Now Playing: Life is Strange

Before continuing with this review, I’d recommend reading my previous post on Life is Strange. It covers my thoughts on episodes 1-4. This review will focus primarily on the final episode and ending. I’ll try to keep it as spoiler free as I can.

Okay, so if you’ve read my previous post, you’ll know I rather liked the first four episodes of LiS. My concern, however, was if the final episode could tie everything together and provide a satisfying conclusion. The answer is – yes…and no.

The final episode of LiS is far from perfect, and it doesn’t quite hit the mark in the way you feel that it should. But it’s certainly not a total f**k up either. In fact, I quite liked the ending. It felt thematically consistent to what the previous four episodes were building towards. Which is a fancy way of saying the ending was pretty much exactly what I expected it to be. There were no twists or surprises, but rather a sad inevitability.

I’m sure this will be disappointing for some people, but I actually thought this was an interesting decision and one that fits perfectly with the themes of LiS. The main character, Max, has the ability to ‘rewind’ time. And with great power…well, you know how it goes. Max uses this ability to change fate. But doing so is not without consequence.

 

Early on in the game we see Max’s power take a toll on her physically. It’s not a power she can freely abuse, and it’s certainly not without its limits. Max, being the good person that she is, uses her power to try to help people, but throughout the game, her attempts to ‘fix’ or change time often results in unforeseen negative effects.

And that’s really what the game is trying to tell you – Max may have a great power, but changing fate and rewriting history can come at an even greater cost. The ending puts the player in the position of deciding if they’re willing to pay that cost. It’s a conclusion I think many people were expecting but honestly, I don’t see any other way it could have ended.

Everything in the game, even a lot of the small choices, seem to push the player towards the realisation that no matter what they do or choose, at some point the bill has to be paid. And as powerful as Max is, she can’t save or ‘fix’ everything. Something has give, and nature must balance its books.

Another important aspect of the narrative is the notion of ‘moments in time’. Moments in time matter – to Max, and to the player – even if they’ll be erased. There’s a wonderful sequence during the final stages where Max revisits many key moments throughout the game – a winding path that guides her back to Chloe. This is just my interpretation of it, but what I took from it is this – even if these moments are reset or erased, they still exist, and Max still carries the memories of them.

 

At the end, the player has the choice to reset fate, or to change it and pay the price. But choosing to reset time doesn’t suddenly render your choices meaningless. The choices you’ve made throughout the game are important in the sense that they’ll shape the memories Max (and you) will carry forwards.

When Max uses her power it may be with the best of intentions, but it also upsets the ‘natural’ order. Changing fate is not without a cost, and the game reinforces this notion throughout in both large choices and small. Which is why the ending (and the choice the player has to make) feels both appropriate, necessary and, like I said, sadly inevitable.

Now, although I liked the ending and the way it built up, that doesn’t mean I think it’s perfect. The final episode feels rushed in places, and I don’t think it’s constructed in a way that quite hits the emotional highs it feels it should. I know people might be disappointed at the lack of explanation for Max’s powers. In fact, it doesn’t attempt to address the science/supernatural aspects at all.

But this honestly didn’t bother me because the game was never really about that. At its heart, this was a story about two girls. They were like the eye of the storm, and everything else revolved around them and their relationship. The final episode may stumble in places, and perhaps it does leave a little too much to interpretation, but I think it does just enough to provide a satisfying conclusion.

It also has some very strong sequences. There’s an ‘escape’ sequence early on that’s a lot of fun and unintentionally hilarious. There’s also a ‘nightmare’ sequence which is brilliantly handled – with the exception of a silly ‘stealth’ style section. I’ve seen people talk about it like a ‘dream’ sequence, but my interpretation is that it’s more of a ‘tear’ in reality.

 

The final episode sees Max use her power repeatedly as she grows increasingly desperate in an attempt to ‘fix’ everything. But doing so causes time and reality to unravel around her, eventually leading to a dark and disturbing nightmare reality. It’s almost like time is collapsing around Max. Her meddling could see her lost in time completely, but it’s her memories of Chloe and those moments in time they shared together that guide her back.

And I really liked this notion, of time fracturing around Max. She’s so desperate to save everyone, but ultimately she has to understand that she can’t – time always catches up to you, and changing fate is not without a cost. There has to be a balance.

I’ve played through LiS twice and seen both endings, both of which feel thematically consistent with the themes raised throughout the experience – you can’t cheat fate, not without paying a price. In some ways, it’s kind of a depressing notion, but it feels wholly appropriate and what the entire game is constructed around.

Overall, Life is Strange is one of my favourite games of the year. It has its missteps and stumbles, and maybe my interpretation is totally wrong. But this is a game very much about what you choose to take with you, what memories you want to hold on to. Every moment in time has its purpose. And even if you choose to reset time, those moments aren’t lost or erased. Not for Max. Not for you.

8/10