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LTTP: Life is Strange
- Thread starter Albino_Yeti
- Start date
Permanently A
Junior Member
A lot of people hate this game online... I played it with a few friends and really enjoyed it.
with our collective brainpower was probably the highlight of the game. I also like the
instead of the
because even though it commonly gets criticized as
I think the game is about letting go of the emotional connections you made and that was really impactful to me.
Saving Kate
Bay ending
Bae ending
none of your choices mattered!
Demoskinos
Member
I internally scream inside every time someone indicates that
the bay over bae ending is the "correct" ending.
Here is the thing. That ending is great if that is what you felt like going with more power to you. HOWEVER. Touting this as the "canon" or "correct" ending really ruffles my feathers.
I chose the 2nd option and saved Chloe. And here is my pitch as to why I think that ending is just as valid an ending as the first.
What happens this entire story? Something fucks up and Max tries to fix it. And sometimes in her process of trying to fix things she breaks more things. To me that second ending is Max just accepting the consequences of her actions and realizing she can't fix everything.
Here is the thing. That ending is great if that is what you felt like going with more power to you. HOWEVER. Touting this as the "canon" or "correct" ending really ruffles my feathers.
I chose the 2nd option and saved Chloe. And here is my pitch as to why I think that ending is just as valid an ending as the first.
What happens this entire story? Something fucks up and Max tries to fix it. And sometimes in her process of trying to fix things she breaks more things. To me that second ending is Max just accepting the consequences of her actions and realizing she can't fix everything.
D
Deleted member 80556
Unconfirmed Member
Oh you mean the locker room video of the nightmare where nothing is real?
The nightmare is pretty much
a reflection of Max's inner thoughts and, so she kind of thinks (although probably only sometimes, else she wouldn't be his friend) that he is kind of creepy.
Demoskinos
Member
Permanently A
Junior Member
That last sentence can also be applied to the other ending lol.
I went with
Bay ending because I didn't think Max's character would ultimately sacrifice all those people for Chloe.
demosthenes
Member
I'm glad this thread popped up. Finishing the game tomorrow.
It is such a pleasure to play it. The devs did an amazing job.
2)
3/4)
4)
This is how I'm going, sorry Warren.
It is such a pleasure to play it. The devs did an amazing job.
2)
Saved Kate
Killed Chole
Did NOT see Jefferson coming at all
This is how I'm going, sorry Warren.
I mean, that would be fine but it's pretty clear
they put all the work in the first ending and had an intern rush some cobbled together junk for the second ending. Bay is 9 minutes long, Bae is like a minute lol.
They clearly put the thought and time into the first one, and the second one they didn't expect most players to pick (hence, probably not canon).
They clearly put the thought and time into the first one, and the second one they didn't expect most players to pick (hence, probably not canon).
They explicitly said that the other ending's abruptness was due to budget issues at the end of the project.
HawksWinStanley
Member
I thought the first half of the game was a boring teen girl simulator with some of the lamest dialogue I've heard in a game. But holy shit did it ramp up about half way through the 3rd episode and remained pretty fantastic from then on. I doubt I'd ever play through it again but I'm glad I hung in there and finished it. I'll definitely check out the sequel.
I sacrificed Chloe too. At first I wasn't going to but then she made a pretty compelling argument as to why I should let her die (again...) so I decided to save the town. But in the end both endings were pretty weak, so whatever.
I see so much love for it on Reddit..I dont know why honestly 
xD
Nothing you do has any affect on the story at all and theres barely any gameplay...maybe it just isnt my thing *shrug*
And the characters are annoying as hell..Ive got to admit, Ive laughed extremely hard at some of the dialogue in the game:
"I can see why Chloe hangs around here......She's a steampunk"
And the characters are annoying as hell..Ive got to admit, Ive laughed extremely hard at some of the dialogue in the game:
"I can see why Chloe hangs around here......She's a steampunk"
"So she killed herself! Such sad, okay!"
xD
Galactic Fork
A little fluff between the ears never did any harm...
This really bugs me they expected everyone to choose that ending, the "first" ending is so annoying. It's like the makers are telling you not to play the game.
You're only in the bathroom at the beginning because of the tornado vision. If that didn't happen, you'd never have been there to see Chloe get shot. If they were so intent on you not saving Chloe, why even give you the tornado vision in the first place?
Then... Not only did you have the vision, but when you didn't save Chloe in the bathroom, they gave you magical time powers so you got another chance to save her. The universe worked so so hard to save Chloe there. Seems more reasonable to keep her alive. It also implies TWO opposing mystical forces. One side who wants Chloe dead, and one side that wants her alive. Whoever sent the tornado afterward obviously wants Chloe dead, and is willing to destroy a whole town as petty revenge. Chloe must be super important. I choose to align myself with the side who works through saving lives, rather than destroying people if they don't get their way.
So the way I see the bay is destroyed ending is that now Max is Chloe's protector, using her time powers (granted by the good side) to save Chloe until Chloe achieves her destiny that the evil side is trying to prevent.
Then... Not only did you have the vision, but when you didn't save Chloe in the bathroom, they gave you magical time powers so you got another chance to save her. The universe worked so so hard to save Chloe there. Seems more reasonable to keep her alive. It also implies TWO opposing mystical forces. One side who wants Chloe dead, and one side that wants her alive. Whoever sent the tornado afterward obviously wants Chloe dead, and is willing to destroy a whole town as petty revenge. Chloe must be super important. I choose to align myself with the side who works through saving lives, rather than destroying people if they don't get their way.
So the way I see the bay is destroyed ending is that now Max is Chloe's protector, using her time powers (granted by the good side) to save Chloe until Chloe achieves her destiny that the evil side is trying to prevent.
Herr Starr
Member
I absolutely loved this game and couldn't get it out of my mind for months after finishing it. That's truly rare with games these days.
It was one of those games where my own storytelling experience made me see the major plot twist coming long before it happened though.
It was one of those games where my own storytelling experience made me see the major plot twist coming long before it happened though.
After a while I started noticing that every single character, major or minor, had some kind of story arc they were going through. Every single character, that is, except for Jefferson. He was at a complete standstill from the moment you're introduced to him, never developing as a character, yet he's portrayed as one of the major characters. That made no sense to me unless his story arc was meant to be a late-game plot twist. Because of that I was 100% certain that he was the culprit long before the game showed its hand. It's too bad the writers never noticed this flaw in the story, because they could have relatively easily made a fake story arc for him to throw people like me off the trail. It wasn't even as if I was deliberately looking for the twist. It was practically yelling at me to notice it.
Galactic Fork
A little fluff between the ears never did any harm...
I kinda suspected when he practically drew Kate a map to the roof.
They did halfheartedly cobble the Victoria/Jefferson possibility thing as a red herring, but yeah, he wasn't super surprising.
They did halfheartedly cobble the Victoria/Jefferson possibility thing as a red herring, but yeah, he wasn't super surprising.
Falchion
Member
This is a pretty interesting perspective that I hadn't thought of. On my second playthrough I'll probably go with bae just to see how it feels.
Also, never had the issue with Warren some people do. The nightmare scene was just that, a warped version of Max's perspective x 1,000. He had been hitting on her for a while so I'm sure some small part of her subconscious wondered if he was a creep and that was the part that the locker represented. He proved himself to be a really good guy who was even willing to get the shit kicked out of him to help his friends.
osnameless
Member
Truly good game, with great time-control mechanics and some neat puzzles, even though they become a bit repetitive towards the end.
Dialogue options leave a lot to be desired though, and the ending was kinda disappointing
Dialogue options leave a lot to be desired though, and the ending was kinda disappointing
I can see the production meeting on this...
Producer A: Hey everybody, it looks like we're running low on time and resources on our last episode of a narrative based game. We can either nerf one half of a binary choice that ends the entire series and keep the extra long bullshit stealth nightmare sequence or have two balanced endings but a much shorter nightmare sequence. What should we do?
Producer B: We HAVE to keep that stealth sequence! It's super important to the story we're telling.
Writer: Wait a second, I don't thi-
Producer A: Okay! Sounds good to me!
Producer B: We HAVE to keep that stealth sequence! It's super important to the story we're telling.
Writer: Wait a second, I don't thi-
Producer A: Okay! Sounds good to me!
Albino_Yeti
Member
I've seen people theorize that
Max was given her powers as a gift to spend time with Chloe for one final week before she has to die. Might sound a little morbid, but it could also be considered sweet I think. It gave Max a final chance to hang with her best friend before she died, which is an opportunity a lot of us don't get with our loved ones.
Herr Starr
Member
Whether or not she was given her powers for that reason, I'm pretty sure that is the entire point of the game. It's not really a story about saving the world. It's a story about
two girls reconnecting for a week before one of them has to die, and the impact this experience has on them and the world around them.
I think a lot of the problem people have with the final binary choice
("none of my decisions before this meant anything at all since these choices don't change based on earlier actions!")
Albino_Yeti
Member
That's a great way of looking at it, and just makes the ending that much more brutal haha. But I agree with pretty much everything you said. I can see the merits in the other choice, but, to me at least, this one was more fulfilling.
adamsapple
Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
ending spoilers below:
The
bay over bae ending makes sense because that would be the 'hollywood' version of the ending, the theatrical butterlfy effect ending. The bae over bay ending seems like something that would be an alternate ending in the directors cut.
There's no reason that Max may still not have her rewind powers even after Chloe is killed in the bathroom for the Bay ending, seems like the powers were already with her before she even saved Chloe.
The only way to make sure time doesn't break is to just not use them, that's what I consider the ending of the game to be, that Max still has the power in her but she will not use it in fear of not breaking time and destroying wherever she is as a repercussion.
There's no reason that Max may still not have her rewind powers even after Chloe is killed in the bathroom for the Bay ending, seems like the powers were already with her before she even saved Chloe.
The only way to make sure time doesn't break is to just not use them, that's what I consider the ending of the game to be, that Max still has the power in her but she will not use it in fear of not breaking time and destroying wherever she is as a repercussion.
The_Hitcher89
Member
Game of the generation, out of nowhere.
MasterMenace
Member
Quit when they asked me to collect bottles, zzz
Albino_Yeti
Member
Lol they actually make fun of that in a later episode.
The Before the Storm comic-con panel is going on in 30 minutes for those interested. Andrea Rene is hosting it.
Just a heads up for anyone interested.
lol that was so tedious.
Overall, Life is strange is a game best experienced second hand on a video or livestream than actually playing. Same goes for telltale games. Its so narrative driven and theres so little gameplay that its best to experience it like a movie. It doesnt really make a difference because no matter what you do, you end up with the same 2 outcomes
demosthenes
Member
Finished the game last night. Only on phone right now so I'll keep it short but game was amazing and I feel empty that it's over. The similar feeling to finishing a persona game. Choose to
save chloe.
I also sa
without a second thought. It was the right thing to do and everyone knows that. Sure you could argue that everything was for naught but it wasn't, Max won't forget, we won't forget, it was all for the experience.
They do and I am quite certain it was a reaction to the fans feedback they've gotten. A nice touch and advantage you get with episodic content.
crificed Chloe
They do and I am quite certain it was a reaction to the fans feedback they've gotten. A nice touch and advantage you get with episodic content.
More ending spoilers:
The problem with that theory though is she can't undo the knowledge she has gained from her powers. So let's say she goes back in time and let Chloe die, what about everyone else? Does she call cops on the professor, does she prevent Kate from commiting suicide? If she does she has broken time again, the tornado would come and she would lose bae and bay. If she doesn't call cops on the professor she would end up killed by him.
The rules about breaking time doesn't make sense, therefor bae is the only right solution .
The rules about breaking time doesn't make sense, therefor bae is the only right solution .
Albino_Yeti
Member
She doesn't have to call the cops. After Nathan murders Chloe, and gets arrested, he exposes Jefferson, leading to his arrest as well.
Honestly, the game craps all over itself with the supposed "rules".
Saving the bay never made one lick of sense. Max has already been to a timeline where she never got the powers to begin with. She still had her powers there, and nature was still going wayhire.
The only thing going back to save Chloe would do if the game actually followed its own logic, would make things worse.
The only thing going back to save Chloe would do if the game actually followed its own logic, would make things worse.
Galactic Fork
A little fluff between the ears never did any harm...
This is what I hate.
But you "messed with time" by being in the bathroom in the first place. you weren't supposed to be there. But you were there because of that weird vision. Still, this makes it all "Oh it never happened" which is one of my least favorite storytelling bits because why read about something or PLAY something that didn't happen? I can do that already by not playing.
Those are irrelevant. After you let Chloe die, you return to the present.
It does the same photo thing it does all the other times. Jefferson is caught because Nathan is arrested and confesses. Kate didn't kill herself because after Jefferson is revealed, not even the mean girls are going to bully her for being a victim of a psychopath. This is what bothers me. Without the player, everything works out fine. But you have that vision before you ever use that power.
It does the same photo thing it does all the other times. Jefferson is caught because Nathan is arrested and confesses. Kate didn't kill herself because after Jefferson is revealed, not even the mean girls are going to bully her for being a victim of a psychopath. This is what bothers me. Without the player, everything works out fine. But you have that vision before you ever use that power.
Technically, this isn't true. That timeline HAD saved Chloe, at least for a few more days until you either kill her yourself or let her slowly suffer to death. Since she was "supposed" to die that first day in the original timeline, when she went past that day, the universe went wonky. BUT that just makes it all Chloe centric, and not "saving someone" centric, because her dad survived and the town wasn't destroyed a few days after that. It all comes back to some evil force wanting Chloe dead specifically.
BlackLagoon
Member
I suppose you can assume that the arrest of Nathan for Chloe's murder would lead the cops to Jefferson (though he might conceivably be able to clean up the dark room before they do), but you're right in that just because she doesn't use her powers she's not changing things from how they would have been if she didn't have them in the first place.
However the other ending doesn't quite jell either, because I can see no logic in the "universe" somehow being "satisfied" by wrecking the bay and deciding Chloe gets to live. If the problems were caused by Max's changes, then they should have continued as long as this alternate timeline did.
However the other ending doesn't quite jell either, because I can see no logic in the "universe" somehow being "satisfied" by wrecking the bay and deciding Chloe gets to live. If the problems were caused by Max's changes, then they should have continued as long as this alternate timeline did.
All in all I enjoyed the game, but some of if doesn't quite work for me. Also as it went on it kept reminding me of Steins;Gate, which dealt with similar themes but had a more well constructed plot and ending(s).
1. They show that in the Bay ending
Nathan is arrested for shooting Chloe, cut to a photo melting away showing him talking to the police about Jefferson and the Dark Room, cut to a photo melting away showing Jefferson being arrested. Letting Chloe die would have solved the main problem of the Dark Room from the beginning. The point of the story was to let Chloe and Max reconnect and grow together.
2. It's not a question the game wants to answer, because it's a story about growing up and moving on with life. Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" never explains why Samsa turned into a giant beetle, but the ending implies that his transformation and death allowed for his family to undergo their own transformation into more self-sufficient, happier people. Why a beetle? How did it occur? Doesn't matter, it's a storytelling and thematic hook to get you invested in the real meat of the story.
Albino_Yeti
Member
Not gonna lie, I watched you edit this post to get the spoiler tags and quotes right hahahaha
Not gonna lie, I watched you edit this post to get the spoiler tags and quotes right hahahaha
Galactic Fork
A little fluff between the ears never did any harm...
She is though.
The max that lived from the first day to the last day in the new timeline has no memory of the time travelling. After Nathan kills Chloe, our max returns to the present. Between then and the present, a Max with no memory of her powers exists until our Max takes over again. So those 5 to 7 days are exactly as they would be if Max never had powers. This is proven many times. When max goes back to the night of the party to warn Chloe, she specifically says she won't remember after she returns to her real time. And when Max went back to save Chloe's dead, it's not like young Max had the future memories from then on. So it would be the same when Max went back to let Chloe die. So the images we see the pictures turn to in that ending are the present that was going to happen if max never got her powers.
Edit: Beaten by JCHandsom
How could they possibly carry over?
Either you didn't do any of them because reset max lived those days, she didn't make your choices anyway, or everybody's dead.
You're fucking right lol
demosthenes
Member
Another thing I just thought of, it's sort (whole game spoilers)
of implied that you can go back I to photos you were in,
At the end the butterfly photo is just that, you're not in it are you? How can you go back.
At the end the butterfly photo is just that, you're not in it are you? How can you go back.
Herr Starr
Member
I never interpreted her powers to work the way you describe. It seems to me that when
Max travels back in time using a photo, she "overwrites" her existing personality in that timeline until she leaves by jumping to another photo. At that point the Max that was overwritten takes back control and is unaware of what has happened.
At the end of the game, Max overwrites herself in this way, which means that as long as she doesn't time travel after that point, the Max that existed before the bathroom scene is now gone and replaced by the older, more experienced Max with her intact memories of post-murder Chloe.
At the end of the game, Max overwrites herself in this way, which means that as long as she doesn't time travel after that point, the Max that existed before the bathroom scene is now gone and replaced by the older, more experienced Max with her intact memories of post-murder Chloe.
I don't think that's the requirement.
We don't know the specifics, but we can at least assume that if there are requirements at all, they only require that Max was present when the picture was taken. Even that isn't something that she ever tries to challenge during the story, so we can't tell if she's right or not.
Galactic Fork
A little fluff between the ears never did any harm...
Nope.
While she does possess her past self, it's only temporary. When she went back to save Chloe's dad, she's in her younger self until he goes off on the bus, then the screen fades white as the outer edges of the time travel field close in (it's a barrier you can't pass while you're in the time). Then she's back in the new present with Chloe alive. She never uses a photo to return...
Here is a youtube link:
https://youtu.be/D4dw1duPVPY?t=384
How would she? She doesn't have a photo of the future while in the past. And when she returns, "photos" change, showing the change in the timeline. Same happens when returns the second time to let Chloe's dad die.
Then in the ending, she's huddled in the bathroom as the white closes in on her and she returns to the present.
https://youtu.be/r5lsTadfcSU?t=458
Here is a youtube link:
https://youtu.be/D4dw1duPVPY?t=384
How would she? She doesn't have a photo of the future while in the past. And when she returns, "photos" change, showing the change in the timeline. Same happens when returns the second time to let Chloe's dad die.
Then in the ending, she's huddled in the bathroom as the white closes in on her and she returns to the present.
https://youtu.be/r5lsTadfcSU?t=458
Herr Starr
Member
You're right. I had forgotten about those
photos in the end sequence. That puts an interesting spin on what happens with Max during the week of the game after the final choice is made. I imagine Max had to do some research once she jumped forward in time again in order to figure out what she'd been up to for the past week and what she'd talked to people about.