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Life Is Strange |OT| Rewinder Me

kubus

Member
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( ! ) When posting, please be considerate of fellow members and make sure you tag all spoilers!
SPOILERS OF LEAKED/UNRELEASED CONTENT ARE NOT ALLOWED, NOT EVEN IF YOU TAG THEM!
There is a spoiler thread here.​

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Title: Life Is Strange
Developer: DONTNOD Entertainment (Remember Me)
Publisher: Square Enix
Platforms: PC (Steam), PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Genre: Graphic adventure
Distribution: Download

PRICING:
One Episode: $4.99 / €4.99 / £3.99
Season Pass (Ep. 2-5): $16.99 / €16.99 / £13.99
Complete Season Pass (Ep. 1-5): $19.99 / €19.99 / £15.99

PC Requirements:
Minimum requirements:
OS: Windows Vista
Processor: Dual Core 2.0GHz or equivalent
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: ATI or NVidia card w/ 512 MB RAM (not recommended for Intel HD Graphics cards)
DirectX: Version 9.0
Hard Drive: 3 GB available space

Recommended:
OS: Windows 7
Processor: Dual Core 3.0GHz or equivalent
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: ATI or NVidia card w/ 1024 MB RAM (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 or ATI HD 4890)
DirectX: Version 9.0
Hard Drive: 3 GB available space​


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Life is Strange is a five part episodic game from DONTNOD Entertainment that features story based choice and consequence by allowing the player to rewind time and affect the past, present and future. You are Max, a photography senior who saves her old friend Chloe by discovering she can rewind time. The pair soon find themselves exposed to the darker side of Arcadia Bay as they uncover the disturbing truth behind the sudden disappearance of a fellow student. Meanwhile, Max begins to have premonitions as she struggles to understand the implications of her power. She must quickly learn that changing the past can sometimes lead to a devastating future.

During gameplay you are free to explore the many different locations that the game features, such as the campus ground, school halls, dormitories, as well locations outside the school. By approaching objects or persons of interests a context menu will pop up, allowing Max to comment or interact with the highlighted object. As the story unfolds, Max will have to make many choices, of which some will have consequences for the future. An unique feature of Life is Strange is Max's ability to rewind time. Once a choice has been made, you can watch how the scene unfolds and if desired, rewind time and make a different choice to see the other option. Even though it seems like cheating, there is no "right" choice, and there is no way to predict what kind of consequences a choice will have in the long run. The time rewind mechanic can be used any time, and is also used for solving small puzzles.

The game features a distinct licensed indie soundtrack, with songs by Syd Matters, Mogwai, alt-J, José González, Sparklehorse and Bright Eyes, as well as original composed pieces.

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The developers are aiming to release a new episode every six weeks.


There is a demo of the first episode available on PSN and Xbox Marketplace.

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Max Caulfied is the protagonist of the story and the character you control. After a five year absence from her hometown, Arcadia Bay, she returns to attend a photography class at Blackwell Academy. Although she doesn't consider herself to be an introvert, she likes to observe people from a distance rather than interacting with them face to face. She shoots her photos using a Polaroid camera, specifically the one she received as a present from her parents.

Chloe Price is the childhood friend of Max and best friend of the missing Rachel Amber.

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Rachel Amber was the darling of the university and its students until she mysteriously disappeared one day.

Victoria Chase is one of the students of the photography class Max attends. She comes from a high background and is called the "queen bee" of the school.

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Kate Marsh is one of the students of the photography class at Blackwell Academy and a friend of Max. Because of her openness about her religious beliefs she is often bullied by the other students.

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Screenshots (Right click + View image for full size) said:

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Metacritic page
Review Thread (GAF)


Following reviews are for episode 1 only.

Polygon - 8/10
Colin: It's odd because I've done nothing but criticize this game. And yet, I admire its courage and I enjoyed playing it. I want to go back for more. It's aimed for an indie-movie meets teen-TV aesthetic, but even while it sometimes misses the mark, it's still a novel and fresh experience. And, at the end of this first episode, I enjoyed the world and I liked the characters enough to want to come back for more.
Megan: I feel the same. Despite its shortcomings, there's a powerful kind of nostalgia I draw from its characters and world. The time travel aspect is cool, no doubt, but I'm down with the little things. I've enjoyed spending time in the complicated life of a teenage girl, because it reminds me of what it was like to be one. It's the first game I've ever played where I felt that my life was represented on screen - even at its weakest points. Life is Strange uses the ordinary in a way that is extraordinary.

Kotaku - No score
There's space in later episodes for Life is Strange to grow in confidence, and I hope it does. All the same, episode one is a promising start to a type of story that's rare in games, and not just because it stars two teenaged girls. For the price—and especially with a demo available—you should definitely try it.

Gamespot - 7/10
Life is Strange sets the stage for later conflict, foreshadowing the storm to come and informing you of a young local woman gone missing. At the same time, the game makes everyone look like a guilty party. The rich frat boy with a gun, the smug school administrator, the stepdad in need of anger management skills--these and other characters have plenty to hide, though it’s impossible to guess what all their secrets might be. The looming tornado and the inconsistent time mechanic seem almost unnecessary as a result, for Life is Strange’s most important drama is the one developing in Max’s own mind.

Game Informer - 8.5/10
The next episode will surely define what Dontnod is out to accomplish, but Life is Strange’s introduction is a good look at the characters and dilemmas. It did its job of getting me interested. I have some minor concerns about how original the subject matter will turn out to be, but the focus on realistic problems is refreshing and the care put into Maxine’s world and the relationship-building holds plenty of promise.

Destructoid - 8.5/10
For now, we're left with our first glimpse at Arcadia Bay, our initial look into the life of Max. It was a slow, yet well-paced initial chapter that set the table more than anything else. There's no telling where the story will go from here. But, as Chrysalis faded out, an indie song played that felt wonderfully at home in this setting, and served as a warning of things to come. It chanted "We will foresee obstacles, through the blizzard, through the blizzard.



Thanks to Manu for the wonderful OT title!
 

Laieon

Member
I hadn't heard of this game before today, but I definitely plan on picking it up soon. It looks fantastic.
 
Really enjoyed that first episode. The setting, characters, presentation and music are all great and the story is interesting too. Rewinding mechanic lifts it above the usual point and click style gameplay too. Really looking forward to more.
 

Gala

Member
After you finish the episode there is a teaser for episode two and it says March 2015. Maybe you want to edit the banner.

Otherwise a great OT! Good work!
 
Downloading on Steam now.

Been looking forward to this one. A story-based adventure game seems more up Dontnod's alley than Remember Me, which had great visuals and story but somewhat clunky combat.
 
Great job on the OT, kubus!

Now sadly I will have to be leaving this thread until the game actually becomes available to me (US PS4 user). Wouldn't want to spoil anything for me.

have fun everybody.
 
Can't wait until the whole game is available. This wasn't even on my radar as a game until today... and then I watched literally five minutes of a stream and saw the reviews.

I love this style of game.
 

kubus

Member
Thanks for the kind words everyone <3.

After you finish the episode there is a teaser for episode two and it says March 2015. Maybe you want to edit the banner.

Otherwise a great OT! Good work!
Nice! I'll edit that in a sec :D.
 
Finished it last night. Episode 1 is pretty fantastic. Does a nice job of setting up the world and the mechanics while keeping things moving story-wise.

To be fair, this game is just a *little* up its own ass, but if you can accept that, it's a pretty great time.

Also the lip-synching is broken on PC, which kind of ruined the dialogue for me a bit, but I just imagined that it was dubbed French and it sort of worked.
 

Tarahiro

Member
Played through episode 1 this morning. Really like it but missed a lot so I will give it another play through soon. Really looking forward to the next episode :) will buy the season pass when I get more money. Just bought episode 1 for now.
 

Tizoc

Member
Question for PCGAF: What takes the most toll on the GPU/CPU? I tried lowering the AA options but my FPS when in an area with lots of people is 40-50 FPS.
 
Just wondering what major decisions (at least I think they are) did everybody make?

Episode 1 spoilers obviously,
I snitched on Nathan, Comforted Victoria, Intervened on Kate's behalf, and it seems I also Intervened on Chloe's behalf.
 

Persona7

Banned
Dontnod is investigating again, so maybe it might come to PSN today? I hope someone from sony saw my post in the other thread lol


Too late though, I already bought it on steam.
 
Great OT.

Can't wait to finally start playing this tonight.

Took a risk and bought the season pass too. I hope I don't end up regretting it like I have nearly every other season pass.
 

kubus

Member
Aww yeah the €50 PSN card I ordered a few days ago was finally delivered, so that means I can buy the game now :D.
 

FluxWaveZ

Member
I bought it, but I really don't like waiting for new episodes after my experience with TTG games. I'll try episode 1, and see if I should wait for the rest to come out before I continue or play them as they come out.
 

Symphonia

Banned
Downloaded the first episode this morning and am really enjoying it so far. The lip-syncing is really bad but everything else is fine. I'm looking forward to future episodes. Great work on the OT, OP.
 
Just wondering what major decisions (at least I think they are) did everybody make?

Episode 1 spoilers obviously,
I snitched on Nathan, Comforted Victoria, Intervened on Kate's behalf, and it seems I also Intervened on Chloe's behalf.

Didn't snitch on Nathan because after playing through both dialogue options it didn't seem like the principal would do anything and I didn't want to get myself involved at all. Comforted Victoria because I did feel a little bad and I'm sure she just acts that way as a front or something, but then talked to her friends afterword where she was causing drama and felt like maybe I shouldn't have comforted her. Intervened on Kate's behalf because she needs someone to stick up for her - I'm not sure what is going on with her subplot but it's troubling. Hid in Chloe's closet because that security guard already had it out for me after intervening and thought it would cause more trouble.
 

iNvid02

Member
tales from the borderlands was pleasantly surprising, i hope this could be as well. bring on the episodic future
 

Despera

Banned
Can't wait to play this. If it came out yesterday I would've been able to download it in a few minutes. But now the 1.8 gig download will probably take half a day with my current connection :'(

One thing I like about episodic releases is the fact each episode takes relatively little time to complete... which translates to a lower chance of joining the backlog.
 
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