With the release of titles like Beyond: Two Souls, Heavy Rain, Gone Home, and countless projects coming out of the Telltale corner (most notably The Walking Dead), this era of gaming is no stranger to “Interactive Drama” or “Movie Games”. By now most of us should all get the drift. We embrace the role of characters, put ourselves in their shoes, make the best decisions that affect them and the other characters around them, sit back and enjoy the ride.
The same still holds true for this new, ambitious title developed by Dontnod Entertainment. One episode in and Life is Strange shows incredible promise with it’s unique story, more than likeable characters, a fresh gameplay mechanic, and it’s endearing soundtrack that blends well with the “coming of age” theme.
HERES THE BREAKDOWN (SO FAR):
Graphics(9/10): The artistic style of this game is simply just fun to look at. Devs use the autumn season afternoon to take simply designed character models and elevate them using exceptional lighting from the sunset skyline. The game seems to transition from a cool color scheme early on, representing the early morning, to a more warm colored nostalgic scheme as the day progresses capturing the essence of the fall season very well.
Story (9/10): Episode One, sets the stage with a powerful cinematic piece that introduces you to the main protagonist, Max (Maxine), an 18-year old photography student who discovers she has the ability to reverse time for short (or maybe long) periods of time. The unique mesh of serious real-world teenage/adult issues mixed with Sci-fi elements is something that has yet to be done in the genre.
Music(8/10): The score composed by Jonathan Morali, of the band Syd Matters, works in unison with the story’s emotional, feel good moments. A game that is all about mood and emotion absolutely needs to have appropriate music, and Life is Strange excels at setting the mood and settling you into a nice hour and thirty minute adventure.
Gameplay(7.5/10): Only so much can be done within a point-and-clicker gameplay wise, however the unique “rewind time” gameplay feature manages to stays fresh, never really gets old or boring. Having the ability to make a key decision and choosing whether or not to go back in time and alter the past is fun and doesn’t feel cheap.
Overall: 8.4/10 “Good Stuff”
Fun Question: If Max uses her time travel for the greater good, would that make her a superhero?
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