Life is Strange, Episode 1! Demiboy vs. Backlog, Game #5

Life Is Strange feels nostalgic, despite its contemporary setting. ("Selfies," "social media," and "climate change" are not yet the parlance of yesteryear!) Perhaps that's because, while I was never a teenaged girl exactly, I was once a teenaged boy who would rather have been a girl, so roleplaying Maxine Caulfield feels like finding an old groove again.

Also nostalgic: evil tornadoes. I was clinically phobic of thunderstorms as a kid. Way to hit me where I'm most vulnerable, game.

 
I say "roleplaying" even though Life is Strange is not a "role-playing game" under typical video game genre classifications. There are no stats to grind here, no side quests to pursue. But when it comes to assuming control of a fictional character, immersing in their world, and taking action based on how I imagine that character's feelings and motivations, Life is Strange does a better job of facilitating that kind of play than most games with a proper "RPG" label. I find myself leaving aside long-formed video gaming habits to enact what seems more plausible for Max in the scene. I explore a classroom, pushing every context button that comes up, except when presented with the option to interrupt a conversation between the instructor I have a nerd crush on and the rich valedictorian-to-be: hell no! I'm a shy, waifish geek. I'm booking it for the door hoping neither of them notice me.

It helps that Max is such a likable person. Granted, the solutions to mandatory puzzles betray a penchant for destructive practical jokery and a cavalier attitude toward others' privacy. Your dialogue options include some sharp sarcastic jabs, sure. But when Max discovers she has the power to rewind time and make different decisions--a trick with asshole potential even more disturbing than that of invisibility--she doesn't go on a rampage hand-in-hand with the Imp of the Perverse. Instead, she frets over whether to choose as canonical the timeline where she intervenes against a bully in the moment, or the one where she documents the harassment in hopes of deploying a more effective solution later. That's a head I can get into!

Dammit, Chloe. Miss me with that HaterGator "not enough murder, not a real game" nonsense.

 
Overall, I'd describe Episode One of Life is Strange as contemplative. There's drama, and one scene with a brief burst of personal-scale action-heroics, but it's otherwise a chillout game. You're encouraged to peruse your surroundings looking for cool photographs to take. Every major event, and some minor, gets a diary entry in Max's witty, authentic voice. You can even take a break from fetch-questing to turn on some tunes and strum along to them with your guitar. Why? Because you can, and it's soothing and fun. I'm sure the intensity will ramp up as the series continues, but even as big bad tornadoes descend on Arcadia Bay, the collection book assures me Max will still have her eye out for cool pics to snap.

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"Demiboy vs. Backlog" is a blog series where I play each game from my considerable backlog until I finish it or at least a week passes, writing here along the way! I typically grab games at random, but you can instead advise me on what to tackle next. Life is Strange was selected by @curubethion. Check out the play queue and leave a comment here if you want to nudge it in a new direction! Think my backlog still isn't large enough or is missing some must-play title? I accept gift games via Steam, and will slot any game so received into the queue at the nearest opportunity!