It’s not so strange why Life is Strange is one of the most famous video game series of all time. The first Life is Strange game has become one of my favorites of all time, and its flowers are deserved.
The video game follows a teen, Max Caufield, going to a prestigious senior-only high school for those gifted in the arts and sciences called Blackwell Academy. What really drew Max to the school, though, was the famed photography teacher – Mark Jefferson. Jefferson’s work in the 90s established him as a big name in the photography community and an inspiration for Max. Although everything at Blackwell is unfamiliar for Max, the rest of the town, Arcadia Bay, isn’t so much. Issues arise for Max as she is now back in her childhood hometown and is in proximity to all the things she ran away from when she left, namely, her best friend Chloe Price.
Max’s life is turned upside down though when she enters the school bathroom only to witness the most popular guy in school shooting Chloe and killing her. Suddenly, Max is taken back to her photography class, 5 minutes before. Slowly, she realizes that it’s not just a dream, and she is really somehow back in time. She now has the chance to go back and save her ex-friend, without knowing that this action will alter the course of Arcadia Bay history. With these new powers, Max and Chloe must now team up to uncover the rest of the town’s secrets.
These new powers do not come without risk: when Max uses too much of the power at a time, she puts a strain on herself and gets a bloody nose, sometimes accompanied by passing out. Intermittently, Max also gets visions of a disastrous tornado that is heading straight for Arcadia Bay. Along with figuring out the whereabouts of Chloe’s missing friend Rachel and busting Nathan, the pair have only a few days to figure out how to prevent the dangerous vision.
Throughout all of this though, Max must also decide what photo she wants to submit to Mr. Jefferson for the required ‘Everyday Heroes’ contest, although ultimately she decides to do one featuring the back of her own head as she looks forward to her photos. This entire plotline is inspirational and allows the players to wonder if they can be a hero too.
One of the defining features of the game, though, is its focus on player choice. In major moments and everyday life alike, the player gets to control Max’s actions, including her romance route. Although a majority of players pursue Chloe, there is also the option to end up with Max’s other friend, a science whiz named Warren. The ability to choose is one of the greatest strengths of the game. Although this ‘butterfly effect’ style game has gotten popular in recent years, video games like Life is Strange and Until Dawn are considered the forefathers of the genre.
I enjoyed this game immensely, and one specific aspect that enthralled me was its realness. Not a lot of video games can capture the teenage experience like Life is Strange can. Although the extreme case of Nathan is not typical for students, his mental health struggle is. The issues that each of the characters face are relatable, and their psychologies are not entirely out of the ordinary. Many teens struggle with the loss of a parent or a friend like Chloe, and mental health struggles like depression in Kate’s case are present in Wyoming High School. Because of this ability to understand the realities of each character, I was able to empathize with them more, and even see their opposing sides in moments of crisis.
The game is not without its faults though, with one major gripe being the final decision. For a game that advertises itself on centering player choice, it seems that most of the decisions are irrelevant by the end. Regardless of your actions up to the final chapter, every player gets the same exact choice at the end, with virtually the exact same ending for each option. Choosing Arcadia Bay or choosing Chloe is a very difficult choice, and it’s an important one, but without a variance in endings, the choices that stressed players out in the first 4 chapters are now null.
Although there are issues with the choices in the game, Life is Strange is a wonderful game that has made a name for itself for a reason. Being one of the first games to offer an LGBTQ+ romance route, Life is Strange has secured itself as an important must-play for all new video game fans. Overall, I would rate this game a 9/10.
