Max is a heroine of Life is Strange, a very popular graphic adventure game. It’s available on PC, PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and mobile devices. Have you played it?
On one hand, this game is absolutely amazing - the very possibility to make choices and see them changing the world makes a powerful impression. On the other hand, the story of Life is Strange is very dark, so it’s not really a cheerful gaming experience.
The game develops:
The world of possibilities
The game is based on your choices. The story has some “corridors”, of course, so quite often you just have to follow specific events or perform predetermined actions. Still, players regularly face crossroads, so they have to decide - how Max will behave.
Most of the crossroads happen during multiple dialogs. The game gives you two options and each leads to some consequences. And it’s not like you have good and bad choices. Your decisions depend on your personality and your desire to experiment. In fact, you build your own Max and thus create her story.
The gameplay has other aspects too. Max explores the locations, talks with people, and interacts with objects. These parts of the playing process are all right, but they can’t be compared to the feeling of seeing how your decision a few hours ago affects situations at the current moment. It’s almost like in real life.
Back in time
The whole story is based on the miraculous ability of Max to rewind some events. Everything starts with a murder - Max can save the victim who turns out to be her childhood best friend. Then this power to travel back in time helps in many situations. Max even finds a way to return to the long past and change something super significantly. Many things depend on how she uses her exceptional skill. But the main question here - should she use it at all?
It seems like something terrible is going to happen in the virtual town. Max has scary visions about a powerful tornado that ruins everything. Is it a premonition? Is it possible to prevent the disaster?
Slowly, the game falls into some dark fantasies, a kind of nightmares. The story shocks with its new turns and it doesn’t lead to a glorious happy end. The power of choice gives a phenomenal feeling throughout the story but it can’t change the general mood of the experience. This darkness is not even in the style of Doom Eternal, which is filled not only with demons but also with unique humor. In Life is Strange everything is very serious, and you should understand this before starting the game. I do not regret delving into it, but after completing the story, I’m rather cautious towards the sequel and the second game of the series. However impressed I was by the gameplay or beautiful music and visuals, the storytelling in Life is Strange is just not my cup of tea. Maybe it's yours?
Playing dark games may give an emotional refreshment for some people. Still, it would be better to be careful and not bring such a mood in your real life. At the end of the day, Life is Strange is just a game - with many positive features, with some meaningful reflections of reality. But this experience should be filtered to not spill negativity outside the game itself. For many people, being stuck with such fun and colorful entertainments as Adventure Pals or such calm farming as Stardew Valley will be a much better decision.
Life is Strange has a prequel that explains the story of some characters - Life Is Strange: Before the Storm. The second game of the series, Life is Strange 2, tells an absolutely different story, with new heroes, and a fresh paranormal ability. The gameplay of both these games is basically the same, so it’s a chance to enjoy the power of choice again.
The same developers from Dontnod Entertainment have released the game The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit - it’s a short introduction to Life is Strange 2 and it’s available for free.
To play Life is Strange, buy the game for your system (the first episode out of five is free):
See also…
Detroit: Become Human also has quite a sad story:
To play many great PC games on outdated or mobile devices, you can use GeForce Now, a game streaming service from Nvidia:
