Life Is Strange - an adventure game
Posted: February 24, 2015 • 1:57 pm
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
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
