Life is Strange by Developer Dontnod

Yeah. I didn't realize that I was supposed to press a button to get off the swings until I'd been sitting there for like 5 minutes. The integration of the music with gameplay reminds me a bit of Kentucky Route Zero. It's really well done.

That was a great first episode. The way they use the rewind time mechanic with the "big" choices I really liked. Seeing the outcomes of both decisions and still being torn about which one I should pick, or being able to see what would happen if I do the asshole thing

Spoiler:

Like with Victoria.

and then going back and making the other choice makes me like the set up and game play of this even more than the Telltale games. Hopefully they can keep it up.

I picked this up last night (first new game of 2015, woo!) and have really been enjoying it. I love the fact that there's so many posters/notes to look at/read. Its normalcy is especially captivating in the wake of the... ability discovered early on by the protagonist. I am also impressed that they made our heroine a reasonably normal looking 18-year old girl, and not a gigantic boob-monster. I can't remember the last time I played a flat-chested heroine. The voice acting is good, and though I am a long throw from being 18, the dialog/journal hasn't seemed cringe-worthy so far. YOU CAN TAKE A PHOTO OF A SQUIRREL WITH A SODA CAN, too, which earns a lot of bonus points.

STUFF TO READ - make sure to check out the character's journal! Much more content than I expected. LOOK AT ALL OF THIS STUFF TO READ AND THERE ARE STICKERS TOO, I thought, and then realized I made a wise investment. I am a few hours in and just acquired the flash drive, and even if it ends soon I have well received my money's worth.

I'm really curious how teens will react to this game. I dunno if it will be mostly positive or not.

After letting the story 'settle' for a day, I'm liking it even better now than when I finished. I was a little disappointed that Ep1 was done, and that colored my perception a bit. Now that it's sort of percolated, I think quite highly of it.

I'm also curious about teenage reactions; the characters feel, I dunno, kinda retro? Shame we're short on teens here to ask.

I know, right?

Went and got the rest of the photos in collectible mode (cool feature!). Definitely going to stick with my initial gut choices going into episode 2.

This game just keeps getting better in my mind after letting everything sink in. I can't wait to find out more about Chloe.

Reddit seems to like it okay, although it hasn't gotten a ton of traffic or anything. A couple of them were complaining about some of the language that Chloe uses, saying it sounded stupid, but then someone else chimed in that where he lives, kids sound exactly like that.

No idea what their actual ages are, of course, but in a very informal sample, only a few were complaining, and most seemed to like it quite well.

I'm thinking of playing through this with my wife.. is it "non-violent" (at the least is it not over the top she can handle some violence if its not gratuitous) as well is there time to discuss decisions or is it split second.

Yeah I think they got the dialog almost perfect. There was one use of "hella" that seemed a bit out of place, but that's about it.

TheGameguru wrote:

I'm thinking of playing through this with my wife.. is it "non-violent" (at the least is it not over the top she can handle some violence if its not gratuitous) as well is there time to discuss decisions or is it split second.

I wouldn't say it's non-violent; someone gets shot and killed in the first ten minutes, but it's not over the top body horror. There are some points where you have to react quickly to get a certain outcome, but...

Spoiler:

The main character can rewind time.

It looks like all the major choices and dialogue options will sit forever until you make them. I took a long time to make a call on more than a few.

TheGameguru wrote:

I'm thinking of playing through this with my wife.. is it "non-violent" (at the least is it not over the top she can handle some violence if its not gratuitous) as well is there time to discuss decisions or is it split second.

Overall content warnings involving violence or references to violence:

Spoiler:

As Freyja mentions, there's a firearm shooting early on.
A bystander is struck by an object.
There are a couple of scenes of verbal abuse by an adult, including directed at the protagonist.
There is a fistfight.
There is an incident of physical abuse by an adult.

There's a pretty mild verbal description by a character of being sexually assaulted.
There are implications that another character may have been.
There are implications that someone may have been murdered.

The protagonist is not the attacker in any of these situations, is usually not a direct participant, and often has the ability to intervene.

I'd rate the general violence level of this game as being pretty low. Think "movie about average teenagers" levels.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

I'm really curious how teens will react to this game. I dunno if it will be mostly positive or not.

Here's a few pulls from the last few pages of the NeoGaf thread. Many seem to think the writing/tone is authentic to the demographic.

- As a high schooler/18 year old/art student I can promise you guys the dialogue is spot on. Doesn't mean you have to like it though, hahahaha!

- I'm a girl, fairly young (24) and used to be very much into photography in highschool.

I can positively say I identify with the characters, especially Max, a LOT. Except she's a tiny bit more hipster than me. Tiny. I wish I had a polaroid back then. I do have one now though /hipster

And yes - girls are just like that. And even Female Doggoier sometimes. Any further questions?

- It helps that I'm an 18 y/o girl who's a senior art student in high school, but this game is so amazing. I'm even more excited for the second ep than I am for UC4. The second Max put on her headphones I knew I was in for a treat. It's the aesthetic, the characters and just falling in love with this world that makes it such a wonderful and endearing game.

That's cool. I hope all the people at Dontnod feel good about themselves and their project, and of course, get to continue making more games after this one is ultimately finished.

Yeah the moment Max put on her headphones and walked down the hallway was it for me too.

I think this is my favorite song from the game that I wasn't aware of before playing. Don't listen to it if you haven't played the game yet!

Listening to it makes me feel like I'm curled up next to a warm fireplace.

Yeah, the soundtrack is grade A.

complexmath wrote:

Yeah the moment Max put on her headphones and walked down the hallway was it for me too.

I wasn't the only one who just stood there listening to the song, right? Right? I was totally digging it, and was afraid that if I did anything, I'd trigger a new scene and they'd stop the music. I especially liked the muting they applied to the rest of the ambient sounds while she was listening.

I'm only 20 minutes in, but I'm already glad I bought this at full price.

I didn't sit there, but I also didn't talk to anyone in the hallway, even though there are like 8 people to talk to. I didn't want to interrupt the music with people talking.

Well, I got $10 in PSN credit with my PS4. Half went to Peggle 2, so the other half might as well go to this. I know nothing about it except that some of my favorite posters here seem enthusiastic about it.

complexmath wrote:

I didn't sit there, but I also didn't talk to anyone in the hallway, even though there are like 8 people to talk to. I didn't want to interrupt the music with people talking.

Yup, you're not the only one. I kept seeing the "Speak" prompt pop up and and I just thought "Well, Max doesn't want to talk to anyone anyway, so let's just keep on moving."

From the trailer, and little I've seen of this game, it looks really cool. I plan to pick it up after my next pay day. I'm also waiting to start an episodic game until my new PC is finished.

I'm glad more exploration games like Life is Strange and Gone Home are coming out. It's a refreshing change from all the action and shooter titles.

How often are new episodes supposed to be released?

Every 6 weeks from what I've read.

Totally agree with the Life Is Strange/Gone Home comment.

I'm torn--very interested in this game but not in the episodic nature and want to hold off until all five episodes are finished. Sigh.

This is also the first episodic game where I fully expect to replay prior episodes before the new one is released. Or if that's not your style, there's a collector mode that unlocks after you've finished an episode where you can play through a section for the collectibles. It's the full section and so you're presented with all the same decisions, but they aren't recorded anywhere. It seems like a good way to "replay" a prior episode to remember what happened without worrying that you're changing decisions you wanted to hold onto.

walterqchocobo wrote:

I'm torn--very interested in this game but not in the episodic nature and want to hold off until all five episodes are finished. Sigh.

Episode 1 was really a nice little package with a beginning, middle, and ending. I would play it, see what you think, and then maybe wait for the final 4 episodes to be released before finishing. They have it set up that way for purchase on PSN. You can buy the 1st episode separate for $5 and then you can buy the season pass (episodes 2-5) for $17.

Edit: I had the price wrong on the PSN season pass and updated it.

Finished episode one last night. Aside from a few minor issues (sometimes, the speech would just randomly blank out for a split second), it was spectacular. I love the look and feel of the game. I have to say, however, I am feel a sense of disconnect with the characters, which just goes to show that I left high school behind me a long time ago. But the story is very engaging, the mechanics with the time warp thing is wonderful. And yup, this is choices done right. Even when you know what your choices are, when you've played them out, it's still hard to decide what to do ultimately. I'll definitely be getting the season pass, no question about it.
Like Puce Moose, I really appreciated the journal (haven't seen something like that since The Longest Journey).
I wasn't a fan of the reaction to the Flu flyer in the bathroom, that's my minor gripe, but whatever.
Also, Puce, why say Max is flat chested just because she isn't sporting "bangin' double Ds" (not your words, something I read online )? It's actually to have some real female characters, and this is all the more evident to me that I was just listening to the Isometric podcast this morning and they were lamenting the transformations of Jill Valentine through the Resident Evil games. And there's real world diversity, how refreshing.
And I have to admit, I didn't think it was my type, but the music is awesome and fits so perfectly.

My choices:

Spoiler:

You Reported Nathan - What an idiot I was...
You comforted Victoria - Figured she would never be a decent person if people were mean to her
You intervened to help out Kate - although my first impulse was to take a picture (I figured I'd then intervene)
You hid when David slapped Chloe - my first choice was to intervene, but Max said somethign about losing her scholarship because I'd claimed the joint was mine...

You let Daniel draw your portrait
You signed Ms. Grant's petition
You helped Alyssa
You didn't erase Kate's slate - Didn't even know I could!!!
You watered your plant
You didn't touch Dana's pregnancy test (Although I did at first, and then went back)
You "reorganized" Victoria's photos
You wrote on a dirty RV
You didn't save the bird - WHAT BIRD???
You didn't break Chloe's snow globe - I did break it at first, whoops, let me just rewind and fix that...
You didn't leave any evidence
You read David's files - you bet your sweet behind I did... That guy is bad news

Also, regarding Warren:

Spoiler:

Max keeps remarking that Brenda and Warren would be great together, but is it just me, or is it painfully obvious that Warren likes Max? Like, glaringly obvious. Evidence: the loan of the flash drive, all the texts, the white knight pic...

Played an hour with my wife on the couch tonight, pretty, nice but so far not nearly as engaging as Gone Home, which is how I sold it to my wife. We played that in one sitting together last year and it was a pretty special experience for us.
Keen to get more into it, absolutely lost it with the "camera took a sh*t" line.

Edit: also, who the f takes a Polaroid as their primary rig to a photography school, let alone actually 'shakes it like a Polaroid picture', surely she'd have been scolded for doing that already. I'm guessing it all adds to the aesthetic/mood.

Also, what's with all boobs?

Eleima wrote:

It's actually to have some real female characters, and this is all the more evident to me that I was just listening to the Isometric podcast this morning and they were lamenting the transformations of Jill Valentine through the Resident Evil games. And there's real world diversity, how refreshing.

\

I noticed this the moment Max stepped out of her classroom during the late opening credits, with all the student body milling about in the hallway. There were a variety of ethnicities and body types that I found hella (lol) refreshing.

I'm so happy to see divergent games like this in the marketplace.

Aaron D. wrote:

...hella...

...Sad face

Spoiler:

Not really, though. I'm really impressed with the dialogue in this one.