Life is Strange

Curious about the choose-your-own-ending game Life is Strange? Now PlayStation users can try out the game free of charge. As of July 1, 2016, the first episode of Life is Strange will be available for free on PS3 and PS4. This deal is open to anyone with a PlayStation account regardless of whether they are subscribed to PlayStation Plus.

Life is Strange is an episodic choice based adventure game made by Dontnod Entertainment, and published by Square Enix. Anyone who has played Until Dawn will find this game to be a similar experience. Gameplay consists of investigation, puzzle solving and interactions with NPCs. The outcome of the game is determined by the player’s choices and investigation skills.

Episode One: Chrysalis

Life is Strange consists of five episodes following the adventures of Arcadia Bay teenager, Max Caulfield. Normal high school is tough enough, but something sinister is happening behind the scenes at Blackwell Academy. When Max’s friend Chloe Price is murdered in the girl’s bathroom by another student, Max discovers she can rewind time. Max saves Chloe’s life, and the two find themselves investigating the disappearance of another local girl, Rachel Amber. All the while, Max finds she is plagued with visions of a tornado destroying Arcadia Bay.

Max’s mysterious gift has many uses. Witness an accident? Rewind and stop it from happening. Say something wrong in a conversation? Rewind and choose a different speech option. Just keep in mind that every action has consequences. Sometimes there is no easy choice. Changing time too often can begin to have strange effects on the world around Max.

Reception

Since the release of Episode One: Chrysalis on January 30, 2015, its reception has been generally positive. It has its share of little flaws. The lip syncing is awful in the first episode, but does improve in later episodes. The dialogue is also cringe worthy at times. It script screams that middle aged men were trying to emulate teenage slang. Life is Strange is very much a slice of life genre game, especially in the early episodes. I personally found these portions to be a bit slow. But when this game gets going, oh boy, is it a real punch to the gut. Life is Strange is truly an appropriate title.

If you own a PlayStation, I highly recommend taking advantage of the free offer. PSN has stated that the free episode is a permanent offer, so there is no time limit on when you can download the game. It is a nice risk-free opportunity to try out something new.

Life is Strange Official Website