Noob's Review: Life is Strange

Hello. I have a lot of things going on for me lately —and honestly I prefer not to talk about them— but I am feeling under the weather right now and whenever I am being in said situation, I need to write something solely in order to calm down. I cannot tell you what happened but I can assure you that it is not fine and it would be nice if we just talk about anything but that one hell of a topic. Thank you.

So, here I am, writing a game review for you, readers. You might ask, “What the fuck? I had no idea you were into games!” or “Pfft, what do you know about games anyway?” but hey, that is the point of this post! I am going to write a review of this game I have been playing for the past two or three days but from a noob’s point of view. So, bear with it.

The game I want to talk about is called Life is Strange. It was basically a visual novel-styled game and like any other visual novel out there, your decision matters and alters your storyline. This game was developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix. (Kingdom Hearts 3 is actually happening by the way!) 

I am a trash for Square Enix, so this game immediately caught my attention. Anyway, it was released a year back thus this review is obviously a year too late, but I am not a pro gamer (hell, I cannot even think of proclaiming myself as a gamer, like, what a burden!) and neither am I a pro blogger so, again, just bear with it.

(Spoiler alert.)

So, I have the chance to play all five seasons of the game. The story follows a freshman named Max who was back to her childhood town, Arcadia Bay, after moving four years prior to Seattle. In short, she had superpower. Spoiler alert (part two), she could go back in time and rewind things and, of course, saving people along the way. One second she was the unpopular, bullied student and the next second she was about to save the whole town from a massive tornado –in other words: your typical hero.

(End of the spoiler.)

The gameplay was, uh, fine? The first time I played, the game immediately reminded me of Bully (classic!) because it took place in a school setting and somehow I felt like it was Bully 2.0 minus violence and the very unhygienic cook lady in her hell of a kitchen. If you happened to play Bully, you know what I am talking about.

Anyway, despite being visual novel-ish, there are a lot of things you can do. Your character Max can go around, talk to people and choose your answers. They also give you different options when interacting with objects around you. You will need to look for particular objects and manipulate the way things work sometimes, and that is why this game is far from being boring despite its limited actions.

The graphics is awesome (Square Enix, duh.) and it was one of the main reason why I love this game. I love the whole Arcadia Bay setting —from Blackwell Academy, Chloe's mom's diner, to the lighthouse. The only thing that was off for me was the characters. I mean, I expected more detailed and real-life like features but overall, everything was eye-pleasing.

What else do you talk about when you talk about games? The story? If you are looking for a game with relatable (albeit unrealistic) story which makes you feel like you are actually involved in it, this is your game. 

If you love mystery and science-fiction, you will love this because (spoiler alert number three) the game does not only require us to solve the mystery of Max's power, the disappearance of Rachel (Chloe's friend) and all the shits going on at Blackwell; we also have to solve the bigger mysteries that is the disaster that was about to sweep the whole Arcadia Bay and the weird phenomenons like the out-of-nowhere eclipse and snow in the middle of summer. (Wait, was it spring? Fall?)

Overall, this is one of a few games that I actually enjoy playing despite not exactly being my cup of tea. I prefer games with a lot of actions and battles and such. 

Not bad for a noob, I guess?