Life is Strange - Chrysalis |
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer; Dontnod Entertainment, |
By Matt Taylor
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Life is Strange feels like a project formed around ideas, instead of a story made into a video game. There are some really great story lines and interesting arcs, but I couldn't help shake the feeling that the game's creator wanted other people to find something they find interesting, interesting. When I saw a preview of Life is Strange at a Square Enix event it left me with enough interest that I felt some anticipation towards the release date of the first episode of the five part series, “Chrysalis”. Over the few hours it took me to complete the episode my feelings for the game swung from one end to the other, leaving me in a weird place while the credits rolled and wondering if I’d recommend the game or not. |
Developed by Dontnod Entertainment, the team behind 2013’s “Remember Me”, you play as Maxine (Max) Caulfield, a young girl who’s returned to the town she grew up in to attend the local high school. Waking up from a nightmare in photography class, Max soon discovers that she has the ability to rewind time, allowing her to change options she made and the outcomes of the events around her.
Using her new found time-travelling skills, the story tries to say a number of things about modern issues like surveillance and domestic assault. There are thoughts on abandonment and classism. Most of the stories about these issues aren’t completed in the first episode, but the little bit that I’ve seen has filled me with hope that the next four episodes will be interesting enough to keep me playing.
Using her new found time-travelling skills, the story tries to say a number of things about modern issues like surveillance and domestic assault. There are thoughts on abandonment and classism. Most of the stories about these issues aren’t completed in the first episode, but the little bit that I’ve seen has filled me with hope that the next four episodes will be interesting enough to keep me playing.
Things start out awkward for Max, with a lot of the game centring around her efforts to fit in at a school where the kids of the town's social elite (who hold control over most of the population) attend. This is where the pendulum starts to swing, as interactions with other characters change from completely mature and cordial to childish, with Max’s demeanor switched from almost adult, to a deer in the headlights 7-year old. I struggled to pinpoint Max’s exact age until I found some in game text, but struggled to believe this was an independent student studying photography.
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There are a number of times in the game when I wasn’t convinced by the characters. The insincerity of the dialogue of the major figures is highlighted by one world, “hella”, spoken by Max’s one-time best friend, Chloe. The intensifier and adverb is used by the character multiple times in a matter of minutes, but outside of a No Doubt song, I’ve never heard a teenager ever use it, and being born in 1990 I grew up in the term's golden age. There’s nothing wrong with the writer using out of use terms in the games dialogue, that’s fine, but throughout the rest of the episode Chloe might have returned to her identifying term once. This is indicative of the games out of touch feel with the young people it’s attempting to represent and feels like a 40 year old trying to sound hip. There’s is a definite “Gleaming the Cube” feel to the dialogue. |
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Life if Strange looks beautiful, with each in-game asset hand painted to make up the town of Arcadia Bay, a fictional town set somewhere in the Pacific North-West. There’s plenty of pine trees and rugged coastline highlighted by a folk-rock soundtrack featuring artist like Angus & Julia Stone that capture the feeling of a warm hot chocolate on a cold day. The art and music are some of the games most enjoyable elements, which has a definite Gone Home vibe. The only time I was let down by the soundtrack was during a scene where Max is invited to jump on her friends bed, supposedly joining her friend an a feat of anarchy, all while rocking out to some of the softest rock in the whole game. The characters are talking punk-rock, all I feel is disconnected.
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I think this is part of a trend for the game. One minute you’re confronting an overbearing security officer who’s overstepped the line, the next you’re cowering from a bully who is calling you names. This is made all the worse as the voice acting also changes, with Max’s strong, confident voice turning to a trembling, bumbling echo of its former self.
The first episode of Life is Strange is technically sound, looks great and features some great music, and at only £4, Chrysalis is a great way to spend a few hours if you can overlook the cringeworthy writing and off balanced characters. You can pick up the first episode through Steam and the Humble Store. |
You can compare Matt's thoughts with his original hands on here
