RF Generation Message Board

Life is Strange is an episodic adventure game for the PC, PS4/3, and XBox One/360. It follows the life of Max, a teenager with the ability to reserve time to change the outcome of her decisions. Guide her as she learns more about herself and deals with the responsibility of saving her town.

The game was praised for its themes and depiction of teenage life. While not the most technically impressive game of the 2015 year it manages to captivate players with its writing and stylized, yet lifelike, environments.

Discussion and Spoilers
Don't be afraid to discuss your thoughts on the game. Add to the conversation!
If you've played ahead or think something is crucial to the game that might be a spoiler be sure to use the Spoiler tags:

Checkpoints
Week 1 - Finish Chapter 1
Week 2 - Finish Chapter 2
Week 3 - Finish Chapter 3
Week 4 - Finish Chapters 4 & 5

Participants:
BuriedOnMars
Crabmaster2000
Disposed Hero
EngineerMike
ericeskapade
Fleach
GrayGhost81
Izret101
JRock the Game Rocker
Pam
singlebanana
Untrod Tripod
wildbil52

I loved the demo back on 360. Bought the Season Pass but never played it. Now i got the Limited Edt. for X1 because i wanted the soundtrack-CD for my car.
Perfect timing RF Gen :) I am in!!!! Nice pick Fleach!

I'm in

(the game is 40% off on steam for the next few days FYI)

This was one of my surprise hits of 2015. I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts about the game.

Also Gamestop is offering a $10 gift card with the purchase of the physical version:

http://www.gamestop.com/gs/pages/weeklyad/current/021016/pdf/OLFSI_021016.pdf?utm_source=linkshare&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=deeplink&cid=afl_10000087&affID=77777&sourceID=FKSJxY2VJAk-5b7WFRXQt1kZlEPrH5Imig

It seems that Amazon is matching the deal:

Order "Life is Strange" from Amazon.com and get a $10.00 Amazon Giftcard. Giftcard will be shipped to the same address as "Life is Strange" order. Offer expires 2/19/16 at 11:59:59 PM (PST). Terms and Conditions apply. Here's how (restrictions apply)

You can also grab it free from Redbox every Wednesday in February by using the code "GAMEON"

http://www.redbox.com/games/life-is-strange-xbox-one

http://www.redbox.com/games/life-is-strange-ps4

Pretty good turn out so far.

This will be a fun one to discuss and see how our stories differ.

I played episode 1 back when it came out and didn't really like it enough to continue (also having to wait for episodes is something that really ruins an experience for me), but I'll give it another shot.

Happy to have you on board!

I feel the same way about episodic games. Having to wait really spoils the fun and hinders the experience. That's a point I want to save for a little later and hopefully express in more detail during the recording. *Spoilers* Waiting for episodes really sucks.

I just want to thank everyone who has voiced interest in this game. I didn't expect such a big turn out of players.

Can I still /in for this?

Of course, we don't officially start the game until March. :)

Then I'm in!

Awesome! Glad to have you along.

I started the game last night, is it okay to start talking about it?

I'll get in on this. I love reasons to play the games I haven't gotten around to yet.

We typically start talking once the month starts. We will put up a checkpoint and typically only talk about the game generally until after the first checkpoint date. The point being to avoid spoilers. If you're not sure something is a spoiler, you can use the spoiler feature. ;)


Glad you're ROCKIN' this game with us JRock! :)

just wanted to check. I'll wait until March to continue.

I'm in!

I'll try and run thru the 360 and One versions.

Wow!  I'm glad this playthrough is attracting a few first timers. Nice pick Floyd!

Life is Strange is currently on sale on PSN.  Just in time!

Start counting down the hours. Life gets Strange tomorrow!

Errrr.... Tuesday...  Leap Year. ;)

Maybe Fleach is confused because of his birthday ;) Happy Birthday!!!

It's a day that only comes once every four years. You can excuse this mix up.

Nonetheless, if anyone wants to start tomorrow (because Feb 29 is just in our imagination) they can go right ahead.

I started 3 weeks ago.

Yesterday was the unofficial start of this playthrough which makes today the real deal, official start of the Life is Strange playthrough.

Since this game is divided into 5 separate chapters I'll outline the checkpoints for us to complete a chapter each week, then in the final week we'll tackle chapters 4 and 5.

TEN BUCKS! Thanks for the heads up, I just grabbed it with the PS+ games for the month.

I'm playing on XBox One. I decided not to replay episode 1, since I just played it a couple months ago. I'm in episode 2 now and not going to give anything away because of checkpoints, but I have to say I'm enjoying this episode a lot more. The first one didn't really grab me. Also, the hella bad dialogue has gotten a bit better.

I just finished Episode 3 last night.  I agree that Episode 1 was kind of a slog, and that it gets way better and more interesting with the following episodes.  Overall, I'm really enjoying this one so far.

I just finished the game, I couldnt stop! but chapter one, I kept waiting for Nathans Dad to come and start stuff. 

I'm glad people are enjoying the game so much. I'll start playing tomorrow because I had to catch up with podcast editing.

I plan to start tomorrow as well. I've been filling out all of this damn paperwork for the new job I start tomorrow.

I haven't gotten to start yet. :-/
I want to try and get the 360 and One versions done though!

So far I've gotten through the sort of "prologue" bit and am picking up on a lot of undropped shoes. Even though this is a Heavy Rain style narrative driven game, which I'm usually not a huge fan of, I really like this. I like that they are so far resisting the urge to punctuate the gameplay with reaction testing button mashing. Time travel mechanic is really cool and lets them show off their writing chops.

dialogue doesn't feel like lines written for teenage girls by middle aged men, which is great. the characters are a liiiiiiiiiiiittle overly intelligent for (I'm assuming?) 17/18 year olds. voice acting is superb so far. love the way the main character is written so far. I like that the sort of antagonist rich girl character is a bit of a caricature, assuming that she'll get fleshed out more later when she becomes friendly to the protagonist (just a guess).

tl;dr not my usual thing but I'm really digging it so far!

I'm enjoying the heck out of this game so far. It's better than a Telltale game (because it actually runs).

I agree with Tripod on the writing so far. There are times when I feel like I'm being "Juno'ed" with all the freaking references, but then I think about when I was a teenager and my friends and I would basically fall over each other on a minute to minute basis to make inside jokes with each other.

I'm conflicted between role-playing as Max and doing the click on/examine everything adventure game routine. I've been ultra nosy in some scenarios, because I don't want to miss anything, but in doing so I've done a few thing I don't think Max (or myself in Max's shoes) would have done.

One thing I'm a little on the fence on is how the game overtly tries to make you second guess your decisions. The mechanic of rewinding time to manipulate events is pretty great, but the player should be left with the feeling of "maybe I should have done it differently" naturally, which for me has usually been the case, but the fact that they have Max literally say that every time I think pushes too hard.

And her last name is Caulfield...come on!

Also, this lol:

[img width=700 height=262]http://img09.deviantart.net/5afe/i/2015/266/7/e/mad_max__life_is_strange_by_jazzmire-d9ali7x.png[/img]

yeah, I think it ends up breaking the roleplaying aspect of the game a bit to allow you to examine your choices (although it's really funny to me that Max criticizes my choices regardless of what I do) but I think that being able to alter your choices is a natural function of a save mechanic. it seems like they just embrace that and make it into part of the game. in a game where "your choices matter" and you can save and reload, players will do that, so the time travel function enables them to salvage some of the broken immersion.

also, the musical montage at the end of the first episode was.... hilarious, weird, and somehow completely appropriate

Life is Strange, $10 on XB1 this week:
https://store.xbox.com/Xbox-One/Bundle/Life-is-Strange-Complete-Season-Episodes-1-5/606bd115-23d9-4237-a04e-03ecea13106d

I finished the first part last night. The story so far as many have mentioned is sort of so-so, not bad, but not to the point where it has been itching to get home and play it every afternoon. I don't really care for the point and click nature of the game, for me, it moves too slow and I just feel like I have to check everything out, which gets a little repetitive to me. I know for some that this sort of gameplay is relaxing, but it tends to relax me into boredom. I like the challenge of being able to fail at games, and this just isn't there. I know that this is a different type of game and I get that, but so far, it's not really for me. To each their own though, and I do plan to finish the game and give it a good try.

With that said, I really dig the music in this game and one of the scenes, in the bedroom, there is a song from a group I love called Sparklehorse. Sadly, the lead singer took his own life several years ago. Fitting that the music is rocking, but at the same time melancholy.

Not a fan of Joyce's weird unexpectedly southern accent....

Also, the swearing in the dialogue sounds really wooden for some reason

I am with ya Singlebanana. Maybe we are too old, to enjoy living vicariously, as teenage girls with time travel powers.

I still haven't picked up this game since I finished episode 3 last month. This game was killing my vibe at the time, so I switched up to Diablo 3. This game has an interesting feature with the time travel, but beyond that? I find it very pretty, but not very captivating. Going to see it through to see how it all ends, but so far, I have preferred Until Dawn 10 to 1, over this one.

A couple little things interfered with my schedule and I have a deadline for the Folklore podcast right around the corner, but with all of that done now I can go full steam ahead in Life Is Strange.

I haven't heard any comments yet because I don't want to ruin anything for myself. Tonight I'll play episode one and jump in with my thoughts.

I know the time travel/changing decisions part is one of the biggest features both mechanically and story-wise, but it doesn't appeal to me at all. In the first episode I used rewind a couple times to see what would happen but for the most part I'd rather just stick with my first choice. This brings back memories of playing RPGs or adventure games when I was a teenager and I'd save before any major decision, then reload in case I didn't like the option I picked. The desire to do that has almost completely disappeared now. In episode 2 I never used rewind unless I was forced to. Plus it seems that during the really important parts (like the end of chapter 2) you mysteriously lose your power to rewind.

I think the overt "this action will have consequences" notifications are obnoxious, as I do with the "so and so will remember this" messages in Telltale games.

They're there to let you know that those decisions are lynchpins for the story, and they're also there for replay in case you want to see how the decision later impacted things.
I agree that it's a bit obnoxious, but a lot of the consumers for these products don't want to spend time figuring out which decisions impacted the story 5 episodes later.

I can see both sides re: "this action will have consequences" notifications.

A toggle for them would be divine.

Slow clap for Pam. My thoughts exactly. I'd just rather be responsible for my choices consequences be damned. :)

Couldn't find a better video for it, but this was my initial thought on the rewind functionality:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xaz0wm_peter-griifin-choose-your-own-adven_shortfilms

EDIT: Holy crap, we can embed dailymotion videos.

First, let me say that these kinds of games are usually a hard sell for me.  I like the Walking Dead series.  Heavy Rain, Gone Home, Dear Ester… not so much.  I personally feel if your game is going to rely heavily on story, then make it a good one!

I'm still at a very early part in the game as I just walked outside after the pulling fire alarm.  I like Max and how she wanted to help the girl in the bathroom.  So that will go a long way to help me like this game.  I also like Holden Caulfield, so last name be damned.

As for the rewind, I see that people are not caring for it but I found it pretty cool so far.  For instance, I liked how the principle was a little hard to read with both options and there doesn't seem to be a clear right or wrong choice.  The “power to rewind” only gives what happens to the end of the conversation, not what the consequences are.  So I didn’t feel like I was being second guessed, but merely given both options.  So I still felt like I was standing at a fork in the road.  But maybe I’ll get to where you guys are after playing it more.

I might be the only one who's hooked just from the first chapter. I really like the art style which makes everything look almost like paintings... fitting since Max is the artistic type.

The rewind mechanic is an intriguing addition to the game. It reminds me of how people second guess their choices and in this game many immediate reactions tend not to work out in Max's favour like when she has the option to be nice to people. But those are only the short term results of player choices and having only played the first episode I have no idea how they'll impact later plot points.

This game kind of straddles the line of being a role playing game and a point-and-click game. If you put yourself into Max's shoes you might miss things (which happened to me) but if you scour every environment you're being nosy which is very unlike Max (which Shawn pointed out). I'm curious to see how this pans out later.

I don't know why, but the theme of the social misfit appeals to me and now all I can think of is Subdivisions by Rush. "Conform or be cast out."

Should have been called Meaningful Pep Talk: The Game

I finished the game a few days ago.  Despite going off the rails a bit at the end, I enjoyed this game immensely.  Really looking forward to discussing it on the podcast.

OK, late but I'm here.  I'm in the middle of Episode I right now.  I'll provide some thoughts at the end of each episode.  I only see one checkpoint on the OP, what are we allowed to talk about/spoil and what are we not allowed to talk about?

I would say we should be vague about the current checkpoint, and once we pass it, all bets are off for that chapter.

Meaning, wait until week two to really let loose spoiling Chapter 1, to ensure everyone has completed it.

It's Floyd's call ultimately. What say you Floyd?

Go ahead. I was going to post up the week two checkpoint today anyway.

Seeing as many of us have played ahead let's just use those SPOILER tags liberally.

Spoil away!!!

@Floyd: Good call and good guide in the OP. Use those spoiler tags people!

I finished the game yesterday, so I'll wait a bit to comment until people are further.

is anyone playing the game as a jerk? I have played it through as a good as I could, but I'm thinking of going through again with the bad options. also... :) add me to the playing list :)

I'm halfway through Chapter 2, here are my thoughts on Chapter 1

I hope I'm not being too harsh here but I'm really having a hard time staying interested.  I really enjoyed the Telltale Walking Dead game and I thought this would kind of be like that.  The rewind mechanism makes the game LESS fun for me.  I'll use Heavy Rain as a comparison. Heavy Rain is story based and your actions have consequences but the story plays out in a much more real and subdued way.  The point wasn't to reset your game and replay a section if you messed up, the point was to live with the consequences.  Being able to go back and change things isn't really fun or interesting to me.  Also, the "This action will have consequences" message after watering a plant was obnoxious.

The game is beautiful.  The lapis of the sky, the sun shafts, the Oregon vistas are all stunning.  Now for more bad stuff. I know its a matter of personal taste but I cannot stand the indie soundtrack.  "You can call me on the telephone" :barf: .  I also cannot stand the personality of one. single.  character.  I know Victoria is supposed to be the "bitch" but it's not just her.  Every single person in this game comes across as entitled, self important, over emotional, over reactive, and all around not pleasant to be around except for the nice teacher asking you to sign a petition.  Chloe is supposed to be Max' best friend but makes bitchy remarks every single time you talk.  Talks about how everyone in her life left her every single time you talk, the "I don't care about the world, I'm just gonna blaze" every single time you talk.  No one wants to be around that person.

Also, the vocabulary/vernacular/slang of this cast is unbearable.  I can't tell if having everyone say "amazeballs" and "hella" was done in an effort to show how these kids talk or if it was done to poke fun at the way people used to talk but it's awful.  Speaking of the cast, I feel like most of them may have been hospitalized after their recording sessions due to an overdose of melodrama.  

I could go on but I don't want to poo poo on it forever.  Maybe in future episodes there will be a payoff but so far, I'm not seeing it.

Damn Bil, tell us how you really feel!

I'm not as negative on it, but your criticisms of the characters and script are hard to refute. Every time Max says "wowzer" I die a little inside.

And bingo on the soundtrack. It's a bore. I absolutely hate this genre. Boring white guy acoustic folk garbage. Snore-core. Bore-core. Great only if you're having trouble falling asleep. I didn't hear the Sparklehorse song Rich mentioned. I do like that guy, may he rest in peace, but half of his songs rocked.

Having said all that, I don't know why, I'm still enjoying the game a lot (halfway through chapter 3 now).

I think we are okay to talk about Chapter 1 freely right now Bil. I completely agree with your thoughts on the rewind mechanism in its application to consequences. I'm not sure "trying out" different consequences and having the ability to rewind is my cup of tea. I'd rather deal with consequences and play through the game again if I so choose if there is the possibility of a different outcome. I think that creating this type of atmosphere makes players look for walkthroughs just so that they can get the "best" ending possible. That's just not my style, but I get how this could appeal to others.  I've played "Wolf Among Us" and a portion of "The Walking Dead," and I agree, I by far prefer that style of consequential gameplay.

I'm not so down on the music and think it's pretty good. Some of the tunes are familiar to me and as a fan of indie music, I can appreciate their song choices and love the way they implement them into the game. I thought the hallway scene was pretty cool and it seemed kind of like opening credits for a movie, which I thought was a nice touch.  The slang doesn't bother me so much, since yeah, like it or not, this is pretty much the way kids this age talk. Overdone?  Well, maybe a little, but not too far off point from what I have experienced.  There is a bit of nastiness and entitlement in the game, but I think that has a lot to do with establishing the setting. Sure, not all private art schools are like this, but entitlement is certainly an issue at many places like this and I think it should end up furthering the plot. Like you said, we shall see.  

Please, before giving up the game, complete Chapter 3. I'll just say that. The rewind mechanic can be used as a crutch, but there are certain points where having that rewind will allow you to uncover crucial information, but hide the fact of how you obtained it. It's not just a way of reversing your decision.

My roommate loved the game, and played through Episode 3 before stopping the game, but I'd personally like to see how the game ended one day.

No plans to give up on the game at all. I think the story is interesting enough to keep me going and besides, I like to finish games unless the difficulty is too high.

I'm also really not a fan of the music. And I think the dialogue is a product of middle aged French men trying to write American teenage girl dialogue. It is quite grating in episode 1 though I did find that it got better.

As for the characters... I find Max to be quite milquetoast. Chloe gets better though. In chapter 3 you finally get to see them having fun together and you can see the basis of their relationship.

To speak to the music, I think it is a good fit for the game, but sometimes it seems a little forced in to a scene.

I'm late to the game and playing catch up right now. Just started the game today and am going to try and keep pace with the rest of you soon.

I think Bil might be reading too much into the "this action will have consequences" notice. I didn't water the plant in the first episode and in the next episode Max got a text from her mom reminder her to water the plant. So maybe the consequences aren't all big and ominous. But, as we've all been saying, "we'll see".

I actually like the music, it's appropriate for Max at least since she identifies as a geek. But I'm going to have go with Pam on the milquetoast remark.

As for the rewind mechanic it's very useful in gaining information on events without divulging how you got that info. I've only been using it in the more point-and-click adventure game moments and never during the branching dialog scenes. I will say, though, that the rewind thing complements Max's character though. She's very unsure of herself and very doubtful of herself and the option to replay a scene differently communicates that anxiety she feels.

What does everyone think of Warren? I don't mind him, he seems like a nice guy. I almost hope they don't become an item because he's just to nice - the kind of nice, fun guy who's just a friend and nothing more.

I really like Kate though. She's very sweet but probably too innocent and naive. Kind of like a lamb being brought to the slaughter.

I'm happy to say the time rewind mechanic is getting more interesting as I play. It's turning into more of a method for puzzle solving as opposed to a way to second guess your choices.

I agree with this. Also, there are times when this rewind feature doesn't work, which kind of forces you to evaluate your decisions a bit more. This is more of the type of gameplay I was looking forward to.

I finished Chapter 2 last night and do feel that the story is getting better. I'm definitely looking more forward to playing the game.

As I mentioned to the hosts in a PM, I think there are a few characters who seem good on the outside, but their roles may be surprising as this mystery unravels. I sort of feel the opposite will occur with some of the characters who seem like bad seeds in the beginning. Just a hunch, but no proof yet. :)

I finished the game, so my opinion might be colored by that, but overall I don't have a huge problem with the fact that all of the characters are flawed. The bad slang gets a little grating, but on the other hand the characters are mostly teenagers. Most people that age aren't poets, and I found the cringy dialogue to be close-ish to the way actual teenagers talk. Closer than a lot of games/books/movies I've encountered have been, anyway.

Regarding the douchey characters, it's always an issue for me when every character in a game or movie is some kind of paragon of virtue or avatar of evil. There's a lot more grey area in this game (although it does seem like a lot of characters are jerks just for the sake of it). I dunno, I appreciate the flawed characters. It's also nice that your dialogue options aren't always 1. Lawful good 2. True Neutral 3. Chaotic Evil. It seems like there's a lot of grey area and room for roleplaying.

As for problems I have though...

- it's a fairly atmospheric game in presentation but adventure game collectathon mechanics take you out of the experience
- I agree with what people have to say with regard to how the rewind mechanic makes your choices less organic, but I just made a pact with myself to only use the rewind to do puzzle solving (there are a few minor puzzle solving segments that use the rewind mechanic)
- oh my god the ~emotional~ half-crying voice. oh my god. kill me.
- I think that, no joke, 10-15% of the total dialogue is emotional pep talks. it's ridiculous.

After playing a few of these decision based games lately (Walking Dead, Until Dawn, Heavy Rain, Beyond) I've found that if I stop playing them like a "game" I enjoy them a lot more. I played Heavy Rain first and loved it...... then I played it again making different decisions and eventually got the Platinum trophy. It really diluted the experience for me. When I picked up Beyond I played through it just once and loved it so much, and then just left it to sink in. I'm so much more happy with that overall experience.

That got me thinking about how I'm tackling these story heavy games and I decided to try something. With Batman Arkham Knight I played the game as if I was Batman. Is someone's life in jeopardy? That takes priority. Cool sidequest where you get to track down Man-Bat, that's gonna have to wait until I stop an mysterious serial killer. Made the game a lot more fun for me.

This is how I'm approaching Life is Strange. I'm Max so how would I act in each of these situations. I'm having a lot of fun role playing with her. I'm the new kid at school so I'm unsure of my place and trying to please a lot of the other students (even Victoria :P ). I'm exploring new enviroments looking for photo opportunities since that's something I'm obviously very passionate about, but not spending a ton of effort talking to strangers on the street or exploring familiar places like my Dorm or Classroom. This "rewind" power is new and interesting so I'm going to explore it and see what kind of uses I can get out of it. Maybe it'll eventually become normal and I'll feel less urge to exploit it, but for now I feel the need to test my boundaries with it.

I really feel like if you approach this game more like a pen and paper RPG than a video game some of you may get a little more enjoyment out of it.

While I agree with how you describe approaching the game, I think that in some instances (as I've already seen, and as you will soon see), the game demands that you pay closer attention to the environment and all of the things in it (i.e. dorm rooms, talking to NPCs, etc.)  Without doing so, I think you may miss out on some of the story and it may also prevent you from outcomes that you may desire.  So, to put it mildly, the game does kind of force your hand a bit into exploring a bit more, especially if you have a certain role (chaotic, neutral, lawful, etc.) that you want to play. My understanding is that you are finishing Chapter 2 today, so you will soon see what I mean. :)

I like where your head's at Crabby.  In a perfect world I would prefer to play the game as if I were the person in the main role as opposed to systematically walking through every room and examining every single thing in order to get the best result but Rich is totally right.  Many games will punish you for not turning over a certain rock.  I'm kind of OK with that, though.  I'm totally with you on Heavy Rain.  Playing through the game once and living with your choices, experiencing YOUR story is what makes that game great.  Replaying to see every possible outcome sounds like it would destroy the point of that game: To have a unique experience, not EVERY experience possible, but you gotta get that Plat, right;)

People keep saying the rewind mechanic gets more interesting as the game goes on so we'll see.  I should be able to finish up Chapter 2 tonight or tomorrow.

Just finished chapter 2 this morning.

It sounds like you guys are assuming I have a goal in mind for the games ending. I'm not playing with the intention of a "good", "bad" or "neutral" ending. I'm very content just playing as if I was Max and seeing where that leads. If it means I'm missing things that's gonna flavor my experience and hopefully the overall story arc.

During the first two episodes I felt Max would want to explore and test her boundaries with her new power. With the nosebleeds and fainting spells that started occuring near the end of chapter 2 I'm definitely going to be using it more sparingly going forward. Saving it for moments like with Chloe getting into life threatening situations or if another situation like Kate on the rooftop arrises. Definitely won't be using it to see if the science teacher is happy with me or not. But I'm also a young kid and may make exceptions based on inexperience or emotion depending on the situation.

I wasn't able to save Kate and that's gonna greatly effect my decisions going forward.

I'll also echo that the soundtrack is a big downer for me

I'm not trying to be argumentative by any means, but my point wasn't that you were playing with the "intention of [getting] a "good", "bad" or "neutral" ending."  I was referring to the alignment of your character in terms of chaotic, neutral, lawful, etc. I think that anytime you play a role playing game that allows alignment options, you  have in mind how you want to play it (example: being a hard ass or a more sympathetic character like in Wolf Among Us). This alignment could be based on your general personal nature, or some opposite role you don't condone in the real world. Saying that you weren't able to save Kate and that it's going to greatly effect your decisions going forward proves that you prefer to attribute a certain alignment on your character.  Though you say you may not have an outcome you desire, I think you still would like an outcome(s) that prevents harm to others.  With that said, I think these sort of things go hand in hand sometimes in a game and I think that paying more attention to the "details" in this game and making appropriate alignment decisions will probably result in a "brighter" outcome if you will.

This brings up a good point about the game. While it seems that Chapter 1 was a more introductory chapter with very little consequence, the stakes certainly get higher in Chapter 2. It will be fun to see where it goes from here. :)

By the way, I just want to add that we are having some great discussion on this game. This is what we hosts have always envisioned for these playthroughs. Thank you all for the comments!  :D

Since it was brought up, I will point out that it is possible to save Kate...

Starting to get a little spoilery, guys...

According to the checkpoint guide, we are in Week 3, which means we can talk freely through Chapter 2. Catch up sucka!  :P

I don't see anything in the OP that says we can talk about spoilers once we reach a chekpoint, only to use spoiler tags if you "think something is crucial to the game that might be a spoiler"

But Ok, :sniff sniff: I'll leave..

That's always been our standing rule for playthroughs when there are checkpoints up.  The fear is that things will get lost in spoiler tags, i.e. people won't go back and look at and discuss them, so we try not to overuse them.  Sorry buddy. You should be able to catch up quick and add to the conversation though.

[img width=600 height=800]http://ih1.redbubble.net/image.89676285.1697/flat,800x800,075,f.u1.jpg[/img]

I'm in da club.

LOL

Floyd needs this t-shirt.

Definitely!

I finished chapter 3 and seeing as we've got some people who are done with the game and other who are pretty close, let's just make this a free for all.

There's a big shocker at the end of chapter 3 and I think it's very heavily tied into the game's theme of cause and effect/living with our decisions.

Spoiler (hover to show)

When Max gets the picture of her and Chloe from Chloe's mom she realizes that she just wants Chloe to be happy. The punk attitude is just a shield to protect her from more harm, at least that's what Chloe thinks. She's got some emotional wounds and wants to Teflon coat herself from further disappointment while hiding her scars. Knowing that I went back to the moment when Chloe's dad went to pick up Joyce and hid his keys in hopes to prevent his car accident. But by messing around with the past I'm not happy with the present (Max is in the Vortex Club and Chloe's disabled). The cause of my desire to change things, produced an effect I'd rather not have.

I think this game is going in a direction with a message about the strength to move on and how selfish it would be if we could change things, however, would we be satisfied with the results of the changed we made? Like Chloe said, "crazy shi*t can, and will, happen" and people have to be able to accept what happens in order to have the strength to continue with the lives. It's a bit of "be-careful-what-you-wish-for" too, because though we all wish we could change things, we can't guarantee those changes will really lead to better end results.

I've seen this concept handled by film and novels, but never in a game. Or at least, never as thought provoking as this.

I kind of agree with this, but either in a game or real life moral decisions don't always have a right and wrong answer. Ethical choices are very subjective and as such will be different for each person and situation. Every decision doesn't fit nicely into "neutral" or "Lawful good".

I don't feel like Max would try to intentionally hurt someone with what I know about her, but I'm sure some of you used the opportunity when Frank was threatening Chloe to use the gun to scare him off. If I felt Chloe's life was in jeopardy would I have been more willing to pull the trigger? Possibly.

I realize in pretty much every video game the choices are divided up into catergories that steer you towards specific outcomes. I like to pretend I don't think that and just play it out as I feel the character would and see where I end up.

PS - Sorry for the spoilers Bil. We were past the checkpoint so it was supposed to be a safe place!!

That's been my approach to the game. I'm putting myself in Max's shoes and basing all my choices on how I would act as Max if I was in that situation.

Played a little bit of chapter 3 today and am very upset by it. I'm not very far in and it has already forced me to make two decisions I did not want to make. I'd rather it made me fail and had bad consequences. Really broke the atmosphere for me. It makes me remember I'm playing a video game instead of absorbing a story :(

...honestly, loving the discussion. I suddenly feel like I'm in a Book Club. ;D

Last week, once everyone has started forming their opinions of the overall game, I want to discuss whether or not everyone feels like this should be earning the number of awards it has. From my circle of friends on TrueAchievements, the game is pretty polarizing.

I can understand how this game could be pretty polarizing and I think it opens itself up to be so.  First of all, there may be some that argue that this might not be a "game" in the sense of traditional games. I wouldn't argue this point, but although not very traditional, it has enough gameplay and decision-making in it to pass the sniff test. It's not like you are merely walking around like experienced with Dear Esther.

Secondly, the story is based on adolescence, which many of us are probably fairly far removed from.  I think that some of the language (which has already been pointed out) and trivial, more adolescent situations may seem a little unrealistic and/or bothersome to some.  There are several references to Catcher in the Rye throughout (which I'll save for the podcast), and that book in itself can similarly be super polarizing to readers depending on the age they read it.  Believe me, I taught it in college and did my Masters thesis on it, so I am pretty familiar.

Lastly, there are some subject matters in the game, which depending on your beliefs/philosophies may be polarizing on their own.  For fear of spoilers, I will not go into that here, but some are recognizable early on.

I'll have to look into the awards this game won to properly comment on that, but I think a lot of Life is Strange's praise comes from it's characters and power to make players empathize with the characters. We were all teenagers at one point, and we've all made choices we wish we didn't, not to mention that it's only human to wonder how things would differ had we done things differently.

In a market full of superhero and bold adventurer protagonists having a regular teen take center stage is a bold move, but I think it paid off for Life is Strange.

I finished the game the other day and it is hard for me to remember exactly what happened in each episode, so I won't go into plot details until later in the month.

It seems like what is bothering a few of you (characters, how they're portrayed, the rewind feature) I didn't have a problem with.  The game is kinda cartoony, so I let stuff like Joyce's clichéd southern charm happening in Oregon slide.  As for the rewind feature, for the most part it didn't effect my decisions.  You only got to see so much outcome of each conversation, and you still needed to choose which one you were going to commit to.  Sometimes I wouldn't use it because I wasn't going to change my mind anyway.  So, it was there to use if you wanted and I don't have a problem with a game offering me a choice.

Also, I don't understand why being told an "action will have a consequence" is obnoxious.  Read that comment here a couple of times and I didn't have a problem with it.  You don't water a plant, it's gonna die.  (I feed my rabbit too.)

Anyway,  I'm surprise no one so far has brought up the part that I found obnoxious and almost quit. The bottle collecting in episode two.  I thought it was a low point and was only there to extend the length of that episode.  It was like a battle between pacing vs justifying charging $5 for this episode and the pacing lost.  Plus, the game was chugging along really slow.

Thankfully, I did charge on because it never got close to that amount of suckage again. (Well, gameplay wise anyway) The end of episode 2, where Kate sadly died in my game made my heart stop. (That came out of no where for me!) Then in chapter 3 the puzzles started getting you to think "fourth dimensionally" and I was in it until the end.

Just finished episode 4. Man, things got dark. Didn't really see that coming.

I agree Buried, the bottle fetch quest was a bit annoying. It added nothing to the story and it seems that it was simply dropped in there to take up time. I guess it kind of lead you to the hang out room in the junkyard, which gave a little insight into Chloe and Rachel's relationship, but I think that this could have been discovered in the normal course of exploring.

I just finished Chapter 3 last night and I can say that I'm not really enjoying these "4th dimensional" puzzles too much.  Though I never had to consult a walkthrough, I did spend quite a bit of time in the diner (and another scene, which I will leave out for the purpose of spoilers, but you probably know what I am referring to).  As a result, I think the rewind mechanic has become a little of a nuisance for me, and sometimes things that I do and actions that are tracked in the end of episode menu get erased when I rewind....  I didn't get credit for several things I did because I didn't realized I had rewound too far. 

However, I will say that the story is really picking up and is the main reason I am enjoying the game.  If you've finished Chapter 3, you know exactly what I am referring to.

I wasn't a fan of Chapter 3 for the most part. Really felt like I didn't have a say in my decisions and the game forced me into what it wanted me to do. Very intrigued by the end of the chapter though and still curious to see how the story plays out. I went from very interested in being a part of Max's story in the first two chapters, to just going through the motions and basically watching a movie now that the game is dictating my decision making though :/

I can see that. I think coming off of Chapter 2 where you have to work toward two possible outcomes and simply being guided to a single ending in Chapter 3 is tough. Still I thought Chapter 3 was pretty good storywise and especially with the big payoff. Perhaps things will go back to that formula in Chapter 4. We shall see.

I didn't like the bottle part much either, but it only took a couple minutes. I had a hard time finding the last one, so I just looked up the location and went on my way.

I did find there were some excessive rewind bits in chapter 4. When talking to Frank? The drug dealer. I had to rewind so many times and didn't like that I had to go through the whole conversation again.

My opinion lies somewhere between Rich's and BOM's. While I'm not a fan of the rewind I get it's thematic application, but I'm hardly using it unless I have to. Besides, Max often says she can't rely on her power all the time - especially, after she plays God at the end of episode 3.

The bottle fetch quest wasn't too bad, probably because I like the junkyard set piece. But a few of the puzzles in chapter 4 really got under my skin.

I'm now at a point where I don't know how resolving the Rachel mystery and preventing this tornado are related. Hopefully chapter 5 will tie that together.

Waiting til my next days off (Mon-Thurs) to get this thing done. I really hope some monsters come into the story and start killing off people, but I don't think it will go down like that.

Hey there everybody! Add me up on Xbox Live so we can compare our choices: JROCKGAMEROCKER
I'll admit to being behind. So sorry if gamer tags were exchanged in previous post, I don't want to read any possible spoilers while I catch up.
At first I didn't really care for the character but I'm really getting sucked into the narrative and the ability to change decisions or problem solve situations by messing with he flow of time is truly unique.
Upon purchase of this game I thought it would be like a Telltale Games joint. I was wrong. Quite unique indeed

There's still time to finish the game.

Life is Strange is definitely a unique game. Things really improve after the second episode, so keep at it.

Sounds like we're getting lots of interesting opinions on the rewind powers. This should be fun to discuss.

Finished the game this morning! I was happy with the ending, but I'll wait a bit before discussing it in too much detail.

Congrats Pam!

This has been a tough playthrough for me. Lots of new changes and events in the banana household, and probably one of the first games I can't play around my kids.

So it's super cool to find out that Fleach will be attending the Barrie Game Exchange tomorrow along with myself, Buried On Mars, Will and Pam, as well as a number of other Cartridge Club members. It'll be great to have my 1st meet up with a fellow Rf Generationer! Small world... Life surely is Strange...

You kids have fun. That will be an awesome meet up. Super jelly.

This will be hella cool!

Let's get back on topic now. :)

Alright! Done with Life is Strange! Now it's time to collect my thoughts and prep for the podcast.

Enjoy this one, guys! I certainly did.

I'm probably about halfway through Chapter 4.  Looks like we can start talking about Chapter 3 tomorrow.  Man, get out the Kleenex...

I added you my Xbox gamertag is douglie007 but I played on xbox one and 360 wont compare same game on different platforms. all can add me too

  yeah I want to try and play it again just to save Kate.

I'm on the PSN as "singlebanana" (shocker right?) if anyone wants to add me.

For sure.  Chap 3 is the best one so far by a mile.  Can't wait to post tomorrow.

So I finished Chapter 4 last night. I won't go into it here, but for those of you not there yet, you are in for some pretty heavy decision making and some shocking revelations.

However, we've reached the point where we can talk about Chapter 3, so I'll keep my comments to that.  I think Floyd mentioned something about this idea of how sometimes it seems like the best thing to do is change the past, but even if you could, it would not guarantee that the future would be any better.  Hardships though difficult, must be overcome, accepted, and we must move on. This is pretty much what we get a small glimpse at during the ending montage of Chapter 3.

I can say that the story is improving with the game and my constant snooping has been beneficial in developing the character and veering toward the paths that I want to go.  I am taking the time to check out everything that is clickable and it's just in my personality not to leave anything out.  I know that this is causing me to invest a greater amount of game time, but it's just something that I can't help. With that said, I think there are a lot of places where this game could have done a better job in eliminating dialogue.  If often find myself talking to some characters for several minutes and gaining little, if no, pertinent information.  I make sure that I talk to individuals until all dialogue options are complete and sometimes this beneficial, but mostly these conversations are just time sinks.  Not that I think every conversation should have some value to the game, but I think there is quite a bit of filler that could be eliminated. I understand that developers want to make sure that their clients "get what they pay for" in terms of cost vs. time played, but I think there might have been better ways to do this.  There has been talk on the forums before about shorter games and how they still have good value even though they aren't particularly long (see past threads on The Order: 1886) and I think Life is Strange suffers a bit with overcompensation through its use of fluff as a means to avoid a time v. cost comparison.  I paid $20 for the game ($4 an episode) and I think the value would certainly still be there if some of the unfruitful conversations and observations were eliminated.

Very good point. I wonder if you're digging deeper than the average player, and that maybe the developers assumed players would only pick one dialogue option and move on. There's definitely a benefit to talking to NPCs as much as possible, but a lot of them just grumble about their daily routines. There moments where the influence point-and-click games had on Life Is Strange is very noticeable, but I don't think they work as effectively. They kind of seem like puzzles that only serve to extend game length instead of offering a challenge within the context of the game as a whole (I thinking of the barn puzzle sequence in particular).

I like your comment about overcoming hardships because that's what I had in mind when I picked my ending. In my interpretation Max had to deal with the consequences of messing around with time. She abused her power because of her lack of confidence, so now she has to accept that she made mistakes and move on. No do-overs this time.

Spoiler (hover to show)

I chose to sacrifice the town. I'll get into my reason for it soon.

that's what I did too, Fleach

kind of seems like the whole game would be pointless otherwise

We're on the same page, man!

I'm pretty sure this scene falls under our most recent checkpoint, so what did you guys think of the closing moments of Episode 3 and opening scenes of Episode 4. Did you go out of your way to prevent William's death and how did you react to the repercussions of your actions?

I did, and when I learned the consequences of that I felt terrible. I didn't always feel that bad; at first, my emotions mirrored Max's and I thought saving William would keep Chloe away from all the sadness she felt. I thought I was doing the right thing by giving her what seemed like an idyllic life. I did it for Chloe. When I started up Episode 4 and saw Chloe in that wheelchair I felt like I ruined everything and regretted my actions. From that point on, I knew that sometimes the best world isn't necessarily the one that's free from sadness.

I did go out of my way to prevent Wiliam's death, though I wasn't under the impression that was a choice. A couple times I failed to do it by not doing the right thing with his car keys and I had to go back and try again.

I can't wait to talk about the ending. I made the other choice.

OK, Chapter 3 thoughts.

Plenty of people here kept saying that the rewind mechanic of the game would become more interesting and significant and they weren't kidding.  It turns out out that the first 2 chapters were spending a lot of time on character development and plot exposition.  It wasn't until Chapter 3 until I felt like I was really in Max's shoes experiencing the world and reacting to it as opposed to playing a game.  

Chloe and Max's relationship seems much less strained than in Chapters 1 and 2, it feels like Chloe is finally letting her guard down a little bit.  It feels like her previous aggressiveness was just a defense mechanism based on losing so many people close to her.  This is further re-inforced in the beginning of Chapter 4 when Chloe's demeanor in the altered reality is much more docile and agreeable.

I'm actually finding that I don't mind the music anymore either.  It fits the atmosphere very well.  In the scene when you wake up next to Chloe and the view just pans around the serene and beautiful morning bedroom I just sat there and enjoyed the music and the calmness of morning much the same way I do when I wake up and don't want to get out of bed because everything is so peaceful.  I also really appreciated that the game didn't prompt me to press a button to get it.  Would have been obnoxious and ruined the moment.

The end of chapter 3 has a fantastic and gut wrenching butterfly effect moment, first when you see Max' reaction to Chloe at the door, you almost know what you are about to see, but you still aren't prepared when you see it.  And then, maybe the saddest part of the reveal, Chloe smiles.

I have to admit, this is likely the most discussion I've seen on a game in the Community Playthrough, and we're just halfway through the game...
Definitely enjoyable to see everyone's progress and reactions.

Same here Pam, they try to through you off a bit. I kept unplugging the home phone and trying to find a way to steal the cell.  That was the part that I was referring to earlier regarding rewinding. I made the mark on the edge of the fireplace and took a photo (bird I think), but apparently I hit the rewind too far and these actions didn't show up at the end table.  Kind of irritating in that for some things you do an action and you can't rewind past them, but some things you can. Anyway, minor gripe.


Yeah, I'm with you Bil. I actually enjoy the music in this game and the way it plays over your actions. It's typically at the beginning or end of a scene and isn't bothersome to the development of the plot.  I actually think that it works very well in that it's like a movie soundtrack.  If indeed we are playing a game that is essentially like playing a movie, then I think this indeed works very well.  I listen to a good deal of indie music and it's been neat seeing how some of the songs I recognize have been integrated.

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I guess I was so invested in saving William I tricked myself into thinking it was one of "this choice will have consequences" moment. Didn't know it was mandatory to the plot.

Bil mentioned enjoying the moment where Max and Chloe lie in bed soaked in the morning sun... That was my favourite moment in the game. So peaceful. I didn't want it to end.

I love those peaceful moments of the game too and I found quite a few of them. Besides the places where Max can just lay in bed (whether with Chloe, or earlier by herself) there are also places you can sit down while the music plays and we hear some of Max's thoughts. I loved those little relaxing breaks.

I pushed through and finished Life is Strange last night.  I have mixed feelings on Chapter 5, which I will save until the end of the month.  Overall, glad I played this game and worth the price of admission.

https://www.insertcoinclothing.com/life-is-strange/

That merch site reminded me of something I noticed in the time. Max begins the game with her Jane Doe shirt (the doe is her spirit animal), and ends the game with the black moth shirt. It's a symbol of her not being a nobody any more.

I had the exact opposite feeling. Felt like there were so many moments and "decisions" that I was forced to experience that keep pulling me out of the story and reminded me I was playing a game in Chapters 3 and 4. They were all optional for me in the first 2 chapters so I felt free to play the game as Max, and just felt like I was along for the ride with little to no control over the events in 3 and 4.

Wait until you get to Chapter 5 Crabby. Basically a zero control nose dive to the end.

I couldn't wait to play when I first started and now I've been procrastinating to start the final chapter. I'll still finish, but I'm losing my drive to play quickly.

Yeah, I felt the same. I think there were times were I was putting the controller down for 5 to 10 minutes and watching the scene play out.

this was my feeling as well. I thought this game was an enjoyable experience that was hamstrung by being initially presented as a game in which the gift of choice is the central mechanic when in fact the BURDEN of choice is the central mechanic. additionally, there was a lot of railroading and choices made for you towards the end so it seemed to me like (possibly due to releasing the game in chapters) it was not a mechanically cohesive game from beginning to end. could have used more time travel puzzle solving and less half-crying-emotional-pep-talks.

one could argue that this is a feature rather than a bug, but I think it's probably more that they had a story they wanted to tell and they found it impossible to really give you choices.

Great point about the burden of choice! I did some research and watched some developer commentaries where they say that making a decision will involve sacrifices. It's something we deal with everyday and they wanted to translate that into a game. They also mentioned that towards the end choices become more limited because they set players up to know how they would react well before the conclusion.

Also, I just wanted to point out that there are smaller choices in the game that are noted on the end of chapter docket.  I'm at a loss as to whether these affect the game in any way, or if they are just their for stats.

"we wrote less things because we already knew what people would think"

>_>

seems good

for the record, most of the choices I would make if possible weren't even available or explored so I can say anecdotally that they DON'T know how players will react. I realize that it's not possible to program in everything and space is limited, but come on that's such a cop out!
_______________________

so mechanically speaking I thought the game controlled pretty well. I wasn't running into walls or searching vainly for interactable objects. I really liked the amount of flavor that went into the game and how cohesive it made the overall world. it really felt to me like I was part of a school rather than a film set of a school.

I wasn't a fan of the point-click interface because I would miss the button for a choice and have to go back and click it again, taking me out of the game mentally. that's a pretty minor concern though and just me being bad at the controls.  

the smaller choices were fun, and after seeing how many things I missed in the first chapter it really made me dig deeper into the world. I think it makes you more invested in exploration than you would be otherwise because any of those small actions could have consequences later in the game.

Now you know why I had to put this one down, and pick up Diablo III instead, last month.

So I got Episode 4 finished a couple nights ago, and started Episode 5 last night. I will just say, that Episode 5, has been the most interesting, and compelling, IMO.

It's pretty good. Tense atmosphere throughout the whole episode. I'm happy you've decided to back and finish the game.

Interesting in terms of having an avant garde aesthetic, yeah, I'll give you that. Interesting in terms of gameplay, nah.  I felt that the last chapter was super linear, boring, and made up of a bunch of hoop jumping.  Annoying stealth rewind and redundant rehashing of the story anyone? 

Artistically speaking, I really enjoyed the final section. The change in gameplay, however, was jarring and not fun for me.

I really liked chapter 5, but that bit that combines stealth and item hunting? The worst!

The part where you go into Max's subconscious was very cool and well done.


You actually didn't have to do the item hunt there. That was thrown in by Dontnod because they knew how much players hated the bottle search so they added the part where Max says "This must be hell" when you come across a bottle.

I only found one bottle and after hearing that line I knew I could just head straight for the exit.

Yeah, I didn't do the bottle searching. It felt like something that was tacked on and no way was I going through the aggravation of continual rewind and stealth.  That's just my point, why put it there. Oh, because achievements....

Agree to disagree. I just thought the subconscious part was lame, forced, and too long. I liked the dorm hallway puzzle, but that's about it. The stealth was silly considering there was very little in the rest of the game, and the rewind mechanism made it pretty pointless.  Get caught, rewind a little, get caught again, rewind a little, rinse & repeat 30 times.  Walking through all of the memories felt like a final episode of Survivor (Duke knows what I'm talking about ;) )where they walk around, look at all the names of the players voted out, and reminisce.  It feels like filler on the show, and it felt the same way here.  There was very little gameplay other than the bunker (do it until you get it exactly right scene) and the storm portion. The rest of it felt like a walkthrough of things I had already encountered or as I said before, tacky stealth hoops.  Worst chapter of the game IMO.

Finished last night. Seems like I went the other way, that most players did, with that final decision. Also, was in such a hurry to just get the game over with,

Spoiler (hover to show)

 I pretty much let everyone die in the end.

Ah, I didn't realize he bottles were optional. Though I was going for all the optional pics anyway, since I love achievements.

Can we talk about the end now?

Afraid we have to wait until the month is over to discuss in the open. However, if you want to drop your thoughts about the end in spoiler tags, that would be fine. Responses would need to be tagged at this time as well. Thanks

Curious, who all was OCD enough to 100% this game, for trophies/achievements?

*raises hand*

I agree with the overall sentiment on Episode 5.  There are some interesting things going on, but overall the game got a little too bizarre for me.  Also didn't like the shoehorned stealth segment. 

Halfway done Episode 5 yesterday. Gonna be tight, but I'll try and finish up this month!

Finish or suffer the consequences!!

The final episode is, for lack of a better word, interesting. It feels like the story just wanted to get to the conclusion because everything else was done. We uncovered the mystery of the town and we formed our thoughts on the rewind power so there wasn't much else to do.

I agree that the stealth bit was corny and pretty ineffective because you could rewind the people looking for you, but the scene where Max remembers Chloe was a great way to prepare players for the final decision. Gotta save some thoughts for the recording. :)

Alright, month's over. Here come my spoiler-filled ending thoughts.

First, the end of chapter 4 was kind of jarring. I was not expecting to spend a lot of time in this game tied to a chair in a bunker. Took a bit of a disturbing turn...

Though I really didn't like that stealth dream sequence, I did really enjoy running through the different memories of Chloe. Those kind of scenes are very effective. They did something similar in Fallout 4 and it was one of the few story parts of the game that worked for me.

In the end, I sacrificed Chloe to save the town. It did seem kind of counter to what I had been doing the entire game, but at the same time... how many times did I have to save her? A dozen? Maybe she just wasn't meant to be around anymore. I kept thinking that even if I chose to let everyone in the town die, there was a good chance that Chloe would end up in danger yet again. And what if Max's powers go away? Then EVERYONE is dead for no reason.

I'm interested to know what everyone else did.

Ha ha!  Pam, I know you were dying to get all of that out. :)

First, I want to thank everyone who played this month. This was probably the best discussion we had on our threads for a game and I think that the narrative of Life is Strange is so thought-provoking, that it lends itself well to discussion.  Great month all and I hope we see some of you around in May for Y's. Our game announcement for May is coming out on the 10th of this month, so keep your eyes on the front page.  :)

Pam, I too chose to sacrifice Chloe.  I didn't find this decision hard, since her life was put in danger so many times throughout the game and I just considered that to make things right, she had to die.  This was her fate and there was nothing I could do to stop it. If I saved her now, she would just end up getting into another situation where she would die later.  I took the utilitarian approach with this decision and I think Immanuel Kant would have been proud (just a little something for you philosophy majors with degrees as worthless as mine in English).

The most difficult decision for me in the game was not the one at the end, but instead, the decision to end Chloe's life in the future past.  I was shocked to see how many people had chosen to help her end her life when the end of chapter statistics rolled out.  I don't know, but this was probably the point where I got caught up in the game the most. I played it like Chloe being someone I loved, like that was my wife in that situation.  I wouldn't have a problem with her wishes if she were in a similar situation and wanted to die, but I couldn't be the one to directly assist in the process.  That was a really strong moment in the game, and probably one of my favorites.

HOLY CRAP!  There was so much of Catcher in the Rye imbedded into this story and I cannot wait to talk about this in length during the podcast. There were some subtle allusions to the book throughout, but there were some themes and theories from the book that really came out in that last chapter.  Whew! Heavy.

Finally!  We speak the ending!

Well first, I though Mr. Jefferson being the real killer was very lame.  The lowest point in the game for me was when he began explaining his evil plan to Max like a Bond villain. Lower than bottle collecting.  Cheap and lazy writing I'd expect from a daytime soap.  I could go on.

With that said, I enjoyed the ending a lot.  The inevitability of an coming storm that even the power to reverse time can't stop.   I thought it was a great metaphor for life.  Max has an amazing ability to reverse time and uses it to save Chole for a while, but there is a repercussion for her action.  And once she fully grasps what that repercussion is, it decision time.  I picked saving the town for the same reasons singlebanana did.  

Overall, there are some bumps in the road but I think the journey was well worth it. I liked how Max evolved and her coming-of-age character arc was nicely done, IMHO.  It's a very polarizing game.  After finishing the game I check out a lot of articles and blogs on the ending. Seems like there are many interpretations of it.  I read one where the author thought it was terrible and its message of “You should do nothing if you want to stop global warming” was wrong.  Where do you get that from?

Anyway, looking forward to the discussion on the podcast.

Thanks for the thoughts and for playing along with us BuriedOnMars. It's great having some of you Cartridge Club members over here on the site and enjoying games with us. :)

BuriedOnMars, Banana, Pam, you're all monsters! ;)

Thanks banana.  I'd play Y's with you guys but I'm doing this 1 console challenge thing and they're not on the Xbone.  Next year I should be available for more games.

Fleach, as any good Trekie knows: The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few... or the one.

I completed it last week and have FAILED to come over here to say I ended up enjoying it a lot more than when I initially started. I started a little late in the month so I avoided reading too far ahead in the forums and thus I didn't keep up with posting my thoughts as I went along. Now I got a lot of reading to do!

You're right. It's really a question of what you value most: your need for friendship and belonging, or the greater good and righting your wrongs.


Awesome to see that you're done. Can't wait to hear your thoughts.

Well, I'm glad I'm not the only person that saw allusions to literary classics in this, for as little as I played it.
Since we're spoiler free now, I wanted to post up this story about the lead writer for Life is Strange, and how it originally evolved from the mechanics for Remember Me, another DONTNOD title:
https://www.reddit.com/r/lifeisstrange/comments/40qs1t/ep5_spoilers_jeanluc_cano_talks_life_is_strange/

I think I'm done playing now. Last time i played I got to the part where you rewind time to when Warren took your picture at the party. I sat down to put some time in on Saturday and finish it off and after I put the disc in I saw Mega Man Legacy Collection calling to me. I am so dis-interested in the story at this point that I ended up playing a couple hours of challenges on Mega Man instead. The first two chapters had me hooked and since the 3rd one I just lost interest badly each chapter afterwards. Im not even sure I want to YouTube the ending at this point :/

There are definitely some parts that drag Crabby, but I still think that it's a game worth finishing.

I can understand being tempted by something like the Mega Man Collection, but what didn't work for you with Life is Strange?

I liked how decision based the game was during the first two chapters. Really felt like I got this play as I felt Max would behave. From chapter 3 on I felt like I was just watching a cartoon with the occasional quick time event. I don't think I would have had much of an issue with that if it was that way from the start. I had a good feeling for Max and how she would react to certain situations and then they just pulled that feature away from me completely and had me do what they wanted me to do, which wasn't always in line with what I would have done.

It really made me feel helpless and unimportant as the player, which had me go from optimistic to uninterested. It also became pretty clear that nearly all early decisions had pretty much no impact on the game itself.

This is where Life is Strange is different from Telltale Games' story-driven games. Your choices don't have a huge impact on game events because Max is always struggling with making decisions. This game is in fact quite linear and the only big choice moments comes at the end where you decide how your interpretation of Max would act. Maybe it better to look at this game similarly to Alan Wake but with dialogue options.

But I totally understand where you're coming from. You make a very valid argument.

I think I wouldn't have had any issue if it was like that from the start is the thing. I think my displeasure stems from feeling like I had a lot of control and say over the game early on and then finding out halfway through that I really didn't.

I completely agree with you Crabby, the game goes from choice into funneling you into a linear play-style.  Though I mostly enjoyed my experience with the game, I don't see it making my Top 5 list at the end of the year.  I very much prefer the TellTale style. But, to each their own of course.

Anyone with a PS4, that even remotely enjoyed this game, should check out Until Dawn.

I'm with Mike. Until Dawn was an amazing cinematic choice driven game. So much fun and ALL of your choices seem significant.