Life is Strange: Episode 4 - Dark Room

By: Robert Murphy

Have you ever found yourself reading a novel with a great beginning and a phenomenal ending to it but the middle bits were just dragging along? Well sadly this is the case for the fourth episode of Dotnod’s Life is Strange as things take a turn for the worse after transporting us to an entire new world at the end of the last episode. There had been such promise and a unique growth to Max Caulfield’s time manipulation powers where she was able to alter events from deep in the past. As I said though the follow through just wasn’t quite up to snuff until the dramatic conclusion.

I had high hopes for the follow up episode in the wake of all that is revealed from your decision to change time all together. This in turn created a whole new time line and without revealing too much it gives a delightful yet exceedingly dark insight into what would have happened if Max and Chloe had remained close when she moved away. While you wouldn’t expect such a drastic outcome from such a small choice it was nonetheless interesting to briefly explore an alternate reality. The disappointing part about all of this though proves to be the fact that this decision is entirely wiped clean from the story. Perhaps the developers were too scarred to explore this change or worried that it wouldn’t be received all too well but whatever the case it made for a weak cop out once you go back to your reality. What this whole experience means for Max’s powers remains unseen but it was an interesting move while it lasted.

What the Dark Room aimed to finally do for the story was to get things rolling in terms of the shady dealings going on in Arcadia Bay and all around Blackwell Academy. All the pieces were there and now all Max and her best friend Chloe had to do was put them together in order to find Chloe’s former best friend Rachel Amber and how it connects to drugs as well as Arcadia Bay’s wealthiest family. While this may sound all well and good, you will literally find yourself putting these pieces together one at a time on a gigantic board that Max and Chloe put together in her room. On it are all the clues you gather throughout the episode in pointless and one off fetch this and grab that quests that add to the monotony of the episode. Then you will spend the rest of your time putting the clues together that match up to other related bits and pieces of information you gathered around town.

While it’s good to get all of the intrigue out in the open, the episode presents things in far too of a rushed fashion. Most of the previous episodes Max and Chloe have found themselves hopelessly stumbling along trying to figure out the big picture but with no such luck to be found. This wasn’t a bad thing in any way but it didn’t lead you too far into the story that lied ahead of you and now in this penultimate chapter you have to see it all crammed right in front of you.

The payoff for all of this proved to be worth the anguish however as the final moments to the darkest episode of the series came to a close. Big questions were finally revealed as well as a huge underground story behind the supposed main bad guy, Nathan Prescott. The Prescott family has more than a few skeletons in their closet that need explaining but there is far more to the story than just a wealthy father neglecting the needs of his son. But, the biggest reveal has yet to come as the shocking ending for the chapter will leave players with all new questions to ponder on while they wait for the upcoming storm in Life is Strange’s final chapter.

Dark Room proved to a be a bit of a mess as it attempts to bring all the forces of Arcadia Bay crashing down on top of you. There is definitely are dark shift to the story this time around that I deeply enjoyed exploring, things finally started to focus on the overall goal for Max and Chloe and while it was presented poorly, a great conclusion came out of it in the end. However, I will approach things causally the next time around and hope that Dotnod can deliver a fantastic overall story and not just a beginning and an end.

Good:

- The secrets of Arcadia Bay finally begin to unravel

- A darker overall tone that was harsh but compelling

- Strong beginning and compelling conclusion

Bad:

- All the mystery is crammed down your throat in one episode

- Dull fetch quests and mystery solving tools

- A long and inconsistent story through the middle portion

Scully Rating: 6.0 out of 10

Life is Strange: Episode 3 - Chaos Theory

By: Robert Murphy

I knew that one day Max Caulfield’s rewind ability would fall short but never in a million years would I have expected it to be in such a tragic way. Episode 3 of Life is Strange begins on a very somber note after the events of the last and luckily the game has a wonderful way of immersing you into the world and letting you know that things have not only affected you but everyone around you. People show their support and positivity with you in a game like this whether it is a kind gesture or a simple text message you feel that people have your back. Much of the beginning of episode 3 gives you plenty of time to breathe and some much needed time with your friends to sort out all that is going on in your life. Whether that involves your new found powers, the possible incoming storm that threatens all of Arcadia Bay or just your regular day to day life, things definitely start to feel less stressful. Right up until the end that is.

One of the most enjoyable aspects to “Chaos Theory” is Max finally feels more at peace with her abilities this time around. In previous episodes Max has struggled to understand her gifts and what the extent of her powers might be and even spent a good portion of episode two testing them out to see what she can do. Now though she appears to be a seasoned pro with the abilities that she currently knows about. The puzzles and problems that you’re presented with this time around appear to less stressful for Max and you to deal with because you now know what exactly you can pull off. Having a conversation with a character you need to get information from and learning a piece of information about them to rewind and use against them is basically child’s play at this point. That isn’t to say that it is any less fun or interesting. Characters in Life is Strange are proving to become more compelling as time goes on and I find myself wanting to talk to just about everyone I see just because the world has become so rich. Some of the unfortunate slang still gets in the way of it from time to time but I’ve come to embrace that it’s not going away any time soon.

Your relationship with Chloe is honestly what shines the most for episode 3. Max and Chloe have gradually begun to get closer again with one another despite Chloe’s attitude about you leaving and her nasty habit of going off on people. There is more tender moment between the two though as you both decide to break into Blackwell Academy after dark to get information on what exactly the principal is hiding about the goings on at the school. This is a fun endeavor for a number of reasons besides the obvious joy I had in making my very own pipe bomb with the help of Warren, but there was also the time you get to spend reconnecting with Chloe in the schools pool. The two finally feel like good friends again and their relationship is one that I deeply enjoy experiencing as I play.

By the end of things though it felt fitting that all this should happen once Max finally starts to feel some relief and get a handle on her powers which unknown to her are about to take a huge leap forward.

The big reveal for “Chaos Theory” comes at the end of the episode once again as Max reverses time further than she ever has before and in affect goes backwards in time to a point she never thought possible. There had already been quite a phenomenal bombshell at the end of the last episode and yet somehow the developers have managed to outdo themselves once again. Max goes back with the intent of effectively changing things for the better as so many people have often done before but I’ve learned anything from time travel show and movies it’s that you have to constantly worry about the ripple effect that your actions will create. Max awakes from this experience in an entirely different world which was shaped by what she had done and now she is more lost than ever before. The whole experience of a new world to explore and whether or not my abilities can have any effect anymore in the world I’ve created has me insanely enthralled for the beginning of the next episode.

Episode 3 of Life is Strange starts out with a relaxed sense to it after the events of the previous episode but it does not falter in its ability to create new and interesting aspects for the story. Max’s new power was a big step forward and makes me wonder what exactly she will be able to do with this new ability and what issues they’ve already created for her next time. The characters we see are also becoming deeply engaging as things progressed this time around, I learned new facts about people I never thought I’d like and things about those I did like that I was better off not ever knowing. One thing is certain though and that’s that I am exceedingly excited for what lies around the corner for our main heroine Max. I certainly hope she is prepared.

Good:

- New time travel ability

- The bond between Max and Chloe

- Enjoyable puzzles and problems for the episode

- The big story altering decision

Bad:

- Usual dialogue issues

Scully Rating: 8.2 out of 10

Life is Strange: Episode 1 - Chrysalis

By: Robert Murphy

What do you get when you turn a CW teen drama into a video game? You would probably end up with something similar to Life is Strange. The story follows seemingly average teen Max Caulfield who has just returned to her home state of Oregon and is now attending a prestigious private school. She is a gifted photographer but lacks a certain confidence to strut her stuff and show what she's made of but hey, it is high school and kids are going through all sorts of problems and emotions but Max may have the rest of the kids her age beat. After a horrible nightmare in the middle of her photography class and stumbling upon a scene where a young girl gets shot, Max discovers that she has the power to reverse time. This takes her oddly poetic life in an entirely new direction as she struggles to make the right decisions to all that is going around her but being able to rewind your life in mere seconds to a point where you choose helps out quite a bit. This is a power any teenager would dream of it would seem but never the less it is one that Max is in dire need of for the future to come or yet to be made. 

Time travel was the last thing that I thought of when I first laid eyes on Life is Strange, I thought to myself that it would be another choose your own story style of game set through the life of an American teen that would be ripe with classic high school drama issues. That part was still true at least. Max is definitely an outcast member at her new school, she may have grown up in this town but a lot has changed since she left and her shy nature has made everything a bit harder for her. She wanders the halls with headphones on trying not to be noticed or cause anyone to really notice that she is there, Max just wants to quietly move about her day with as little stress as possible. Her strong nature though is revealed quickly after her photography class ends and she ends up in the girls bathroom, she is hidden at the end of the stalls when a boy enters and a girl soon after him. The two begin to argue and the boy in the end pulls a gun out and shoots the poor girl, this is a crucial point for Max as it is her first big time jump. She rewinds time all the way to her photography class, gets revenge on the mean girl in class and then returns to the restroom to pull the fire alarm and save the girl. It's certainly a powerful first chunk to the story and it only gets more intriguing from there.

Every decision Max makes ultimately has a consequence to them and while for the moment Max only worries about the choices she makes, such as turning in the boy with the gun to the principal, there are sure to be bigger problems later because of it. These choices however can be done or undone rather easily, Max can restart time on a whim and players can decide whether or not the decisions they've made were truly the ones they wanted. I stood there for a few moments debating to rewind time and save a girl from getting whacked in the head with a football or not, seeing if it would somehow help me later. It definitely leads you to feeling more relieved with your choice unlike in any Telltale game where I would love to rewind time and make a different choice if I could. The rewind function is a bit of a cheat in a way but one that I certainly love, time travel can always get so messy in movies and shows and I'm sure it will certainly get messy in Life is Strange but for the moment the time manipulation is pretty darn fun. 

Now, not every choice in the game leads to some huge life altering future as many of the decisions in the game can be as simple as preventing someone from being bullied or staying off the radar of a particularly mean security guard. Max is definitely a person deserving of the gift of time manipulation as she does whatever she can to help those around her and use her gift for the right reasons. She may not know why she has this gift but she knows she can do some good with and starts to blossom into a truly great character. If only all the characters followed suit with her appealing characteristics. Many of the characters in the game are frankly flat, my conversation with the principal of the school was particularly mind numbing one and I felt like I was back in high school myself trying to dodge the conversation with my own principal. What made matters worse was when I decided to tell him about the boy with the gun and his blank expression really left me with a perplexed feeling, a kid had a gun! Do something other than stand there slack jawed starring at me. It certainly created a lack of tension for me as I played, I already felt invincible with my gift but with the characters around me not giving me any sort of concern I felt like the some of the drama was sucked out of this supposedly dramatic tale.  

This isn't to say that all the characters in Life is Strange are bad, no many of the characters introduce look to lead to some potentially interesting stories later on. When I reunite with my long lost best friend Chloe, who is the punky girl in the bathroom that I watched die, I finally found a character with as much appeal as Max. Chloe has gotten into some big issues while Max was away and she has completely changed from the girl she knew, at least on the outside anyway as the two awkwardly stumble back into friendship. Chloe has an interesting story in itself but she also has more going on in the background as she is looking for her missing best friend that sort of replaced Max when she left. We then have her not so friendly step father, you met him earlier, he's our jerk security guard. His character has some screws loose and his massive levels of paranoia certainly made me curious as to what sort of things he will be up to later.

As it goes with most first episodes, Chrysalis does plenty of setup and leaves a lot of intrigue for what is to come in the next chapter of the story and it does it well. Max Caulfield is a sweet and interesting main character who starts off meek but is already changing into a compelling character before the halfway mark of the first episode. The story and world is also a very interesting one and I am certainly ready to see what lies in wake next. What is the lighthouse and what was with Max's bad nightmare in class and how did she get these powers she has? So many questions that I want answered and I can't wait to see what I find. 

Good:

- Max is a wonderful main character

- Enjoyable story and world to explore

- Interesting choice to make

Bad:

- Some characters are flat and lack expression

- Not a lot of tension for a supposedly dramatic story

Scully Rating: 7.0 out of 10