Life is Strange: Episode 1 - Chrysalis

 PC
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 28
  3. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. Meristation
    Jan 30, 2015
    73
    Life is Strange is a throwback to the classic "point and click" adventures. You can rewind time, you can decide the future, you can meet Max Calufield. But you will not play in Spanish, Japanese or German ...
  2. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Feb 17, 2015
    71
    More dull character for interactive drama is difficult to imagine. The LiS world is documentarily trivial, and the college, where Miss Caulfield will be studying managed to gather all the clichés from American movies for young adults: guys from sport team, kids with rich parents, nerds of all kinds... There is only one thing that is going to crush local routine: Max, for some unknown reason, is able to control time. [Issue #195, p.76]
  3. Edge Magazine
    Mar 10, 2015
    70
    The locales in Life is Strange feel much less like rigidly framed theatrical scenes and more like real places. [March 2015, p.102]
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  5. IncGamers
    Jan 30, 2015
    70
    A solid opening to what could be a genuinely interesting episodic adventure. The mystery seems compelling, the characters are largely likeable, and the presentation is impeccable - but the emphasis is on "could" and "seems". It's still just episode one.
  6. PCGamesN
    Jan 30, 2015
    70
    After quite a bit of meandering, Life is Strange offers revelations, along with dialogue that isn’t trying to ape how a teenager might sound. Or maybe the awkwardness is just drowned out by Chloe and Max’s sincerity. And, in the tradition of all good TV pilots - it owes as much to TV and cinema as it does to other games - there’s a cliffhanger that’s going to force me to come back.
  7. GameSpot
    Jan 29, 2015
    70
    Time reversal is Life is Strange's most unique element, but also its most problematic.
  8. IGN Spain
    Feb 9, 2015
    68
    While Dontnod seems to have found an interesting concept with a stunning visual style and some promising ideas, it fails on executing it properly and comes out as more pretentious than deep.
  9. Gamer.nl
    Feb 10, 2015
    65
    Life is Strange is very pretentious but it is a very nice watch. The game misses the ability to really reel us in emotionally. The interesting time travel twist makes up for a lot, but it only makes us long for the next episode a little bit.
  10. IGN
    Feb 2, 2015
    65
    Dontnod has created great scenarios for a story I’m eager to learn more about, but the moment-to-moment interactions with people in Max Caulfield’s life are pretty painful.

Awards & Rankings

92
#92 Best PC Game of 2015
53
#53 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015

User Reviews

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User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 438 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 361 out of 438
  2. Mixed: 53 out of 438
  3. Negative: 24 out of 438
  1. dlopatnikov
    Jan 30, 2015
    7
    Hipster’s paradise. Teenage science fiction. Also a game which is so obviously oriented towards 16 to 20 year old girls. You wanted it, youHipster’s paradise. Teenage science fiction. Also a game which is so obviously oriented towards 16 to 20 year old girls. You wanted it, you got it. So are you happy now? I’m not so much. Sadly the game is more «Twilight saga» than «Source Code». And I’m honestly not very fond of watching the lives of all of those losers, hipsters, skaters, wannabe artists, smug leftist college professors and so on. Terrible crowd. I hope there will be more sci-fi and less teenage drama in the next episode.

    P.S. In spite of everything I said above, the game is actually quite good. So give it a try. It’s not my cup of tea, but maybe it’s yours.    … Full Review »
  2. CPendzich
    Jan 30, 2015
    10
    This game largely seems to target teenagers. There is a lot of teen/high school drama at the center of the story. That being said, I enjoy theThis game largely seems to target teenagers. There is a lot of teen/high school drama at the center of the story. That being said, I enjoy the concept and the narrative style game. I really enjoy the soundtrack and the game in general. I have played through episode one myself and once where a friend did most of the playing. I noticed a few cons on the second playthrough. Some of the consequential decisions are not forced on you, which leads to some misplaced dialogue, and things you didn't know about being brought up like you did. I also noticed the decisions don't have much of an immediate weight, however I can see them having a much larger effect over the course of several episodes. I am extremely excited to see what follows, and I could see this being a great game as future episodes come out with a little less teen drama and more powerful decisions, should that come into play.

    Animations 6/10 - Lips are animated horribly in a very dialogue based game. General animations are okay, but they definitely don't blow anyone away.

    Story 9/10 - Although it is very teen drama oriented in this first episode, I feel that this is just a setup for a much greater story. Based on the end of Episode one, I think this will develop into a very well-done narrative.

    Gameplay 7/10 - Going into it as a Telltale-esque narrative focused game, and expecting more of an interactive movie, you will enjoy it. Don't expect advanced gameplay mechanics. This is ultimately a narrative aided by interactive media.

    Interest rating 10/10 - My scores for animations, story, and gameplay are relatively low, but I can definitely see this becoming a great game as the season continues, and its a refreshing break from something else. I am very excited for Episode 2, and found this to be a nice surprise for something I almost didn't bother to buy.    … Full Review »
  3. DannyTalent
    Jan 30, 2015
    3
    Bad jokes. And a lot of them, the animations are bad, especially the faces, which should be important in this kind of videogames. The voiceBad jokes. And a lot of them, the animations are bad, especially the faces, which should be important in this kind of videogames. The voice acting is decent, but just decent, and the story seems a bit cliché'd to be honest. Another The Walking Dead, it's not that much of a videogame rather than an interactive movie... The mechanics are fine, but then again, you're 'playing' this for the story, so yeah... Stick with Telltale, this runner-up is just not good enough… Full Review »
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