In today’s world of gaming we see many games that emphasize multiplayer aspects. Game such as League of Legends, Dota 2, and CS:GO populate the streaming market on twitch.tv. This is for good reason, as generally the games have an e-sports scene and have many players to follow. However, an occasional single-player game will rise to prominence on the website. This can be seen recently with the games Dark Souls III and Fallout 4. However, the message is clear. In general, games need a large multiplayer component to be relevant, and that is seen in some changes by some developers (see: ESO and Battleborn). However, in the single-player world, things like the Walking Dead and Quantum Break have appeared which involve the release of separate “episodes” to truly get to experience the game. One of the less recent games that embodies this is Life is Strange, a single-player game developed by Dontnod and published by Square Enix. As with the previously mentioned episodic games, Life is Strange pushed support for episodic gaming further in favor by showing story still matters, not just multiplayer.
In Life is Strange, you follow the antics of one Max Caulfield, a student recently admitted to Blackwell Academy, which is a prestigious school of the arts. However, the game is not just about this simple high school adventure. Max witnesses a girl being shot, and suddenly discovers she has the ability to rewind time. Throughout the game Max learns that her choices have effects on later events. Some of these choices are directly affected by the player, which lead to different events happening. However, some of the choices do not affect the game by much at all. With the choices the player can make, he/she can create their own morality compass. Additionally, certain choices can affect the knowledge you have when making other choices later. In addition to using rewind abilities to gain knowledge, the player must use them for puzzles. And, while it may seem like an afterthought, Max also has the ability to take pictures of certain things located in the Journal, which earns the player a little achievement each time he/she takes one of the pictures.
The problem with Life is Strange is that the challenge doesn’t necessarily come from the mechanics; it comes from knowledge. If you want to be able to do certain things, you may have made a decision earlier that prevents you from doing so, either directly through actions or indirectly by missing some knowledge you could have obtained. In a way, it causes players to think about their actions, which is a fresh concept, and deserves to be commended. At the same time, however, it almost makes it necessary to play through the game many times just to get the full experience. In a way, you MUST do that for this game anyways. In order to understand what really happens in the meat of the game, and where everything comes from, the player will likely have to play through a few times, because some decisions cannot be rewound and kept throughout the game, then rewound again. This promotes anti-linearity, but increases the need to play the game multiple times. This challenge makes it hard to actually rate if the game is challenging or not. The puzzles are rather elementary, and the game gives enough hints that the player likely will not need to look at a guide in order to solve them. However, especially at certain parts, getting the correct outcome can be a little tricky and requires a lot of trial and error, if it is allotted at the time. Additionally, the afterthought I mentioned in the last paragraph feels just like that, an afterthought. Playing through the game, I feel that if the developers allowed for more freedom through the photography, the game could be so much more interesting than it already is. The feature is severely underutilized when it could make a really nice addition, whether just for fun or for challenge in the game. Lastly, the sync of voices with mouths is dreadful in Life is Strange. Often times it is just better to look away and listen than actually watch, as the sync is dreadfully off and is very easy to notice.
Despite all of these flaws, Life is Strange remains one of the better games from the past few years. Life is Strange is a fantastic single-player casual game. Part of this feel is embodied in the soundtrack, which I still find myself listening to regularly. Additionally, the story is rather compelling and can really suck in the player. It becomes hard to play a small part of an episode at a time. I found myself one night or two staying up much later than I should have as a result of wanting to finish an episode to resolve the current thread of story. The aspect of rewinding time is handled in a way that prevents confusion. The game play is rather simple to understand and the interface where the player sees where they are going in time is rather simple to learn. The controls are nice and easy to understand, and the prompts for controls are clear and easy to understand. Life is Strange also is not a terribly long game. Each episode lasts for an hour or two and is long enough to seem like it isn’t short but does not drag on. The episodic nature of it provides natural stopping points during gameplay, which is refreshing. Unlike Nintendo consoles telling you to get some light, Life is Strange ends each episode at a time where you can feel satisfied and take a break to reflect on what just happened.
Life is Strange is not a perfect game, like all games. However, it provides one of the best single-player experiences on the market. If you are looking to play a game for a few hours at a time, Life is Strange is a great choice. The game provides a very compelling storyline and can be relatable, whether or not directly depends on the player. With the nature of the game, Life is Strange is not likely to be recognized like all of the AAA games out there, but it’s a full-fledged experience that should be experienced by all.