Life is Strange - Just Wow.

[aceman67]

I just finished playing the first episode for Life is Strange [http://store.steampowered.com/app/319630/], and I was floored by the entire game. I haven't been glued to a game like that since I first got Mass Effect for the 360 when it first came out. And the story felt like I was reading Stephen King's 11/22/63 [http://www.amazon.ca/11-22-63-A-Novel/dp/1451627297] again, one of my all time favourite novels. If you're a Mystery/Sci-Fi/Conspiracy/History-Buff book lover you need to read that book. I had my nose in that book so bad that I got in crap at work for reading on the job (which was bull, I was working midnight's at a gas-station with nothing to do).

And the branching story line makes playing this game over again almost a requirement, since almost every choice can have more then 2 or 3 or even 4 or more outcomes since you can get more information from every choice, rewind, and change your answer.

Spoiler: For Example

There's one point in the game where you are talking to a girl who you have to get something from, but in her room there's a Pregnancy Test and a Doctor's Appt. slip. Looking at either pisses her off and she kicks you out of her room, but you can rewind and talk to her about a 'rumour' you heard...

Telltale has some serious competition from this game.

This game is easily a contender for my 2015 Game of the Year, at least until Telltale announces Walking Dead Season 3.

 

[remnant_phoenix]

Can you please educate me?

I've never heard of this game. Who made it? Where all is it available?

 

[aceman67]

Can you please educate me?

I've never heard of this game. Who made it? Where all is it available?

Made by DONTNOD Entertainment Published by SquareENIX, its available for 360, Xbone, PS3, PS4 and PC (I linked to the steam page in my OP)

 

[Crazy Zaul]

Just saw this as I started watching:


Looks like a David Cage game but not shit.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I just finished playing the first episode for Life is Strange [http://store.steampowered.com/app/319630/], and I was floored by the entire game.

Trailers for this looked very interesting. How long was chapter 1?

 

[aceman67]

I just finished playing the first episode for Life is Strange [http://store.steampowered.com/app/319630/], and I was floored by the entire game.

Trailers for this looked very interesting. How long was chapter 1?

My playthrough was 109 minutes (over a hour and a half), but my second one is going to be a hell of a lot longer because of the branching choices/consequences

 

[ninja666]

The game seems promising, but what I don't get is why literally everybody must imitate Telltale's shitty business model and release the game in pieces, so you have to pay outrageous prices to be able to play the whole thing. Either way, I think I'll play it in a year or five when they decide it's time to stop milking money from the customers and release the last "episode".

 

[Mimic]

I just heard about this game today through a different game site and it's sounding good. I personally don't go in for episodic content either so I'll wait for all the episodes. Hope it continues to impress.

 

[Evonisia]

Life Is Strange is dontnod's new game isn't it?

If it is, I look forward to playing it once it is completed, the company clearly has ambition and heart as revealed by Remember Me's story (err, by video game standards).

 

[BloatedGuppy]

The game seems promising, but what I don't get is why literally everybody must imitate Telltale's shitty business model and release the game in pieces, so you have to pay outrageous prices to be able to play the whole thing.

I always get Telltale games in sales, so I end up paying (IMO) a pretty reasonable price for some pretty short, if excellent, games. But I also abhor this business model, for the simple reason that I want the entire godddam thing NOW, not doled out to me a smidgen at a time. I can wait for it to be fully released, but then I have to dodge spoilers for half a year, which gets exhausting.

A pox on the whole concept of episodic gaming.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

The game seems promising, but what I don't get is why literally everybody must imitate Telltale's shitty business model and release the game in pieces, so you have to pay outrageous prices to be able to play the whole thing.

I always get Telltale games in sales, so I end up paying (IMO) a pretty reasonable price for some pretty short, if excellent, games. But I also abhor this business model, for the simple reason that I want the entire godddam thing NOW, not doled out to me a smidgen at a time. I can wait for it to be fully released, but then I have to dodge spoilers for half a year, which gets exhausting.

A pox on the whole concept of episodic gaming.

Yup, I hate episodic games and will only ever buy them when the whole game is out and I can play all the episodes back to back. I played the first walking dead game episode by episode as it was coming out and will never do that again because every time a new episode came out I always struggled to remember what had happened in the previous one 3-4 months prior and it really hurt my enjoyment of the game.

 

[Ophiuchus]

It looks interesting, and someone mentioned it in the same sentence as Twin Peaks (my current addiction) so that's probably enough to make me check it out.

Can't say I'm really keen on the whole episodic gaming thing, though. Actually I've never played any of them, but I sort of feel like I'd rather wait until it's all out. I dunno. Not sure I can be bothered to wait that long.

 

[Poetic Nova]

Just saw this as I started watching:


Looks like a David Cage game but not shit.

Should be the game's tagline. Coming into this thread made sure I'm going to play this, already had some interest in it before.

 

[FootloosePhoenix]

Sounds really interesting. But like other people have expressed, I'd hate buying it in pieces. I had to wait for both seasons of Telltale's The Walking Dead to be released in their entirety before playing them. And I'm still waiting (rather impatiently, I'll admit, since the first episode was free for a time) on The Wolf Among Us to go on sale before I get to enjoy the rest of it. BAH.

So I guess I'll play this in another eight months or so. :/

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Well, I bought and played the first episode. It wasn't without little issues...the walking about was occasionally inexplicably "hitchy", and the dialogue...while generally acceptable if not above average for the medium...often sounded a bit too much like an adult's approximation of "teen" instead of actual teens actually talking. Does anyone say "Hella" as much in real life as the characters in this game? I think not.

That said, I really enjoyed it. Indie movie vibe married to Walking Dead level game play, which is to say there isn't much of it, but the story delivery is well paced as a result. Very intriguing setup, excellent use of licensed music and some instantly memorable characters. I'm now super fucking annoyed that the next episode isn't out until March, and I'll probably wait until the entire run is available before revisiting the first episode and just one-shotting the game.

FUCKING EPISODIC GAMING.

 

[Ferisar]

Well, I bought and played the first episode. It wasn't without little issues...the walking about was occasionally inexplicably "hitchy", and the dialogue...while generally acceptable if not above average for the medium...often sounded a bit too much like an adult's approximation of "teen" instead of actual teens actually talking. Does anyone say "Hella" as much in real life as the characters in this game? I think not.

That said, I really enjoyed it. Indie movie vibe married to Walking Dead level game play, which is to say there isn't much of it, but the story delivery is well paced as a result. Very intriguing setup, excellent use of licensed music and some instantly memorable characters. I'm now super fucking annoyed that the next episode isn't out until March, and I'll probably wait until the entire run is available before revisiting the first episode and just one-shotting the game.

FUCKING EPISODIC GAMING.

People saying "Hella?" Oh yeah they do. Come over to NorCal. We say it fuckin' everywhere. It's kind of funny if you ever start counting. Teens especially. Almost as much as when we say "like" as a filler word. I'm not even from here and do it now.

OT:
Good that it's good. I want to try it, so I will probably get it when I have a bit more time and money. (the "more episodes" bit will also help)

 

[Bat Vader]

I bought and played the first episode and so far I am loving it. There are some technical issues here and there but nothing that hurt my enjoyment of the game. The coloring in the game is pretty beautiful and Max is a pretty decent character.

 

[StriderShinryu]

Just finished episode 1 and am now eagerly anticipating the next chapter. Very good stuff. It feels very similar to a Tell Tale game but with the addition of the time control mechanic to add some new gameplay elements. If you're someone who's not into non-traditional videogames you'll probably hate it, and I'd imagine it would be the same if you have something against teenage female protagonists, but if you're anyone else it's at least worth a try.

If you're curious, there's a demo out and the first chapter is only $5 (with the rest of the chapters only costing an extra $17). It's not a big gamble at all to dip a toe in.

 

[Dalisclock]

The game seems promising, but what I don't get is why literally everybody must imitate Telltale's shitty business model and release the game in pieces, so you have to pay outrageous prices to be able to play the whole thing.

I always get Telltale games in sales, so I end up paying (IMO) a pretty reasonable price for some pretty short, if excellent, games. But I also abhor this business model, for the simple reason that I want the entire godddam thing NOW, not doled out to me a smidgen at a time. I can wait for it to be fully released, but then I have to dodge spoilers for half a year, which gets exhausting.

A pox on the whole concept of episodic gaming.

My issue is that for most episodic games, It takes nearly FOREVER for them all to arrive, if they ever do *COUGHVALVECOUGH*. Telltale is at least semi-consistent about getting their episodes out, but I'm currently following episodic games that have gone years between episodes. It's really, really burned me on episodic gaming in general.

 

[T_ConX]

I'm actually kind of interested in this game. Not enough to buy it right now, however...

The first is pricing. I'm not comfortable with paying full price for a game that's only one or two fifths done. I know, there's always the option of buying it on a per episode basis, but even with that I'm worried about the team blowing their creative load on the first episode and then just dialling it in for the back end.

The second issue is that I don't like getting engaged in a story and then being forced to wait two months for the next chapter. That's even assuming future episodes happen at all.

My issue is that for most episodic games, It takes nearly FOREVER for them all to arrive, if they ever do *COUGHVALVECOUGH*.

You think the Episode 3 thing is nuts? At least Valve still exists, and is doing everything BUT releasing Episode 3. But back when HL Episode 1 came out, there was another FPS series that wanted to give this episodic thing a chance. I actually enjoyed SiN Episodes: Emergence. Unfortunately, the game bombed, and the studio got bought by some casual phone game developer.

And honestly, I'm worried that the same thing is going to happen to Dontnod. Just a year ago they were denying bankruptcy rumours after how poorly Remember Me sold. Turns out the situation was bad, but not that bad. I doubt we'll be seeing all five episodes if the first two don't make serious bank.

My last issue, and this is such a petty little grievance, is that I've been told that much of the games dialogue is positively Tumblr-rific. That's kind of a deal breaker for me.

So yeah, this game is stuck on the short range radar until it's A) Done, and B) on a Steam sale.