[GAME]Life is Strange Review

It’s been a long time since I played the game. And I was actually not a big fan of this kind of game, because I thought it was like a girl game and the story always developed slowly. However, I felt so exhausted after 6-week “homework-sleep-homework” life that I would like to play some casual games instead of those requiring too much focus, such as Dark Soul III. And Coronavirus and spring break provided me with plenty of time for playing this kind of “slow” game.

I have to admit that Life is Strange is one of the greatest story-telling game I’ve ever played. As you might know, I don’t care too much of the video and user experience. In stead, I’m always serious about the audio and scenarios, because I think these two factors are the most important things to make players forget they are playing games and feel like they are exactly the role thay are playing.

This game doesn’t require a high-performace graphic card, but you can still enjoy the great art style which is warm and sweet. Combined with the background music, espicially when Max is leaning on the window of the bus, you will never want this story to reach its end.

Spoiler warning!!

I think Life is Strange is telling us a story of making choice. Although Max is able to rewind the time and she is kind-hearted and always trying to help people, she cannot make everything right. She must make her choice between a good but paralyzed Chloe with a bankrupted family and a punk but pitiful Chloe with a broken family. Also, she travels from one reality to another again and again and almost gets lost in an infinite circle to save Chloe. But she still have to choose one from the people in Arcadia Bay and Chloe.

Making choice is never easy, even with the ability of rewinding the time. When you are playing, you might often feel regretful for your previous choices. However, even you can replay the game and choose what you want now, you will probably still be regretful later.

At the beginning, the game gives you a sense that you can change everything and make things go on as you want: You can make fun of Victoria easily; You can get Frank’s RV key by rewinding as many times as you want and trying all options; You can save Chloe’s from crashing by the train… However, when you want to save Kate, you realize that your power is not unlimited(Although I know you can save Kate if you can select the right options before she jumps.).

So, after that, you always remind Chloe that you would not abuse your power. However, she still believe her power can do something. But another thing destorys you: You cannot make both William(Chloe’s father, and he was like her father) and Chloe(her best friend) alive. You finally realize everything you changed will pay.

However, after you are saved by David(Chloe’s stepfather), you still try to save Chloe. But this time, time travel is not that easy: You get trapped in the chaos and the infinite circle. Although, you finally get out of it, find find Arcadia Bay is going to be destroyed by the tornado and you must make your final choice: save people or save your best friend. However, this time, Chloe helps you to make the choice: She chooses to sacrifice herself and saves Arcadia Bay, wich makes me heart-broken. This reminds me of Steins;Gate, one of my favoriate animes and video games, where Hououin is trying to save Mayuri but witnesses her death again and again.

But as Chloe says, the moments and friendship between them are real, that’s enough. No matter what choices we made, we should treasure everything in our life just because we don’t have super power as Max and we cannot rewind the time and make up for regerets. And I think that’s what the story is trying to tell us.