Life is Strange: Episode 1 - Chrysalis

In the end, the only thing I can truly say is that Life is Strange is a must-buy.

Life Is Strange is off to a near flawless start. Its story, characters and world are all incredibly interesting and in combination have built a fascinating plot that we can’t wait to continue in the second episode.

I’ve had faith in Dontnod ever since Remember Me and it’s really exciting to see them deliver on an incredible season opener.

Few games – hell, few films – are so genuine and earnest in their execution, and few first episodes of anything are so effective in leaving you wanting more.

Its gameplay and very short duration might not appeal to everyone, but the atmosphere in which the game immerses us thanks to an exceptional script is simply extraordinary.

A great opening to what could reveal itself as one of the best episodic experiences since the first season of Telltale's The Walking Dead. The writing is superb, and the story will keep you waiting for the next episode.

An independent movie made videogame. The style, story and characters are at a great level, and the power to rewind time adds the originality the latest Telltale Games lack.

Life is Strange, Episode One: Chrysalis is a joyous, gripping adventure that has laid down a strong foundation for the rest of the series.

Dontnod is back with a game that not only borrows from other narrative-based experiences, but also adds its own flavor bringing back the time-rewinding mechanics we saw in Remember Me. So far, Life is Strange has a very solid and promising beginning.

Life Is Strange’s first episode is a compelling, but awkwardly written introduction to a promising story.

Life is Strange Episode 1 Chrysalis on the PS4 is an interesting adventure game that mimics a TV series and uses player choice as the catalyst quite well.

An interesting start of a promising series, the first episode of Life Is Strange starts out slow, but develops into something truly beautiful towards the end. If you like playing with time itself, you should definitely give this a shot.

With its interesting time-control mechanic and relatable protagonist, Max's tale is off to a strong enough start to suggest that Quantic Dream and Telltale are in danger of being beaten at their own game.

Life is Strange holds something unique – a sort of nostalgia and reflection of reality. While at times the stereotypical teen life is overplayed in the dialogue, the characters and Max’s world grew on me. Even in a short span of an episode, I felt the pains, struggles, and happiness of the characters and inevitably wanted to learn more about them.

Narratively, Life is Strange is kind of a mashup of My So Called Life and Donnie Darko (with a few elements of Alan Wake and Gone Home thrown in for good measure).

Life is Strange’s debut episode starts off strong, showing just enough of what it has to offer while cementing its characters and story firmly in its world. Though the journey only lasted 2-3 hours, it did enough during that time to make me excited for the episodes to come and it left me guessing what the consequences of my actions will be.

Gamers may not like the lack of control and variety of gameplay, but the freedom to dictate the character and story might be enough to warrant a go.

Dontnod has done a fantastic job of not only introducing an interesting new world to explore in Life is Strange, but also an intriguing time-rewinding mechanic, and mysterious story that can only grow from here.

A wonderfully assured first episode, in what has the potential to outdo both Telltale Games and Quantic Dream in terms of successful video game storytelling.

Although the poor lip-syncing diminishes the impact of the dialogue and several hackneyed characters blemish the overall story, the first episode of Life Is Strange is easily worth its five-dollar price tag and positions Dontnod Entertainment as one developer to watch out for this year.

The characters and plot are great. The dialogue, not so much.

Life is Strange’s first episode has great characters and atmosphere but the story isn't very gripping yet. It has definitely made us curious for the next couple of episodes though.

The colors are vivid and bright, yet nothing appears to be that crisp or sharp, especially the foliage, which honestly, makes the game even more beautiful and stand out.

The first episode of Life is Strange works well, presenting the characters and mechanics of a game that has great potential. The time manipulation system can become a turning point in its identity as game, but there is still much work to do in the subsequent chapters.

Life is Strange presents an intriguing story but one that is yet to find its feet.

The episode serves as a nice introduction to Max’s world and powers, but it also feels very introductory.

Chapter 1 of this five-part series is off to a promising, if timid, start. It presents a lot of ideas and mechanics just to show you what you’ll be doing later, but it’s pretty clear that the really interesting bits are yet to come.

Enigmatic in parts, frustrating in others, Dontnod demonstrates it can fuse the domestic with the supernatural with a deft hand, and succeeds in creating a pastel world brimming with intrigue in about three hours.

A world worth inhabiting; one full of intrigue and murky consequences. [March 2015, p.92]

Someone once told me to not buy things for what you want them to be, but buy them for what they currently are. Based on that sound reasoning, I would recommend holding off on Life is Strange for a while, but keep an eye on how well future episodes are received.

In this episode we take a first look at a strange world with some interesting characters. Life is Strange Ep. 1, gives the impression of a small piece of a larger story that will follow.

Life is Strange oozes potential. The female portraits are unexpectedly fresh, the basic concept originally formulated by Telltale still excites and the rewind mechanic is interesting. At the same time, it is also the game's biggest weakness, because it diminishes the impact of the choices made. Nevertheless it will still be exciting to follow the rest of the season.

Quotation forthcoming.

This first episode of Life is Strange depicts the universe, the characters and its protagonist's power with great application. If it's not technically perfect and even if some references and clichés can bother us, it is indeed a lovely introduction to a promising tale.

Inconsistencies of time reversal aside, Life is Strange is an involving slice of life that works because its situations eloquently capture a peculiar early-college state of mind.

With this first try, we can see that Dontnod tries to reach the quality of Quantic Dream and Telltale's work. But they're not there yet. You're not really free to do what you want and the game suffers from a certain number of clichés; the fact that we cannot really find any use for the rewind system is just the icing on the cake.

Life is Strange suffers from awful voice acting and writing that doesn’t do its characters and world justice.

Quite a strange little item. Its dialog makes me wince, but I will confess to being more amused by the awfulness than upset by it, at least half the time. It’s embarrassing and hella lame for totes, but there’s something almost charming about it. Still, I don’t quite think that’s what Dontnod had intended.

The story may be a bit grating, but those mechanics have laid some interesting groundwork. [Mar 2015, p.73]

Episode 1 is all intro, giving you a look at Max's powers and her supporting cast, but not much else. There's hints of bigger things on the horizon, but neither issue is immediate within Episode 1. I'm intrigued, but Episode 2 needs to give me a stronger reason to finish all five episodes.

The first episode of Life Is Strange is a mixed bag – the dialogue grates and inspecting items is a bore, but there is promise elsewhere. With the story's foundations laid down, the next episode could be a standout.