Life is Strange

 PC
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. Adventure Gamers
    Nov 20, 2015
    80
    Sometimes awkward but sometimes brilliant, Life Is Strange brings a fresh new perspective to episodic, choice-driven storytelling.
  2. CD-Action
    Jan 12, 2016
    75
    Life is Strange managed to land some punches on Telltale’s chin and blew Until Dawn out of the water. [13/2015, p.61]
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  3. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Nov 11, 2015
    74
    Over the course of 5 episodes Max will find time to play detective, visit alternate realities, fall in love (perhaps), take a lot of photos and make a lot of choices... only to have the slate wiped clean by the final scene. [Issue#203, p.80]
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  5. GameStar
    Oct 22, 2015
    85
    A refreshingly different coming-of-age drama that takes our decisions seriously. Technically it's a bit rough which diminishes the atmosphere from time to time.
  6. GRYOnline.pl
    Nov 2, 2015
    90
    Life is Strange is one of the episodic series in the short history of the genre. The game has a great story, skillfully takes on serious issues and has a really good soundtrack. What's more - there is at least as much gameplay as there is simple viewing, and the entire game can take more than a dozen hours to finish. There are some minor flaws here and there but they won't overshadow the fact that this is one of the best stories of the year.
  7. IGN Spain
    Jan 18, 2016
    86
    Life is Strange is a brilliant concept that you will love if you forget prejudices.
  8. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 4, 2016
    100
    Life is Strange really cannot be described. It is a totally unique EXPERIENCE, that in unbelievable way deceives and its magic can only be experienced firsthand. [Issue #259]
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  9. LevelUp
    Oct 26, 2015
    80
    As you would expect from a point and click game, almost the complete value of Life is Strange resides on its narrative. There are a few moments in which gameplay takes center stage, but it ends up being crushed by the intensity of the story and the development of the characters. Having said that, in order to really enjoy the experience, you better play the complete game, as it is getting better with each chapter.
  10. PC Gamer
    Oct 22, 2015
    77
    Beautiful, touching and messy. Life Is Strange is good—not great—but I'd recommend it to anyone.
  11. PC Invasion
    Oct 22, 2015
    80
    A beautiful, heartbreaking, and surprisingly dark Telltale-esque adventure that betters pretty much every Telltale-esque adventure that's come before it and has enough twists to make it unique. Life is Strange has a few flaws, but that shouldn't dissuade you from hopping on this emotional rollercoaster. And it's okay: you're allowed to cry.
  12. PC PowerPlay
    Dec 3, 2015
    90
    Maybe too mumblecore for some, Life is Strange is a wonderfully dark story of friendship and personal apocalypse. [Dec 2015, p.63]
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  13. PCWorld
    Jan 19, 2016
    80
    Life is Strange is flawed, but this paranormal coming-of-age story is nevertheless refreshing proof that small stakes can still feel important, given strong characters.
  14. Pelit (Finland)
    Jan 4, 2016
    87
    A game about friendship, growing up, and, strangely enough, manipulating time. And it works beautifully. After the somewhat shaky start, Life Is Strange has become one of the best story experiences of the year. [Nov 2015]
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  15. Riot Pixels
    Nov 30, 2015
    67
    Life Is Strange is a very controversial game. On one hand, it sets a new quality standard in ‘cinematic’ adventure games — from now on, they must give freedom to players and make them emotionally invested in on-screen events. On the other hand, it’s packed with dumb gaffes and disastrous shortcomings. Still, if you managed to reach the end credits and spent the next couple of days thinking about the characters, then it was worth it.
  16. Softpedia
    Jan 28, 2016
    85
    Life Is Strange is an imperfect video game and the actual mechanics of playing it, including the time rewind, can become annoying of frustrating, especially when the development team tries to borrow from another genre. But the game makes it easy to create a connection with Max and to care about her choices and trials, a rare feat, and that means any fan of narrative-driven experiences should try it out to see how he deals with the feelings of the protagonist and the impact they have on Arcadia Bay.
This publication does not provide a score for their reviews.
This publication has not posted a final review score yet.
These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation.

In Progress & Unscored

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  1. Ars Technica
    Dec 9, 2015
    Life is Strange makes some odd design choices, but its ability to make your choices feel important to its strong leading protagonists more than makes up for it. Buy it.

Awards & Rankings

32
#32 Best PC Game of 2015
8
#8 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015
19
#19 Most Shared PC Game of 2015

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3257 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,751 out of 3257
  2. Mixed: 277 out of 3257
  3. Negative: 229 out of 3257
  1. Esfar
    Feb 3, 2015
    10
    A fantastic game from Squire Enix
    1.Graphics is just awesome.Color combination used here is just perfect and capture the true American    A fantastic game from Squire Enix
    1.Graphics is just awesome.Color combination used here is just perfect and capture the true American theme...what is more, the attention given to graphics is insane ..even the little things are done with care....(10/10)

    2.Main character Max is likable person...they should give little more attention to side characters and story (7/10)
    3.interesting game mechanic...
    4.F**k you IGN for misguiding people with this game...this a fantastic effort    … Full Review »
  2. YungDizuck
    Feb 5, 2015
    4
    This is an example of a game that takes many disparate supposed influences, then implements all of them badly. As usual with my reviews, I'mThis is an example of a game that takes many disparate supposed influences, then implements all of them badly. As usual with my reviews, I'm going to start off with the aesthetics of the game, then talk about the writing and dialogue, then conclude with mechanics, then summarize. Let's get started.

    First up, Life is Strange's design choices look like something that was put together by someone who has only experienced American youth culture secondhand. It takes extreme examples of some icons, then copy/pastes them together in some "hella" strange mixture of stereotypes that sort of belong in a satirical movie, ( which, in my opinion, this "game" desperately wants to be, but we'll get to that later.)
    You have the hipster teacher, complete with the stereotypical thick glasses, the well intentioned white knight Warren, Chloe, then of course, Max Caulfield. All of which would be great in a movie like say, Junebug. I find it rather flat and uninspiring. But hey, looks aren't everything right? Let's move on. The animation and graphics are quite dated looking, and the interface felt clunky.

    So let's talk about the writing. It bills itself as inspired by Twin Peaks, Donnie Darko, Groundhog Day, etc, yet captures nothing of the charm of any of those movies. The dialogue once again, felt like a satirized version of something someone heard that one time, from that really obnoxious teenager in that one movie. The dialogue is pretty cringey, and the portrayal of a lot of the characters in the game left me feeling no sense of attachment to any of them. I wonder how badly you have to miss the mark, if you have to bill yourself more to fans of movies, rather than gamers? I digress.

    Mechanically, again, the game feels clunky, it's a mess of casual pandering QTEs, and falls into some ridiculous adventure game tropes, which is odd, considering how much the marketing is billing itself as more of an interactive movie than as an actual game.

    So to summarize, I feel like this game is simply attempting to pander to the Telltale market, but ultimately fails to find anything in common with that demographic. If you're a fan of walking simulators like Gone Home, you'd probably find a lot to like here, but for a core gamer looking for something to actually play, I couldn't recommend spending money on it. There are better games out there with time rewinding mechanics, if that's your hook. I give it a solid 4 to a 5 at best. For fans of the genre only.    … Full Review »
  3. Theorycrafter
    Jan 7, 2016
    0
    It was described as a game about choices and consequences with "multiple endings".

    They were dealing with the consequences of choices well    It was described as a game about choices and consequences with "multiple endings".

    They were dealing with the consequences of choices well in the first 4 episodes.

    Until they give you just 2 obvious choices in the last minute, making you wonder what was the point of playing because both of them make all your decisions irrelevant.    … Full Review »
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