Friends, after a very long break, I finally decided to fully return to writing reviews! And not just to return-from now on I write not only for SG blogs, but I also prepare a large project for my YouTube channel and the Life is Strange Review-let’s say this is the first swallow in the new field for me. All pleasant viewing – I am happy to read your comments, constructive criticism is welcome;)
Text version
Hello, the world! How often do you think about the decisions made once? About the actions that brought you, my viewers, exactly where you are now. How often do you remind yourself that the past cannot be corrected, and therefore you should not regret the deed? I think many of you understand what I’m talking about. But that if one day you learned that the mistakes made can be corrected, and the lost opportunity to return back? This is exactly what happened to Max Collfield – the main character Life is Strange.
Max is a completely ordinary student of the Blackwall Academy and her everyday life is not much different from the everyday routine of those who are used to living from a session to a session. Lectures, textbooks, homewriter, murder … Stop, something is clearly superfluous here. Oh yes, like many of us, Max decided to take a bit a little on a couple, but in a dream I saw not rainbow ponies, as I might think, but a giant tornado that takes her hometown not to the possessions of Goodwin. To come to her senses, she goes slightly refreshing, but instead becomes a witness to the murder in the university toilet. It would seem that the situation is hopeless, however, in some incomprehensible way, Max reveals the ability to unwind time back and decides to prevent inevitable. And now the player will have to figure out this strange story with the murder, and also understand how the main character has the ability to control time and how they can be used to prevent a tornado that will destroy the city by the end of the week.
Closer to the middle of the https://noidverificationcasinos.co.uk/no-id-casino-sites/ game, you really begin to become attached to the characters
Here is such a plot tie. Yes, I know that the game came out as much as three years ago – January 30, 2015, but here I am such a slope that I got to it only now and, imagine, managed not to confuse myself not only the ending, but also a single really important scene. Nevertheless, this is a video review, and therefore the formal part must be observed. What I said about the release date of the game is not entirely true – on January 30, only the first episode from the planned five was released. Yes, just like “TELLTALAL”, only despite the general parallels (medium graphics, emphasis on the plot and characters and the serial structure), “Life is Strange” was developed by the Dontnod studio, which gave us once an ambiguous, but in my modest opinion a good “remember”. And in fact, the history of Max Collfield is played and is completely not felt like interactive cartoons such as “Walking Dead” or “Game of Thrones”. In "Life is Strange" you need to play, there is a gameplay here, and your solutions will really have consequences.
That’s just about gameplay, we will talk first. For the most part, Life is Strange is like an interactive movie with a huge number of dialogues and characters, but also, this is a kind of adventure. Between conversations and plot events, we are allowed to wander around the location, examine the environment and take pictures of the most interesting situations. And I strongly recommend that you really play this game, plunge into it with your head. Look at the posters and drawings that conceal many references to the popular culture, find successful angles for the photo, communicate with all the characters – this is really important and interesting. Max is a very creative nature, and therefore does not part with the two most important things for her: an old pouroid and a personal diary in which she writes her thoughts and experiences. And yes, no matter how much it sounds like a girl, I also recommend reading a diary-it’s interesting … although it was possible to say this could not be said.
As for the Polaroid – the theme of photography as art and its importance passes through a red thread through the entire narrative. Personally, we will not be allowed to aim in a lens for everything – for this there are specially designated contextual situations, which are sometimes well hidden and serve as a kind of collectors for trophies collectors. However, I was very pleased to find these same angles and catch the necessary moments.
Back to the time management topic-after all, this is one of the main chips of the game. So: rewinding. “But that if one day you learned that the mistakes made can be corrected, and the missed opportunities to return back?". It sounds wonderful, isn’t it? In the role of Max, you will have the opportunity to check it. Any action, any conversation within the same location can be rewinded and made another decision. Almost every choice of choice will have consequences – both small and very significant. But this ability helps not only in dialogs – with its help you can make your way into previously inaccessible places: for example, you can break the door, go inside and rewind the time back until the door is intact, but the main character will remain inside.
Some locations are remembered more than others
“Life is Strange” is almost entirely devoted to dialogues and characters and I think it’s no secret to anyone that one of the main characters on the screen, in addition to Max, will be her best girlfriend – the blue -haired chloas. I intend to avoid at least some specifics in the description of the plot, since this game is an adventure that you need to go yourself and the less you know about the world of the game and the characters, the better. As for Chloe, I will only say that one of the most important topics raised in the narrative is revealed through it – the topic of friendship and fidelity. In general, many call “Life is Strange” a game for adolescents or for hipsters, or for hipsters-teenage. Many say that she is even children’s. I do not know what is wrong with these people, but the variety of topics revealed in the plot of the creation "Dontnod", with all my desire, I can not name at least some primitive. Yes, of course, one of the main lines of the narrative is a story about growing up, the thought of how everything changes, what would be really relevant for teenagers, but family topics, problems associated with drugs, obsession with art and many other levels of narration clearly say that the game is more complicated than it seems at first glance.
Okay, now let’s talk a little about the visual component. On the one hand, the schedule does not affect with its technological work, and someone can say that there are not enough landfills a little, but I have always been a supporter of the fact that it is not so important how much the developers use the developers, the main thing is that the picture is pleasant to the eye. "Life is Strange" is a striking example of this approach. When I first launched the game, I honestly Kaifalun already on the menu, but you just look at the opening frames. This rain, storm and lighthouse! I’m even silent about the fact that there is a clear reference to Alan Wake, it’s just not a shame to admire this picture. And in general, the game is very pleasant – Max’s diary, all the elements of the interface and in general everything else. I do not really like this expression, but in this case it is felt that each element here is handmade.
Where is the graphics, there is a story about the sound. Here I think there is nothing to explain. The sound is simply amazing, connected at the right points and sometimes, combined with the narrative breaks through to goosebumps. This happens extremely rarely with me, but after the game, almost all the compositions from the official soundtrack of the game settled in my playlist, and for me this is the maximum way to express my admiration.
Closer to the end, the game is getting darker and darker
Unfortunately, there are practically no ideal projects and Life Is Stranga was no exception. Personally, I have some complaints about the narrative – sometimes it sags and for a long time there is practically nothing. There is a certain back-track-the plot returns us again and again to already passed locations, but I would like to see something new. Some player’s solutions mean less than we would like. These are exclusively subjective disadvantages I dug up. HOWEVER. Each of them has its own plus: the narrative sags only a couple of times and not much, despite the fact that you will take about 16 hours to pass the game – the rest of the time will take place a really cool and interesting movement. Back-tracking: Yes, it’s not pleasant, but it is almost always justified plot, plus every new location, a player in it will certainly wait for something new. The significance of decisions: despite some problems with a couple of additional plot for developing, the rest of the nonlinear narration is made beyond praise. You can scold the game, but it is much more pleasant to praise it for an absolutely delightful plot and bright characters, each of which is attached and each of which is revealed as the story passes. For an interesting gameplay and a chip with rewinding time, which allows after each decision to ask yourself "What, if …". And finally, for how the game looks and sounds – after itself it leaves a really warm mark in the shower, but more probably no need.
Sometimes the game presents simply amazing angles
In other words, I advise everyone and everyone to join Life is Strange, if not yet. It is worth it.