Rachel Amber is completely gripping, twisting and turning its way to a harrowing ending. On the other hand, in episode five, the tornado plotline ends on a rather disappointing if emotional note. Rather than taking any of the choices that you've made into account, it simply gives you a dual choice where one option seems to be clearly favored by the developers. I'll speak more about the lackluster ending later but the story up until that point is so well crafted and engaging that it makes it all worthwhile.  

Environmental Excellence

Another vital aspect that could have easily derailed Life is Strange if handled improperly is the design of the environmental interaction. Fortunately for everyone, Dontnot does an incredible job of making each and every area feel as genuine and alive as possible. There was never a moment where I asked myself, "Why can't I check this out?" or "Where is everyone?" The halls, dorms, and courtyards of Blackwell High School teem with life making you believe that they will go on in your absence. Chalk written arrows identify dozens of objects in each locale ripe for investigation, from innocuous teen magazines to relevant character clues such as a pregnancy test or bible verse that will be brought up later in conversation. Furthermore, it's genuinely interesting to learn more and more about the world that you're in, occasionally happening upon something that will completely change your view about a character. Despite this there were a couple of occasions where this level of freedom actually snatches you out of the moment.  For example, if I stumbled upon something of major importance to the plotline, I could continue to check out other items and the cadence of Max's voice would switch back to normal and she would think something totally irrelevant. This sort of minor gripe is only noticeable due to the intense level of immersion that Life is Strange accomplishes. Another aspect that has to be mentioned is the stunning, licensed song choices the play alongside several key moments of the story. Perfectly accompanying the action on screen, each time a tune played it accentuated the feelings of Max and Chloe, bringing those moments to a even higher level of emotional resonance.

Tough Issues Handled Right

Life is Strange tackles several sensitive issues that modern day teens may face during the roughly 15 hours of playtime. Fortunately, Dontnot spends the requisite amount of time on each issue presenting them as realistically and with as much grace as possible. Never does there fell as though there is a hidden agenda behind them, never did I feel that an issue was shoehorned in simply to have it there, and never did I feel that any of the outcomes were cheap or easy. The wide-ranging list of topics that are covered include but are not limited to bullying, suicide, sexual assault, disability, and teenage pregancy.  In particular, the sections that bookend each episode will stick with you long after the game concludes having Max, the player, make major decisions with major ramifications. No other game on the market handles these tough scenarios let alone handling them with such grace.

Choking in the Final Stretch

If I were to individually rate each episode of Life is Strange out of 10, it would go like this: Episode 1, Chrysalis - 8/10; Episode 2, Out of Time - 9/10; Episode 3, Chaos Theory - 10/10; Episode 4, Dark Room - 10/10; Episode 5, Polarized - 6/10. You can see how disappointed I was at the end of this lovely, continuously improving series. The first two episodes had some off-putting lip-syncing and tedious puzzles that all but vanish by episode three and four where the focus on story development and fleshing out the beautifully built relationships takes major precedence. I had expected the final episode to continue the trend but instead it flounders under the weight of all of the expectation. SPOILERS AHEAD. Seriously, don't read this if you haven't finished the series. The final episode starts off by capitalizing on the dramatic reveal at the end of episode 4, riling you up to a fever pitch to take down the series big bad. However, once you're free of the dark room, the episode begins to tailspin.  An interesting section of surviving through the storm ravaged streets of Arcadia Bay is immediately undermined by a time-travel gimmick essentially negating much of the preceding drama and setting you on a course towards the ending with no playable section during the whole period you just skipped. Then you have a totally bizarre heart to heart with Chloe while ignoring the massive tornado bearing down directly in front of you. Next, you're treated to dream-like sequence that is interesting for about 2 minutes but lasts for about 10. That is followed immediately by a frustrating and completely pointless stealth section that not only lasts forever but feels completely out of place with phantoms of all of the other major characters berating you for the entire time. What? A final and finally decent dream section puts you in a diner before kicking you out to the actually ending. And what is the ending? It's a choice to either (SPOILERS) sacrifice Arcadia Bay or sacrifice Chloe with none of your past decisions coming into play. Sure it's an emotional choice but the game so wholeheartedly wants you to sacrifice Chloe to save everyone that I chose to save her just to spite the developers.  I was then treated to an anti-climactic cutscene that implies that everyone else died which seems ridiculous and having Chloe and Max uncharacteristically decide to not search the wreckage for anyone. If you can't tell, I'm still a little bitter.  Regardless, the reason that I cared so much about the disappointment of Episode 5 is because I was so fully invested going into it.

Feeling is Worth It

After all of the startling cliff hangers, the well-crafted storyline, the genuinely beautiful relationships and every trial and tribulation along the way, it's fair to say that it was one hell of a ride. A morally challenging, choice driven story that had real consequences until the mysteriously lackluster ending. My time as Max Caulfield, from the impromptu bonding sessions with Chloe at a pool to the tense encounter on a rooftop, will remain with me long after I write this review. I felt such a myriad of emotions in such a relatively short amount of time that it's a miracle that I can still vividly remember them all. Life is Strange may have stumbled into the gates but the journey up until that point was well worth the price of admission. 

Final Judgement: 8/10

Pros: Genuine relationships that you care about, well-paced mystery, challenging and impactful choices, 'the feels', music, environmental design

Cons: The latter half of Episode 5 in its entirety, lip-syncing issues, fetch-quest bottle puzzles, immersion breaking commentary, the finale