Life is Strange

MilesMorales1 · 16-10-2015 10:08am

Apparently there's already episode 5 spoilers around. Must not view......

wyrn · 16-10-2015 1:41pm

MilesMorales1 wrote: »

Apparently there's already episode 5 spoilers around. Must not view......

Thanks for the heads up. Only 4 days left before the storm hits

kunst nugget · 19-10-2015 12:35pm

Finished episode 4 at the weekend. Really didn't take off for me until midway through episode 3 - I persevered with it because I'd bought the season pass and I'm glad I did because the first two episodes were a bit tepid. The start of episode 4 was really well done but I wasn't entirely convinced by the end of episode 4. When I read about a big twist at the end, I guessed where it was going and tbh, it felt a bit cheap. Hopefully there's a good resolution to it.

tok9 · 19-10-2015 2:04pm

Could someone post some non spoilery thoughts on ep 5 when you have completed it.

I need something to go off until I can play it next year.

kunst nugget · 19-10-2015 2:05pm

tok9 wrote: »

Could someone post some non spoilery thoughts on ep 5 when you have completed it.

I need something to go off until I can play it next year.

I'll post something up - it might be the weekend before I get to finish it off though.

MilesMorales1 · 19-10-2015 2:23pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usMneZLivTM

Few spoilers in there I guess.

wyrn · 19-10-2015 2:29pm

Very excited to wrap this up tomorrow. I kinda wish though I hadn't watched that trailer

MilesMorales1 · 20-10-2015 8:11am

I stayed up all night to play through episode 5, and it was so worth it, Don't Nod did it, they did a great episode 5 and a fantastic game.

kunst nugget · 20-10-2015 8:37am

Downloading it now. Have a couple of hours off before an appointment so hopefully I can get stuck in to it today.

wyrn · 20-10-2015 10:51am

It's just downloaded there and I am so tempted to play it

ERG89 · 20-10-2015 10:55am

wyrn wrote: »

It's just downloaded there and I am so tempted to play it

Why did they have to release this on the same day as Tales from the Borderlands.
This is getting played first later though. Looking forward to it especially after the Episode 4 ending.

kunst nugget · 20-10-2015 1:11pm

I played just over an hour of it this morning. Really enjoyable so far. Really making full use of her abilities in it.

MilesMorales1 · 20-10-2015 2:52pm

Huge spoiler for episode 5

I sacrificed Chloe. I liked the kiss at the end. It wasn't some huge HEY THESE GUYS ARE LESBIANS thing, very understated, good stuff.

johnny_ultimate · 20-10-2015 3:32pm

I had feared the game would disappear up its own plot given the tired twist at the end of the last episode. But thankfully Episode 5 is something altogether stranger and more challenging.

IMO one of the series great strength's - beyond it's endearingly earnest attention to detail and very relatable portrayal of teenage life - has been its deconstruction of the concept of choice. While it presents us with familiar video-gamey choices throughout, in a way the more moral conundrums and alternate realities Max is faced with the more things spiral out of control. Instead - and this is something Dontnod double down in episode 5 - the series is almost sadly reflecting on the impossibility of Max's power, how it's luring her and Chloe into a false sense of security. But really these things aren't reversible - bad things happen, and everybody has to deal with them, however messily. Grief is also a prevalent theme throughout: Chloe trying to deal with her dad's death, and Max desperately trying to help her friend cope with it. But again it's not reversible, and

the finale in particular is quite affecting in the ways it portrays various characters learning to cope with tragedy and loss

. And in Max's case it's also about growing up, and moving on, looking ahead, as painful as the can be.

The series struggled at times trying to marry its more fantastical, pulpier elements (end of the world, mass abductions, murders etc...) with the more down-to-earth character driven stuff. But for the most part I think they carried off the finale confidently. The

nightmare sequence

was artfully put together (them birds!) if rather hoary in some other respects (some serious Twin Peaks fans in Dontnod, it seems!), but it build up to a poignant climax that gave the final, heartbreaking 'choice' the weight it needed. The heart of the game is the Max and Chloe friendship, and focusing back in on that, without cheaply resorting to a neat, happy ending, was the right choice for the closing moments.

Plenty of quirks all in all, but taken as a whole Life is Strange is one of the most significant experiments in interactive storytelling yet. An over-reliance on clichés and crazy fantastical elements aside (not to mention quite a few moments of clunky scripting or dialogue), it happily boasts the sort of detailed characterisation and relationships we simply don't get in games. It's also significantly better put together than, for example, Telltale's many games - the music, art direction, pacing and performances here were on a totally different level. It's almost certainly the most satisfying and rewarding episodic titles I've played, and very much looking forward to what Dontnod do next - whether it's season 2 (given the 'thanks for playing Season 1' message after finishing this, that must be on the agenda) or something else entirely.

Also - how many of their literary inspirations did you recognise on the Gallery wall?

MilesMorales1 · 20-10-2015 3:57pm

Well I mean

Max's journey and power is basically pointless by the end, depending on the decision you make anyway. I chose to save arcadia bay (although I'm apparently in the minority there) and in that sense, except for reconciling Chloe to her fate, in the narrative it was pointless.

kunst nugget · 20-10-2015 3:59pm

I loved some of the little touches in the game. Like the way Max is wearing a tshirt of a death's head moth when she's on the dark room - a nice little nod to the Silence of the Lambs.

ERG89 · 20-10-2015 5:27pm

How long is the final episode?

johnny_ultimate · 20-10-2015 5:58pm

Maybe a little longer than other episodes. Around two and a half hours.

johnny_ultimate · 20-10-2015 6:05pm

kunst nugget wrote: »

I loved some of the little touches in the game. Like the way Max is wearing a tshirt of a death's head moth when she's on the dark room - a nice little nod to the Silence of the Lambs.

Without spoiling anything, make sure to look for the bonus photograph when you revisit the school later on. It's a brilliant little mechanical gag.

EoinMcLovin · 20-10-2015 8:00pm

won't get to play this until Friday so am using the Unspoiler chrome extension to spoiler tag any mention of Life is Strange on any websites including Facebook and twitter

J. Marston · 20-10-2015 11:16pm

Finished it. I was worried that they wouldn't stick the landing for the finale after the previous 4 excellent episodes but nope, it was brilliantly done.

Chose to sacrifice Arcadia Bay, it took me a good 10 minutes to come to that decision too! Probably the longest I've deliberated over a video game choice. I know it was the wrong decision, morally and all that, and the universe has it in for Chloe so who knows how much time it bought Max and Chloe but I wasn't going to kill her!

The hopping through time and dream sequences were also very well done.

I remember seeing this game at the start of the year and thinking "Looks like a load of teeny hipster nonsense" but I had nothing to play after Witcher 3 and gave it a go and now it's a toss-up between this and Witcher for my GOTY.

Kerplunk124 · 20-10-2015 11:44pm

Just finished there.

I chose to sacrifice Chloe, loved that ending myself. Big Foals fan so when Spanish Sahara came on i was dooone hahaha. I've seen the save Chloe ending though and that honestly looked like a bit **** and to sacfrice her seemed to be the ''real'' ending?..All in all though the surprise hit of the year for me, would love a season 2 with a complete different cast but maybe with some cameos from a couple characters like Frank and HIS DOG

tok9 · 21-10-2015 2:34am

Seeing some great feedback. Looking forward to when I can play this... Otherwise I hope they put it out on vita and I'll double dip!

kunst nugget · 21-10-2015 9:49am

Got around to finishing this last night. It really was an excellent way to wrap it up. I thought that the ending of episode 4 was a bit of a cheap shock as you knew that Max could just undo it with her powers but they really expanded on that and the consequences of her actions in a big way. It was a fascinating and surreal and it packed a hell of a punch. Thoroughly recommend it to everyone.

MilesMorales1 · 21-10-2015 9:51am

If they do a retail version I'll happily double dip.

kunst nugget · 21-10-2015 9:55am

MilesMorales1 wrote: »

Well I mean
Max's journey and power is basically pointless by the end, depending on the decision you make anyway. I chose to save arcadia bay (although I'm apparently in the minority there) and in that sense, except for reconciling Chloe to her fate, in the narrative it was pointless.

I enjoyed that aspect of it.

The notion that you can't escape fate - no matter what she did, she couldn't save Chloe and every time she tried the consequences became even more dire. It was really well handled, I thought.

I chose to save Arcadia Bay but I'm going to replay and save Chloe to see what happens.

kunst nugget · 21-10-2015 9:55am

Kerplunk124 wrote: »

Just finished there.
I chose to sacrifice Chloe, loved that ending myself. Big Foals fan so when Spanish Sahara came on i was dooone hahaha. I've seen the save Chloe ending though and that honestly looked like a bit **** and to sacfrice her seemed to be the ''real'' ending?..All in all though the surprise hit of the year for me, would love a season 2 with a complete different cast but maybe with some cameos from a couple characters like Frank and HIS DOG

What a perfect song choice for the funeral.

wyrn · 21-10-2015 10:55am

I started it last night but didn't want to fly through it. Dying to read all the spoilers

sheep? · 22-10-2015 12:08am

Just finished it there and I was

quite upset over the decision I made to Sacrifice poor Chloe. Great ending, with no cherry sucking, ice cream filled syrupy option.

Very nice work from DONTNOD, and when I try to think about games I like that handle story well, I'll be thinking of this.

It's far from perfect, with some clunky dialogue in particular, but really looking forward to what they do next.

ERG89 · 22-10-2015 11:22am

Finished it this morning.

Chose to sacrifice Chloe even though I hated it I knew it was the right thing to do. Weird that a game like this made me think of the Scarecrow sections in Arkham Asylum. I wish there was more after the story which is a good complaint. I chose to hug Warren so I don't know where he and Max are. Did they ever 'Go Ape'. I like that when you are tripping out you got weird texts from Rachel Amber and even Pompidou. They say at the end thanks for finishing Season 1 of Life is Strange so I am hoping it means a season 2. With a new setting. Like True Detective except not being a disappointment

For anyone on the fence. BUY IT!
All 5 episodes are available so there are no excuses now.

Life is Strange

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