5/5 ★ – asoola's review of Life is Strange.

Life is Strange is truly a timeless game pun intended. The plot and its mysteries, the characters, the world of Life is Strange, the setting and music were all amazing and well thought out. It’s a game that means a lot to me and in my opinion it is a masterpiece. 📸🧡 It’s crazy how this game released nine years ago yet still holds up in 2024. It’s such a well written game and has lots of subject matters that I think were handled extremely well, and my recent replay of the game made me love the game even more than I did back in 2015. What is Life is Strange to me? If I had to use three words to describe it I would say memorable, nostalgic, and mysterious. But if I was asked to explain in further detail I would say it’s a game about past regrets, moving forward and living in the present. Max had the power to rewind time she literally could change the past and erase her mistakes and make a better choice but as I learned more about Max I realized how deep down she’s a kind, selfless and insecure person. It’s amazing to see characters like her in video games I relate to her a lot and her journey taught me lots as well. But because of Life is Strange and Max Caulfield I learned that sometimes changing the past isn’t always right and sometimes accepting the past with its regrets is better and it’ll help you move forward with your life. Before I talk about the ending I want to talk about Max Caulfield as a protagonist first! I love her character so much and she’s handled so well I never related to a character like her before she was the first female protagonist I saw in gaming and I think it’s clear why she’ll always be a favorite protagonist of mine. Her insecurities, fears, doubt, mistrust are all things I relate to but what made me love her even more is despite those things she’s still kind, selfless, and all always willing to help those in need. Her character development throughout the game and especially in Polarized made me adore her character even more, in that episode a side of her was shown that was rarely shown in other episodes when she was betrayed by someone she looked up to I saw the angry side of her but despite the anger and hurt she still didn’t want to hurt people rather she wanted to save her best friend and get justice for the victims. I can write paragraphs to why her character is amazing but I’ll stop here in conclusion she’s a rare gem of a protagonist in gaming in my opinion. Max aside the other characters were actually written well and had amazing character developments despite their flaws all of them grew as characters and I really love that. (Chloe Price, David Madsen just to name a few) Before I dive into the ending and why I chose what I chose I’ll say the way the mystery of Rachel’s disappearance and Kate’s story were handled so well and in this replay I noticed lots of hints the developers & writers added that made me go “OH! It was hinted at here!” The entire plot twist that Mark Jefferson is the antagonist makes so much sense the moment you piece the pieces together. Him dismissing Kate’s problems, Him being distracted when he was helping Victoria, Him smirking when he sees both Max and Chloe at the Vortex Club party (because at the time he already saw the security footage that Max & Chloe know the truth about what happened to Rachel and Kate), The note in the Dark Room that Max assumed was from Sean Prescott to his son, etc. I love when mystery stories are written well! All of the episodes were fantastic but the Max’s nightmare sequence? Oh that’s fantastic getting inside Max’s mind seeing her fears, doubts, regrets, and insecurities like that made me understand her character more. It’s important to note that Max is a very insecure and anxious person and I don’t mean that as a bad thing it made her character very real, so the things she saw in her own nightmare as the name suggests are her biggest nightmares, are they true? Absolutely not but I got to see how Max’s mental state became even more intense after the events she experienced. She no longer trusts anyone and the people that are kind to her were also portrayed in a negative light that’s because she’s afraid that people in her life are hiding who they are because of how Jefferson hid his true nature. It’s just an amazing sequence it’s scary but it’s a well done sequence. Now it’s time for the ending, I chose and will always choose Sacrifice Chloe. Why? Because I think it fits the game’s themes I mentioned above well. I personally think Max was still feeling guilty about not texting Chloe much after she left Arcadia Bay I think she’s trying her best to reconnect and get to know her best friend again. In the process she tried her hardest to keep her alive even if Chloe’s fate being altered is one of the reasons why the storm is coming to Arcadia Bay but at the end of the episode Max takes responsibility for using her time powers, this time she has to make the choice she has to learn her lesson and from her mistakes. Her lesson was to accept the past and live in the present and by choosing to finally let Chloe meet her fate she finally accepted the past and is going to live in the present. I am not saying Sacrifice Chloe is the canon ending however TO ME it is I think it’s the better ending for the story and for Max (and Chloe) character development again TO ME. Max knows now her friend doesn’t hate her she got her reunion and vice versa Chloe knows her friend didn’t abandon her and has closure now and is more than ready to accept her fate and for once she was grateful and glad for the people around her, also Max is finally learning to deal with her grief and face it rather than run away from it. That’s how I saw the two choices in the finale you either accept the past and live in the present or you change the past and live in the future you built no matter the consequences. It all depends on how you view them and how you want to end the story and like I said sacrificing Chloe is the way I wanted the story to end for me. (Side note not that it matters because Life is Strange isn’t a love story game but I prefer Max & Chloe as just friends) Anywho, I’m glad I decided to replay the game last time I replayed it was in 2021 but this recent replay and the choices I picked (despite knowing the full story) were perfect! I’ll never ever forget this game and the impact it had on me no matter what! Until next time, Max Caulfield. 🧡