• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Life Is Strange |OT| Rewinder Me

M

mnemovore

Member
devilsadvocat said:
When you buy the whole season at once, does it tell you when an episode ends?

I'm trying to fix my camera right now but I got this feeling I'm in chapter 2?

I'm loving this right now and I'm not going to want it to end
Any idea how many hours it is?
Click to expand...

You will know for sure when an episode ends, it's very clear.

The game is about 16 hours.
 
M

Menome

Member
TylerDurden4321 said:
no, I stopped right where the game forces me to rewind and didn't give me a choice.
Click to expand...

Right, you are less than ten minutes away from the end of the episode. If you get to the very end cutscene and don't want to continue, that's entirely up to you. I do implore you to reach that point though.
 
T

TylerDurden4321

Member
Menome said:
Right, you are less than ten minutes away from the end of the episode. If you get to the very end cutscene and don't want to continue, that's entirely up to you. I do implore you to reach that point though.
Click to expand...

thanks for caring. I just can't go back right now, still fuming a little. 50/50 I'll go back in a few days. What made it worse is that the game didn't really make the choice for me, I chose and the game said "nope, rewind that, you're not gonna do that", it feels outright disrespectful of player agency. It would have been easy to write your way around this.
 
S

Spinifex

Member
TylerDurden4321 said:
thanks for caring. I just can't go back right now, still fuming a little. 50/50 I'll go back in a few days. What made it worse is that the game didn't really make the choice for me, I chose and the game said "nope, rewind that, you're not gonna do that", it feels outright disrespectful of player agency. It would have been easy to write your around this.
Click to expand...

It really wouldn't have. Honestly just please at least see the episode to the end.
 
T

TylerDurden4321

Member
Spinifex said:
It really wouldn't have. Honestly just please at least see the episode to the end.
Click to expand...

of course it would have been easy, just take my choice and come up with some stupid reason why my choice is bullshit (again, as in "far worse") and would be mischievously out of character, or make it have the same outcome... or at least play it out for me, don't let me do anything and go auto-pilot. Don't force me to make the protagonist do things that feel wrong to me.

Edit: Guys, try to see this from a game-maker perspective. Having the player "go on on good faith" after you let him feel like he's been tricked by you is bad. "The player will forgive us and be blown away 2 minutes later after he's seen how this will develop" is a bad tactic.
 
G

Guri

Member
TylerDurden4321 said:
thanks for caring. I just can't go back right now, still fuming a little. 50/50 I'll go back in a few days. What made it worse is that the game didn't really make the choice for me, I chose and the game said "nope, rewind that, you're not gonna do that", it feels outright disrespectful of player agency. It would have been easy to write your way around this.
Click to expand...

Like I said, there's a reason why they didn't give you a choice here. You can finish in 10 minutes. If you don't like the ending, then move on. But I don't think it's fair to say tge writers have been disrespectful of player agency without seeing what they tried to do.
 
S

Sande

Member
TylerDurden4321 said:
of course it would have been easy, just take my choice and come up with some stupid reason why my choice is bullshit (again, as in "far worse") and would be mischievously out of character, or make it have the same outcome... or at least play it out for me, don't let me do anything and go auto-pilot. Don't force me to make the protagonist do things that feel wrong to me.

Edit: Guys, try to see this from a game-maker perspective. Having the player "go on on good faith" after you let him feel like he's been tricked by you is bad. "The player will forgive us and be blown away 2 minutes later after he's seen how this will develop" is a bad tactic.
Click to expand...
If you're that far, you really should give episode 4 a chance.

There's a specific story they're telling here and at some points having a choice would simply deviate too much from that. There have already been several situations like that before that one and games like this will always be full of them.
 
N

Nappuccino

Member
TylerDurden4321 said:
of course it would have been easy, just take my choice and come up with some stupid reason why my choice is bullshit (again, as in "far worse") and would be mischievously out of character, or make it have the same outcome... or at least play it out for me, don't let me do anything and go auto-pilot. Don't force me to make the protagonist do things that feel wrong to me.

Edit: Guys, try to see this from a game-maker perspective. Having the player "go on on good faith" after you let him feel like he's been tricked by you is bad. "The player will forgive us and be blown away 2 minutes later after he's seen how this will develop" is a bad tactic.
Click to expand...

Thinking of it like this may help. You're playing Max, someone who is a well-defined character even with the choices. In this game, you aren't so much changing Max's character as making difficult choices for her. In every other case, she struggled between the choices, so you guide her hand. In this case, she never doubted what the right choice would be and thus made it without your input.

(there are a few odd things in the later episodes. you have to just accept that the team's time/budget constraints didn't give them every possibility and enjoy the story provided)
 
K

KraytarJ

Member
So, I just finished the game yesterday and I thought I'd share a few thoughts.

Regarding the ending,
I chose to save Chloe. After everything that happened that week there was no way I could let Chloe die. And honestly I don't even see why going back one more time and messing with another reality would fix everything wrong with Arcadia Bay. I was a little disappointed by the ending I did get though as it was very apparent I chose the "wrong" ending as the save the Bay ending was much more emotional and thought-out. On the bright-side it was nice to have the imagery of Max and Chloe finally leaving Arcadia Bay being the ending note and when I chose to save Chloe I fully expected them to die on the cliff by the lighthouse so to see them survive was nice I guess.

On the whole though the game had one hell of an impact one me and a large part of that is because I had low expectations for what I'd get from it and playing it alongside Fallout 4 really made it shine for me and has actually made me reconsider what types of games I want to be playing as this little 15-hour game that I picked up on a whim has had a much larger impact on me than my 80+ hours of Fallout 4 has even gotten close to. In the end I'm glad I picked it up and its currently in my top 2 and that was pretty unexpected.

In short: its cool.
 
G

Guri

Member
KraytarJ said:
So, I just finished the game yesterday and I thought I'd share a few thoughts.

Regarding the ending,
I chose to save Chloe. After everything that happened that week there was no way I could let Chloe die. And honestly I don't even see why going back one more time and messing with another reality would fix everything wrong with Arcadia Bay. I was a little disappointed by the ending I did get though as it was very apparent I chose the "wrong" ending as the save the Bay ending was much more emotional and thought-out. On the bright-side it was nice to have the imagery of Max and Chloe finally leaving Arcadia Bay being the ending note and when I chose to save Chloe I fully expected them to die on the cliff by the lighthouse so to see them survive was nice I guess.

On the whole though the game had one hell of an impact one me and a large part of that is because I had low expectations for what I'd get from it and playing it alongside Fallout 4 really made it shine for me and has actually made me reconsider what types of games I want to be playing as this little 15-hour game that I picked up on a whim has had a much larger impact on me than my 80+ hours of Fallout 4 has even gotten close to. In the end I'm glad I picked it up and its currently in my top 2 and that was pretty unexpected.

In short: its cool.
Click to expand...

In regards to the ending:

A lot of people feel like the "save Chloe" ending was written as the "wrong" one. It wasn't and the team has no intention of making any of them canon. The truth is that, as they went along, the budget didn't allow for two fleshed out endings. So they had to make a choice. I believe the "save Arcadia Bay" ending needed all that information. How the town changed with Chloe dying in the bathroom; her family's reaction; what happened to Mr. Jefferson and Nathan; Chloe's funeral. When you save Chloe, there's not much essential information. There are things that could be added, but the essential message was there: Chloe and Max are together and, even though there are sad consequences, they can now find peace together somewhere else. It's bittersweet, but I honestly never felt like it needed more.
 
O

OneEyedKing

Member
Beat this a couple days ago and cried at the end, what a beautiful experience.

I personally had no issue with the final episode or the ending choices. It felt sincere and meaningful to me and was the first time in a game where I literally sat at the ending choice screen staring at it unable to make up my mind. I ultimately sacrificed Chloe. :(

Second favorite game of the year.
 
L

LurkerPrime

Member
Just a heads up: there's a Life is Strange spoiler thread over yonder, in case anyone's unaware.
RobertoSAGuedes said:
In regards to the ending:

A lot of people feel like the "save Chloe" ending was written as the "wrong" one. It wasn't and the team has no intention of making any of them canon. The truth is that, as they went along, the budget didn't allow for two fleshed out endings. So they had to make a choice. I believe the "save Arcadia Bay" ending needed all that information. How the town changed with Chloe dying in the bathroom; her family's reaction; what happened to Mr. Jefferson and Nathan; Chloe's funeral. When you save Chloe, there's not much essential information. There are things that could be added, but the essential message was there: Chloe and Max are together and, even though there are sad consequences, they can now find peace together somewhere else. It's bittersweet, but I honestly never felt like it needed more.
Click to expand...
Agreed entirely.
I took the same route and never felt shortchanged. I'd certainly like an extended epilogue , but my ending didn't feel rushed or cut short. It was an appropriate ending, open-ended though it was.
 
K

KraytarJ

Member
RobertoSAGuedes said:
In regards to the ending:

A lot of people feel like the "save Chloe" ending was written as the "wrong" one. It wasn't and the team has no intention of making any of them canon. The truth is that, as they went along, the budget didn't allow for two fleshed out endings. So they had to make a choice. I believe the "save Arcadia Bay" ending needed all that information. How the town changed with Chloe dying in the bathroom; her family's reaction; what happened to Mr. Jefferson and Nathan; Chloe's funeral. When you save Chloe, there's not much essential information. There are things that could be added, but the essential message was there: Chloe and Max are together and, even though there are sad consequences, they can now find peace together somewhere else. It's bittersweet, but I honestly never felt like it needed more.
Click to expand...

I'm inclined to agree and I made the choice not expecting them to live and I was okay with that, I just couldn't let Chloe die like that after everything. My disappointment mainly stems from the scene on the cliff being so underwhelming especially when compared to the scene at the night of the party earlier in the episode.
 
V

Voyevoda

Member
matrixman92 said:
Nathan sounds old
Click to expand...

NOCD59s.gif
 
E

Extra Sauce

Member
Here's the thing. You're not playing you, you're playing Max Caulfield. Sometimes Max is torn by choices laid in front of her and that's where you come in. The end of episode 3 is not one of those times. There is no version of that character who does not go ahead with the deed in question. This is not an RPG where you might have complete freedom to invent a character. You still have to work within the pre-existing personality and backstory of the protagonist.
 
Demoskinos

Demoskinos

Member
xtrasauce said:
Here's the thing. You're not playing you, you're playing Max Caulfield. Sometimes Max is torn by choices laid in front of her and that's where you come in. The end of episode 3 is not one of those times. There is no version of that character who does not go ahead with the deed in question. This is not an RPG where you might have complete freedom to invent a character. You still have to work within the pre-existing personality and backstory of the protagonist.
Click to expand...

You are and Max does have a personality BUT I think she is enough of a blank slate that she works well as a surrogate for the player in that world.
 
N

neogaffer1

Banned
Voyevoda said:
Yeah, so Japan is getting a full voice-over, and it kind of sucks (that "You either know this, or not Max!" without any emotion whatsoever).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCRvW6p5YfI
Click to expand...

don't like many of these voices. Max seemed too removed, like there wasn't enough emotion there. Jefferson went in and out of how he was supposed to sound like--instead of a borderline snooty photagraphy teacher he just sounded like a stereotypical high school teacher, and he missed putting in emotion on certain lines that the English version had. Victoria was fine, but she only had like two lines. Kate didn't sound right at all--you didn't get the voice of someone under a lot of stressed who had just cried in the bathroom before this class like the English one, it was a bit different compared to that and didn't really hit quite the mark. Nathan sounded like an fully-grown man instead of a teenager. Chloe was good, though, in terms of emotional delivery, or at least better than the others.

Note I don't know Japanese nor do I watch animes or anything like that, this is just my take as an English speaker who's played that part of the game three-four times on top of the revists you make later on in the game.
 
Demoskinos

Demoskinos

Member
Giant Bomb East doing another stream of LiS today it should be noted its a premium stream. They are doing episode 4 today. Should be interesting.
 
Q

Quonny

Member
I don't know about this game. It's so depressing. Everything is negative and none of the main characters are likable. Some of the choices are weird, too. Like, who would ever say some of the things that Max says?

I know, just enjoy the ride, but man, it's just...nah. I actually liked the beginning of the game. I liked the idea of "I'm a loser at a school and have powers, how can I change my world", but now I'm like an hour into Episode 4 and I don't know if I want to press on.

In my opinion, Chloe is single-handedly ruining this game for me.
 
N

neogaffer1

Banned
Quonny said:
I don't know about this game. It's so depressing. Everything is negative and none of the main characters are likable. Some of the choices are weird, too. Like, who would ever say some of the things that Max says?

I know, just enjoy the ride, but man, it's just...nah. I actually liked the beginning of the game. I liked the idea of "I'm a loser at a school and have powers, how can I change my world", but now I'm like an hour into Episode 4 and I don't know if I want to press on.

In my opinion, Chloe is single-handedly ruining this game for me.
Click to expand...

the game just might not be for you. the fact that it's so depressing yet that downness isn't played to be down but rather as an acceptance of how the world really is and how hard it is to push through everyday is one of the things that really spoke to me. plus a lot of the stuff that max says is stuff i would say as well (maybe not the way she says it but the same thing in a different way)
 
Q

Quonny

Member
neogaffer1 said:
the game just might not be for you. the fact that it's so depressing yet that downness isn't played to be down but rather as an acceptance of how the world really is and how hard it is to push through everyday is one of the things that really spoke to me. plus a lot of the stuff that max says is stuff i would say as well (maybe not the way she says it but the same thing in a different way)
Click to expand...

I understand.

I just don't like unlikable "tragic" characters, especially when I've gone through similar issues. The fact that Chloe just crashes and burns because something bad happens really puts a bad taste in my mouth.

The bigger issue is she drags everyone down with her. Wallow in pity by yourself, quit shitting on the lives of everyone around you. I have empathy for people, and I could see maybe her being the way she is for the first couple episodes, but man, that scene at the end of three (in her car) just cemented how she's not a good person and probably won't change. Maybe she will, but 6+ hours of this gets old.

I just really don't like Chloe, and that's a problem when this whole game, at least up to the point I'm at (Episode 4), is about her.
 
D

dglavimans

Member
So just finished it today. At first it was really tough to get through. After episode 2 it just clicked with me and I think it is an amazing game in it's genre unlike I have ever played before.

As for my final decisions (spoilers)

I have decided to sacrifice the city in favor of Cloe. And even after looking at the Youtube ending from the other I'm still satisfied. Last year has been really rough for me with multiple situations where I thought I would have lost a really good friendship of mine. The entire game was for me about Cloe and Max coming back from a rough time and Max who wanted to do everything for their friends. The ending made me tear a little. Something only the first season of The Walking Dead game did to me ever in videogames. I think because Life is Strange really relates to some things I have had experience with in the past. I love this game because of the story, the characters and the settings.

One thing I didn't really like though

In episode 3 it is a big thing that you can enter a alternative timeline and you see that the results of that greatly impact the life of some. I really found it a shame that in the last episode you got in so many alternative timelines. I would have liked for Max to go 'Once but never again' or MAYBE only do it one more time in the ending choice.

I REALLY like this game... Can't believe its over :( Long time since I really fel the characters and the story world
 
Z

zulux21

Member
so I started watching Veronica Mars last night, and it quickly became clear that the cast of life is strange was inspired by Veronica Mars lol (as well as a number of events lifted from the first couple episodes lol)

did the creators ever talk about their love for Veronica Mars as I can't believe the mountain of similarities are just a coincidence.

I should note I am not trying to say they ripped off Veronica Mars, they clearly did their own thing, not even saying it's a bad thing, I was just surprised to see how much Veronica Mars reminds me of life is strange just without time manipulation powers lol.
 
J

Jintor

Member
hi guys, i'm getting weird audio stuttering issues. Whenever a new audio line gets loaded, it plays like about a half second of audio, then skips the next half second, then goes completely find. This is inconsistent, doesn't happen every time.

it's really fucking annoying and i can't quite get the right search terms (audio stuttering and audio cuts out don't quite get the right results) so I was wondering if this is a common problem.

on PC at highest settings for pretty much everything.
 
A

Akai__

Member
The Shutterbug acievement is glitched and won't unlock. Unfortunately, it's a known bug since when Episode 4 came out. Quetion is, if there's a workarround for this? I couldn't find any solution.

Would appreciate any help, since it's the last achievement I'm missing.
 
C

Clunker

Member
Holy shit! I've been in love with the soundtrack ever since I started playing this two weeks ago - have had it on my Spotify list in constant play. In particular, Jose Gonzalez's "Crosses" is one of the most beautiful acoustic tracks in the game, which has more than its fair share.

So since Spotify also starts playing suggested and related songs, I just discovered that Gonzalez also plays the amazing song "Far Away," aka The Single Best Moment From Red Dead Redemption. I didn't think I could love his sound more, and it turns out I've already loved his sound for years. <3
 
S

storafötter

Member
I must say I was pleasantly surprised by this game. I bought it on sale last week and finished it after a few days. It is obvious that it is a game with a lot of flaws with forgettable unredeemable characters, but its amazing how it manage to still draw you emotionally and encourage you to find more about its mysteries. I havent felt this compelled and addicted to a game with heavy story focus in such a long time since the Walking Dead.

But I gotta say I hated Chapter 3 for being so boring and the plot kinda
falters apart with the predictability that Nathan is being manipulated. Jefferson as a villain didnt work so well but it did surprise me I will admit. I was really sick in my stomach when you discover that basement room for the first time. It is amazing how the story could turn incredibly dark. They really should have just made Jefferson a much more convincing villain with better dialogue.

I agree that they did do some terrible choices with the story in regards to how suddenly it was Max who was the culprit who interfered with time traveling (which makes no fucking sense since this was happening regardless before she started interfering). They should have put more effort into the ending about saving Chloe which mysteriously killed absolutely everyone in the process. However I will say that the "true" ending was well done despite the cliches.

I would prefered if the story somehow was more clear about what role Rachel played in this. It made more sense to me (despite trying to change the path of destiny) that the storm didnt want to end before justice was served for Rachel. Which did happen, but the way they tried to resolve it was mostly to do with Chloe and Maxs insistence on keeping her alive at all cost.

I know nightmare mode is a pain (seriously the stealth section could have been avoided) but it was the funniest moment in the game. I loved reading those fucked up text messages.

Nevertheless they manage to draw you well into the game. I like that the game had some type of puzzle elements despite a lot of trial and error and annoying
rewinding you have to wait to finish EVERY TIME
, The bigger challenge is trying to figure out how to take some of those optional photos. I just hope for a much stronger resolution next time. The beginning was really good and interesting.
 
Cuban Legend

Cuban Legend

Member
so in each episode, there's these little moments you can photograph. where the hell is that squirrel from episode 1? the completionist in me is killing me to go back and get it.
 
T

thestopsign

Member
I finished this morning. For the ending I chose
Saving Arcadia Bay. Chloe was the worst part of the game, even if she became slightly better at the end. It seemed selfish to save her and leave everyone else you care about dead after I so meticulously tried to help everyone. I actually liked the ending with Max's shot in the art exhibit the most, I didn't want to leave that area, I wish I could have ended there
.

There were a bunch of smaller things that I think I missed regarding decisions you make early on. Why does watering your plant matter? What happened by saving the blue bird multiple times? Besides characters liking you more, is there any reason to help them out? Also aren't most smaller decisions you make made irrelevant by either ending? Last episode spoiler:
Mark Jefferson had like 40 red binders of other girls, did all of them just not remember their experience and return to (presumably) Blackwell?

Overall I enjoyed the experience warts and all. It had a good atmosphere, interesting story, nice music, a good assortment of side characters that had just enough background for me to enjoy, and good environmental art/design. The character dialogue was cringe-worthy most of the time. I liked Max a lot, Chloe was close to unbearable and was the biggest violator of awful dialogue. I almost had to stop watching the models at some points when they were in more dramatic scenes and were looking especially emotionless.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Life is Strange: Double Exposure | Review Thread
Analysis Review
17
2K
rkofan87 replied
Life is Strange: Double Exposure - Announce Trailer | Releases October 29 on XBS, PS5, PC | Also coming to Switch at a later date
Trailer 2 3 4
192
13K
GymWolf replied
The Penguin | 2024 Drama on MAX ("...do you know my reputation?")
2 3 4
154
8K
fran.fernandez replied
Life is Strange fans criticise $30 upgrade to play new game's early chapters two weeks early
Community
26
2K
Closer replied
I had a surprisingly nice Warner Bros night
1
393
Vyse replied
Top Bottom