Victoria is in the dark room only if you warned her about nathan, because she went to jefferson for help due to the warning. You should have tried talking to her in the dark room.
I did try in my first play through, but she was unresponsive and after I tried all I got was the "Look" action afterwards. After waking up later Jefferson had said he'd killed her, might have missed something. He didn't reference her in my second play through except to say she'd die to be in Max's spot, possibly meaning he'd axed her and Max wouldn't care either way.
Overall, I think the little changes here and there made having two different save files worth it even if the overall ending didn't reflect any of them. Not sure if there's much need to go through it all a third time, but I may anyway just to see the entire thing through again.
One thing I also love about Life is Strange is how much the tone of the game changed from the first couple of episodes. The change from the first episode to fourth is really dramatic. At first I didn't expect this to go at all to such dark places and I was expecting this to be more of drama with some sci-fi elements. But I love how dark and serious the later episodes were and it's nice that game still has the ability to surprise you. Compared to most of the other episodic games were the tone is pretty much set from the start and they just add more intensity as it goes along, but here the change was a lot more effective.
I finished it, and the ending was good, but on the whole, I really didn't enjoy episode 5. That endless swearing and shouting in the stealth section was very off putting for me.
One thing I also love about Life is Strange is how much the tone of the game changed from the first couple of episodes. The change from the first episode to fourth is really dramatic. At first I didn't expect this to go at all to such dark places and I was expecting this to be more of drama with some sci-fi elements. But I love how dark and serious the later episodes were and it's nice that game still has the ability to surprise you. Compared to most of the other episodic games were the tone is pretty much set from the start and they just add more intensity as it goes along, but here the change was a lot more effective.
The game definitely goes from teenage drama in the first 2 episodes to RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, RUN FROM YOUR POWERS, OH GOD EVERYTHING MATTERS in episodes 3-5.
Hits you so much harder this way because you don't really see the escalation coming as much. If it was super dark right off the bat it would've lost a lot of its impact, I think.
I finished it, and the ending was good, but on the whole, I really didn't enjoy episode 5. That endless swearing and shouting in the stealth section was very off putting for me.
Don't quite get the 'we feel betrayed' thing about the endings/player choice etc. I understand finding them disappointing for x reasons, but 'betrayed' makes it sound deliberate or callously negligent. Rubbish, imo.
Don't quite get the 'we feel betrayed' thing about the endings/player choice etc. I understand finding them disappointing for x reasons, but 'betrayed' makes it sound deliberate or callously negligent. Rubbish, imo.
I don't feel that way at all but the ending I chose and the ending I want is unfinished and offers zero closure. Hell the devs themselves said the ending is that way because they ran out of resources. That upsets me. That sucks. The other ending is far more fleshed out and offers at least a little more closure to the people who chose that ending. Because of this, it felt they wanted you to sacrifice Chloe. Like in their mind that is the actual ending. That's a bummer for a game all about choice.
I don't feel that way at all but the ending I chose and the ending I want is unfinished and offers zero closure. Hell the devs themselves said the ending is that way because they ran out of resources. That upsets me. That sucks. The other ending is far more fleshed out and offers at least a little more closure to the people who chose that ending. Because of this, it felt they wanted you to sacrifice Chloe. Like in their mind that is the actual ending. That's a bummer for a game all about choice.
110% Agreed. I mean, I get that the devs had one ending in mind, but it kind of makes me sad when they offer an alternate ending that obviously had less money get into it. Just show them looking for survivors/attending Joyce's/Warren's funeral and then have them leave. All it would've taken is an extra scene, heck they could've even taken the graphics of it from the other ending and just replaced some of the characters... That would've been better already. Show that they actually weren't just... leaving the next morning like nothing happened.
110% Agreed. I mean, I get that the devs had one ending in mind, but it kind of makes me sad when they offer an alternate ending that obviously had less money get into it. Just show them looking for survivors/attending Joyce's/Warren's funeral and then have them leave. All it would've taken is an extra scene, heck they could've even taken the graphics of it from the other ending and just replaced some of the characters... That would've been better already. Show that they actually weren't just... leaving the next morning like nothing happened.
Heck I don't even think they have just one ending in mind. They probably even had more than two but just ran out of resources to implement/improve them. That sucks. It makes me sad.
Resources and time permitted, I think they could have fleshed out the ending into two episodes. They could have wrapped up the Jefferson, Nathan and Victoria story line in episode 5, then conclude with Chloe and her family coming together in episode 6.
That would have helped give more focus on Chloe's character arc from initially being a selfish person focused on her own goals, to becoming a more caring person in the end.
I felt it would’ve been wrong for Max & Chloe to hook up, given that she deeply cares for Rachel & was devastated to find her body in the episode “Dark Room”. Most friendships that transition to relationships rarely go swimmingly, & it doesn’t help that Rachel’s death would’ve cause continuing grief for Chloe, as well as possibly cause discomfort for Max if it was brought up continuously (which had happened, & it made Chloe thrust for revenge had caused her to become more careless).
Ultimately, I wanted Max to not only make up for lost time, but to make up to be a genuine friend again for Chole’s rather messed up life. I teared up when Max had said her final farewell to Chole, along with her silently crying in the bathroom, feeling helpless that she felt manipulated by events that seem beyond her control. All the work of the Cosmic Joker, a transcendent trickster that toys with the fate of humanity.
I don't feel that way at all but the ending I chose and the ending I want is unfinished and offers zero closure. Hell the devs themselves said the ending is that way because they ran out of resources. That upsets me. That sucks. The other ending is far more fleshed out and offers at least a little more closure to the people who chose that ending. Because of this, it felt they wanted you to sacrifice Chloe. Like in their mind that is the actual ending. That's a bummer for a game all about choice.
This comment reminded me there is a super fucked up line I heard on someones stream that I think might be rare cos I never got it. It was in the nightmare and Jefferson says something to the effect of "I dug up Rachel so I could have her one last time". My jaw dropped when I heard that.
Rachel didn't just give good headshots, she gave good head
There was also a line by Nathan where he was like "Meat, blood, bones, maggots. I love that shit." referring to Rachel's corpse. I don't remember if there was something else he said that made it sexual.
You just had to stick around long enough to hear the lines. Someone needs to compile all of them in a video.
Honestly, if they had more time and resources, this game probably would have had more than two endings and those endings would have had variables that changed depending on player choice.
I felt it would’ve been wrong for Max & Chloe to hook up, given that she deeply cares for Rachel & was devastated to find her body in the episode “Dark Room”. Most friendships that transition to relationships rarely go swimmingly, & it doesn’t help that Rachel’s death would’ve cause continuing grief for Chloe, as well as possibly cause discomfort for Max if it was brought up continuously (which had happened, & it made Chloe thrust for revenge had caused her to become more careless).
My thoughts exactly. I'm not really into the idea of Max esentially being Chloe's "rebound" after the devastating loss of Rachel.
One of the things LiS really got me with was how well it presented coming back into someone's life after a long period of time. It's one of my favorite fiction tropes and they handled it so goddamn well (especially in EP1 and 2). Chloe's special relationship with Rachel only made that more interesting, since Max was so clearly on the outside from the start. And when it became obvious that Chloe and Rachel loved each other (so fairly early), I never considered Max replacing Rachel. The two just work so much better as BFF's.
LOOOOL you're my hero. I collected 3 just by going through it randomly and laughed at that part, no way was I going to look for them LOL.
And I dont think Max and Chloe are like, a full-fledged couple, even if you go that route. Chloe is clearly not over Rachel yet and Max doesnt really know what's going on with her feelings - heck, she probably doesnt even know her sexual orientation. From how I see it they're both in this kind of limbo state where it's like, is us hanging out and kissing a coping mechanism with the trauma? Just an expression of our strong friendship? Developing more than that? But definitely not an established couple.
One of the things LiS really got me with was how well it presented coming back into someone's life after a long period of time. It's one of my favorite fiction tropes and they handled is so goddamn well (especially in EP1 and 2).
I think that builds into the theme that even if what you and someone shared was long ago, or even in a different reality, it still happened and counts now. When Max walks through all those moments in sequential order, I think it really drove home that point.
Finished this last night, and was pretty darn disappointed. I thought a LOT of the conversations in this were much too long and off-putting, and the jumping between realities happened so much that it made everything that I did/said kind of lose its impact.
And then the ending. Max's powers were the cause of the storm, really? The ones she just happened to get because? And despite the fact that her first vision of the storm came BEFORE her powers arrived?
My thoughts exactly. I'm not really into the idea of Max esentially being Chloe's "rebound" after the devastating loss of Rachel.
One of the things LiS really got me with was how well it presented coming back into someone's life after a long period of time. It's one of my favorite fiction tropes and they handled it so goddamn well (especially in EP1 and 2). Chloe's special relationship with Rachel only made that more interesting, since Max was so clearly on the outside from the start. And when it became obvious that Chloe and Rachel loved each other (so fairly early), I never considered Max replacing Rachel. The two just work so much better as BFF's.
Pretty much, especially with your analysis of how Chole & Max's reunion was handled.
I'll add that the game does do a solid job of showcasing just how much that one week had changed with a simple alteration. Without Max's interference, Nathan had to live with the consequences of his actions, which resulted with him weaseling to the cops what Jefferson had done in his off-hours & it follows through with that nut getting arrested for his crimes. With Jefferson out of the picture, Kate doesn't go through with her attempted suicide, and so forth.
The point is, Max was forced (and hated) to learn the hard way that using her time manipulation abilities to her own benefit had made the natural world suffer as a result of being superimposed on top of what it should have been. She hated how it ended up, but having that last week with her friend, experiencing everything she experienced and growing from it, had made her realize what her values are and what kind of a person she should aspire to be.
Finished this last night, and was pretty darn disappointed. I thought a LOT of the conversations in this were much too long and off-putting, and the jumping between realities happened so much that it made everything that I did/said kind of lose its impact.
And then the ending. Max's powers were the cause of the storm, really? The ones she just happened to get because? And despite the fact that her first vision of the storm came BEFORE her powers arrived?
Max's continual efforts to fix things was the cause of the storm. Chloe dying in the school bathroom was a set moment in time, and should not have been changed. Max's first vision came right before she first used her powers to warn her what was coming should she use them. She likely had her powers at the time of the vision, but was never forced into using them to rewind until the first shooting. This is a bit of speculation, but the series references her birthday recently passed, and there is a fiction trope that people get powers on their birthday, which could have happened her.
The series showed multiple times that Chloe was not supposed to be alive - in any reality. Even in the alternate reality she suffered a car crash that would ultimately kill her. At multiple points after the bathroom shooting, she was placed the situations that would lead to her death, and Max saved her leading to the world at large becoming unraveled - whales and birds dying - ultimately leading to a the big storm in Episode Five.
Resetting everything back to the point where Max never used her powers was the only way to fix the damage Max using her powers over the course 5 days caused. In that ending, she knows she has the power to see Chloe again, but can never risk doing so and causing so much damage again.
In the ending where Max drives away with Chloe, I fully believe Chloe is still supposed to die at some point, and even though we will never see it, Chloe will face mortal danger again and again, meaning Max must continually save her over and over again, which will cause irreparable damage to the world wherever they end up driving to. In my eyes, the "Save Chole" ending is the darker one, as it will ultimately lead to Max sacrificing more people to keep her alive.
The bottle reference in Episode Five can only be an in-joke to the critical and community reception to the similar bottle puzzle in Episode Two. Seemed like Dontnod comedically acknowledging they might have got that puzzle wrong in the older ep.
I liked the story but thought the ending (s) were dissappointing. Normally I'd hate something abstract but the endings were something I saw coming since the first episode, I was hoping they'd go a more crazy route, like Max forever stuck saving Chloe until they're old and withered, saving everyone in the town only for some other disasters to occur, or even Jefferson being a time traveler as well. Fir a few moments I thought he could be because of the things he was saying, but nope.
I wish there was some clue as to why she had the power in the first place, I'm not looking for a total explaination, but some of direction to follow so that I could maybe have an interpretation based on something.
The bottle reference in Episode Five can only be an in-joke to the critical and community reception to the similar bottle puzzle in Episode Two. Seemed like Dontnod comedically acknowledging they might have got that puzzle wrong in the older ep.
While I wish they fleshed out the ending for "Sacrifice Arcadia Bay" I couldn't choose that because I felt that the universe would still try to kill Chloe at somepoint.
The ending to this game can kiss my ass. I don't like the two choices they give you. Of course I'm going to choose to save Chloe. But it's a non-emotional ending and I'm sure many wonderful feels/tears were had for people that choose to sacrifice Chloe.
Aside from the very ending this is one of the best games I've ever played in my life. I believe it should end up in my top 5 for this year. It's my GOTY so far but I haven't played Arkham Knight, Witcher 3, Halo 5, Fallout 4 or Rise of the Tomb Raider yet and I could three out of five of those games displacing Life is Strange. Still loved this game. Dontnod is wonderful.
I haven't been this disappointed and mad at an ending in a long, long time. This has soured me on the game after the superb previous chapters.
I mean, the whole chapter is a real bore to play. The stealth section is...ughhhhhhh. You don't include that kind of gameplay in a game like this if you can't do it right. Period.
The "Max tied to a chair with a rapist/psycho around her" was way, way overplayed. It was really creepy at first but after so many "We're back on the Dark Room and I'm tied up again" it totally loses the impact and by the end I was really uncomfortable with the whole scene. Those type of scenes need to be treated with much care. As I say, at first I was feeling true fear for what could happen to Max, but by the end I was just that, uncomfortable, because there's a girl tied up in the room and she's suffering, but after so many rewinds , it was obvious things wouldn't go beyond that and Dontnod wouldn't add sexual assault to the mix.
There's no character development at all on the whole chapter. Oh well.
Victoria appears in the tied up scene because...reasons? If there's any they're out of my grasp.
Those nightmare scenes, with everyone blaming Max add very little. It's obvious from previous chapters that Max really cares for all her friends, so blaming her for everything just feels like adding mind torture for the sake of...nothing. Max gains nothing from those experiences, no character growth or anything else, and we just lose time before getting to the real ending. It felt like...filler.
The ending I got, (Sacrifice Chloe) you can see it coming from miles away. It's really topical and I have seen it already in other games that deal with time travel, like
(name of a certain game in the spoiler, open at your own risk)
it's literally one of the endings in Steins;Gate, and I thought it was done much better there
In the end, for me this is one of those cases in which the fan theories are much, much better than what we got. I've read some crazy shit (some, on this very thread) that feels much better than this.
Guess I'm just really mad, because I was really invested with those characters. I hope everyone else got more enjoyement from the ending than what I did. Sorry for the rant.
Victoria is there because when you warned her of Nathan, she ran to Jefferson for advice. Jefferson then kidnapped her. If you talked to her you'd have learned that.
Victoria is there because when you warned her of Nathan, she ran to Jefferson for advice. Jefferson then kidnapped her. If you talked to her you'd have learned that.
The bottle reference in Episode Five can only be an in-joke to the critical and community reception to the similar bottle puzzle in Episode Two. Seemed like Dontnod comedically acknowledging they might have got that puzzle wrong in the older ep.
Max's continual efforts to fix things was the cause of the storm. Chloe dying in the school bathroom was a set moment in time, and should not have been changed. Max's first vision came right before she first used her powers to warn her what was coming should she use them. She likely had her powers at the time of the vision, but was never forced into using them to rewind until the first shooting. This is a bit of speculation, but the series references her birthday recently passed, and there is a fiction trope that people get powers on their birthday, which could have happened her.
The series showed multiple times that Chloe was not supposed to be alive - in any reality. Even in the alternate reality she suffered a car crash that would ultimately kill her. At multiple points after the bathroom shooting, she was placed the situations that would lead to her death, and Max saved her leading to the world at large becoming unraveled - whales and birds dying - ultimately leading to a the big storm in Episode Five.
Resetting everything back to the point where Max never used her powers was the only way to fix the damage Max using her powers over the course 5 days caused. In that ending, she knows she has the power to see Chloe again, but can never risk doing so and causing so much damage again.
In the ending where Max drives away with Chloe, I fully believe Chloe is still supposed to die at some point, and even though we will never see it, Chloe will face mortal danger again and again, meaning Max must continually save her over and over again, which will cause irreparable damage to the world wherever they end up driving to. In my eyes, the "Save Chole" ending is the darker one, as it will ultimately lead to Max sacrificing more people to keep her alive.
I overall enjoyed it. I thought the memory walk part was visually very well done, but I feel like since I marathoned the game in a few days and I didn't like Chloe that much it lacked some of the oomph for me. I really enjoyed the dream sequence and overall the game was fantastic. I think my main issue of it just came down to Chloe. I can empathize with Max a lot but Chloe I have a harder time feeling for so I didn't feel bad sacrificing her at the end.
Victoria wakes up in my game in a dazy state. she was panicking and she did said the last thing she remembered was going to Jefferson after I (Max) warned her about Nathan in episode 4.
