Friday, February 5, 2016

Life is Strange - 1 hour of Social Life Management, that's strange!

I am just going to start by saying that clearly, I wasn't the audience for this game. Or I clearly missed something.
I had to stop after one hour of gameplay because I just couldn't keep going. This came as a real surprise to me because I am a sucker for female heroes and story driven games so I really thought I would enjoy this new little adventure. I also had heard pretty good reviews and people seemed to like it. I guess I am just too set in my ways and only a very specific type of games is acceptable for me now? It's called old age I believe...
Let's start with the positive. I thought the premise was really cool, we've seen the time rewinding power before but it was a very new and current setting which made it feel a lot more original and fresh. I also liked the main character. Even though some of her voice acting wasn't the best I have seen in a video game, it wasn't the worst either and to be fair, the writing wasn't good enough for her to do much about it. What truly was brilliant was the music. It really complemented the atmosphere of the game and was a great companion to the story throughout. I don't think I enjoyed music that much in a video game since Mass Effect, and it was a very different type of music. For people who like to explore every nook and cranny, this game is a sure win. Everywhere you look, there is something to interact with and learn from. I think that was really neat.

Now, the reason why I couldn't go past the one hour mark was because, in my opinion, this game, its pace and its narrative are extremely boring. I see a fairly limited appeal in finding out whether a character's boyfriend has been sexting my friend or not. I feel like this story had the potential to turn into something more interesting, and I am sure it does after a while, but the mundane and childish first "missions" and story arcs were laughable. Sure, if you are a teenage girl, this will totally rock. In a big way! However, when I play a video game, I tend to not want to go back to high school and relive my bullying years and solve other people's stupid problems. I love some realism, of course. I enjoyed games like Heavy Rain and I love simulation like The Sims, but Life is Strange kept you, with such a tight grip, in this petty 21st century white sorority girls world that I just didn't want to spend any more time than needed with these characters.

What did you guys think of it? Did you have the patience to stick with it and you were rewarded with a more complex and adult storyline? Did I miss the point completely? Should I have kept going?
If you haven't played it, here are the best parts of my 1 hour playthrough so you can make an opinion of your own.

This has to be a 2/5 cats unfortunately.



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