


It's not ground-breaking stuff, but entertaining enough, and works to consistently give the world depth and a sense that it doesn't all revolve around you.Īll of this character-building is bolstered by gorgeous art and music that give life to the game's world.

When you're not time-turning, Life is Strange plays out like many adventure games that came before it: you interact with different objects in the environment that range from plot-critical to merely decorative, and have conversations with your peers and teachers to get the full story of Arcadia Bay. It's the framing and the conversations around it that change. In terms of how much those decisions mean in the end, Life is Strange falls somewhere between The Walking Dead and Dragon Age - your choices do have a major impact on events that happen throughout the game and are mentioned later on, but the final decision happens the way it does no matter what. It's a simple idea that's easy to grasp and fun to experiment with, with results ranging from hilarious (when Max successfully guesses how much change Chloe has in her pockets) to horrifying (when a drug dealer gets angry and flashes a knife in Max's face). Those powers are the central focus of Life is Strange's gameplay, letting you reverse time to test out different responses to tough decisions, or sneak into a locked room and then rewind to erase any evidence of your intrusion. Shocked and grief-stricken by her friend's death, Max spontaneously develops time-rewind powers and helps Chloe escape unharmed. Life is Strange is the story of Max Caulfield (a photography student attending art school in her old hometown) and her childhood friend Chloe (a tough-talking punk who's shot to death in the school bathroom during the game's opening).
