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Life Ended Rather Strangely

Last post I dove into the first three episodes of Life is Strange, and explained what I liked and disliked about the those episodes. I have now finished the game, and I am happy to say that the ending was about as good as I expected. I was neither underwhelmed nor overwhelmed with the conclusion of the game, which was an unexpected surprise because games with complex plots and lots of twists in turns typically end in cliche fashion. I believe this ending was superior to those games because you were forced to make one final decision that would either kill the person you sought to save throughout the game, or allow Arcadia Bay to be demolished by a massive tornado. Regardless of the choice you make, there will be that little bit of guilt in the back of your mind. I was happy to save my best friend Chloe because every time you screw with time, it's to help Chloe or to keep Chloe alive. To kill her at the conclusion of the game would make the entire game seem pointless, and everything you did would be rendered completely pointless. Additionally, Arcadia Bay sucks. The only people I was worried about dying were Joyce, David, Warren, and Kate. I figured that there is a potential for them to survive, but going back meant killing Chloe guaranteed, which was not worth it.

After the conclusion of the game, I thought about different aspects that made the game successful, and there was a main mechanic throughout the game that stood out in contributing to its success and that was the choice process. The main reason I wanted to mention this mechanic is because each decision actually did matter, and the game's plot was progressed through this mechanic. In other choice based games, the decisions throughout the game have no baring on the final conclusion. Life is Strange does a good job incorporating all your decisions in the final episode. One main example of this was during the nightmare situation, where everyone you speak with mentions something about the decisions you made regarding them; Kate asked me why I talked her down from the ledge, and Alyssa says I shouldn't have helped her all those times that I did. The flow of those past decisions coming out in this final episode displayed the success of that mechanic. The decision making mechanic made the game feel more realistic and relatable because people don't forget the way you treat them, and in a nightmare scenario, those decisions may come back to haunt someone, like in Max's case.

Even though I enjoyed the game for the most part, there were some things that I found to be a bit annoying or that I disliked. The main situation about the final episode that irked me was the when you get kidnapped by the photography professor, Jefferson, who turned out to be the main bad guy throughout, and keep going back in time through the pictures. Max explains to Chloe that when she goes back in time through a picture, she wakes up and does not remember, but for some reason during the sequences with Jefferson she appeared to have remembered. Additionally, I did not like Max's ignorance during these Jefferson sequences. You are in San Francisco and the Tornado hits Arcadia Bay, so you return to make sure you are not in San Francisco by ripping up your picture you entered into the contest. But just before this sequence you figured out that handing in that picture is what lead to Jefferson being caught, so why on earth would Max be ignorant and think that ripping the photo would be the right choice? To me that decision seemed a bit too erroneous for how the rest of the game was.

Life is Strange was a quite successful game even though there were some unlikable characteristics. The ending was Strange, as Life is in this game but nothing to crazy. For those who may enjoy games for their story, or for people who may just like to be entertained without complex controls, I would recommend Life is Strange. My next post will be discussing some peer's blogs. Talk soon.

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