Life is Strange: Episode 1 - Chrysalis

 PC
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

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  1. Zimber
    Feb 19, 2015
    4
    It's really, really bad game.... What do you want to see in the beginning? Maybe you want to meet main characters, or see interesting pieces of story but... no, you will get 10+ pages of useless text and this is just a beginning of the end. All characters are awful dull and grey, they are just useless. First part of the chapter one contains only 1 phrase "I'm so unpopular", and second partIt's really, really bad game.... What do you want to see in the beginning? Maybe you want to meet main characters, or see interesting pieces of story but... no, you will get 10+ pages of useless text and this is just a beginning of the end. All characters are awful dull and grey, they are just useless. First part of the chapter one contains only 1 phrase "I'm so unpopular", and second part just empty at all. This powers and choices... there are something wrong with them. I mean, a lot of choices let you do both options at once, and you always can see what will happen and remade choice, what the point in this opportunity? Look at the walking dead series, it force you to choose, and this is the main point of choosing in game like this. Square Enix put a lot of time and work in it, but this is terrible anyway.It's look like they're wanted to wrest piece of bread from Telltale company, but this is really not their field of developing.… Expand
  2. 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 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 theBad 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… Expand
  3. uforoboso
    Feb 26, 2015
    1
    Why have I bought this? I wish I could reverse time and undo it.

    The story is so dull, the characters are so cliché, the gameplay is so boring, there is no action (at all!), the "puzzles" are things like "find the metal box under the bed to get a CD to play music".. (or even worse than that) and the mystery? I've read paragons with Twin Peaks, only because it's about a missing girl? Are    Why have I bought this? I wish I could reverse time and undo it.

    The story is so dull, the characters are so cliché, the gameplay is so boring, there is no action (at all!), the "puzzles" are things like "find the metal box under the bed to get a CD to play music".. (or even worse than that) and the mystery? I've read paragons with Twin Peaks, only because it's about a missing girl? Are you serious?? Not even close.. well, not even VERY FAR!

    The game constantly holds your hands and all the choices you can do feel so stupid.

    Also, it's so short you can complete Episode 1 in like half an hour.

    And graphically.. are you serious? Low poly, low textures, objects that are repeated, like in a library you have 3 book covers that repeat 10 times, you lazy developers.

    I really don't suggest buying this.    … Expand
  4. IQ150
    Feb 3, 2015
    1
    Annoying on rails high school drama only suitable for teen girl wannabes. I have fond memories of my high school years, but if I was stuck in this **** stereotypical world I would loose my mind ...

    There was a nice song playing somewhere, but I can hear that song on "radio" just as well if I want to.
  5. captainegypt
    Feb 8, 2015
    3
    Where do I start with this...? Muddled graphical style, clichéd "twee font" interface, dialogue which utterly fails to feel genuine and comes off more like something from a fanfic than the work of a professional writer...

    Everyone keeps raving about the "depth" and "complexity" but truth be told, all the choices felt meaningless and the characters felt like contrived stereotypes. I felt    Where do I start with this...? Muddled graphical style, clichéd "twee font" interface, dialogue which utterly fails to feel genuine and comes off more like something from a fanfic than the work of a professional writer...

    Everyone keeps raving about the "depth" and "complexity" but truth be told, all the choices felt meaningless and the characters felt like contrived stereotypes. I felt like I was playing a marketing team's idea of what "the kids are into these days."

    The main character feels like she's meant to be a victim from the start, as people are mean to her for no apparent reason and she takes it VERY seriously.

    The supporting characters are just there to be stereotypes and seem to have no real depth or ability to stand on their own, they only have significance in relation to Max. When they aren't spouting memes and making strained pop cultural references, they're blatantly fulfilling the one-dimensional role they've been given in the story. Max is the shy art girl. The pretty blonde girl hates her just because and takes any opportunity to show it. The blue-haired chick is the edgy stoner. The rich kid is the **** everyone hates who actually does seem to be something of a psycho. His friend is oblivious to how psycho he is. And so on. Every teen drama trope is there and its so heavy-handed that I found myself cringing my face off.

    Conversations feel forced and it's always very apparent that you're listening to something being read by a voice actor, rather than a believable, organic-feeling character. Nothing feels natural.

    Quality writing and acting makes you forget that what you're seeing and hearing isn't real, but everything about this game feels calculated to appeal to a very specific demographic of special snowflake types. As a result, Max is the -only- character so far who actually feels like she could be a real person, because everyone else feels so "written" and exists only for her, which is exactly how the type of narcissist who would enjoy this "game" perceives themselves and the world. Always weeping about how no one notices her despite being an unusually pretty girl, although to be fair, basically everyone in this game is pretty.

    Most of the "gameplay" is walking around listening to Max's internal monologue comment on anything and everyone you click on. You can't even speak to many of the characters, and the from the start it feels as though you don't get very much control over Max's choices or character development. There is a very clearly laid out, linear story going on here, which the game really doesn't want you to disrupt. And even when you do get to make a choice which actually matters, the game actually goes out of its way to remind you that the choice will have consequences and that you can rewind to change it.

    The whole thing feels like a teenager's power fantasy, better suited for a movie. Lots of films have already done this as a comedy, where LIS is basically the same concept presented as a pretentious, unintentionally funny art house non-game. The closest it comes to laughing at itself is when it "says things ironically," but much like real people who "say things ironically," it fails to convince you that this is actually the case. There are even a few instances where ignorant or biased viewpoints are presented in a matter-of-fact sort of way, such as "only women should have guns."

    Moreover, the music seems to cater to a niche group of appreciators and the graphics have this inconsistent feeling to them, as if they're sometimes meant to look realistic and other times meant to look like a graphic novel, and still other times as if they're somewhere in between or something entirely different.

    All-in-all this is a shoddy attempt to steal some of Telltale's thunder and I'm glad I played it on a friend's system instead of buying it. You should do the same before you give your money to such lazy developers.    … Expand
  6. tigerskin84
    Feb 17, 2015
    3
    Dontnod studios grabbed the mechanics of remember me and put it in this game(it is the only good thing), the animations are bad, lipsync too. the history is not bad but is for teens... if only the main character where less EMO ... didnt like it
  7. faircritic
    Feb 10, 2015
    0
    I can't remember a game so onoxious and annoying since theprince of persia the cell shaded one,but unfortunately this is even worse.The so cliched teen girl who want to find his purpouse in life plus she is in her days... for christ sake SaquareEnix, I wanna puck!
    I was expecting a telltalegame plus Square Enix games weren't all bad until now. Even the not much recognized Murder Soul    I can't remember a game so onoxious and annoying since theprince of persia the cell shaded one,but unfortunately this is even worse.The so cliched teen girl who want to find his purpouse in life plus she is in her days... for christ sake SaquareEnix, I wanna puck!
    I was expecting a telltalegame plus Square Enix games weren't all bad until now. Even the not much recognized Murder Soul Suspect wasn't as horrendous as this one. Are SE so desperate in grabbing new audiences that now are aiming for the young female flower power sutff. My arse...
    Excuse me but now I have an abdominal pain cause Im in my days,thing is I am a man and not a teen,WHAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH.x(    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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. PC PowerPlay
    Mar 26, 2015
    80
    A very strong first chapter of an intriguing new adventure series. [Apr 2015, p.61]
  2. Pelit (Finland)
    Mar 19, 2015
    79
    A promising, if flawed first episode. Life Is Strange boasts believable characters and an intriguing setting. That said, the dialogue sounds awkward at times and some of the plot twists are a bit too much. [March 2015]
  3. CD-Action
    Mar 17, 2015
    75
    Adventure game – check. Developed by Frenchmen – check. Tells a story about an American – check – teenage girl – check – gifted with paranormal powers – check. Here’s where Beyond: Two Souls and Life is Strange go their separate ways, because the latter is actually good. [03/2014, p.74]
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