An Analysis of Life Is Strange
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 พ.ย. 2024
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To match its two main characters, Life is Strange has two split opinions. 5 years later, people love this game, and they hate it too. In this critique, we're going to find out why.
Editor And Thumbnail Artist: David Blom
Twitter: / leavedavidalone
Source for one of the time travel points:
• Life is Strange Review...
SPECULATION ON MAX'S POWERS:
If everything else rewinds while Max stays put, that should apply to air. There are two possibilities. Either the air phases into Max, which would kill her by saturating her blood with air, or Max instantly displaces the air that she teleports into, which could have a number of catastrophic effects depending on whether or not the air is moved out of the way, or teleported out of the way. Moved would have to happen infinitely faster than the speed of light, who knows what would happen then. I remember hearing that going faster than light sends you backwards in time, so infinite speed would send you back to when time began. The big bang, in other words. The air you displaced would thusly become the first atoms in the history of the universe, the butterfly effect of which would change every minute detail of the universe as we know it, deleting Max, Earth, everything and causing a grandfather paradox. I smell a fanfiction!!!
If scientists are wrong about faster than light travel sending you back in time (or I'm dumb, which is vastly more likely), then infinite speed equals infinite energy which could potentially destroy the entire universe in a blaze of not-glory. I don’t know if particles would default down back to light speed, or if they’d all become kugelblitz blackholes creating a 100% efficient mass to energy conversion, but any way you have it, Max dies. If air is teleported rather than moved, particles might not have gained kinetic energy, but if two phase into each other, that’s not something observed anywhere else in nature. The effects are incalculable, you could create a vaccum decay that would destroy the observable universe, or a strangelet that would convert earth into to a new type of matter. Who knows man. I wish I did because overthinking this is really fun.
It’s also completely possible that Max could phase into someone else, instantly killing both of them if she was lucky, or she could phase two objects together just by putting her phone down, picking up a brush, then rewinding, which would have the phone warp into her hand, the hand that is currently also holding the brush.
Patreon: / whitelightyt
Discord: Whitelight#4493
Songs in order of appearance:
Hush You - Velvet Moon
Vargtimmen - Da Sein
Unbroken - Sunfish Grove
Look Where That Got You - Mattie Maguire
Diaphanous Dreamcoats - Silver Maple
Miss Emeli - General Vibe
Good Days - Cody Francis
Lucky Man - Red Revision
Her Own Device - Gavin Luke
Fire, Then Nothing - Da Sein
Closer Than Two Of A Kind - Jaydan Talley
Sleep Movies - First Wave
Blessed Original Instrumental - Wayne John Bradley / blessed
Dance Dance - Psuche
Dark Clouds Warm Day - At The End of Ties, Nothing
Dance Dance (Instrumental Version) - Psuche
Divine - Amaranth Cove
As always, thanks to ChimerainaSuit for over half of the thumbnails on the channel.
Recommended Channels:
RennsReviews: / rennsreviews
Gingertail: / nyasu93
Interested in Before the Storm? I'm still working on Syndicate, and something secret too. If you're looking for hide from Mr Jefferson online, use code WHITELIGHT for 85% off and 3 months free at Surfshark.deals/whitelight.
Nah before the storm is trash
Why would anybody be interested in terrible writing and cringy dialog???
Thanks for uploading!
So 3 hours earlier uh
You should do a video on Yakuza 0.
I would love to see what you think about it. :)
47:48 "He even explains his evil plan!"
Well in my opinion an artistic villain would be EXTREMELY proud to explain his plans for them because who else is he going to boast about his artistic vision to? The cops?
You're very right about this. As an artist myself I love to go into detail about how I created a work, from inspiration to materials to methods to the process. You're brilliant for making this observation
Agree. I think there are LOADS of killers who have relished in the moment they can finally explain how 'brilliant' they were; left clues as they want along, like Jefferson does (even if this is just as simple as lecturing about framing his students in dark rooms). In LiS's case, I think this was mainly for plot.... to catch us up... to help Max and thereby the player understand. But I still count it as believable!
Even moreso than most fictional villains, boasting about his grand evil plan is 100% accurate to Mark Jefferson's personality precisely because he is a pretentious hipster.
Considering that mine got shot, I'd say there isn't a whole lot to explain.
@@emilychristie1361 ya, killers like playing games by leaving hints and stuff
that little guitar when you open the game gives me chills everytime
Jonathan Morali's soundtrack is brilliant! I would just sit at the main menu and soak in the music for ten minutes every time I loaded up the game...
same :') especially seeing the date of my last play through up top, and the date for the save game i’m playing right now. it’s just so nostalgic.
+++!
ive spent so long just on the title screen lmao
same ❤️😊
Jefferson is a bad villain but a great teacher, he doesn't care that he's just kidnapped you, he's still going to explain to you his artistic vision
Yeah I found the teacher villain “twist” rather unnecessary and lame. I think it could have been just as good if it was Nathan alone the whole time.
Jefferson is the only interesting character in the game and problematically the only one I liked
@@KetchupRocket huh? that would have sucked imo...i like games with plot twists instead of just delegating the most obvious villain as the game's main antagonist..
@@lyhthegreat Jefferson was obvious to be sketchy from the getgo, it was lamely shoehorned into the final act with no other build up. The villain they painted from the beginning they just gave up on by act three. Poor writing.
@@KetchupRocket maybe that's just what you think or maybe you said that in hindsight but i believe the majority of the players didn't expected Jefferson to be the mastermind.. everybody thought nathan was the one behind it and going with exactly what the players expects is a way dumber way of writing the story. Its like 3 guys are trapped in a cabin with a corpse and the tough looking guy with scars all over his face was revealed to be the one behind the murder instead of the least suspicious and meek looking guy with specs..yeah that would make for a better story right?
How the hell did 5 years pass so quickly?!
I'm wondering the same thing too. :(
Time travel
Skyrim was 9 years ago.
No need to thank me
@@arenkai well fuck me, it feels like yesterday that I tried running Skyrim on my home PC and getting 5 fps, thinking "Wow that's a good looking game."
Jesus H. Christ. Reach was 10 years ago. Halo 3 was 13 years ago and I remember being excited about that.
Fuck, do I feel old!
2015 was the last normal year. Everything since 2016 has been one long fever dream.
This game is so weird for me. At times i find it laughably bad and at others it has me crying like a baby. I guess the themes, especially loss and teenage depression, really resonate with me idk. I guarantee in 10 years I'll play it again and cringe but still somehow love it.
Premise itself isn't bad. Problem really comes down to characters and gameplay. Close is really difficult to root for so having her as the center piece of the game without her really growing, really doesn't help.
The Walking Dead has very similar gameplay issues but makes it up by having interesting moral choices. Max is often too preoccupied to make herself look better in front of other or plainly cool than answering a moral dilemma. The game did call her out eventually but if someone serves you dirt for dinner and admits later that it was in fact dirt, it doesn't change the fact what has happened. Life is Strange really seems to me like a heap of wasted potential.
DarkReaper LMAO
@DarkReaper ughhhh dad joke lmao
I played it while it was on-going in 2015, and this comment is exactly right 5 years later.
& I still have absolutely no clue what makes me connect with it so much.
Very much agreed! I feel that exact same way, honestly. I could not have said it better myself :)
"Where Victoria puts the ass in class, Kate puts the ass in Assassin's creed."
I laughed more than I should have
I hate myself for laughing at this 🤣... sorry Kate
That line got me!
Oh shit… don’t laugh
So many people talk about the dialogue being whack, but the unfortunate reality is that, at least back when the game first came out, the dialogue and slang is painfully accurate for hipster/weeb-ish teens growing up in small towns of the Pacific Northwest.
That's exactly what I was saying all this time . The dialogue is bad and contains A LOT of swearing , but almost every person that age talks like that . It's bad yes , but it's realistic
It’s the same way we’ll all look back and cringe at saying slang words we thought worked. Everyone’s just trying to figure out how to speak.
As someone who was that age when the game came out: no. People did not talk like that. Everyone of my peers, and people in the northwest on the internet instantly knew the dialogue was as authentic as "Hello fellow kids!"
People trying to play the dialogue as true to life makes me wonder... were other time periods misrepresented by their media? The 80s from my mom's photos dont look like the movies....
In 2013, I was 18. I'm from the UK. Whilst I didn't speak aloud in this way, at that point in my life, I get Facebook Memories that pop up all the time that completely reflect how the characters in this game speak. I think the real time for it was around 2008, which is when I remember EVERYONE having cringey dialogue like this in every day life. For that reason, whilst I can't help but cringe at a lot of the dialogue, I don't have a problem with it because... yeah, it takes me back. It reminds me of xD and >_
Thats nonsense, sorry. Not even back then. Noone spoke Like that
Another huge aspect of liking the game is the nostalgia of it. If you played the game back in 2015 as the episodes were being released, you were likely part of the community. After every single episode there would be months of hype, speculation, analysis, theories, and predictions. This was half of the fun, to the point you would be swept up in the hype for the episodes you've already played and the ones you haven't yet. Most of my fond memories with this game is in watching dramatic let's plays and speculatory videos. Very few pieces of media presented so many compelling mysteries to be cracked wide open with plenty of time for the community to speculate. When people play the game nowadays I know that they're not getting the fullest experience, only what the developers left behind.
I remember binging multiple youtubers play the game, then hopping over to Geek Remix for theories on it and trying to come up with some of my own
Yeah, I was 12 at the time, but it was so interesting and fun that there’s no way it will never not be nostalgia
@@geminidangel5297 Geek Remix was ESSENTIAL to the community!!
@@hibye2727 Geek Remix honestly made Life Is Strange better than it was.
Yeah! I remember theorizing with friends and my sister, as well as people in YT Comments, etc. You just sent me further back then this video haha, I loved all of that!
Yeah I agree. Sadly with the newer season of life is strange, you don't see that anymore and idk why? =/ maybe bevause they changed it where it's not time travel and it has super powers or a form of that? Maybe because sean doesn't have them and it's Daniel and we don't control Daniel? The story for lis2 is lovely (to me at least) but it feels like the magic if you will, of creating theories and coming together as a community is gone. I feel like there is so much to theorize within lis2 but I see literally none of that (that and many fans "left" the series because some got salty with dotnod not continuing max's story) there are nice small connections to the first game but there is also room to create your own for the timeline. So combining everything leads us to the magic of how fans came together with the game
I was so surprised after realizing that I succeeded in saving Kate and many youtubers failed. Never before was I so happy for paying attention to detail.
i remember when i was watching other playing that i have to keep an eye on her so ï heavily investigated her and at the i got all the choices right until the bible verse and i realized i have missed it i was so fucking stressful like as if she was a real person
and of course i failed
out of anger and stress i force closed the game and opened it again prying it didn’t save
and thankfully it didn’t and got it WRONG AGAIN AND I FORDE CLOCE IT AGAIN
until i succeeded and what a relief
@@karinhalmat780 you literally REWIND it..
@@alexamderhamiltom5238 That scene doesn't let you rewind for whatever reason.
@@kadelarson2535 i think you didn't get that comment
@@kadelarson2535 "for whatever reason".
Max literally travels through time, walking, at that moment in the game, the first time she does that.
"It's not good,
but I like it."
A position I wish more people had the courage to take
I agree.
I was checking comments to see what the video's about. That means the video's not just blindly defensive, and I'm thankful for it, and for your comment too.
I take that position all the time when explaining the game without any spoilers to friends. It cofuses the hell out of them and inspires some to play it for themselves.
this sums up my opinion on Haze; a mediocre, half baked shooter nobody liked, it's objectively bad despite a few fun mechanics or neat ideas, it's a gimmicky mess, and I love it more than most fps games.
Completely agree with.
That's basically everything I watch and read.
Me: so do you like Life is Strange?
.
Whitelight: Well no, but actually yes.
"why?"
-60 minutes later-
"I cannot say"
This unfunny format again
@@thekycklingwizard78 I feel my heart crack. :(
I think we're all like that
Risal Sarker good.
I'm so emotionally connected with Life is Strange. It's an amazing game--not perfect, but so so beautiful
same. it has a special place in my heart.
Beyond two souls has that spot in my heart that game changed me
its my favorite game.
Someone was cutting onions at some point and that never happenes with any story for me. I cringed during titanic, some others were meh. But this game, first when in the alternate chloe scene you had to pick a choice..
all of you need to get help
"Was Life Is Strange a good game, or a bad game?"
Whitelight: "yes"
I give it an every number out of 10
@@Whitelight seems accurate enough
Repeating this comment till you make a video on Sekiro please, 😢😢
it was fun, and that's what i'll stick to
its just bad
Honestly if the writing / VA directing was a little tighter I can see this game growing in a more positive light. I played this game during a dark period of my life and just the general envoirment and aesthetic really brought me back to a better time.
Same here buddy
same man, despite all the problems you can't help but bond with the characters
Yeah, same. I really loved this game, first played episode 1 around Christmas, and then I haven't played it again until February, when I finished episode 2 and 3 on a Saturdary and 4 and 5 on Sunday. I basically lived and breathed the game when I finished it, and it really helped me in the end and make me happier.
I gues it also helped that I related to Max so much for some reason.
(spoiler don't read unless you knew end) yeah me too except the ending. Brought me back down for a few days. Give up chloe or everyone else in the city. Shit hurt either way
I got connected with the characters and the world on so many damn levels that I cried a river when ep 5 ended.
tbh im fine with the blurry impressionism of the photos just so when you see the more realistic and clear photos of the girls in jefferson's folder are even more shocking. those photos are so disgusting and morbid.
"How to roast a game in the nicest way possible and make everyone love your video". This is absolutely brilliant.
I loved the game when I played it 3 years ago but was heartbroken to realize this love was not shared by a lot of people. Then when I thought about it, I found flaws in basically every aspect of the game. I started to question my taste and the authority of the internet's opinions. Is it really as bad as people say it is, or are they so unsympathetic they can't help themselves but criticize, nitpick and make fun of every little thing? Can't they see past the hipster, Tumblr-looking shell, and just be themselves for a moment and chill out in the atmosphere of the Arcadia Bay?... But in the end, I realized that I shouldn't care about other people's opinions. Even if the writing is bad, the plot is not thought out and certain dialogues are cringe-inducing, this game has... a soul. A humanity that you don't often see anymore. And I will remember the time I played this game fondly and wouldn't feel bad about replaying it just to hang out with Kate once again, make fun of Victoria, or spill Frank's beans.
I WAS EATING THOSE BEANS
Couldn't have said how I feel about the game better...
I enjoyed the story until the last 2 or so episodes. Even the cringey fake ass dialogue is kind of charming in it's own right. The last 2 episodes take quite a downturn in quality. At the beginning it seemed like the Prescott family was trying some weird lovecraftian shit and all the weird weather effects, the disappearances, Maxine's powers were all side effects of that. Even the doomsday bunker seemed to elude to the Prescott family being behind the whole thing. But nope! Turns out, Jefferson is some kind of psycho photographer and all the weird weather phenomenon and the entire mini apocalypse happens because Chloe is not dead. And of course, we don't get any explanation for Maxine's random out of nowhere powers. I was really disappointed by the ending. It pretty much ruined the story. This game would have been better off as a teen drama interactive movie.
I watched a playthrough of Life is Strange god knows when. It was fun, I liked it at the time. Yes, the overall cheesy atmosphere is a big part of why it's charming. But the game was very much flawed like you said.
Wish I could say the same about 2. That game's a disgrace.
It's my favorite game. It has a lot of problems, some of which are highlighted in this video. But the bottom line is: I love it and I always will. Doesn't need to be anything more than that. Even after hearing all of the critiques and agreeing with a lot of them, it still isn't enough to make me say that LiS is a bad game. That's my feeling on it and that's the most important part to me :)
I had a particularly weird experience with life is strange as I was a student growing up doing a BA in uni at the time (admittedly in film not photography) and began suffering from a heavy depression; I played every episode on release which made episode insane for me. Kate's suicide happened the day after my first attempt myself... It was a terrifying mirror and the fact I failed to save her was.... Emotional. I remember just sitting there crying for minutes just paralysed by it all so my love of the game is admittedly bias through sheer coincidence, but honestly, Kate jumping might be the single most powerful moment of any media I've ever experienced in my life, it was transcendent and genuinely terrifying but also a weird wake up call... I think a part of me genuinely owes the game my life a bit. Anyway I just want to say thank you whitelight for making a video talking about it where, as someone who loves the game, I don't feel talked down to, it actually does mean a lot any time I express that I like Life is Strange, regardless of reason or context, I always find myself being insulted by someone, I genuinely thank you for being above that :)
I dont know if your comment should make me feel glad or sad... for now I will choose to be glad.
Thank you for sharing your experience and showing us that everything can take on a whole different meaning, even what seems to be just a mediocre game in the eyes of most people ✌😊
Holy Shit I hope you're out of this dark place completely. I too Played this game At a bad point in life - selfdoubt, dept, bad friends - Yet nothing compared to your experience. And so I could relate 100% with Max From the get-go. She and her environment were like a mirror: I also was a shy push-over with no self-esteem with a friend who bullied me around like Chloe. Adding to that my mom had a friend Who suffered from ALS and almost looked identical to Ep IV Chloe (She sadly and coincidentally died of respiratory System failure). Not being a Native Speaker I was unaware of most of the cringy dialogue and this game was the First to Make me Cry several Times (Only topped by To the moon/Finding Paradise). Even weeks later I was an emotional mess. And just like with you I took it as a wake up call and cut ties with the bad people in my life aswell as caring more about my real friends and family. that's the message I took from Life is Strange: Care about your loved ones and enjoy every Minute with Thema because you don't know what'll Happen tomorrow and what you will regret to have left unsaid.
If you had experienced any piece of art after a traumatic experience that is about that kind of experience, it would be without a doubt memorable. Coincidence indeed.
That said you couldn't be any more justified in liking it.
@@johanneskramer9490 I am so sorry to hear about your mom's friend, I do genuinely hope that all affected have been able to find some peace with it so know that you all have my condolences.
As for me I have been attempt-free for almost 5 years now so I can at least say that I do have those urges under control, as with all depression there's that worry of creeping back into it and so on and days can be difficult but I will say that I havevery much come out the trauma a kinder, more caring, and very different person so my abilities to combat these things as well as the groups I keep around me just in case are far stronger than they were at the time. I have found myslf supremely unlucky in the last 3 years or so where I've definitely hit incredibly hard situations, but I haven't fallen back into that place mentally despite this yet; so I think that's a good sign in a way at least :)
And yeah, I took a lot of similar messages from the game too; I actually related to Max quite a bit because with university I also kind of disappeared from all of my friend's life for a while so, coming back, I really came to understand that weird distance that can form, where you're still close and catching up like things are the same, but also knowing that in that time you're both so different...It's the classic feeling of wondering if the game was somehow made for you specifically xD.
It's always nice to hear of others who had similar powerful moments too though, so I do hope all is well, and thank you so much for both checking up on me and sharing your own story too, it is truly appreciated :)
@@nekonatamisterajn4269 I think glad is fine, there's enough sadness going round as is, I wouldn't wish to add to it :)
And yeah, it's the classic thing of not minding at all when people take issue with a game and so on, everyone has their own opinion, I always just get sad when people rail so hard on anyone who likes something that isn't actively hurting others. You can;t control what you like; honestly to hear Whitelight drop the objectivity angle and just admit that he liked it and that's okay was really nice, I hope it makes more people feel comfortable in just liking and being charmed by things; subjectivity will always overpower objectivity and honesly, I think that's more than wonderful in its own way :)
I feel this so hard. When I was playing it, I was so invested in it. I didn't care about all of the negative things, I just knew I wanted to consume it as quickly as possible. But episodes 4 and 5 really threw a wrench in it, because whereas the first 3 episodes had issues I absolutely related to, episode 4 and 5 mimicked my own inner demons and struggles and self doubt. it was truly....damaging to my (already fragile) mental state. I played it mid-april and I'm still not over it. I may never be over it. I've spent hours on a therapy couch because of it. For a lot of introverted, chronically ill people especially, you can absolutely put yourself in Max's shoes. So on top of the already heavy themes, looking on it as an adult adds a layer of wistfulness for....semi normalcy. Yeah, she can control time, but she's also slowly making friends and opening up. It made me realize I've been mourning my lost innocence and a young adulthood I never got to have and had no idea. Which in turn made each episode harder and harder to get through. You're given a beautiful thing, and you can use it to help people. But then at the end it doesn't matter. Everything you've ever done is pointless, and you never actually helped anyone. No matter which ending you choose, if you're like me, it's going to haunt you despite being a video game. The writing wasn't great, the mechanics weren't great, but I came to feel for these characters like it was home, you know?
Like if they included the Prescott bits about the supernatural, the storm might have been easier to swallow. That it wasn't all Max's (your) fault. That you didn't doom the world because you were trying to be kind and soft in a world of hardship and pain.
I walked into LiS knowing 2 things: Gays and the ending
I walked out with the weight of a thousand corpses of people who I'd maybe impacted the life of in some small way (or a lot, in Kate's case)
this got away from me but TL;DR LiS 10/10 would not recommend
10/10 would not recommend. Couldn't have said it better.
sobbing
@@Whitelight10/10 would recommend, even though it's the only game that made me cry
While I recognize its flaws, Life is Strange (the original, at least) will always have a place in my heart.
Edge Lord McCringe MK-3000 User name checks out.
Hehe, get it? Cause reddit it’s totally superior than any other social media. right?
Edge Lord McCringe MK-3000 LIS 1 isn’t woke, LIS 2 is.
LIS2 is hot garbage, i hate it, its just bad, the atmosphere is lost and the carachters are dumber but less charming than LIS1, i hate that litlle brat and... god, why do i care, i should just look at the first one and say: my god... i love this fucking game
@Edge Lord McCringe MK-3000damn son chill
When you said "you're not the character" I realized why this game worked for me when it didnt for others. I very much WAS her in so many ways. When this came came out, I was an artsy high schooler girl with a Polaroid who started dating her best friend (also a girl). Literally my favorite song at the time (lua by bright eyes) was in the game.
This one def hit close to heart like it was made just for me.
Cool perspective. Yeah I had a Polaroid too, decided to drop it when I ended up with 18 times the national debt on instant film refills.
@@Whitelight its addictive!
Repeating this comment till you make a video on Sekiro please, 😢😢
Repeating this comment till you make a video on Sekiro please, 😢😢
Same I found the characters relatable
Is it just me or does this game feel weirdly nostalgic to me? I don't know why, I learned about this game in June of 2020, but the game is so unique it actually feels nostalgic somehow
that's the whole goal! the game devs said it was their intent in character/scenery design.
I played it around the time the game came out and it felt the same way back then. That’s part of the magic.
i only just watched someone play it a few days ago and it feels like ive known about it for years and am revisiting it
That’s when i first played the game but I knew about it since it came out snd was in the app store. Years later played it on the console and loved it
The whole of the art of the gameplay. You're going to feel more nostalgia this game in 10 years, remembering early 2010's life. So yeah.
Literally in the middle of Kate's fall the video gets interrupted with "let's play raid shadow legends!" I burst out laughing, holy shit.
She jumped because of raid Shadow Legends
get an adblock for your browser, I haven't seen a youtube ad in about 4 years... not even banners on the page.
@@SA80TAGE Seconded.
I recommend uBlock Origin. github.com/gorhill/uBlock#installation
@@SA80TAGE i dont like that because i want to give the adsense to the youtubers that put their hard work on their videos.
@@olyophogrific That's a fair point but it's worth mentioning that even with an adblock extension you can disable it on specific webpages. That lets you avoid ad spam on random sketchy websites while still supporting your favorite content creators.
As an Oregonian I can confirm this is unfortunately how we speak. Keep Oregon weird.
Bizarro
@@tommyswain3762 hella
You Oregonians are hella weird, Shaka brah 🤙
amazeballs!
Lmaoo the replies
I'm glad you mentioned that (presumably) saving Kate was one of the most rewarding moments you've ever had playing a game, because I remember saying the exact same thing when I played the game years ago.
"she's gonna leap of faith with no haybale"
Christ man
Damn that's pretty hardcore.
He dont pull punches
And the line about making Ezio look like amateur was gold as well
Ac Odyssey
i can't express in words how much life is strange means to me. it's messy, it's rough, but it's so goddamn beautiful. despite everything, this game will never fail to make me cry.
Pretty much my thoughts. I disagreed with the message, but the game's themes it is tackling are so impactful and meaningful I couldn't help but tear up. Episode 4 was so hard for me to get through. I can see why people consider it the best episode.
yeah but for some reasons i can't get into the 2nd game even though i loved the 1st.
THAT'S WHAT IM SAYIN
Rainbow six has a better story arc then lis
And if a game called vampyr decide to pay homage To you I'd kms
Whenever I hear the music from when you discover Rachel's body, I still get heavy emotional chills, 5 years after.
This moment was so powerful, I felt so sad for Chloe. The voice acting was so good it really broke my heart. I was almost in shock for a few days after finishing the game.
It sures has a lot of flaw, but just this single moment that I still remember so vividly, like it was a real sad moment that happened in my life, makes this game such a great experience.
Thanks for this critic, love your work, cheers.
I kne that song before LIS but after LIS it hit completly different.
Life is strange is one of the best experiences i ever had. Its not a game. Its a life you could have had. An emotional rollercoaster you can never understand if you dont get invested.
Oh god no
I always thought of it as Tumblr the videogame and that its just for edgy people. But I played through BTS and then Part 1 and I loved it. I might be going back in for another playthrough and do different things.
If you haven’t played it yet I highly recommend ‘night in the woods’ by infinite falls if you liked life is strange.
MoorsBoors thats on console?
Malik J. Quinton yeah I played it on PS4, but it’s on steam too
anyone: "a review has to either be positive or negative"
.
Whitelight: _"pretty sure it doesn't"_
A good review is almost always unbiased, i.e weighs pros and cons equally, leaving the viewer to critically think what they value and make a purchasing decision. Unfortunately modern reviews take out the critical thinking and insert blind consumerism
there is a thin line between neutrality and "appeasing" both fronts.
hey:
50% of the gaming world loves LiS because it's what a child believe maturity is (or because hypocrisy to David Cage games), so being negative enrages them because they personalize criticism in their toys.
the other half hates LiS because they think gaming is a escape from their bullied life and needs to be shooting (or because hypocrisy to David Cage games), so being positive enrages them because they personalize criticism in their toys.
@@1r0zz in both scenarios, everyone is a 🤡
No one actually says that, but it's how reviews are nonetheless. Steam doesn't even let you give a mixed review and I've seen people want to give mixed reviews.
@@fiftyfive1s410 How do you weigh pros and cons equally? What if there's an unequal amount of pros and cons? Which by the way, is the most realistic outcome.
@@fiftyfive1s410
A review is never unbiased. A good one is just capable of explaining what's good and bad clearly to you.
Which also often comes down to whether you can understand where the reviewer is coming from and to some extend if your views and focus points line up.
Life is strange really is the purest example of something being greater than the sum of its parts.
So basically, you hate everything about the game, EXCEPT the game itself
Interesting
100% agree. Everything from the sound direction to the look of the town is on point, but the story and characters are just plain bad.
@@David-es4pi The story and characters are great parts of the game.
Same here tbh
@@EllaKarhu
So, Skyrim?
Its not so rare. So bad its good is a term to describe such feeling. Deadly premonition 1, David cage's films and tons of othe games are like that. everything is bad about them but somehow you want to play them more than yet another EA\ubifost loter shooter sandbox rpg wiht open world.
Whitelight: Remember Remember Me?
Me: Yeah, it was pretty g...
Whitelight: No
The soundtrack of Remember Me is friggin' awesome
Same here. I only played the demo, but it stuck in my mind, funny enough. It's been drifting casually somewhere on my bucket list for years now. And he just went "nah, don't care." Don't do my homie like that, Whitelight. XD
I very much feel you on this one, had exactly the same reaction xD
I mean how could I ever forget Kid Xmas :)
The OST was the only good quality
Honestly the fact that Max often appears to loose brain cells is part of it I liked. Like if I had powers like that I’m sure it would occasionally slip my mind or a better way of saying things wouldn’t seem worth it. It’s like as a teenager if I had been magically given time powers my constant fear of them being taken away would overthrow any sort of dark urges I had or reasonable thought. Like when I played it I spend like 10 minutes searching for a way to get around principal wells before realizing I could just rewind and go past him. If I forgot that in the game I totally would have in real life but that’s just me.
I agree. A lot of times, people criticize things that don’t make sense to them because it’s not logical. But the thing is, most of the time people aren’t logical. We’re driven by emotion and our one-track minds. So often, we’ll look back on something we did in the past and think, “Well that was dumb of me.” In that respect, so much of the game makes perfect sense to me.
Another thing is that Max doesn’t have a solid grasp of her powers or how they work, even by the end of the game. She can easily do a basic rewind, but she’s largely unsure of herself using photographs to go back long gaps in time, and I feel like the moment she stopped time altogether to save Kate was a complete fluke. The inconsistency in her powers is, in a way, part of what makes her human too.
@@Road_to_Dawn
Man both of you guys are stupid, I'd be spamming that thing till kingdom come.
I think it’s important to note Max is going through like the most stressful week possible to get powers. She is dealing with these new powers, an old friend coming back, what is the right thing to do when there isn’t a clear answer, and the mystery of Kate and Rachel
When I first beat the game part of me wish there was a third ending. Considering how when Max overexerted her powers to try and save Kate and she was unable to use them when talking to her, I wished that the game took track of how many times you went back in time and if you used it a bit too much throughout the whole game a third ending would happen that trances off of the Sacrifice Chloe option where she attempts to go back in time but due to her using her powers so much that she would be unable to go back. The reason I wanted a hypothetical ending like that was because I didn't want to sacrifice Chloe but didn't make Max out to be "No fuck everyone in the city" and throws away the picture.
I also wanted a third ending, but the game's developers decided to have only those two binary choices just so they can teach players that "you can't make everything perfect". And it was executed in such a way that leaves a lot to be desired, to say the least.
Well for me the take on Max part " no fuck everyone in the city" was a bit different. For start if you will try to go into Max head and listen to what she said, she mentions that whenever she goes and changes things she f. things even more. So in that moment Max will either jump into unknown with hope that mayby this time her manipulation will work or just will grow the hell up and accepts the consequences of her choices ( everything she did was always to save Chloe ). That was it for me, I will stay with what I have and move on with somone I love/like or keep falling into endless loop of fixing stuff. But despite what people say there was a lesson to be learned in both of the endigs even if the choices you made during the game were seemingly pointless ( from my perspective they just worked to reinforce the message that whatever you do there is no perfect ending)
I actually thought this was going to be a thing when I played the game originally. I even let Frank take a gunshot to the leg in Episode 4, because I figured that, while there was probably a way to walk away from that specific scene with him unharmed, I was more concerned about if there was an internal system gauging how many decision reversals I did.
Sorry for the long post. I started writing intending this to be short and...yeah that didn't happen.
The binary was necessary. The final choice is the classic trolley problem in philosophy. You have an ethical dilemma: Do you kill one to save many, or kill many to save one? Normally, that should be simple calculus and the ethical choice is to choose to save the many (as Spock would say, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few). Variations of the problem exist, like "what if that one person will cure cancer in the future, should they survive this." LiS uses the variation where you have a deep emotional attachment to the one person, but little or none to the many. (This is a serious deciding factor, I think, in whether or not people are left praising the game or not; if you can't get invested in Chloe, then you miss the gravity of this choice entirely.)
It's asking the question, how many people would you kill to save one you love? Personally, I chose to save Chloe the first time I played...and then sat staring blankly for several minutes, after the credits had finished, realizing how much it turned my own thoughts about the trolley problem on its head. (Basically, I got a serious slap to the face with "You are human! You are _more_ than capable of making immoral, irrational choices! Don't sit there thinking you'd be the good guy!")
There's a bit of brilliance though with the choices, because you're also deciding something else: Do you take responsibility for the consequences of your own actions? You're the player, you did all that (nightmare Max really drives that home; the ending couldn't have worked without her directly accusing the player of the hypocrisy of their actions), you made the choices to keep going and fucking with time (instead of just putting-down the game and calling it a day). So say that the ethical choice is to sacrifice Chloe. You're a good person, right? Wrong, you just took the opportunity to undo the mistakes you made instead of owning them and moving forward. You're a coward. And, vice versa; you own your decisions and the consequences that go with them, and you're not a coward. You're just evil (just as Max's shirt at the end scene alludes to, and just as ouroboros on Chloe's shirt reflect the other choice).
A third ending that took control away from the player in any way, or softened the decision you/Max make(s) would have ruined it. Then you could have your cake and eat it too. "Well, I _tried_ to do the right thing by sacrificing Chloe but gee, it didn't work." It'd be empty.
@@liesdamnlies3372 The clear intention of the developers was to pose the Trolley problem, but they also spent the whole of the fifth episode in particular hammering home the message that the more Max tries using her powers to fix things, the worse they get, so, by the time you're faced with that final decision, the choice is "ignore what's been happening and try one more time to undo your mistakes by going back to ten minutes after you first used your time powers and hope that somehow retroactively undoes the storm you had already had a prophetic vision of" or "accept the mess you're currently faced with and try living with the world as it is rather than risk breaking things even worse by trying even harder to fix them".
Would love to see Sleeping Dogs covered
One of the most underrated open world games imo
@@jimmyjamdrops7326 Facts, that game was way too under appreciated. It's sad that there will never be a sequel.
and yakuza
I heard it has a pretty cool melee fighting system, doesn't it?
TheHalogen131 yeah it does, also has a great story.
The truth is the game is bad, and good, and accurate, and anachronistic, and silly, and serious, and heavy, and light, and completely devoid of logic, and somehow makes perfect sense, and because of all that it’s a lovely experience that touches on a lot of truth about adolescence along with adult life in multiple ways. Great narrative. Great game.
Lol damn well put👏👏
Facts this game give you a touch of all types of feelings and understanding
I think the cheesy dialogue gives this game a charm, like the cheesy movies we all watched in the 2000s.
plus it's clearly what french adult men thinks american teen girls sound like
@@whodatninja439 which is the problem
Yeah the new dontnod games suck and I completely blame the lack of never ending cringe-inducing dialogue. The other aspects are virtually the same if not improved in the newer games
@peroh Doesn't matter, its still cringe
The cheesy dialogue reminds me of the Sam Rami spiderman movies - movies that are so corny and a little dated by today's standards, but have all the nostalgia and other qualities to hold them up as excellent films.
Man, the atmosphere in Life is Strange is unmatched
Night in the Woods.
Agreed
indeed
What aspects about the atmosphere though? The only thing remotely interesting/unique is the dark room scene and the surrealist nature of the storm. Everything else seems like filler or overused pastiches
I like most of it, Arcadia Bay as a whole, the nature, the scrapyard, interior school. Dorms are a little meh, but the recycling is good and kudos for the giant squirrels. Everything is better with two giant squirrels.
The Dark Room is cliché and a bit boring. As is the Jefferson arc. The storm is pretty. But a bit disconnected.
God I love this game.
This is maybe the worlds hardest game to recommend. It usually goes like this
Me: you should play LIS! It’s a truly amazing work of art.
Them: is the gameplay good?
Me: well no
Them: is the story well written?
Me: not really
Them: is the dialogue clever?
Me: nuh uh
Them: are the characters good?
Me: ehhhhh....
perfect
@@Whitelight no it's bullshit, the characters are all well written, like Nathan, David, Chloe, etc. The story is also very satisfactory imo
You chatting waffle
The story gets too much hate it was written well and some characters were good
@@Two.Face4 just admit that it's your guilty pleasure.. If you can't explain why you feel the way you do, then chances are, that's probably what's going on. And it's totally fine. I like dead space 3 a lot and that game gets waffle stomped by critics and reviews.
This game changed my frickin life. It had an enormous impact on me, I love it to the bottom of my heart. Yes I'm aware of it's flaws, but it was still a beautiful and powerful experience. The nostalgic atmosphere, the characters, the emotions, and the beautiful songs !
Uhh It has such a unique feeling! Say what you want but this game is a masterpiece to me.
Same!!
agreed!
I whole heartedly agree man
Kate: falling to her death
TH-cam ads: Things are hotting up! Can you take the heat?
This game changed my life. I never played or was interested in any game before Life is Strange. It opened my mind and i discovered the wonderfull world of videogames
same!
“All who lived became her simp,” is such a powerful line.
When Max says "What are you talking about... you saved me from talking in class" I always tear up
Ugh me too! That line GETS TO ME SO BAD
How come?
I honestly love the dated dialogue. It makes me cringe every time Max says 'wowza' or Chloe says "hella", sure. But we have to remember that the game was set in 2013, and in 2013 I was a teenager just like Chloe. Troubled and hurting, edgier because of it. I also grew up in the PNW, pretty close to Oregon, and tbh? That's how we talked there and then. Life is Strange has replay value to me because - - on top of everything everyone else likes about the game - - it reminds me of myself and my best friend in 2013. We don't talk anymore, but I can revisit our friendship through Max and Chloe's interactions. Their texts read just like how mine read back then. The running joke of Max texting 'blah blah blah whatever :)" And Chloe replying "NO EMOJIS!!!!" was literally something my friends and I did. It's part of the immersion for me. It actually feels like the most believable part of the writing to me, because I've lived it.
Me, someone who actually says wowser and hella regularly in real life: 😬
Hella is just Northern Californian slang that people use all the time if you’re from the region.
@@Ashquacks please never stop the world needs more wowzas
@@Ashquacks love the black parade pfp, wowza.
Lol right, im actually from Seattle and me and others definetely said stuff like that in 2013. I'm regularly reminded of it with Facebook memories.
One thing about Chloe’s treatment in LiS is that in ep1 depending on your actions, you get a scene where David hits her. It’s obvious from their reactions that this has happened before, and whether or not you rewind the moment away it frames the emotionally abusive elements of his parenting in a much more obvious light. I don’t think the fact that he hits her comes up anywhere else in the game, but for me it definitely colored how I understood some of her more, uh, controversial characterizations. Between her shitty home life, her sexuality, and her struggles with mental health (not really elaborated upon, but heavily implied in-game), I really resonated with Chloe. I felt her alienation from the bay and its residents, which made it much easier to understand why she’s so desperate to get away, and why Max is so devoted to her (not to mention the simping, jfc Max has it bad)
I totally back that up. I always try to defend Chloe, while attempting to be mindful of her many flaws - and trust me, she has flaws - becuase I relate so hard to what she's going through. and agreed, Max is totally crushing on Chloe, it's so obvious lol
Eh. She's still a garbage friend, immensely irresponsible, selfish, and seemingly desperate to win her posthumous Darwin Award. Abuse and mental disorders contextualize her behavior, but you should never use that in defense of her actions. What she did, how she acted, she did by conscious choice.
It's part of why I despise the game as much as I do, because no matter how you slice it, she's still an unlikeable little shit that the game demands you care about. And I don't. I literally can't. She's absolutely repellent. And that ruins the whole premise of the game, and especially the final choice.
I take this as lost potential: David might have seen pretty harash shit during his service, i always thought there would be a point in which he and CHloe realte througha shared tragedy. how David opens up to ehr about his PTSD or something and how he lost a brother in iraq or something. But isntead they did nothign with it
"It's obvious from their reaction that this has happened before."
Is it, though? I got the exact opposite conclusion. Chloe is in shock after David hits her, as if she can't believe he'd actually do something like that, suggesting he's never done it before. And the physical abuse actually does come up later in a conversation with Joyce in the diner who clarifies that David feels terrible for what he did and will be punished for his actions, again signifying this was a one time incident. We also hear from that same conversation that Chloe has a tendency to push David without being provoked which makes me think the point of the slap scene was to make us sympathize with Chloe because we've witnessed the climax of her relationship with David and because of that, jumped to conclusions, but really we, and Max, are supposed to learn more about David and Chloe, eventually figuring out that Chloe herself is not so innocent.
@@ShadyDoorags I kinda disagree with you on all points here, if I’m being honest. It’s hard to gauge nonverbal cues in LiS sometimes, but everything about chloe’s reaction screams ‘victim of long-term physical abuse’ to me. I just rewatched the scene, and she immediately goes still and nonverbal, adopting a hunched, nonthreatening posture. Not only is this jarring up out-of-character for what we see of Chloe, it’s the kind of behavior that tends to be ‘learned’ through prolonged periods of mistreatment. Also if you hide in the closet, there’s a line that more directly implies that this is more than a one-time thing.
From in-game artifacts we know that David has been in Chloe’s life - against her wishes - since she was fourteen or fifteen, and from what we see of David I find it reasonably likely that she’s been subject to verbal, emotional, and occasional physical abuse for a significant portion of that time. Doesn’t erase Chloe’s problematic traits, but like… she’s definitely a victim of her circumstances in a way that fuckin David isn’t lol
As for the diner conversation - there’s multiple different ways of interpreting that. Is David sincerely regretful, or is he just another abuser feeling guilty after the fact? Is Joyce a competent observer of the situation, or is she blind to David’s issues because she values the abstract idea of her Family more than she cares for her daughter’s well-being (I love Joyce but there are earlier conversations that def suggest the latter)
We’re definitely only seeing the culmination of David’s relationship with Chloe (I haven’t played BtS so can’t speak to that), but like… do you think we’d feel less sympathetic for a still-grieving 15-yo who reacts negatively to the strict-as-hell new guy who mom brings home while her dad’s body is still warm?
Like, the whole situation is pretty messed up but I don’t really have patience for Chloe-bashers who just kinda accept Joyce and David at their word when it comes to these things
Whitelight's synopsis of Life is Strange: I don't like him...but I'd hang out with him.
I'm still listening to the ambient music to calm down or while I'm on the train
I actually liked this game. Liked it then and still like it now. Everything about it from the stiff animations, cheesy dialogue, indie rock soundtrack, artistic elements, and nostalgic charm makes it perfect to me.
I love the original Life is Strange, the game touched me on a personal level no other game has. Max was a very relatable protagonist for me and her situation of wanting to be liked by everyone and trying to fix all of her problems hit so close to home for me. It reminded me so much of my days in Highschool, wanting to be liked by everyone and wanting to have a bunch of friends but struggling to because of Social Anxiety. Max ghosting Chloe for all those years was something that hit even closer to me because I had a similar situation. The game isn't perfect but it's story and relationship between Max and Chloe is phenomenal. It's a shame the Prequel and the sequel failed to live up to the original.
Yeah, I chose the sacrifice Chloe ending and wasn't sad because Chloe died, but because Max's chance of making up the lost 5 years was robbed from her.
@@fatihnri2484 yeah but max got to experience some nice and happy moments with chloe. But chloe technically died without meeting her best friend max again and didnt get experience any of those nice happy moments. Max can at least remember those moments. Chloe died without meeting max again, without knowing what happened to her other best friend rachel, and she also didnt get to fix her relationship with her mother and step-dad.
@@dancingrabbit6942 Yes, that also made me sad. From Chloe's perspective, Max turned from "a childhood friend who came back and become bff again" in the original timeline to "a childhood fried who left and never looked back" after sacrificing Chloe.
I agree on BtS but LiS2 is pretty lit. I'd give it a solid 2nd chance if you didn't already.
Well, if it makes you feel any better there is a very recent, ongoing Life is Strange comic being published by Titan Comics (I think?). I personally love it and I'm eagerly awaiting the next issue.
I remember I shared this game with my girlfriend and told her how much I loved this game. She ended up going to buy a physical copy (im jealous) and played the whole thing SUPER fast. She doesn't play games at all. This, to my knowledge, is the only one she plays. Strange how this game appeals to alot of different people
I’m so late but this is the game that my boyfriend and I bonded over too. He started playing it first and then he told me about it and I began to play too. We were going through a rough patch and it brought us closer together. It’s so nostalgic for us now.
@@cocob0l0 yeah. My dad also finished the game a few months back as well. Theres just something about it
Especially to people like myself who are nothing like Max or Chloe
I’d like to see a time rewind story in which a character faces no consequences because they can simply rewind and fix any mistakes they’ve made, including massive bad decisions. Nothing has any weight… until they come to a moment where there is only one option. They rewind multiple times, but no matter what, the same outcome comes anyway, and they’re forced to face the fact that sometimes, there are only so many options that anyone can take. Sometimes there is no choice, and no amount of magic fourth dimensional powers can change that. Bonus points if all of the character’s “correct” decisions led to this single option moment.
Y’all I have a short story to write😂
That sounds amazing. It reminds me of a particular line in FF14 that I love. “We did *everything right* - everything that was asked of us. And still it came to this.”
This is sort of like Steins;Gate. I highly recommend the anime. I haven't played the visual novel myself, but I've heard great things about it as well.
What I'd like to see is a game where the immense burden you shoulder through time travel begins to crush you. Where you, the one constant that cannot be rewound, slowly succumb to the trauma that nobody else remembers.
I've saved lives before, I got obscenely lucky, somehow made all the right choices, and it still left me a PTSD ridden train wreck. I want nothing more than to play a game where you fuck up over and over and over, each time rewinding to find the solution - even when one doesn't exist - and save everyone that could possibly be saved. Everyone but yourself.
You will shatter beneath the weight of a dozen worlds, trapped in endless flashbacks to pasts you avoided. And so you learn that you can rewrite the past, but you cannot escape it.
The first time I came upon Kate jumping I thought I wasn’t going to be able to save her and It was crushing. I want the development team for this game to go back and make more chapters, like when Max first wakes up in the dark room, let us restart the entire game and make our decisions from that point , they almost let us do that but you can’t quite. I think the endings are good, but it would have been awesome for there too be that perfect solution if you can put together all the right pieces going on in Arcadia. I don’t think that would reduce any other endings impact, especially if it was a hard thing to achieve, and could present those more hopeless, dreary moments while still having a truly video game happy ending
there was a movie like that I think, can't remember the title though
Another great analysis. One tiny thing though: when you mentioned the line "You'll be a scientist yet," that's actually a dialectical thing. In some regions of the US, "yet" can mean "still" or "eventually".
"I'll get around to it yet."
"He's working there yet."
Etc.
Huh, interesting
I'm not sure if that's dialectical, I've never heard a native english speaker NOT use "yet" in that way. My issue was entirely about the stress. You never stress yet.
@@Whitelight I'm pretty sure I've heard people stress the word yet in that way
Whitelight drinking game: every time he mentions breaking bad take a shot
In the original draft, there was another paragraph on Breaking Bad too.
@@Whitelight release that as hard mode
Brainwasher I second this
@@brainwasher3067 I third this motion.
@@Whitelight ur a monster
This game is one of the most important fictional stories I've experienced in my teenage years (I was 16 when it came out). I am now 23 and I still come back to it & the soundtrack. It's so nostalgic.
i was 11 when it came out and i still return.
i sometimes have dreams about it after 3-5 months of not thinking much about it
I consider myself a big LiS fan. It's one of my favorite games and I've put dozens of hours into it, so I'd like to defend some stuff. I think the love of it has to do with the time a lot of people play Life is Strange. I played it at the end of high school. It is, more than anything else, a teen drama. Sure, it's cheesy and very dated to 2015, but so was 2015. I liked stuff ironically, like a hipster, and so did Max. It's like Degrassi: it's not great, and in some cases really cringy. But so was High School. I think this is the best example, really: "Vocalizing emojis? Selfies?" Yes, honestly. I've heard a surprising amount of people do both things, especially as younger people. Hella is a real thing, it's a NorCal/Oregon thing. Wowzers is from Inspector Gadget, an '80s cartoon series that any modern young hipster would quote frequently, because it's a Reference and it's Obscure to the people around them. Bizzarro is something I've heard fairly often. I don't really know if its regional. Teenagers are awkward and sometimes dumb and definitely inexperienced. Re: Max freezing time while Kate is on the roof: I understood it to be Max basically hulking out with her power, and using it up all at once. She can't use it on the roof because she "overused" it to just get there.
and this is why hipsters are one of the worst things to happen
@Noel Pytlik So don't critize anything ever?
@@funnyspoon5120 No? But there is a difference between critcising something and attacking an entire group of people because they like things, you don't like.
@@naeynaey3937 i'M NOT CRITizing hipsters because they like life is strange, im critizing them because there hippies.
I agree that I really liked the dialogue. It was campy but it’s a campy game.
As far as Kate’s scene, I think it was a brilliant usage of something that was insinuated by Max repeatedly but only ever mechanically implemented directly that one time. It’s that yeah, she has limits to her power, it drains her and leaves her tapped out. It makes sense that if she used her power to buy enough time to make it from the far side of the dorm lawn to the roof that she’d be gassed. I wish they would’ve visually doubled down on this and made her woozy and her nose bleed uniquely profuse. Maybe after her rescue attempt she lays down with labored breathing and passes out. And the next day they’d leave hints that she slept like a log and was totally pooped from using her power so much. Max further alludes repeatedly that she doesn’t know how much she can rely on her power as a get out of jail free card, and nose bleeds frequently appear after great or critical use of rewind in the story. I wish they ran with and used this limitation to add in stakes at other segments. Maybe you can’t just replay a puzzle scene a million times over, and that as you try again and again Max would get more and more fatigued, until eventually she can no longer get another chance at a scene cuz she needs some time to rest and recover. Imagine as you reran the dialogue with Frank, each time you became more exhausted and eventually you could only have one more pass at it. The mechanical pressures of running out of second chances could re install those stakes that are seemingly lost with the ability to rewind otherwise.
Life is Strange is my favorite game, despite all its flaws. It is more than the sum of its parts.
I think the problem with Jefferson's voice is that they wanted to make him sound like a stereotypical hipster but it just doesn't work with how threatening he's trying to be. The two personalities don't combine well at all.
Might be a personal thing. For me, the bits where he was rambling about photo artistry and then suddenly shouts at Max were more than sufficiently creepy.
I don’t think they were ever meant to combine, it’s just 2 sides of him.
What's wrong with that? I've seen interviews with psychopathic killers on death row and *a lot* of them appear meak and mild mannered
There are a lot of flaws with the game but I will always love it because of the one thing it gets right, which is EMOTION. Nostalgia, friendship, and above all the pain in Chloe and Max's relationship, Rachel and Chloe's relationship, and when Chloe lost her dad... that's something they did damn well. The pain in those moments, those parts of the story... it's so true to real life.
I really loved Life is Strange. I loved it's aesthetics and it's story even if you have to buy some of Max's tunnel vision sometimes. The problems you appoint with the game are mostly about how that story was gamified. Life is Strange is a terrible game, made to cater to the most casual of playes thus why it offers so little freedom for solving problems. It's a problem intrinsic to making games that should have been films.
I personally belive it's part of the process of the maturing of video-games as an art form. Developers and players are still figuring out how games and stories go together. Life is Strange story might not be the best ever seen but when compared to games as a whole it was a breath of fresh air. It also has a huge player base that does not frequently have a game that's made for them, that's why it's so beloved.
I couldn't have put it into better words.
I wouldn't say it's terrible, but otherwise I agree.
Man, this game had heart. One thing I can say about it is that it did everything it did earnestly and honestly. When it came out, I was a dissaffected theater kid just out of high school, and even a couple years ago when I replayed it it brought back a particular feeling of nostalgia. They say this game didn't get teens, but I was one when it came out. The writing wasn't always great, but it knew how to elicit those feelings from me even when I was so far removed I could barely remember.
Even though Life is Strange has some big flaws i just can't bring myself to not think it's one of the top 3 best games i ever played. I loved the atmosphere the characters and yes the music to. And i really appricate that you did a piece of this game and viewed it objectivly and showed his flaws but also his strength. Great job!!!
Totally! Life is Strange is my favorite game, despite all its flaws. It is more than the sum of its parts.
My first play through, Kate died. I played through a few more scenes after that, then reloaded back and saved Kate. It was crazy to me how much the world changed the second time I played through those scenes, and made lots of the normally dull dialogue lines much more meaningful to me. I admired this game because it tried to touch on heavy concepts in ways I’ve seen few games do before.
Part of the appeal of Chloe in LiS is that while she complains, acts selfish, and just seems toxic, it's all surface value. She genuinely cares about Max and Rachel, and she's constantly reminded of how Max abandoned her. She makes snooty comments about it, but she never 'attacks' Max for it, or drives her away because of it.
In fact, the ONLY cause for Max's 'moral' development as the game goes on is Chloe's constant insistence that she is a 'superhero', and that she can make a difference, and that the ability is awesome. She is nothing but positive-reinforcement to Max. And her doing that endeared her to me more.
One thing that I did find surprising, is that Chloe never demanded that Max rewind an event she didn't like, to change it. The most she ever did was suggest trying something, and rewinding if it didn't work.
As the game goes on, it becomes clearer that Chloe's toxicity is aimed towards people who think they are her superior, or assume she isn't as smart as they are. For example - she flirts with Jefferson, who doesn't treat her like most of the teachers do. Her problems with David are for the same reason. He treats her like a soldier rather than a step-daughter.
Chloe's comments would be enough to push any non simp-y (I agree that Max was a total simp for Chloe) friend away. Who would want to be friends with someone who is constantly being passive aggressive about you moving out (not her decision, she was 13 and had to follow her parents) and moving on with your life?
If she was really so resentful about it, they should have never reconnected to begin with. Also friendship is a two way street and I doubt Chloe being as proud as she is would have tried to reach out to Max while she was away. I agree that it might have been shitty for Max not to reach out to Chloe after her dad died, but we don't know how things ended before Max left. There really is a lot we don't know about that time, but based on their personalities, I don't think Max would have "abandoned" her if Chloe didn't push her away for leaving.
On the note of Chloe treating her like a superhero, we spend 80% of the game watching as Chloe exploits Max's powers for selfish reasons. One of those reasons being stealing from the handicapped fund. So heroic!
Chloe never demanded Max rewind anything but she sure as hell was incredibly hostile and passive aggressive if you didn't!
Chloe's toxicity is aimed at everyone but herself. She has little regard for her mother's feelings after she lost a husband. She has little regard for Max's feelings or health, constantly berating her for not wanting to support her in her illegal shenanigans, or even having other friends.
She is the embodiment of 2010's Tumblr culture that states that if you face trauma, depression, abandonment issues, etc, you are entitled to be a dick to everyone because you're just Hurt™
Turn Chloe into a Boyfriend and you'll immediately see all these toxic qualities. The constant passive aggressiveness, the selfishness, the poor choices, even the constant talking about Rachel.
But Chloe is a quirky lesbian, so it's fine I guess...
@@piaroussy such hostility. If you paid attention during the alternate timeline when Chloe is paralyzed, she reached out to Max, and Max was still distant, taking oer 3 months to reply, whereas Chloe's replies were instant. Also in this alternate timeline, Max was on good terms with the bullies - Victoria Chase and her followers.
Also, Max had no intention of reconnecting with Chloe, and it only happened because Chloe initiated the contact in the parking lot.
The Handicap fund money is an interesting issue, because when Chloe is the handicapped person in need of assistance, Blackwell refuses to give her the money. So, that could be a case of cosmic karma.
Some of your points are valid. But your delivery of it, and stretching of some points makes you look like a 'simp' for Max, and just don't like Chloe. Angsty teen is an asshole cause they're angsty.
Idk,man. She shot a guy to whom she owed money and his dog. And that's only the surface level bad things she has done in the game. How did someone sacrifice a whole town for this b*tch?
@NormalSodaGuy The thing is that Max also had a strong relationship with William. I'm sure it was not as strong as Chloe's relationship with him, but It's definitely certain that Max probably saw William as another family member. I'm pretty sure Max was grieving in her own ways and her having to move because her parents wanted to around this time? I'm sure that wasn't easy on Max. Also, at the age of 13 or just all throughout your teenage years, It's a really transforming time in your life. At this time, you're usually meeting new people, gaining new friends, busy with school-work, going through hardships of your own, figuring out what you want to do for the future, etc. Max could've been a better friend to Chloe, but she's also not obligated to have Chloe in her life or even as a priority.
@@prathamyadav2508 she shoots them to protect herself, and to protect Max. And if you play it right, she doesn't kill either of them - I should also note that she feels HORRIBLE about it. Like it literally shakes her to the bone.
17:53 Brit here, can confirm students talk like that, only I'm up north so they just stab you in a Yorkshire Accent.
Nah that just roadmen I swear to God if I hear another story about how How some guy called Sean got stabbed last week a roadmen language.
So can you translate that for us colonial peasants who don’t speak the King’s?
“it’s bad but i like it.”
dude,, couldn’t have put it in words better.
48:30 I always find it hilarious how after the first rewind in this sequence, Jefferson is SHOCKED, utterly AGHAST at Max somehow knowing he's going to hit David with a big heavy thing when, in reality, he's in the process of sneaking over to the door with a big heavy thing in his hands.
LMAO same
I think he’s shocked at you knowing it’s David
If you’re paying attention I think he’s shocked that you know it’s David… not the heavy thing
He was confused at her knowing who it was
Ppl - the writing is horrible
Me - they're in high school, when is life's diologue more cringy.
Game - Love Chloe, fucking love her as she robs the crippled, steals guns and guilt trips Max for the smallest shit
Ppl - No
@@sylonogwailou Whether or not you can empathize deeply with Chloe is definitely a defining factor for whether-or-not people will enjoy the game.
@@liesdamnlies3372 aaaah, so sociopaths are the people who enjoy this game
@@orangegouice Uh...what?
@@liesdamnlies3372 No one can symapthize with her. Stealing money from the crippled? Murder? Lack of taking responbility?
As someone who played this game when I was 17 and in art school and using video games as a escape from my abusive household I loved it. It was a life I was jealous of it is really cliche and stereotypical but I wanted to be part of that world. Chloe was someone who I could relate to a lot even if I was more like Max. Coming from a broken family and having a difficult personality left me with no friends and being labeled the weird one so seeing someone as cool “at the time to my teenage brain” as Chloe helped me to stop being so controlled by my fears and embrace the way I am leading to me finding friends and being happier. I think playing the game now the characters would annoy the shit out of me because I have grown up but that’s why I don’t want to play it again so I can have that positive memory.
That scene where they find Rachel hits even harder when you read the story behind Ashly Burch's story behind her performance of that scene
I didn't knew anything about this, what happened?
“You feel this repeated cycle of HOPE and DESPAIR.”
Me, a Danganronpa fan: HHHHHHHHH
OH GOD ME TOO
Also Madoka Magica fans
Twin peaks but for teenagers is a surprisingly apt analogy, even up to the Rachael- Laura Palmer parallel as well as the nosing into everything just like cooper does in the show.
Nothing would make me happier than to see them remaster this game. Not just a remake but to really throw some cash behind enhancing the peripheral around an outstanding core of a game, along with one major fix. I’d love to see the interact feature work from greater distances and be used while in stride. Allowing us to quietly walk through to the bathroom without invading everyone’s personal space, but still being able to observe them. I’d like a few more options to solve certain puzzles be added to make them feel less like linear choke points and more like everyday obstacles that can be tackled in any manner. Maybe some segments redone to allow for new settings instead of reusing the same half dozen four times over. But most importantly I want them to redo our options for the end so that what we did matters. I didn’t break my back saving Kate’s life and Alyssa’s pride only for it all to be undone by both of our only endgame options. I wish that somehow the choices that “will have consequences” end up actually having end game consequences. To me the last decision of LIS was underwhelming in the moment, and as it played out and the realization that my work didn’t matter, felt like getting the rug pulled out from under me. It hurt that I built all these relationships that I had to choose to wipe away by undoing it all or wipe out with a literal tornado. The relationship building of the game had such nuance to it that it made all the campy qualities so overwhelmingly worth it. I just wish this good game didn’t have a bad ending.
Wish granted! …Somewhat! There’s a remaster at least lol
Before watching the video: I couldn't watch this video till now cuz everytime i see anything about this game i get extremely anxious, kinda sad but happy too. This history was really something that marked my life.
After watching the video: Me too man... me too. All tho i dindt noticed all thoose things when i first played the game.
I genuinely enjoy every one of your, in-depth, and well detailed critiques.
This video is great and captures how I feel about the first LiS game these days. When it came out I was 16 and watched playthroughs on TH-cam as episodes dropped, and then later played it myself when I was 17 and the emotional connection and impact it had was astronomical. For me, it always came down to the concept of destiny, and she way the universe seemed to have planned for Max ant Chloe's worlds to be so entwined. I used to be frustrated by the ending and how none of the previous choices actually mattered in the end, but in retrospect I think that idea is pretty fitting. The entire game is pointless, none of it matters. And yet, there's beauty to be found in small moments, the individual ones you experience throughout the game. It's the same philosophy I have about life. I find comfort in how little it matters and knowing that my existence will fade and not matter in any real way someday, yet I find small moments and the interpersonal connections we make deeply meaningful nonetheless.
Anyway yeah lol LiS as a video game sucks and all of it just honestly sucks, and yet it's always going to have a warm spot in my soul.
A lot of people are shearing there experiences with life is strange so here’s mine I actually played the game way back in 2015 I believe anyways this game has a special place in my heart and shaped me to the person i am today i was 13 I think and now I’m 17 genuine love it and love the character development now I wasn’t in a dark place but i still got effected by the game if i had 1 wish i would go back in time to the good old days 2013-2018 ik am still young but i feel like life will never be as easy as it was back then and this game makes me feel nostalgic the point is this game is amazing but the other life is strange games didn’t make it for me the only good part was when they updated us on max and chloe after Arcadia bay got destroyed still hoping i will see them again
Are you me?
You may be interested in reading the comics! They follow up on Max and Chloe after the end of the game nicely.
I really love this game the dialogue is silly sometimes clunky but honestly when i'm playing i don't even notice it's only when someone actively points it out that i hear it.
This game just feels so human to me... Like it relishes in the slow moments of these two girls just existing together and it makes their relationship feel incredibly real to me. I haven't played the game in over a year but i'm waiting for the remastered edition excitedly. To experience it again.
I remember playing this game with my ex, we would sit on the couch and talk about what was going on in the game, ponder decisions, cry together, laugh together. Some of my best memories from the past few years involve this game. I'll always hold this game dear, even if it's executed poorly sometimes. Thanks for the video, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to your thoughts.
Good thing it's your ex, i wouldn't trust to have a family with anyone who likes this game
@@justinduck2953 let me guess... Fortnite bad? Witcher good?
@@Readysetheal Fortnite bad, witcher ok, kingdom come actually good.
@@Readysetheal lol my man, the average redditor loves this game
People love life is strange for 5 reasons:
Underdog game by underdog studio about underdog characters.
Gay.
Amazing world building and environmental storytelling.
Cliffhangers, mystery and the crazy theories they generated.
Relatable teen drama and awkward dialogue was seen as charming.
Oh, and music. Make that 6.
I quite like the music
The music here is so great-
And those are some of the reasons I hate the community.
@@funnyspoon5120 care to explain? :D
@@fang8459 Because people think "oh gay people awooga awooga game of the year so good holy fuck great game" and ignore everything else in it. Its fucking annoying. "world building and environmental story telling" "relatable" and seen as charming. No, it was seen as actual fucking cringe and piss poor writing as French guys in there 20's and 30's try to sound like 18 year old girls. No real mysteries, or cliffhangers. Dogshit story with horrible characters.
The game gets beat by the Black Ops II campaign in legit every sector.
-World-Building
-Characters (i legit sympathize more with the BO2 characters than the LIS ones. Max is the only half decent one.)
-Had more questions after playing BO2 than LIS.
-BO2 literally has more choices, and those choices have a actual impact on the storyline and ending, and are significantly more important than in LIS, a choice based story game. While also not having yes or no choices that are legit emphasized.
Gameplay is dogshit.
Max is the only half-decent character, and it is poorly designed game. I don't relate or sympathize with it at all. Aside from farewell, that shit was great and had me fucked up.
gahhh. i agree so hard with the sentiment of not loving the individual elements of the game but still loving it as a whole. i have such an emotional attachment to this game and i have no idea why. watching this made me tear up?? ahhhhh.
Look at big boy Whitelight with his editing.
Just seeing this game puts a smile on my face. I remember playing it as the episodes came out and how much fun it was interacting with the community. The theory crafting, the jokes, and the memes (I WAS EATING THOSE BEANS!) was great.
Haha yeah. I love LIS and before the storm. I'd give so much to replay them for the first time again.
This goes to show that objective quality isn't a good measure of enjoyment.
@@josephhanicak7922?
I feel like Chloes character just lands way differently when you’re the kind of gay girl who would be as obsessed with her as max is if she were a real person
Yess! And I was that kind of girl when I first played this.
I’m gay I just think she annoying Edgy like simmer down you’ll cut yourself on that edge type person max wasn’t my fav either I was interested in Victoria I thought she was hot typical Regina George personality I love even Kate marsh was cute personality plus Rachel amber intrigued me same with Nathan was interesting character even tho He’s insane. Lol I felt like Chloe and Max were bland I dunno it felt short to me epically bts just showed the cringe edgy type person Again I really wanted to see her transformation of some kind I call before the storm just a fan fic it doesn’t tackle any big questions like why Rachel cheated on Chloe or anything to do with the romance of frank or even shudders Jefferson it literally was just Chloe being obsessed with Rachel the entire time there was a lot before the storm could do but it falls flat. I’m sorry 😂
I'm gay but she just reminds me of toxic people i've met you know :/
I don't see an appeal, she constantly wants attention and i just want to explore other characters
@@maskeddude9892 She reminds me of the toxic people that I gravitated to when I was so deep the the closet that I didn't know where I was. So I agree that Chloe is toxic. But I also agree that she is a realistic character with a realistic dynamic with Max.
@@PARADOXsquared Realistic? Yeah, some people are just toxic and bad, they showed that well, even when not wanting it
But with Max? Nah, It forces us to be always with her and LIKE her. It would be better to let the character (us) decide on that. Or even better, show how toxic she actually is
God you've perfectly articulated why I love this game even though I hate practically everything that actually comprises it. It truly is greater than the sum of its parts. What I've come to realize over the years is that I love the potential of this premise far more than the execution of it.
Also this game will make a LOT more sense to you if you watch Twin Peaks. They didn't even try to hide how huge an influence that show had on the story, especially with Rachel Amber's characterization.
Chloe’s license plate even says “TWN PKS” It’s so on the nose, it’s perfect.
Im definitely stealing "2020 is the dark souls of years" thanks
"Diary of a simpy kid"
You just opened my eyes
20:55
Even Whitelight himself could only get through an 8th of the Death Stranding video
That aged well
This game, along with Before the Storm, hit me at the right time in my life.
Growing out of my edgy phases and realizing I'm just as human as everyone else: emotional ans unstable. Realizing I'm not a perfect person, acknowledging my flaws.
Life is Strange is a character study of teenage depression and angst. Everyone hates Chloe, but for someone who lived a similar experience with Chloe, losing a parental figure at a young age, having her becoming an what, stepdouche-hating punk is natural. Her attachment to Rachel, even though Rachel is actually a toxic and manipulative person, is believable because of her circumstances.
I think of the first game and it's prequel with high regard, if only for their storytelling and themes.
Obviously the writers did something right if the characters stirred such mixed emotions and opinions from the audience. Some love them and some hate them, some think they're stuck up and others think they're amazing. It's ability to completely depend on your own situation, personality and ability to empathise with each character makes it a unique experience for each player, and I think that's really beautiful.
I also think that which characters you relate to says a lot about your own life experiences and such. And which parts of their characterization You like more also says something about you. For me personally I relate to Chloe's relationship with David but even moreso max for her artistic side and introvertedness.
Sounds like the message it wanted to say was "your actions have consequences", but what it actually said was "nothing you do matters".
The moral is that it's either or. When you have the power to create change, if you want what you do to matter, you have to be willing to accept the consequences.
It was always about the inevitable. It just wanted the player to go through the course of realizing It
Ohhhhh Boy i CANNOT Wait for your "Life is Strange 2" Episode
I actually really liked the twist with Jefferson, because in real life psychopaths don’t typically show there true colors and instead try to mask it in their day to day. The occasional slip ups from Jefferson are more apparent in the second play through. The first time I played the game, Chloe getting shot did actually send shock between my synapses, and when I saw the reveal of the actual culprit, I really did feel overjoyed at the very least the twist wasn’t predictable. I liked how he tried explaining the passion of his work to Max, because even in moments of homicide a teacher never stops teaching😂. I enjoyed the esthetic and eerie design of the photo/Murder room. Most importantly, I enjoyed how with every reveal of the puzzle it felt like an authentic reward, it didn’t feel wasted. Yes it is weird that he starts talking like a serial killer the second his mask falls, but I think he makes up for it by having Max be his “chosen one.” Mainly because the audience knows he’s full of it and probably felt this towards all his victims, and because he’s just as quick to disregard her when she doesn’t play along. Tell me what you guys think.
This game to me is as simple as I just don't care about the "bad writing", the "that just makes no sense its so unrealistic" moments. I think those are what actually makes it hit the hardest.
I've been waiting for this since the teaser post. One of my all time favourite games
Like less than a day? How did you servive?
@CW why are you hatin tho? People can like something that you consider bad, it doesn't have to be good for you to like it
@inyrui it's true tho
CW apparently this guy is the only one who can decide if the game is good or not,our opinions don’t matter
Life is strange effected me emotionally unlike any other game I have plaid. I can’t point out the specific part that does it, but it just oozes a vibe that I can’t stop adoring. The nostalgia of a life I never had, the small town coming of age story amidst supernatural circumstances, and the absolutely unbelievably fantastic soundtrack (in my opinion) just grabs your heart by the balls. The game may have many flaws, but I am perfectly fine with being blissfully ignorant of them. It will forever be one of my all time favorite games.
Its been *5 YEARS* ??!
Dont do this to me. Not now.
re: The music, there's some really good tracks in there imo although clearly there's quite a big difference between say, artists like José Gonzàlez or Angus & Julia Stone, and Syd Matters who snuck two of their own songs in there while making the rest of the soundtrack.
17:53 "Your're done doh. Suck your nan, init blood! Batti boi ting! Bruh Bruh!"
Holy shit, my sides!! I just can't. XD