Life is Strange
A unique exploration of mystery, time travel, and teendom
$4.99 for Episode 1 ($15.99 for Season Pass, Episodes 2–5) Developer Dontnod Ent, dont-nod.com Requirements OS X 10.11 or later, Intel 1.8GHz processor, 4GB RAM, 512MB graphics card
In an industry dominated by sci-fi, fantasy, action, and horror, Life is Strange stands out: it’s an episodic point-and-click adventure game about the inner lives of teenage girls.
You play as Max Caulfield, a senior at Blackwell Academy, a boarding school known for producing successful photographers and visual artists. After Chloe Price is murdered, Max discovers that time bends to her will, allowing her to “rewind.” Preventing Chloe’s death embroils them both in a conspiracy about drugs, a missing woman, and the vicious local politics of the suburban Pacific Northwest.
Max’s newfound time manipulation powers give her considerable freedom. Getting caught in a classmate’s bedroom could have repercussions but judicious snoops can cover their tracks by rewinding them out of existence. Or Max can curry favor with students and faculty by warning them of impending danger or learning critical information, rewinding, and using it to her advantage. The minutiae
of Max’s teenage social life combine to shape the contours of the whodunit at the heart of Life is Strange: each rewind brings a revelation more terrible than the last. Life is Strange never strays too far from the twin mysteries of the disappearance and Max’s cosmic abilities, nor does it shy away from frank explorations of drugs, teen suicide, and sexual and
domestic violence. Not everyone will relate to Chloe’s undirected anger or Max’s anxieties, but the heightened emotional stakes of adolescence, the wish to paper over pangs of teenage regret with a quick re-do, should be familiar. In that way, Life is Strange is the rare game in which the plot, setting, painterly visuals, and mechanics combine seamlessly.
Unfortunately, Max and Chloe are prone to expository monologue and awkward slang. Worse, a few half-baked stealth sections mar what should have been dramatic crescendos. With that in mind, Life is Strange benefits from its mass debut on Mac: the intricate twists provide the momentum to smooth over the rougher patches, which may have been lost in its episodic release on other platforms.
the bottom line. Life is Strange is uneven in its execution and writing, but its plot, tone, setting, and mechanics combine to provide one of the most earnest and humane games of recent memory, a clear indication that the types of stories mainstream games tell – and to whom – is broader than ever.