March Community Playthrough - Life is Strange

[singlebanana]

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

[Fleach]

This will be hella cool!

Let's get back on topic now.

[Fleach]

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.

[singlebanana]

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

[douglie007]

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

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

[douglie007]

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

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

[singlebanana]

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

[wildbil52]

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

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

[singlebanana]

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.

[Fleach]

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.

[Untrod Tripod]

that's what I did too, Fleach

kind of seems like the whole game would be pointless otherwise

[Fleach]

We're on the same page, man!

[Fleach]

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.

[Pam]

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.

[wildbil52]

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.