Life Is Strange

A game I've played recently that affected me deeply, Life is Strange, produced by Dontnod in 2015, is an interactive adventure that succeeds both in story and music and pulls you right in. For anyone unfamiliar with interactive games: pioneered by Telltale Games, they let the player intervene in critical choices in the third person, within the game's story and rules.

In Life is Strange we control Maxine Caulfield , an introverted, socially awkward young woman studying photography at college in the town of Arcadia Bay. At the start we find ourselves on a hill in stormy weather. Our first goal is to reach the lighthouse ahead. Later we wake up in the middle of class, and when we go to wash our face to clear our head, we witness a murder. In a sudden reflex Max accidentally rewinds time, finds herself back in class, and discovers her ability. And so the real story begins.

One of the things the game cares about most is its art direction. Between the storytelling through graphics and lighting and the music that puts you through intense emotion at just the right moments, Life is Strange locks you to the screen completely. The soundtrack is so good that even after finishing the game you keep replaying every track, and just listening brings the scenes back before your eyes. You can interact with almost every object and person. The more you explore and learn the world, the more attached you become; the more attached you are, the more you play, and the more you play, the more fun you have. Even some random object on a table can help solve a puzzle—or give you a much deeper look into the characters. 

Gameplay mechanics aren't hard; the hard part is making decisions. Every choice can directly affect the ending or how the story unfolds. How you progress is up to you. But you have to choose carefully, learn your surroundings as much as you can, and act accordingly. Every wrong decision can lead to terrible outcomes.. Thanks to our rewind ability we can change a choice we've made, but that power is limited, and we never know whether a decision will come back to haunt us in the long run or the short run. 

With every character developed in detail, Life is Strange deepens your attachment the more you get to know them—you almost want to become part of that world. The emotional side is intense, and every detail is so well crafted that while it pulls you into a great adventure, the storytelling, visuals, and music reinforce it; even after you finish, the feeling lingers for a while. I'm not entirely sure, but I believe the game also has a Turkish language pack. The playtime is about 8.5 hours, yet the impact Life is Strange leaves lasts much longer. To convey this amazing experience properly, I also had to add a few updates to my website—but I think it was worth it.

Thanks so much for reading my blog, friends—take care, and see you in the next posts! 

When your whole life is turned upside down, how can you tell which path is the right one?

 - Chloe Price