Life is Strange

Life is Strange is an episodic adventure from studio Dontnod in which photography student Max Caulfield unexpectedly learns to rewind time and uses this ability to search for her missing friend Chloe in the fictional town of Arcadia Bay, Oregon. The game is built on a slow pace, carefully crafted dialogue, and moral decisions whose consequences often only surface episodes later - a signature feature is also the ability to rewind time and try a different response, which makes decision-making less stressful, yet all the more deliberate and experimental for every player. The five episodes gradually escalate from teenage drama about friendship and first loves to markedly darker themes like bullying, addiction, domestic violence, and mental health, and the game isn't afraid to tackle even more controversial topics such as suicide. The setting of Blackwell Academy high school and the surrounding town feels believable thanks to carefully written side characters, each with their own small storylines independent of the main plot.

On PS4 the title benefited from simple yet atmospheric graphics with a painted, watercolor-like touch, and above all from a soundtrack full of indie and folk music by artists like Jose Gonzalez, which heightened key emotional scenes. The controls are minimalist - walking, interacting with the environment, taking photos, and dialogue wheels - so the main emphasis lies on the story, atmosphere, and the player's relationship to the individual characters, which was a relatively fresh approach at the time of release.

Life is Strange became one of the most influential narrative titles of the mid-decade and helped popularize the episodic adventure genre with an emphasis on choices with long-term impact, similarly to Telltale's earlier work. It is still praised today for its sensitive, honest portrayal of young characters and their problems, and for how naturally it linked the time-travel game mechanic with themes of memory, guilt, and regret over missed opportunities. The game's success subsequently launched an entire series of further entries and spin-offs, but it is the first game that remains the one still cited today as the genre's defining moment.

Why play it: For players who appreciate a sensitive portrayal of young characters and a time-travel mechanic tied to themes of memory and regret, the first game remains the defining moment of the episodic adventure genre.