Well that was intense. Just finished it and holy crap that was exhausting! Well worth the wait, took about 3 and half hours for me.
Glad I saved Kate, her scene was adorable and I loved seeing how happy she was and how well she was recovering.
I killed/injured Frank at least 8 times, trying to not injure him, but I finally gave in and let him get stabbed. Didn't know he could come out uninjured.
Feel bad for Nathan and his horrible family, but I couldn't not enjoy Warren kicking his ass.
I kinda figured Jefferson was the big baddie as Nathan was nowhere to be found at the party and Jefferson came out of nowhere and I mean LITERALLy out of nowhere.
Overall, I really enjoyed seeing our past decisions have an effect on the game currently and characters kept bringing up past acts Max did/didn't do, which I appreciate. I figure we can use that picture Warren took to go back and bring Chloe back? At least...I hope.
Sum up the series so far with one quote? "With great power comes great bullshit." -Max Caulfield.
How do you guys think choosing to accept or refuse Alternate Chloe's request will have an impact on the game? It is afterall recorded as a major decision
I mean what kind of teacher goes to a party with a bunch of teens and then lets them drink and hit a bong around him. Any normal teacher wouldn't go.. the way he is always around the kids.. Jefferson was always too close for comfort.
Barring any chance we actually get to go back to the AU, I think the only it could happen is if we tell Chloe/Warren about the AU in our current timeline, after all this is dealt with. (assuming we can save Chloe)
I mean what kind of teacher goes to a party with a bunch of teens and then lets them drink and hit a bong around him. Any normal teacher wouldn't go.. the way he is always around the kids.. Jefferson was always too close for comfort.
How about the music in this episode guys? How about this one specific piece? Amazing how the death of an off-screen character (only seen in photos) can have so much impact.
Now I've had a chance for the episode to sink in i'll give my thoughts
Pros
Probably my favorite episode so far even if it occasionally went a bit far by being so depressing, still a good decision than rather soften the blow
Story wise I liked the conclusion of the rachel arc was grounded in reality rather than some supernatural stuff
The party was my favorite scene, underlying simmering tension, plus it looked pretty cool
Choice wise I'm liking it. Nothing changes dont get me wrong in tersm of story however I do think this is the level games at this stage should be aiming for, characters constantly reference past decisions and this does help immersion even if there is no real effect.
Weaknesses
Max and chole being detectives and part of the story feels a bit out there though it is a game to be fair, the hidden bunker was pushing it though. Some motives feel a bit strange also, max in particular not going to the police with all that evidence seems ridiculous (leaving it all there really?)
The characters also talk a bit to the point at times, some dialogue is nailed however other stuff feels like the writers want to convey something but then feel they actually need to character to say it, most people can get suggested things.
Very slow at times, I've never likes puzzles but in particular that scene outside the dorm took me ages, seeing all those samuel dialogues had me groaning
Characters
Max is okay though she really is kind of a buzzkill even by the games serious setting. Also I just cant enjoy her dialogue due to her voice, it just kind of creeps me out a bit.
Chloe was better than previously, still an absolute pain most of the time though at least enjoyable to be around
Warrens hulk moment felt a bit sudden the guy gets basically sidelined for some reason, Some scenes almost seem to address the fact its weird max never lets him come with them
Kate was good, finally had a reason to actually like the character rather than just pity her
I dont feel bad for any of the bully characters, I just dont. I dont care if they all have family issues i'm trying to screw them over as much as possible. I did save frank more out of persistence rather than actual real desire to help. I do appreciate the depth there giving them however for many its a bit late or on the nose.
The minor characters were a bit better, I still feel if they had a few less it would be better and give more range
Also who is this megan girl whos friends with alternative chloe? Seems a random addition that hopefully gets addressed.
So is it basically confirmed that Rachel was the ghost deer, then? The way it looked at Chloe crying then disappeared made it seem like it's goal was to help Rachel's body be found...
If so then there's still some weird shit going on with Rachel vis a vis time travel/powers
I had the same problem with the refuse option, I exited out of the game for a second and came back and now there was an option as if I was going to a new locations (you know, click to go to "...")
The interactive elements, in terms of story, are at least as good as or better than Telltale's stuff. The story is also pretty good and ther… moree are more objects to look at. More wandering. Puzzles are present too, though until episode 4, I didn't think much of them like I don't in TTG's recent stuff. There's obviously more gameplay too with the time rewinding and the episodes are longer. No QTEs. (The episodes being longer is more a side-effect of the wandering and time rewinding though)
What I said about the interactive elements though, I mean that the story still goes down the same path. It's just debatable whether more dialog etc. changes as a result (I think there are more changes). So far, I think there's only been one unique scene based on if you saved a character. You get a bit of help too in the form of a text message giving you a number. Choices in conversations and such 'may' matter more as well and I'm pretty sure they do, but aga… [view original content]
If you don't write your name then it just changes 'Rachel was here' to 'Rachel is here'...at first I thought it might mean that Rachel was alive after all and would surprise us but turns out it's just her body that's there...;-;
It's way way way darker and more mature than anything Telltale has created in it's presentation.
Which is funny because people here who were mocking Life is Strange were doing so because they thought it was immature, campy and a high school simulator.
My thoughts were more like "Oh I'm not going to kill you. I'm just going to hurt you. Really. Really. Bad." Incredibly dark thoughts filled my mind as I became enraged. A span of extremely painful torture methods ran through my head. Guess what I'd be doing with a fishing pole.... I can have a very dark imagination.
I think part of the reason for DontNod's narrative success is that the same people write each episode, whereas Telltale cycle lead writers, leading to a more disjointed plot.
I think part of the reason for DontNod's narrative success is that the same people write each episode, whereas Telltale cycle lead writers, leading to a more disjointed plot.
When I look at a gem of an episode such as the Dark Room and stand it side by side at what Telltale's put out this month it just seems so superior. Telltale had me believe for a while that a penultimate episode is the one I'd always hate the most but Life is Strange put that to rest. I feel Dontnod even though not as quick as Telltale are in their episode release dates, still seem to deliver an episode with more details, better pacing and more cracks filled in as of recently.
My exact reaction to when Chloe was shot was "let me see their face... let me see. Jefferson, huh? You fucked up."
Now I got him in my sights. My only hope is that I can guide Max to becoming a much more vindictive and wrathful person and taking all the bastards down. As I've said previously, Arcadia Bay is a shit hole that needs a cleaning.
Well the hipster teacher did kill the hipster teen so I think it counts as hipster drama :P. Not that I'm complaining I loved the episode and Life Is Strange is one of the best games I've ever played.
I follow Life is Strange via Youtube Let's Plays and my feelings on it are mixed. The story itself is generally pretty good, but the cringey dialogue comes across like it was written by an alien that doesn't understand human behavior. As a result, when it tries to tackle serious issues, it often angers me because the game just isn't smart enough to deal with them.
So no, it's not better than any TTG title in my opinion, but Telltale could definitely stand to learn some stuff from it (punctual releases, longer more content-rich episodes, prettier aesthetic, etc).
Comments
Is it that hard to give Life is Strange praise without comparing it to Telltale games?
CHLOE!!!!!
Well that was intense. Just finished it and holy crap that was exhausting! Well worth the wait, took about 3 and half hours for me.
Glad I saved Kate, her scene was adorable and I loved seeing how happy she was and how well she was recovering.
I killed/injured Frank at least 8 times, trying to not injure him, but I finally gave in and let him get stabbed. Didn't know he could come out uninjured.
Feel bad for Nathan and his horrible family, but I couldn't not enjoy Warren kicking his ass.
I kinda figured Jefferson was the big baddie as Nathan was nowhere to be found at the party and Jefferson came out of nowhere and I mean LITERALLy out of nowhere.
Overall, I really enjoyed seeing our past decisions have an effect on the game currently and characters kept bringing up past acts Max did/didn't do, which I appreciate. I figure we can use that picture Warren took to go back and bring Chloe back? At least...I hope.
Sum up the series so far with one quote? "With great power comes great bullshit." -Max Caulfield.
Should probably spoiler mark this.
Clicking on the computer in the dark room disgusted me.
How do you guys think choosing to accept or refuse Alternate Chloe's request will have an impact on the game? It is afterall recorded as a major decision
I mean what kind of teacher goes to a party with a bunch of teens and then lets them drink and hit a bong around him. Any normal teacher wouldn't go.. the way he is always around the kids.. Jefferson was always too close for comfort.
Barring any chance we actually get to go back to the AU, I think the only it could happen is if we tell Chloe/Warren about the AU in our current timeline, after all this is dealt with. (assuming we can save Chloe)
I always did get a slight creeper vibe off him.
How about the music in this episode guys? How about this one specific piece? Amazing how the death of an off-screen character (only seen in photos) can have so much impact.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRigKyQ5FuM
Now I've had a chance for the episode to sink in i'll give my thoughts
Pros
Probably my favorite episode so far even if it occasionally went a bit far by being so depressing, still a good decision than rather soften the blow
Story wise I liked the conclusion of the rachel arc was grounded in reality rather than some supernatural stuff
The party was my favorite scene, underlying simmering tension, plus it looked pretty cool
Choice wise I'm liking it. Nothing changes dont get me wrong in tersm of story however I do think this is the level games at this stage should be aiming for, characters constantly reference past decisions and this does help immersion even if there is no real effect.
Weaknesses
Max and chole being detectives and part of the story feels a bit out there though it is a game to be fair, the hidden bunker was pushing it though. Some motives feel a bit strange also, max in particular not going to the police with all that evidence seems ridiculous (leaving it all there really?)
The characters also talk a bit to the point at times, some dialogue is nailed however other stuff feels like the writers want to convey something but then feel they actually need to character to say it, most people can get suggested things.
Very slow at times, I've never likes puzzles but in particular that scene outside the dorm took me ages, seeing all those samuel dialogues had me groaning
Characters
Max is okay though she really is kind of a buzzkill even by the games serious setting. Also I just cant enjoy her dialogue due to her voice, it just kind of creeps me out a bit.
Chloe was better than previously, still an absolute pain most of the time though at least enjoyable to be around
Warrens hulk moment felt a bit sudden the guy gets basically sidelined for some reason, Some scenes almost seem to address the fact its weird max never lets him come with them
Kate was good, finally had a reason to actually like the character rather than just pity her
I dont feel bad for any of the bully characters, I just dont. I dont care if they all have family issues i'm trying to screw them over as much as possible. I did save frank more out of persistence rather than actual real desire to help. I do appreciate the depth there giving them however for many its a bit late or on the nose.
The minor characters were a bit better, I still feel if they had a few less it would be better and give more range
Also who is this megan girl whos friends with alternative chloe? Seems a random addition that hopefully gets addressed.
Well they both do create similar games.
So is it basically confirmed that Rachel was the ghost deer, then? The way it looked at Chloe crying then disappeared made it seem like it's goal was to help Rachel's body be found...
If so then there's still some weird shit going on with Rachel vis a vis time travel/powers
I think it's impossible to go back to the AU because of the burned picture
I had the same problem with the refuse option, I exited out of the game for a second and came back and now there was an option as if I was going to a new locations (you know, click to go to "...")
Aw crap, you're right. Sorry, kind of burned out right now, just finished playing it.
In episode 2 it was stood right where her body was so yes i'm guessing
Spoiler warning..
at the end segment of the game when you go to the junkyard at night if you go in the place where you write you see that ^
Me to. Something in her voice just grates my ear.
It does seem that way. It will be interesting to see if there's a way to help him or if he's too far gone.
Done
If you don't write your name then it just changes 'Rachel was here' to 'Rachel is here'...at first I thought it might mean that Rachel was alive after all and would surprise us but turns out it's just her body that's there...;-;
It's way way way darker and more mature than anything Telltale has created in it's presentation.
Which is funny because people here who were mocking Life is Strange were doing so because they thought it was immature, campy and a high school simulator.
Man, that's dark.
Ep.4... so yeah... I cried my eyes out lol
My thoughts were more like "Oh I'm not going to kill you. I'm just going to hurt you. Really. Really. Bad." Incredibly dark thoughts filled my mind as I became enraged. A span of extremely painful torture methods ran through my head. Guess what I'd be doing with a fishing pole.... I can have a very dark imagination.
I'd also like to give praise to DONTNOD in creating longer episodes than Telltale, and depsite LiS’s slow pace, it makes things realistic.
We can't live 100% always in adrenaline rushes, right?
I think part of the reason for DontNod's narrative success is that the same people write each episode, whereas Telltale cycle lead writers, leading to a more disjointed plot.
This ruined TWD S2 for me
This is GOT forum,not hipster drama
..because drugging girls, kidnapping them, taking pictures of them tied up for one's own enjoyment and murdering them is 'hipster drama'?
When I look at a gem of an episode such as the Dark Room and stand it side by side at what Telltale's put out this month it just seems so superior. Telltale had me believe for a while that a penultimate episode is the one I'd always hate the most but Life is Strange put that to rest. I feel Dontnod even though not as quick as Telltale are in their episode release dates, still seem to deliver an episode with more details, better pacing and more cracks filled in as of recently.
I understand that but I wish people would let them be different games it's like how Call of Duty was always compared to Halo, it really annoys me.
Oh you sweet summer child...
Yes.
My exact reaction to when Chloe was shot was "let me see their face... let me see. Jefferson, huh? You fucked up."
Now I got him in my sights. My only hope is that I can guide Max to becoming a much more vindictive and wrathful person and taking all the bastards down. As I've said previously, Arcadia Bay is a shit hole that needs a cleaning.
Well the hipster teacher did kill the hipster teen so I think it counts as hipster drama :P. Not that I'm complaining I loved the episode and Life Is Strange is one of the best games I've ever played.
Damn I totally missed that. That is just f**ked up.
I follow Life is Strange via Youtube Let's Plays and my feelings on it are mixed. The story itself is generally pretty good, but the cringey dialogue comes across like it was written by an alien that doesn't understand human behavior. As a result, when it tries to tackle serious issues, it often angers me because the game just isn't smart enough to deal with them.
So no, it's not better than any TTG title in my opinion, but Telltale could definitely stand to learn some stuff from it (punctual releases, longer more content-rich episodes, prettier aesthetic, etc).