Life Is Strange - an adventure game

One of my games to get through this year is Dontnod Entertainment's Life Is Strange. It's an adventure game but steers away from the traditional elements of adventure games of being driven by puzzles and objection finding by instead focusing on the development of your character through the decisions you make for her. Put short, it's about a girl who realises that she can reverse time. She doesn't know how she does it but it has certain consequences over her friendships and professional development. It's my first game, apart from Tomb Raider, where I've played a female protagonist. I'm really enjoying it so far.

It's episodic and is one of the most multi-pathed games I've played in a while because there are so many decisions to make which come back to haunt you later. Already there's high replayability and that's just the first episode. Of course, the decisions you make will bleed over into future episodes. I'm really looking forward to it. Some say that the first episode is only about 2 or 3 hours in length but I managed to get 5 hours of out it. Truthfully, it is a game you can breeze through but you're selling yourself short by doing so because many of the story moments stem from your exploration and discovery, depending how thorough you are. If you overlook something, then then less will be revealed in the various subplots that run through the game. It's as engaging as you're willing to be as a player of the narrative.

Some minor gripes: some characters can feel a little contrived or clichéd. We have an emotional goth type girl, a hipster, a jock, a dominating and impliedly abusive father, there's outcasts, the in crowds and the nerds. But even in that regard, there is an interesting story running beneath it all to keep you interested. Just keep in mind some of the dialogue will oversimplify the intellect or trajectory of the characters but they do manage to remain interesting throughout. Also, revealed at the end of the game is a "stat" system. Although I get a general idea of how this works, I do have some questions as to its functioning or relation to the character development, some aspects of its function are unclear. I don't want to post any questions or points just to avoid spoilers. Finally, although the game presents as "intellectual" in terms of its tone and story, the gameplay itself is quite simple and, frankly, easy. There's little thinking involved and it plays out more like an interactive fantasy-drama more than it does an adventure game with point to point objectives. But even in this case, that's part of what makes Life Is Strange so engaging. It isn't about getting to the next puzzle or cinematic, it's about immersion. Just keep in mind, if you are looking for challenging puzzles or objecting hunting, this is NOT IT.

Think of the game as being in the style of Heavy Rain, Inception, with a twist of Stephen King and a time travel sci-fi mechanic thrown in.. I absolutely recommend playing this on PC at night, door closed, lights dimmed and with either headphones or surround sound stereo speakers. The game is rich with atmosphere and the artistic, hand drawn style draws you into the story. Usually, this type of visual can get gimmicky after prolonged gameplay (XIII for example). But that's not the case here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpRhaXfvG_0
"Life Is Strange" is under my surveillance. I read game previews, watch trailers, read messages in the game forums. When all 5 episodes of the game are released, I'll buy them. Who is interested in the game, feel free to visit the official website: http://www.lifeisstrange.com/index.php
Truly yours,
Alexander.
(С уважением,
Александр).
Episode 4 (out of 5) came out yesterday, and god damn... This series has gotten better and better with each episode and has really turned into something pretty amazing. Dare I say a serious Game of the Year contender.

Do NOT sleep on this game. Anyone who loves adventures and interactive stories owes it to themselves to play this. It exploits that notion of player choice in a novel way to devastating emotional impact.

It's great to see these forward-thinking adventure games that are taking the ideas of Telltale's recent games (like Walking Dead) and turning them into something new. Like Telltale's games, this is a game of difficult choices, but unlike those games, these choices have real long-term consequences, and also unlike Telltale's games, this is one that allows you to take your time, explore all the little details, side characters, and take your time. The puzzles are light compared to a classic adventure, but they haven't been eliminated like in Telltale's games either.
This game is great. I discovered it through Dansgaming on Twitch who streamed it over a few days. I've played through the 4 episodes available and am much looking forward to the final episode.
Tex Murphy: Australia
http://www.texmurphyaustralia.net/wp
By the way, there is another game developed by same company. "Remember Me".
Feel free, take a look: http://www.remembermegame.com/?lang=us#wrapper
Truly yours,
Alexander.
(С уважением,
Александр).
Thanks for recommending this game. I've just started playing it and think it's the most interesting game I've played in a long time -since Tesla Effect that is. It certainly sucks you in and the graphics and game play are very well done.
Alexander wrote:By the way, there is another game developed by same company. "Remember Me".
Feel free, take a look: http://www.remembermegame.com/?lang=us#wrapper
Interesting: only available for Xbox & PS3 (and PS4 I presume). Don't own either one.
Oh, I am sorry. Here you go: http://www.amazon.com/Remember-me-Pc/dp ... N8DTRMZ22N
Truly yours,
Alexander.
(С уважением,
Александр).
Thanks for the link Alex.

I didn't realize there is a separate listing for the PC version, which seems odd to me. Anyway, since the link you posted is to the DVD version of the game, so not downloadable, I decided to check further. I found this entry: http://www.gamesrocket.com/download/Remember-Me.html. The price is almost double the one on Amazon but it does mean you can download the game almost instantly.

I am a little leery that the game is described as an "action adventure". Action games are not something I play. Adventure games yes, action games no. As an example, the 2 parts of Pandora Directive I like the least are both at Roswell: the laser maze at the entrance to the underground facility and escaping the green gas monster in the underground facility.
There some more adventure games: http://www.amazon.com/Got-Game-00055-Vi ... n+pc+games, http://www.amazon.com/Nostradamus-The-L ... t+prophecy, http://www.amazon.com/Anuman-Interactiv ... 252%2C320_
Truly yours,
Alexander.
(С уважением,
Александр).
Studio Dontnod Entertainment announced that the fifth and final episode of Life is Strange called Polarized Brief information about the game will be released on 20 October. Workers studio stressed that the release date may change in the future, because the team is currently working to release Episode 5 "maximum quality and good." The authors once again reminded that Episode 5 - Polarized complete story of Maxine and Chloe. Thus, if Dontnod decides to do a second season, he will tell nothing about other heroes.
Life is Strange - adventure game with a third person in the genre of interactive film, divided into five episodes. The main character of the game has the ability to wind off time ago, allowing it to select the desired scenario.
Truly yours,
Alexander.
(С уважением,
Александр).
Thanks Alex. Maybe, once it's fully released, we might give it another try.
Detective games:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/233290/, http://store.steampowered.com/app/24469 ... _151_150_2, http://store.steampowered.com/app/233370/
Truly yours,
Alexander.
(С уважением,
Александр).
5th episode has been released! :D
Truly yours,
Alexander.
(С уважением,
Александр).
Yes, so I convinced my wife to try LIS again. We're now in the crazy labyrinth section of Episode 5. It's a bit annoying having to do stealth stuff in an adventure game, but we'll get through it (I guess).