Life Is Strange
PlayStation 4
For my original review of this game click
Well, here we go: my tenth re-review. When I first started this blog about six years ago I told myself that I was going to play through and review my entire game library and as soon as I finished a game I would not allow myself to play it again until I had played through EVERYTHING in my library. Well clearly I have strayed from that path as I have now replayed and rereviewed ten games in that timeframe. But if you think about it, ten games in the span of six years isn't that much. Comes out to a little less than two replays per year. Otherwise, I have been sticking pretty strong to my goal!
There are a few reasons I played this game again. The main reason being that I played Life is Strange: Before the Storm earlier in the year. Since that game is a prequel, it made me want to follow up and play this one again. I was really interested in its characters and I wanted to see how the two games flowed together as far as continuity and that kind of thing. The other reason being that I wanted to get this game's platinum trophy! I had missed so many trophies the last time through, I knew it was only a matter of time before I came back and scooped up all the ones I'd missed.
In my previous review of this game, I gave it the final score of a B. I praised the game's storyline and characters while I was critical of its gameplay, graphics, and confusing time travel plot holes. This time around though I found myself appreciating the game a bit more. There's still a little bit that doesn't make sense to me (is that a dream sequence towards the end of the last chapter or what the hell is going on?) but I found that it didn't wreck my enjoyment of the game.
I'm not going to recap this game's plot for you, as I already did that in my initial review. These re-reviews are meant to be quick. So what did I like more about the game this time around?
I felt a lot more of an emotional connection with the game's characters, and that made all the difference. I fell in love with Chloe during Life is Strange: Before the Storm. The first time I played this I had no idea who she was and I didn't really connect too much with her at all. But after playing the prequel and seeing her relationship with Rachel, and how she coped with the loss of her father really made me relate to her more as a character.
And even though we never actually meet Rachel as a character in this game, having played Before the Storm really helped me understand the depth of her relationship with Chloe, and this made the whole entire game hit a lot harder with me. The stakes felt so much higher. There is a heavy feeling in the air surrounding Rachel's disappearance that I experienced this time around that I did not feel on my previous playthrough.
Things felt more personal this time around. Once again, I didn't cry as I played, but that scene where Max goes back and saves Chloe's dad only for Chloe to wind up paralyzed and wanting to kill herself? Damn.
I've really come to love the Life is Strange series and its interesting complexities. This game is good. Its prequel is good. The characters are fantastic. If you are a fan of story-driven games you really can't go wrong here.
I have yet to play Life is Strange 2 yet, but playing this again has definitely moved it higher up onto my priority list. I can't wait to see what it has in store for me.
Final Score:
A-
All my previous re-reviews:
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