Life is Strange: Chrysalis Review

Life Is Strange was presented to the public as an experimental interactive story. We are promised a total of five episodes. The first one, Chrysalis, is already available on Steam.

The story may seem very familiar: it’s about youth, love, dreams, and anxieties. An incredible amount of emotions and chills are guaranteed. However, there is a significant drawback – the first episode is very short. It lasts approximately an hour and a half, and we are left waiting for a new dose until March.

At first, the game refused to launch, but fortunately, the problem was quickly resolved. We go to Control Panel – Language and Regional Standards – Additional – Language of programs that do not support Unicode and change it to English (United States).

Storm, we slowly make our way to the lighthouse by the sea, which is supposed to be our salvation. It turns out to be the opposite: a huge chunk falls on the main character, meet her, her name is Max Caulfield. No, not the end, the beginning. We find ourselves in a classroom at Blackwell Academy, where classes are held in… more like the art of photography. Nothing is clear yet, but soon the main mechanism is explained to us, which we will use to solve puzzles throughout the game.

Rewind, the dream of all teenagers, helps us to rewind time a little. Didn’t have time to do something or want to change a decision? Everything is fixable, but within each individual scene. If we agree to move to the next location, then progress is saved and no matter how much you hold the right mouse button, nothing will happen.

Recurring visions warn of an impending catastrophe, but what can a shy girl do?

In Max, you can see a tangle of stamps of a difficult teenager. She has a natural talent for photography and attracting trouble. The function of time rewinding is very handy here, no need to accumulate these painful or uncomfortable memories.

Chloe with blue hair is an even more difficult teenager. She is like that because life is strange.

As you progress, very bright and modern characters catch your eye. The teacher at the academy is wearing ultra-modern hipster glasses with white frames.

The indie-folk soundtrack is simply wonderful. By the way, Max can also play something for you on the guitar.

Throughout the game, there are numerous small Easter eggs and references to other computer games, found when examining objects, on car license plates, and on wall signs. The name of the town, Arcadia, where the events take place, is a direct reference to Dreamfall.

Just like in Dreamfall Chapters, every choice you make has an impact, and it may seem impossible to avoid replaying the game. I tried to do it a second time, but the storm of emotions turned into boredom. I knew what would happen, but I couldn’t apply the knowledge I gained from the first playthrough. Plus, the main character moves very slowly. After the credits, statistics are shown, comparing the decisions of all players with yours.

I will save my final evaluation until the release of the last episode.