Life is Strange: Episode 1 - Chrysalis Reviews

Life is Strange: Episode 1 - Chrysalis is ranked in the 75th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
84 / 100
Feb 10, 2015

Life is Strange elegantly meshes time-travelling with nostalgia-riddled teen drama, producing a sympathetic debut.

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IGN
Top Critic
6.5 / 10.0
Feb 2, 2015

Life is Strange starts out with a problematic first episode, but there's a lot of potential in this young-adult drama.

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8 / 10
Jan 29, 2015

A wonderfully assured first episode, in what has the potential to outdo both Telltale Games and Quantic Dream in terms of successful video game storytelling.

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8.5 / 10.0
Jan 29, 2015

This first episode shows a lot of potential. The characters and their struggles are relatable, and the narrative sets up plenty of intriguing threads

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7 / 10
Jan 28, 2015

The episodic Life is Strange is off to a good start, featuring sympathetic characters and tense social situations.

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Feb 1, 2015

Life is Strange is an episodic adventure in the Telltale-style, placing you in the shoes of 18 year old Max Caulfield. Max can rewind time at will and has prophetic dreams of the future. Episode 1 is all intro, giving you a look at Max's powers and her supporting cast, but not much else. There's hints of bigger things on the horizon, but neither issue is immediate within Episode 1. I'm intrigued, but Episode 2 needs to give me a stronger reason to finish all five episodes.

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8.5 / 10.0
Jan 29, 2015

For now, we're left with our first glimpse at Arcadia Bay, our initial look into the life of Max. It was a slow, yet well-paced initial chapter that set the table more than anything else. There's no telling where the story will go from here. But, as Chrysalis faded out, an indie song played that felt wonderfully at home in this setting, and served as a warning of things to come. It chanted "We will foresee obstacles, through the blizzard, through the blizzard."

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Jan 28, 2015

Life Is Strange offers a fresh take on video game storytelling, presenting the typically loaded concept of time travel in a more naturalistic light and exploring the labyrinthine choices of an unlikely everyday hero.

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8 / 10
Feb 2, 2015

Life Is Strange makes a strong start to its season, with the first episode introducing a number of interesting characters, and raising a number of questions that left me needing answers. The visuals paint a solid, and often beautiful world, and despite the occasional misstep in the dialogue or execution Dontnod have the beginnings of a worthy and memorable entry in the adventure game genre.

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Unscored
Jan 30, 2015

Worth a look for anyone seeking a unique, more grounded take on the adventure game.

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7.5 / 10.0
Jan 30, 2015

Life is Strange presents an intriguing story but one that is yet to find its feet

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Jan 31, 2015

Dontnod has done a fantastic job of not only introducing an interesting new world to explore in Life is Strange, but also an intriguing time-rewinding mechanic, and mysterious story that can only grow from here.

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72 / 100
Jan 28, 2015

Chapter 1 of this five-part series is off to a promising, if timid, start. It presents a lot of ideas and mechanics just to show you what you'll be doing later, but it's pretty clear that the really interesting bits are yet to come. Still, this is a game worth checking out if you can handle the unavoidable alerts and iffy art choices.

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Unscored
Feb 8, 2015
► WTF Is... - Life is Strange ? (Hyper WTF feat. Genna Bain) video thumbnail
6.5 / 10.0
Jan 28, 2015

As the series' opening gambit, it did its job. It didn't do much more than that, but it was a decent enough opener.

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8 / 10.0
Feb 4, 2015

Life is Strange is perhaps the best possible outcome for French developer Dontnod Entertainment after an interesting and flawed start as a developer

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Mar 6, 2015

Though it suffers from some cheesy dialog, the first episode of Life is Strange game is a solid introduction to an engaging series, and combines Telltale-like choice mechanics with the heart of Gone Home.

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Feb 6, 2015

The opening episode of Dontnod's time-bending adventure is uneven but intriguing, earnest and full of potential.

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Drew Leachman
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Feb 11, 2015

Fans of the Telltale adventure games and people looking for something unique in terms of storytelling and mechanics should really give Life is Strange a shot. It sets up a decent premise and keeps the player invested for the 3 hour duration of the episode. I for one enjoyed what I played, even when the dialog became "too hip" for me. I say give it a shot. It most certainly is something very different.

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7 / 10
Jan 30, 2015

A solid opening to what could be a genuinely interesting episodic adventure. The mystery seems compelling, the characters are largely likeable, and the presentation is impeccable - but the emphasis is on "could" and "seems". It's still just episode one.

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