Life is Strange

[Anubis]

So I just started playing Life is Strange today and have gotten so caught up in it that I've finished the first episode already.

What a game. It's so atmospheric, and filled with characters that you just can't help but care about and be interested in. The core mechanic behind the gameplay has certainly been done before, but the world in which it's set and the way the game just draws you in and makes you care so much makes it feel totally fresh. Such a superb character driven piece which puts choice and consequence at centre stage.

Considering I actually knew all the puzzles in Grim and had played that before, albeit a long time ago, I think this might actually be my GOTY so far. It's definitely the game I've most enjoyed playing in at least a couple of years. Highly recommended for those of you who don't have it.

Onto Episode 2 I go!

[M.Steiner]

The first episode of Life is Strange was great, yep. There are clear similarities to what Telltale does with their games (and if any of you still haven't played The Wolf Among Us, you really should) but it does its own thing as well. I really love the rewind feature which the've basically repurposed from Remember Me, it works so much better here though. I haven't played episode 2 yet but I'm planning to go through that once I've finished with Bloodborne and before I move onto whatever I play next. Looking forward to it
(Oh and they get props for having the little Twin Peaks reference in there! - Chloe's license plate]

I wouldn't put it as my GOTY (so far) but Jan-March has been incredibly strong for gaming releases. Ori and Bloodborne for example with their 9s and 10s all over the damn place and with metascores of 89 and 93. Superb games. You have the remaster of Grim Fandango which I absolutely adored and even played through twice, which I rarely do back-to-back with games. Had never played it before but it will go down as one of my favourite games and not just of the genre. Then there's Cities: Skylines which is by far the best city builder to release in over a decade and goes to show that those kinda games can still review & sell extremely well, when they're done right. Skylines really shines.
So many great games already this year and of a really high standard too.

My list for the year so far would probably be:

• 1. Bloodborne
  2. Ori and the Blind Forest
  3. Cities: Skylines
  4. Grim Fandango: Remastered
  5. Life is Strange

Notable mentions being: Resident Evil HD Remaster & Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae.

That list is bound to change throughout the year with the likes of TW3, MGSV, Arkham Knight, SW: Battlefront etc still to come but even #10 our our lists is going to be a bloody good game and considered a must play by the end of the year. Exciting

[M.Steiner]

Finished episode 2 of Life is Strange and it was even better than the first!

My choices for ep 1 and 2. Major spoilers ahead:

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Episode 1


Episode 2

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The game doesn't paint David in a particularly good light with his crazy surveillance & shit but part of me feels he knows more than has been let on, but has good intentions behind how he has been acting. Several of the other characters have suspicions against them too (like Frank and the bracelet for example) but if there's one person I'd put money on having some kind of involvement in Rachael Amber's disappearance it's Jefferson. He's the least obvious choice and comes across way too clean most of the time. He's the one I'll be watching more closely at least.

[Anubis]

You've made some interesting choices MS...we appear to have diverged on a few points. My progress and analysis so far follows:

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Episode 1


Episode 2


I think the most suspicious people in the game with regards to Rachel are David and Samuel. The guy doing the photo albums works on a bench with tools that looks like they could be from either. David was stalking Kate for pics and may have hated Chloe enough to try and separate them. And Samuel has boxes of pics of Rachel in his shed, and women's stuff I suspect was hers. Not sure which of them I'm more inclined towards right now though...

Jefferson wasn't on my radar of suspicion, but you're the second person that's named him to me now. I'm still far from convinced, as I've seen nothing that would give me reason to suspect him unlike the other two, but interesting view from you there.

[Anubis]

I just finished Episode 3 of Life is Strange and am literally in tears. Holy shit.

I can't recall another game I've ever played that has done its storytelling this well. It's just superb, with such amazing characters and a real knack for making you care and getting you so deeply invested. And the cliffhangers, good god the cliffhangers.

This game really has come out of nowhere to become one of my favourite games of all time, if not my outright favourite. Unbelievable work from DontNod.

Now I'm going to bed and hoping I won't wake up till Episode 4 is out.

[M.Steiner]

@STR-MS • Another good episode of Life is Strange, albeit a little predictable. Saw the ending coming (though not the exact outcome).
@STR-MS • Not too fond of forced choices like that either tbh but I suppose it had to be if that's where they're taking the story. I just hope it doesn't go all "The Butterfly Effect"

Episode 3 choices and thoughts:

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When I say predictable and that I saw the ending coming, I mean I knew as soon as the last sequence started that we would have the opportunity of saving William and that doing so would have some kind of negative effect on Chloe. Like something out of The Butterfly Effect as I say. Though I did not expect that ending when I started the episode. My Chloe theory (if you can call it that) was more in-line with something like Final Destination tbh. That Max would keep saving her and "cheating" death, but she'd ultimately die anyway.
Anyway, one would now expect her to start trying to "undo" that choice I guess, but with only 2? episodes left there's not much time unless it's going to carry on into a second season.

Also for a game with choices and consequences I was a bit disappointed to find that the ending will have been the same for everyone as the game forces that outcome upon you. You can't choose otherwise, even though you're the one playing the character and supposed to be making those choices. It was a good ending and twist don't get me wrong but I think the ending of episode 2 was stronger and had more impact tbh. You had the life of a character in your hands there, with no way of rewinding and with choices that you couldn't take back if you later regretted them. The end of episode 3 totally took that power away from the player and was basically used as a plot device for continuing the story. I understand that, but I think it would have been far more interesting had they worked that into the story as a major choice moving forward and for which our playthroughs would have been drastically different. Now that would have been very interesting. I knew what to expect with saving William before the events following it played out as similar has been done before and I would not have made that choice as Max had the game not forced me into it. There should have been a real choice there but with no rewind ability (like with Kate) so we were locked into whatever choice we'd made. - It was still a great episode despite that though and this series has been one of my highlights of the year for sure, I just think it was a shame to do it that way and a bit of a cop-out. We'll see where it goes from here though I guess!

I expect we'll get a release date and trailer for episode 4 during E3 next week. At least I hope so

[M.Steiner]

Life is Strange Episode 4 Choices:

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Amazing ep and pretty <censored> dark one at that, however very cliche and (again) predictable at the end there. Seen enough movies in my time to have seen some of that stuff coming (predicted Jefferson's involvement on here months ago) so the ending wasn't exactly a "holy shit" moment for me sadly, but more like "knew it!". Saying that though, I wouldn't have wanted it to end any other way.
Still, twas easily the best ep yet. Bravo, Dontnod. You've outdone yourselves once again!

Will be interesting to see what that first major choice changes for ep5 too (not sure if it makes any difference for ep4?). I'll be honest, whilst it was a difficult choice to make, there was only one choice there. I probably shouldn't have played that today though.. first Birthday for my Dad since he passed :/

Also two other niggles regarding certain gameplay mechanics and writing. Max carries her camera with her everywhere and is always looking for photo opportunities. I can take a picture with a Twin Peaks reference on a bathroom mirror, squirrels and birds but of all the practical situations to use that camera in, why not let me snap some pics of actual evidence when we find it? Especially evidence which a person could easily go back and destroy or cover up later. Really now.

And why not try and hide the fact that you've been somewhere/discovered something? Like leaving the bunker with the cabient wide open, computer monitor turned on, binders open and laid out across the desk etc. I know they were in a rush but come on. As above too, what's to stop Jefferson or Nathan going back to the Dark Room and covering their tracks? I mean, who in their right mind would have left that place without doing so, honestly? No one imo. It's also pretty dumb due to the fact that they've actually made a thing of doing this in previous eps (covering your tracks) but in a big instance like this where that's EXACTLY what you would have done, they give you no option to do so.
Life is Strange has been fantastic don't get me wrong but for a game so focused on choice, this is yet another example of something I would not have chosen to do. "Story convenience" or whatever (since I suspect Nathan went back there and warned Jefferson), tis a shame.

Anyhow, now to hope we don't have to wait quite as long for the finale as the wait for 4 seemed like forever. Hopefully it won't disappoint and will wrap things up well. Can't wait!

[Anubis]

OMFG!!!

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Episode 3 choices (since I didn't post them and MS asked):


And Episode 4 choices:


As for the content...I didn't see the end coming. I knew that Nathan had to have an accomplice, as someone else had to have taken the picture of he and Rachel in the grave, and Jefferson had been on my list of people I wasn't sure about, but at that point I was far more sold on it either being Samuel or Nathan's dad. David slipped from my suspicion during this episode, but Jefferson hasn't really been much more than a footnote on my list for a while.

So yeah, I was a little surprised at that, but having him execute Chloe? Omg...didn't see that coming at all This game makes me cry so much - three <censored> times this episode again!

As for your issues mate:
1) Must admit I kinda agree on taking pics of evidence. I got annoyed when I was trying to work out the code for the Dark Room, as I remembered that it had been written on one of the bits of evidence in Chloe's room but I couldn't remember what it was, and there was no reference. Would have been helpful to have reference.

But that said, I think it's more realistic this way. IRL the girls wouldn't carry all the evidence around with them, and to be fair anyone would think twice of carrying photos of corpses around for evidence or no. Impossible to explain if they got caught!

2) My inclination re: putting everything back the way it was when I left the Dark Room was exactly the same as yours - I didn't want to leave any evidence. But I have no problem with how they played it. Chloe was panicking like crazy, and Max wasn't far behind given what they found. Stopping for ten minutes to clean up the room and find some way to hide the damage they did to the entrance wouldn't be at all realistic or practical when emotions are running to high. The choice would have been nice, but it would have not worked at all with the story imo.

Dontnod continue to just up the ante with every episode. Another stunning piece of storytelling, and I'm more hyped for Episode 5 than I have been for any game I can ever remember.

Not only Game of the Year but the best game I've ever played, by a long long way.

EDIT: Splitting the Life is Strange talk out into another thread, as it deserves it and we're going on a bit.

[M.Steiner]

Seems we had very similar choices for some of those lesser ones in ep4! [Edit: Long post coming haha]
The big one though:

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What was your reasoning behind refusing Chloe's request? I know BD chose the same:

@BlackDove • You chose to overdose or not? I said no.
@BlackDove • Since that's a constant you want to avoid.
@STR-MS • I accepted but didn't really see any consequences of that choice, other than the obvious ofc. Will be interesting to see how that affects ep5 though.
@BlackDove • Ah, you done <censored> up on that one.
@BlackDove • After the fourth episode, it's clear what the game is really about.
@BlackDove • The Blue Butterfly in the first episode.
@BlackDove • The one constant in every single timeline (there being 3 by the end of ep4) is what happens to Chloe.

Personally, I chose to accept. Maybe the real life circumstances of my Dad last year helped push me towards that option (and playing it on his Birthday too) but I think I would have accepted regardless tbh. She was already in a lot of pain, living with a morphine drip and her condition was deteriorating by the day. The choice I saw was to either accept her request, letting her go out the way she wanted to, easing her suffering. Or refuse, which would just be delaying the inevitable and subjecting her to more pain (which would only get worse) and an awful quality of life for whatever time she had left. Either way she was almost certainly going to die, I just went with (what I believe to be) the kindest option. I was not, however, thinking about how that decision may affect the timelines or anything like that. Just her and the situation at hand.

To touch on my previous complaints again btw (the thing about not given us the choice to cover our tracks before we left the dark room or allowing us to take any kind of photographic evidence with the camera we've been carrying since the beginning). What else would I have done in that situation if neither of those? I'd have grabbed one of those red binders each and ran. I'd have done any or all 3 of those things before just upping and leaving like that.

Finding Rachael as well.. It's easy enough to understand why we wouldn't have called the cops but there are other adults we could have told and I would have probably done that too given the choice heh. Frank for those of us who got on his good side? David, for those of us who trust him?, the papers? You've seen how dangerous this person (people) is. You're just a couple of teenage girls ffs lol. Sorry. Just little things like that annoy me lol.

Not only Game of the Year but the best game I've ever played, by a long long way.

It has been a wonderful surprise (more so since Remember Me wasn't particularly great besides its setting, art direction and the rewind element) and definitely one of my favourite releases of this year and in a while, but (and to each his own), unless episode 5 goes to completely unexpected levels of awesome I can't see it being my GOTY or the best game I've ever played, personally. That's not to put it down though as it has been fantastic and this year has been really strong for quality releases.

The Witcher 3 is still topping it for me atm but it's also hard (and unfair) to directly compare them both. Life is Strange is very limited in the things it can do, say and portray compared to an RPG like TW3. It's a 5 episode series for one thing, each of which you can complete in a single sitting without much difficulty. TW3 however was the last entry in Geralts story and (at least for my playthrough), lasted 150 hours. LiS has been superb and props to them for tackling some of the subjects it has

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like euthanasia and suicide

but it lacks the depth of TW3s storytelling. Imo. This is fine though and you wouldn't expect it to. I mean, for story alone, if 4 episodes of this (that we've played so far) could top TW3 for me it wouldn't say much for CDPRs ability lol.
LiS has had some amazing twists and turns too (a lot of which I haven't seen coming) but the predictability of some of it and the fact that they take power away from the player and thus your choice in certain situations, brings it down a little bit for me. I do understand that they're trying to tell a story and some things need to happen in a certain way for the story progress in the way that Dontnod want it to, but when the character I'm supposed to be playing as and making choices for is forced into doing things differently to how I would (or want) to do them, it does annoy me at times. Kinda spoils the immersion sometimes as it makes it clear you're being guided in a certain way.

At this moment in time my updated top 5 for the year is looking like:

• 1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
• 2. Bloodborne
• 3. Life is Strange
• 4. Ori and the Blind Forest
• 5. Cities: Skylines

I can see Life is Strange making my top 2 with episode 5 but MGSV hasn't released yet (September) and that has been my joint main runner (with TW3) for expected GOTY. The Phantom Pain will be Kojima's swan song and unless he has gone <censored> it up (which I'd be surprised at), that will take one of those top spots for me, I am sure.
There's also Hitman, Fallout 4, Battlefront and several others still to come as well which could rank higher than we probably expected them to (like 3 of my top 5 lol). This year has been pretty amazing for games imo. I think by the end of the year, every game in my top 5 (maybe even top 10) will have been GOTY worthy had they been released any other year with a weaker line-up. Good times

As for episode 5.

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I'd say I'm more excited for that than any other episode so far. Not just because it's the finale as that goes without saying, but besides a couple of small predictions I don't really know what to expect from it or know how it will play out. Jefferson has always been my lead suspect so I've basically been waiting for that reveal throughout so that came as no surprise (the shooting of Chloe right at the end did though) but from this point on? Hmm!

The game doesn't paint David in a particularly good light with his crazy surveillance & shit but part of me feels he knows more than has been let on, but has good intentions behind how he has been acting. Several of the other characters have suspicions against them too (like Frank and the bracelet for example) but if there's one person I'd put money on having some kind of involvement in Rachael Amber's disappearance it's Jefferson. He's the least obvious choice and comes across way too clean most of the time. He's the one I'll be watching more closely at least.

I still feel the same about David too and I think he will be the one to save you episode 5.
My only other predictions right now are that the 1. The selfie that Warren insisted on taking with you before the party will be used to go back in time similar to before. And 2. That like Charlie in Lost for example, Chloe may cheat death again but she will ultimately still die in the end. Whatever the case I don't see there being a happy ending (will there be more than 1 ending? hmm). I don't think I'd want there to be one either though as whilst that may be nice, I don't think it would fit the tone of the series.

Couple of random thoughts. Maybe we'll go back to the bathroom scene in episode 1 and choose not to save Chloe (to save the town?)
What significance will that first major choice of episode 4 have for the series? Will we somehow return to that time and our decision there become Chloe's fate for good? Whilst it was a powerful moment in the game it's doesn't really serve much purpose as it stands and was kinda a throwaway choice. What will come of it? Was that whole timeline just a set-up for when they (likely) reuse the photo thing again in ep 5 to go back in time again? hmm. So many thoughts heh.

You guys have any thoughts, predictions or theories for ep 5?

Roll on ep 5 anyway! I think we're probably looking at the very end of September/early October going by previous ep releases. Lots of other games releasing before then though (Satellite Reign, Until Dawn, MGSV & Mad Max to name a few. Maybe I'll get to play that copy of Arkham Knight I bought too? lol) so the wait may not seem quite as long, and I know you have TW3 to plough through too Anny!
Excited! LiS has given me very high hopes for their horror RPG too I'll add! Screw the one trick pony CCP and their axing of World of Darkness. We now have Vampyr to look forward to

[Anubis]

On Episode 4:

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I refused Chloe's request for two main reasons:

1) I spent ages wandering round the house, looking at every item, talking to her parents. They're in a horrific position, literally days away from losing their home and under debt they'll never escape from. It's unfair to them and very cruel, and I'd love to be able to ease the burden. But everything they said was the same. It was heartbreaking and crippling for them, but they were still a family. It was worth everything to be able to have that time with Chloe and keep fighting for her. It was not Max's place to take that away, especially given that (if you read alternate Max's diary and SMS), Max was pretty much a bitch and didn't give a shit about Chloe.

2) Max cares for Chloe, a lot. More than a friend, at least in my save. She would not have been able to make that call, in that way. She loves Chloe's family, and would not do that to them, and there's no way she would kill Chloe herself - emotionally she would not be capable of it. She'd also only spent a few hours with this Chloe, and most of her observations of Chloe's suffering are conjecture for her as a result. She hasn't seen what Chloe goes through - she can guess, but it's not the same. There are no circumstances in which I could see her being able to do it, when I looked at it from her POV.

It was a really tough decision. I went with Don't Know at first because I could certainly see the argument both ways (I was actually expecting to not get the choice, and for the morphine Chloe requested without telling her parents to just overdose her anyway - with the choice being how to try and save her). But I feel I chose as Max would have done, and I made the right call. Would not change my mind on it.

I'd never make any decision in this game based on predicting forwards like BD did (not to say it's invalid, it's just not for me in this game). I'm playing the game as Max, not as me, because I'm so invested in the story and the characters. I want this playthrough to be "in the moment". Max wouldn't have been able to sit back and consider random aspects of the plot that might affect the final episode, so I don't want to either. Feel really strongly about it

I'm not going to speculate or predict at all on Episode 5 at this point, other than to say that I think both Chloe and Max will die. I don't want anything to contaminate the surprise for me, as it'd make me so angry to play it and realise I'd read the ending weeks ago haha. I'll come back and chat about permutations once we've played it ^^

Also, as hyped as I've been for Witcher 3 for years now, I can see no possibility that it will top Life is Strange for me. It's a different kind of game, with a different way of telling a story - for me, this format and the issues that it tackles...it can't be topped.

And yes - I can't wait for Vampyr either

[BlackDove]

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"You sided with Chloe"

Man. You're <censored> in Ep5. The only one who can help you now is Frank.

That is, unless

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Warren has the power like you as well.

[M.Steiner]

Also, as hyped as I've been for Witcher 3 for years now, I can see no possibility that it will top Life is Strange for me. It's a different kind of game, with a different way of telling a story - for me, this format and the issues that it tackles...it can't be topped.

Come back to me when you've played both. With respect, Witcher 3 will cover ground and themes you never thought it would too. Tis not just a bigger Witcher 2 with more of the same.
If you still feel the same when you've played both then so be it (and to each his own as always!) but I'd be really surprised if you do. Witcher 3 is (imo) the new benchmark when it comes to storytelling and player choice

[Anubis]

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"You sided with Chloe"

Man. You're <censored> in Ep5. The only one who can help you now is Frank.

That is, unless

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Warren has the power like you as well.

Yeah, I was going to say, I left Frank on good terms and he sent me a "just call if you need me" text. Same with Victoria too. I still think something will happen with Samuel too.

There's options, but we'll see. Right now, I think Max and Chloe both die regardless - it's just a matter of how.

[M.Steiner]

I think

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David could still end up helping btw, regardless of previous ep choices. (Being the one to save us in Ep 5 as is one of my predictions that is).
He left the house in my playthrough (even though he was never a suspect for me and felt he had good intentions) but that isn't to say his crazy surveillance of people stopped there (that he had been following Jefferson and/or Nathan after that point, say) or that he didn't later return to the house for something. If he did the latter all he would have to do is wander up to Chloe's room and see the massive board full of clues for him to figure out for himself where they might have gone and that they were likely in danger.
Frank on the other hand.. I'm not sure how he would figure out where you are unless you managed to get a message to him? and that ain't gonna happen though unless the game goes full retard with its writing as there's no way in hell Jefferson would leave a phone on you.

That is unless Warren shares similar powers to you as BD says. I kinda like that theory but it's not something I had actually considered until these last few days.

Speculation is fun with games like this heh. One of the reasons why I was hooked on Lost for years lol

[M.Steiner]

5 days!

Anyone got any last minute predictions?

[Anubis]

Shhhhhh!!! No predictions!!!!

I can't wait

[M.Steiner]

Shhhhhh!!! No predictions!!!!

But why not? lol

Nobody here has any real idea what's going to happen in the finale. We're only speculating as to where things might go or how it may end. Guess work can't be considered a spoiler can it? And honestly? If the finale turns out to have been so easy to guess or see coming then they should have done a better job writing it
Speculation & discussion fueled my love for shows like Lost. BSG too. Was all part of the fun!

To each his own though. I've got so many games on the go atm (my own fault) but I'll be playing this day one too and will try and finish it in the one sitting. Wild speculation among friends is one thing but I don't want the finale ruining from some internet troll who has actually played it and is out to spoil it for everyone else with real spoilers

[Anubis]

Oh I know haha - wasn't implying anything, as I know we're all tactful I just don't want to be touched by any speculation that could spoil a surprise for me haha

On another note, this is awesome:

[M.Steiner]

Not a fan of rap but that's a great video! Really well edited too

[M.Steiner]

Episode 5 thoughts. Spoilers ahead:

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So...

The game doesn't paint David in a particularly good light with his crazy surveillance & shit but part of me feels he knows more than has been let on, but has good intentions behind how he has been acting. Several of the other characters have suspicions against them too (like Frank and the bracelet for example) but if there's one person I'd put money on having some kind of involvement in Rachael Amber's disappearance it's Jefferson. He's the least obvious choice and comes across way too clean most of the time. He's the one I'll be watching more closely at least.

I still feel the same about David too and I think he will be the one to save you episode 5.
My only other predictions right now are that the 1. The selfie that Warren insisted on taking with you before the party will be used to go back in time similar to before. And 2. That like Charlie in Lost for example, Chloe may cheat death again but she will ultimately still die in the end. Whatever the case I don't see there being a happy ending.

Maybe we'll go back to the bathroom scene in episode 1 and choose not to save Chloe (to save the town?)

.....

First off, the series has been fantastic on the whole and I would still say it has been one of the best games I've played this year (and a must play for those who haven't) but I'm actually really disappointed with the finale. They did it well don't get me wrong, but it was so <censored> linear, unoriginal & predictable that it did kinda spoil it for me. I would also have preferred it had all of our previous choices helped shape & decide what kind of ending we got rather than "choose A or B". Doesn't matter what you've done or said previously, you get 1 of 2 endings which you get to pick. Ultimately, all of our previous choices meant shit in the end. Just feels kinda cheap, ya'know?

At the end of the day, I don't suppose I should expect so much from what is essentially a teen drama but still... disappointing.


Life is Strange has been climbing its way up my fav games of 2015 list with each episode but it won't be dethroning The Witcher 3 as my GOTY. Not even close.

[Anubis]

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I'm incredibly sad to see the game end. A fitting ending for what has been a superb narrative experience I felt, and what is by far and away the best game I've ever had the pleasure of playing. Games like this justify why I'm a gamer.

Now, Episode 5 specifically. A very powerful episode but anticlimactic compared to the others as it had to end it I felt. It is such a sad game really. Every aspect of it exists to convey the misery of life and consequences and it does it so well. By far the best game I've ever played.

I am surprised they had it wind up with it just being consequences of the time power. I was expecting something less obvious. Also very surprised they left it so Max still has the power. Maybe she'll be back for Season 2 after all. I was also a little disappointed with the lack of more major choices that could have major impact in the episode, but I guess that's just down to them needing to draw to a conclusion and the fact that it's not a AAA budget.

However as I say I still really enjoyed it

[M.Steiner]

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by far and away the best game I've ever had the pleasure of playing.

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Seriously though, I think that's going a little far myself but hey, we can't all agree on everything can we?
One of the best games I've played this year? Most definitely, it's in my top 5 atm. One of the best episodic drama's I've played to date? Yep.

I've had too many problems with the series to go much further though, sadly. As I say though, it's still a teen drama at the end of the day. You're not gonna expect classic literature from it & 15hrs worth of story across 5 episodes is not going to match the kind of depth to storytelling & player choice as something like TW3 managed either.

That last episode was so disappointingly cliche & predictable though. When you can see those ending choices coming a mile away right from the get go, it really spoils the lead-up to them as you know what's coming. It's like you've read a spoiler by accident and spend the rest of the time waiting for that thing to happen but you haven't, it's just the lazy writing. Honestly, some of the predictions floating around before the ep was released were far more imaginative than what transpired imo. They could have done something really different with it and took some risks but they didn't, they played it safe and went for the most obvious choices. A real shame imo. Same with Jefferson tbh. They did it really well and his reveal made for a fantastic cliffhanger but I've seen enough movies in my time to have had him as my lead suspect all along. They could have bluffed us there and pulled a few surprises but again, they didn't. They went for the most obvious and predictable choice. Why not be original?

And some of those previous choices as well, like the one in episode 4 where you're asked to either accept or deny Chloe's wish to help end her suffering. They had balls to include something like that in the game and props to them for touching such subjects (same with Kate). Such a powerful moment in the game and rightly so but when all is said and done, what did it matter? It didn't. A choice which should have had major consequences was ultimately cheapened and meant absolutely nothing in the end. A waste of a good opportunity imo.

Also, you really sacrificed an entire town to save one person? You crazy 46% lol - I guess you'll feel otherwise but the sacrifice Chloe ending felt like the "intended" ending of the 2 for me. I didn't even consider the other choice tbh.
If we get a second season I think they'll do a True Detective/Fargo and introduce a new cast of characters. I don't think Max will return (other than being referenced perhaps, or a small cameo in passing at best). I would prefer it this way too. I do hope they take some of the criticisms on board though and that S2 is a little less teeny.

All comments aside, it's still a great series, one I have thoroughly enjoyed and one I would highly recommend too. Best game I've ever played though? Yeah.. that's pushing it a bit. Happy to hear you enjoyed it as much as you did though mate! I did too despite some of my complaints, just feel it could have been much better in some places. A shame, yes, but I also don't see this as such a bad thing really. There's always room for improvement and recognising that (for them) is a good thing. The jump they made from Remember Me to this was really quite something (RM is mediocre in comparison) so if that's an indication of what we could expect from Vampyr or a second season of LiS S2 then that's pretty exciting to think about.

[Anubis]

[BlackDove]

Just finished it.

Kind of a strange... choice for the end.

The game should've only had one ending, because the narrative does not work if the game does not end with the butterfly effect being reversed. The whole point of all the other episodes was to showcase that changing time is meaningless, which is what the moral of the story would have been if the game had only the ending at the cemetery. I'm actually not spoilering this, because the game actually makes this a non spoiler. Had the game done the right thing, I would have had to spoiler this paragraph. But I don't, because apparently, because this is a game, you can do whatever the <censored> you want.

I assume this is where the story suffers from being a game. "Make your choices" story, and then they give you equally valid shit choices that go against the backbone of the narrative.

As well as not really having your choices in previous games really matter, making them out to be that those choices were "their own reward". They weren't.

Okay.

All I've got to say is, mweh.

Game/Story could've been much better. Oh well.