Life Is Strange Episode 1: Review

UPDATE (21:35 January, 30th)

The devs at DONTNOD Entertainment just pushed a patch out that addresses some of the graphics bugs (and the weird mouse lag issues in the menus). They are also working on some of the other bugs, but props to them for providing a patch so fast after launch. :: Patch update 30th January 2015 by Square_Jason

TL;DR

+ Amazing story (so far) with a logical break for the end of the episode (cliffhanger ofc, but it's a good stopping point)
+ Stylish artistic direction that makes for some really brilliant scenes
+ Relaxing indie soundtrack
+ Short (about 4 hours), but will leave a lasting impression (well worth the $4.99 USD price tag)
+ World and Friends leaderboards for the decisions, so after the story you can see how many people were scumbags or did the right thing
+ Full of references to obscure pop culture, nerd culture, and photography
+ Squirrels
- Minor graphics bugs with some textures, lighting, and lip sync (this review was written the day after release; played it with an old ATI Radeon 4650 HD, but looks like other people have the same lip sync bugs)

A true story driven adventure game

The gameplay involves exploring the life of an 18 year old girl who has returned to her home town to enroll in a prestigious school. The player enters Max's life about two weeks into her classes, when she's still shy and hasn't met anyone. She hasn't even contacted her best friend that she left behind when she originally moved to Oregon. After a life changing event, Max finds out she has the power to reverse time and uses it to save the life of a mysterious punk rock girl. From that point on, the story enters a branching path where the player learns to master Max's newfound ability, while being teased about several mysteries around her old town. Some of the mysteries are grande, like what happened to Rachel and who keeps posting missing flyers everywhere? Some of the mysteries are more personal, like what is going to happen when Max figures out that Warren is so obviously crushing on her? The story is full of characters with mysteries that the player will want so desperately to unravel or save in the most optimal way through rewind, they may realize another layer to the story. Everytime the little butterfly appears in the top left and the game explains "There will be consequences for this action", should you rewind?

Steam Link :: http://store.steampowered.com/app/319630/