Life is Strange: Episode 4 - Dark Room Reviews
Character inconsistencies and story dead-ends mar an otherwise superb narrative series that is starting to really pay off.
Dark Room is the strongest episode of Life is Strange. It leaves you wanting to see what happens to Max Caulfield and the rest of Arcadia Bay whilst also delivering a truly entertaining slice of gaming.
Life Is Strange: Episode 4 - Dark Room is a great penultimate episode for this bestselling series, following up on a lot of questions we had from previous episodes, while giving us a bunch of new questions as well.
Now we wait for several more weeks before learning all of the truth behind the horrific things happening at Blackwell and Arcadia Bay, and hopefully how and why Max was given this power. Even though DONTNOD made something a bit predictable, they have left plenty of roads open to continue their usual unpredictability. I can honestly say at this point, I have no idea what will happen next. So many unanswered questions, and I have my expectations high that all will be revealed without any disappointment.
The wait for the next episode is going to be quite painful.
From the gate it was clear that Life is Strange was a title to keep an eye on. It's now evolved into an experience over a million players are constantly on the edge of their seats to continue, and is poised to become one they'll likely never forget. Even a seemingly shorter, more linear episode like this one shines in all the right places; it's a visual novel with a choose-your-own-adventure twist in which choices matter, and consequences are finally catching up like the dark cyclone ever hurdling toward Arcadia Bay.
After the shocking conclusion of Chaos Theory, Life is Strange Dark Room ups the ante once more and continues on it path of out of the blue surprises. Taking a darker and at times almost gruesome turn, episode 4 offers not only the longest story of the four but the best in the series so far. Character development reaches a new emotional level of depth and the gameplay has developed further again to gain a sense of challenge.
But there is one more episode left and the town of Arcadia Bay has yet to be saved. There is still time for Max's story to be subsumed by melodrama, for the game to simply spend the emotional currency it has worked hard to gather on a cliffhanger for the sake of having a cliffhanger. Come October shall we look back and wonder where this potential went? Perhaps we shall ask ourselves what could have been done differently. Or, perhaps, Life is Strange will navigate these concerns, becoming the game we hoped it would be.
An overlong episode, but one bookended with some terrific scenes. The impacts of the tiniest details via time travel are explored and the continuing plot strands about the underbelly of Arcadia Bay take their darkest forms yet. There's a lot riding on the season finale though.
Dark Room brings out the darkness in Arcadia Bay, but fails to continue one of the best parts of Life is Strange.
Life is Strange Episode 4: Dark Room ends with another signature cliffhanger. The game's story is coming around though and I'm sure DontNod have an explosive finale planned for us, here's to hoping it comes out sooner rather than later. If the final episode doesn't end up being a disappointing mess, I can see Life is Strange becoming my favourite Adventure game ever.
'Darkroom' is not quite as substantial as the last episode, but 'Life Is Strange' has real potential for a strong, surprising finish. This episode sags in the middle but the choices that are offered to the player are still difficult, and it's a good thing when an episodic game torments its players with self-doubt after tough decisions. The series has been a capable story thus far and I'm very curious to see how Dontnod finishes everything.
The best episode so far, with a lot of problems ironed out and double the playtime added. Dark Room will not disappoint any but the hardest to please fans of Life is Strange.
I have little hesitation in suggesting Life is Strange will be a narrative adventure masterpiece when it concludes with part five - bar a horrific final episode. The way in which DONTNOD has blended teen drama with sci-fi craziness and more than a hint of Twin Peaks is to be commended. It's certainly not something I wholly expected after Episode 1, and it feels like a genuine journey. By the time the credits rolled on Dark Room I knew I'd just played something outstanding, and it only makes the wait for conclusion even harder.
With just one episode left, I'm both anxious and intrigued to see how it all comes together -- or does it?
All in all, episode 4 is a good instalment and let's hope that the next episode comes sooner rather than later which may hurt the revelations found in episode four but if you enjoyed the previous stories, you'll enjoy this one. So how does Amber, Frank, Nathan, Veronica, Warren, Chloe and Max all connect? The answer will be found out in episode 5!
As much as I'm looking forward to the conclusion of Life is Strange, I'm glad the episodic structure gives me a bit of reprieve. Days later, I'm still trying to process my thoughts and feelings on Dark Room, and I feel like this episode (and Life is Strange, as a whole, unless the final chapter completely drops the ball) is something we'll be talking about for years to come.
I'm with you to the end Life is Strange.
We can't wait to see the conclusion to the story we started back in January, as well as playing the role of Max one last time. It's been a long and bumpy ride, but we're glad we are on board.
When Dark Room moves beyond its initial twist in order to return to the mystery at the centre of the game's overarching plot, it succeeds at offering exciting gameplay in lieu of maintaining its thematic focus.