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Essays 11 September 2020, 15:09

author: Aleksandra Sokolska

Life is Strange. How to start playing? The best video games

Table of Contents

  1. Release date: 2015
  2. Genre: episodic adventure
  3. Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, iOS, Android
  4. A game for: people who like a good, thick plot

Life Is Strange is a kind of playable Butterfly Effect with action set in a college. The main character is Max Caulfield, a high school student and a passionate photographer. One day, she witnesses a murder and discovers her ability to manipulate time. All the elements of Life Is Strange, sometimes considered cringeworthy by seasoned gamers, are at the same time the things that make the game pretty much perfect for beginners.

The game admittedly isn't very interactive. It's more like an interactive film. Indeed, the story is very cinematic – perfect for a TV show, as Life Is Strange consists of five episodes. Each episode is about three hours long – each episode begins with a summary of the story and decisions made in the previous episode. This makes it pretty easy to keep up with the nuances of the plot, even after taking a longer break. A multi-threaded story abd fantastic characters are certainly the game's greatest advantages. Every person you meet is a full-blooded and ambiguous, and your decisions determine your relationships with them.

The mechanics of time manipulation also make the whole thing a lot more interesting, allowing us to repeat the given scene until we're happy with the outcome. We can do it only at specific moments, however. This allows you to see the long-term effects of your decisions over time. 

If you're looking for an immersive adventure, Life Is Strange is among the best out there. Not only does it have an interesting plot, interesting characters, beautiful locations and atmospheric music – you're the main character here and no one tells you what to do.

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