After some observation, I’ve found a pattern in the games I enjoy. With the exception of titles like Silent Hill 2 and things from the gamecube era, I tend to favor games that have been released in the past five years. The similarity is simply a coincidence, as I don’t really pay attention to the release date so much as the overall quality.
This being said, I’m apparently sticking to my guns and giving you a preview of more of the same thing I’ve been talking about, except in a different altogether genre.
This game got a lot of flak about its unrealistic dialogue, however, it received a lot of praise, including a nomination for Best Performance at the 2015 Game Awards and a place in Vulture’s top 10 video games of 2015. Let me introduce Life Is Strange.
Life Is Strange tells the story of Maxine Caulfield, or Max, an 18-year-old girl who dreams of becoming a professional photographer. She is accepted into Blackwell Academy, a prestigious liberal arts school located in the small town of Arcadia Bay, Oregon, where she plans to jumpstart her art career. However, Max’s life takes a dramatic turn instead as she discovers that she has the power to reverse time. With the help of her once-estranged childhood friend Chloe Price, Max must use her newfound powers to solve the mystery of a missing girl, while at the same time digging up the rotten goings-on under Arcadia Bay’s seemingly innocent surface. Appearances can be deceiving, and, in Max and Chloe’s case, deadly when taken at face value.
Although I recognize the issues with the dialogue, I love this game. It tackles really heavy issues and handles a convoluted mechanic - time travel - in a way that makes it seem actually plausible in a logistic sense. I have a lot of good things to say about this game.
I’m going to approach this game with some sensitivity when it comes to the subject matter. I understand I’ve been a little flippant with other titles. But don’t misunderstand – I won’t be taking it easy on the criticism. We’re talking about tone. Tomorrow, the review begins.