Life Is Strange - Part 1

Many choices lie ahead, none of them easy.

Life Is Strange is an episodic adventure/puzzle game by DONTNOD Entertainment. It follows the story of Max(ine) Caufield, who has returned to her hometown of Arcadia Bay after going to school in Seattle for 5 years, to attend the prestigious Blackwell Academy. She discovers she has the power to rewind time, which she uses to save her best friend, Chloe Price, a former student at Blackwell whom she hasn't seen since leaving for Seattle. Reunited, they try to figure out what the deal with her power is, as well as getting caught up in the dark dealings at Blackwell, the disappearance for Chloe's friend Rachel Amber, and a vision Max has of Arcadia Bay's destruction. It is a 5-part game, for which three episodes have been released so far. It takes a page from the book of Telltale Games, who are known for their excellent storytelling and choice/consequences in their games. This game stands out from Telltale's by allowing the player to rewind time to not only see all the possible dialogue options (itself a puzzle mechanic), but to change any choices they made that have an impact on the plot. You have to settle on a choice eventually, though.

Unlike The Last Of Us Remastered, this game does not feature a similar "photo mode" (kind of ironic, seeing how Max is an aspiring photographer and photography is an optional gameplay mechanic). However, I did find a few cool shots that fit in with the premise of this blog.

Hit the jump to continue. One minor curse in the first shot, otherwise clean.




All screenshots are from episode 3, "Chaos Theory". I have a few more, but they have UI elements in them. I'll save those for another set.

The graffiti was the result of a choice I made in the first episode.

Max uses her smartphone to light the way through the dorm.

There are a few benches and seats where Max will sit and contemplate.

Much later, Chloe tries to pick the lock to the principal's office.

Max and Chloe break into the pool for a late night swim and girl talk.

Max sits on Chloe's old swing.

And that's it for this update. Stay tuned for more. Well, not this game any time soon (next episode should drop in about 2 months). But you get the idea.