Life is Strange - Season One Reviews
Though the later episodes of Life is Strange lacked some of the strength and poignancy of its earlier chapters, its set-up and world grabbed me immediately, which Dontnod deserves immense credit for creating an experience out of elements that, taken on their own terms, seemed like they never would have worked. You can boil down Life is Strange to a time-traveling decision-making teen girl simulator at its basic level, but it also happens to be one of the most compelling stories of the year with great characters and style, even if its story comes at odds sometimes with its gameplay and core ideas. Even though at this point now I know how Maxine and Chloe's story ends with the conclusion of Life is Strange, I'll happily rewind back to the beginning for another chance at seeing their story again for the first time.
If you have the patience to overlook a few pacing issues and dodgy lip syncs, Life is Strange offers up a mature, nuanced story which centres on female friendship (and maybe romance) and the effect our actions have on others.
The game doesn't quite live up to other similar games in the genre, but it's worth the time and energy to check out if you're a fan of these type of games.
On the other hand, the game feels like it tried to do more than it could and as a result weighed down and did not focus at its strongest point.
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Life is Strange makes some odd design choices, but its ability to make your choices feel important to its strong leading protagonists more than makes up for it. Buy it.
With her powers to rejigger events to save people from accidents and themselves, Max seems like an incarnation of Holden's catcher. Though sadly, her power is not immutable.
By cobbling together cliches, Dontnod have somehow created an earnest supernatural teen drama with clunky-ass dialogue but a real sense of love behind it. I actually like the weird distance between the game and reality, likely also due to the writers' disconnect from their subject material. The cliches are played with such heart that I can't get mad. After hitting the episode's Magnolia-esque ending, I'm genuinely excited to see where the story goes from here.
There are so few narratives in this medium that even approach what Life is Strange manages on so many levels, that even if it had to happen within a game which often couldn't decide what it considered important, what it accomplishes despite all its flaws should speak for just how much this game matters, and how important it is to experience for yourself.