In Life is Strange, anything can happen in Arcadia Bay

Life is Strange is a third person adventure game developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix. It was released digitally on PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One in 2015 and as a Limited Edition in 2016.

The Story

The game takes place in Arcadia Bay, mainly in the Blackwell Academy and its campus. This is where Max Caufield studies photography. After Max witnesses a murder, she finds out that she can control time and can change the past and the future with her powers. In the game, you follow the journey of Max, her friend Chloe Price and some other students as they try to live the life of normal teenagers and try to solve a deadly mystery.

It’s clear that the story is the strongest part of Life is Strange. Dontnod Entertainment found the perfect balance betweena teen story and a mystery with great sci-fi elements. While there are some boring parts, it works very well. The story is told in episodes and it works. I can imagine this story as a TV show.

Gameplay

The gameplay is standard for an adventure game. It almost feels like a Telltale game. You have to talk to people and solve puzzles/mysteries.

One thing that makes the gameplay special is the time rewind. There are a lot of times when you have to make errors and then rewind time and try again with the new information you got on the first try. For example, after talking to someone you have to rewind time and you will get a new dialogue option where you can use the information you got in the future. 

As with most games nowadays Life is Stange has collectibles too. This time you have to take photos of different things throughout the game. Some of them are not too easy to find.

It takes around 15-20 hours to finish the full game, but I think it’s more than enough. Trophy collectors will like this game as you can get platinum trophies very easily and quickly.

Graphics, Sound & Music

The graphics are not next gen; I’m sure of it. I won’t say it’s ugly, but it’s a bit dated. To me, Life is Strange looks like a Telltale adventure game. While technically the game is not great and sometimes I didn’t like the environment, I have to say that I really like the characters. They look a bit cartoony but they fit the game. Arcadia Bay looks good too, of course it doesn’t have the freedom of a sandbox game but for and adventure game it’s good.

The sounds and the music are great. The actors who brought Max and the other characters to life did a very good job.

The soundtrack is very well chosen it really adds to the feeling of being a teenager and it fits the mood of the game. My favorite part was when everything went backwards, the music and dialog went backwards too.

Verdict:

Life is Strange is a very nice game with a cool concept.

As I said before, the game highlights the problems of being a teenager in the 21st century. There’s an engaging crime story and it’s mixed with a good sci-fi twist. Maybe it sounds strange but it works really well.

You can buy Life is Strange digitally, but there is a Limited Edition that comes with a very nice artbook that looks like the diary and a really cool soundtrack.

Pros:

+ great story

+ well written characters

+ great music

+ good atmosphere

Cons:

– okay graphics

I think this game deserves a 9/10. If you like adventure games with a good story, you have to try it.