Life is Strange: Episode 1 - Chrysalis Reviews
Overall I'm pretty impressed with the first episode of Life is Strange titled Chrysalis. The story has me hooked and I can't wait to find out what happens next. For the price checking out the first episode is a no brainer.
The sleepy, small-town atmosphere, dream-like art design and sublime music, combined with a cast of both likeable and pleasingly hateful characters, a compelling story and interesting game mechanics has left me on the edge of my seat waiting for the next episode.
Life Is Strange has a charm that is hard to resist. The dialogue never quite manages to achieve believability, but the game's top-notch art direction makes Arcadia Bay an interesting pocket universe to explore. The time reversal mechanic is also full of potential and neatly executed through the game's thoughtful UI.
All things considered, Life Is Strange is by far a worthwhile experience for anyone. Being that the first episode is up for grabs at the cost of free, it's an absolute must for any gamer. Whether or not you choose to invest in future episodes is up to you, but I for one am in.
The script has its moments, but I was more interested in 'Life Is Strange's approach to decisions than I was in its dialogue. The seed is there for many of the characters though, and I think with the right narrative they can grow into something much more complex. The second episode ought to be here soon, and I am looking forward to finding out. [OpenCritic note: Mild spoilers for the first episode are contained in this review.]
Summary: An interesting opening to what will hopefully grow to be something quite special.
There's a lot of interesting setup in the first episode of Life is Strange, and this is a great start. There's the overarching mystery of the missing girl, but the smaller ones have the potential to open up interesting subplots later on. The time rewind mechanic is very convenient for solving simple puzzles and ensuring that the choices you make are ones you're comfortable with, but it remains to be seen how much of an impact this will all have. Like all episodic adventure titles, it's too early to tell if the entire game will be good. Based on this episode, there's enough intrigue that the wait for the second episode, which is currently scheduled for March, might be a tad unbearable.
The first hour of Life Is Strange delivers a number of references suggesting that the development team at Dontnod aims to create an experience which can be compared to Catcher in the Rye or Twin Peaks in terms of core concepts.
The calm before the storm, in other words, which (without giving spoilers) is also literally the case with Max's adventure. Dontnod though the badly underrated Remember Me and now Life Is Strange is quickly establishing itself as a premiere developer of arthouse games, and the only criticism I have of Life Is Strange is that I have to wait so long for the next episode.
Life is Strange is, in a word, gorgeous to look at
Life is Strange gives us a unique inside look at solving the mystery of Arcadia Bay through the eyes of a teenage girl.
Life is Strange Episode 1: Chrysalis is a good introduction to the game world and story. There's a clear direction, setting, and tone Dontnod is going for, but splitting the game into episodes means a lot of waiting to see if it can carry it through to the end. There's a lot of potential here, both for success and failure, but at the very least Episode 1 provides a great experience full of exploration and intrigue. The cliff-hanger ending serves the episodic nature well enough, but separating chapters by several weeks could prove to be the game's downfall.
در نهایت اگر می خواهید در سبک درام تعاملی اثری دوست داشتنی و جذاب را تجربه کنید Life Is Strange گزینه مناسبی برای شما است . بازی در اپیزود اول بخوبی بستر لازم برای پرداخت داستان اصلی را فراهم می کند ، بخوبی کاراکترهای بازی را معرفی کرده و زمینه همذات پنداری را در مخاطب ایجاد می کند و بخوبی با عناصر فنی نظیر موسیقی و گرافیک هنری به دلنشین تر کردن تجربه اثر کمک می کند . نقطه عطف پایانی داستان بازی کمی غافلگیر کننده و فراتر از سطح داستانی اثر بود و باید دید در قسمت های آینده آیا سازندگان می توانند این مسیر و ایده بلندپروازانه را بخوبی ارائه دهند یا خیر ...
Review in Persian | Read full review
Life is Strange is full of so much squandered potential. What could have been a great coming-of-age tale is hindered by bad writing, characters, set pieces, and gameplay. Those willing to give it a shot are better off playing better-executed cinematic titles like The Walking Dead or Heavy Rain.
An intriguing start for Dontnod's leap into episodic gaming. Chrysalis is very much a scene setter, easing us in gently to a host of intriguing characters and ensuring we get to grips with the rewind mechanic before we're asked to make any seriously tough choices. As long as the momentum continues to build pace, this could turn out to be something special. At this early stage, I can't wait to play more, but to put a numbered score on this at such an early stage would be strange. Such is life.
The second episode will not release until March, and neither DONTNOD or Square Enix have announced exactly when. I'm personally climbing the walls in anticipation, eager to not only see what happens next, but also how my decisions will impact Max and her friends. I rewound most of my choices to see how things would go differently and then made my decision from there, and I have this deep, dark feeling that even though I think I chose well at the time, I chose poorly overall.
Life Is Strange: Episode 1 - Chrysalis has exceeded all expectations of a seemingly humble story like this. It takes an older concept and adds some freshness to it to make it seem new again.
Donotnod venture into episodic territory with Life is Strange for it and produce one of the year's most promising titles in doing so.
The only drawback with the first of the five episodes is some of the writing which may or may not improve as we dive deeper into the future episodes. If you're a fan of this story telling genre, Life is Strange is a must play!
A modern adventure game of its own accord, Life is Strange tackles its expository episode and succeeds in developing its own persona amongst its peers.