Take the best parts of Donnie Darko and Butterfly Effect together, add astounding depth by letting the audience interact with events, and give it writing that excels in both tightness and heart: that's Life is Strange.

The story is brilliant on too many levels to list in this short review, especially without spoiling. You will watch your actions shape a unique path for the setting, and somehow, at the same time, nothing you see will be superfluous; everything serves a narrative and artistic purpose. And that purpose is to coalesce into a hard-hitting, beautiful journey.

Gameplay needs to be praised more than it is. I expected a walking sim/glorified point and click. There are brief parts that feel like shoehorned-in PnC puzzles, but aside from these moments, Max's developing ability to manipulate time is used to great gameplay effect. This ability interacts in interesting ways with how puzzles are structured, how you can interact with the world, and even how the player gets to make choices. All of this creates a unique gaming experience not found in a normal PnC.

The main weak point of the game is visual. Although there are some beautiful scenes, and the cinematography is, broadly speaking, very well done, there are serious issues with lip syncing that you will have to learn to ignore, and motion capture is wonky at times. As well, the minimalist style is occasionally to the game's detriment, as images that should be impactful wind up being more confusing. I was able very quickly to adapt to all of this, and it barely affected my experience of the game, especially since sound design and music do so much to make up for this.

I'll end this review in one of those cliches that becomes so because it's true: the first episode is free, so if you're at all unconvinced, go download it and decide for yourself.

Take the best parts of Donnie Darko and Butterfly Effect together, add astounding depth by letting the audience interact with events, and give it writing that excels in both tightness and heart: that's Life is Strange. The story is brilliant on too many levels to list in this short review, especially without spoiling. You will watch your actions shape a unique path for the setting, and somehow, at the same time, nothing you see will be superfluous; everything serves a narrative and artistic purpose. And that purpose is to coalesce into a hard-hitting, beautiful journey. Gameplay needs to be praised more than it is. I expected a walking sim/glorified point and click. There are brief parts that feel like shoehorned-in PnC puzzles, but aside from these moments, Max's developing ability to manipulate time is used to great gameplay effect. [spoiler]This ability interacts in interesting ways with how puzzles are structured, how you can interact with the world, and even how the player gets to make choices.[/spoiler] All of this creates a unique gaming experience not found in a normal PnC. The main weak point of the game is visual. Although there are some beautiful scenes, and the cinematography is, broadly speaking, very well done, there are serious issues with lip syncing that you will have to learn to ignore, and motion capture is wonky at times. As well, the minimalist style is occasionally to the game's detriment, as images that should be impactful wind up being more confusing. I was able very quickly to adapt to all of this, and it barely affected my experience of the game, especially since sound design and music do so much to make up for this. I'll end this review in one of those cliches that becomes so because it's true: the first episode is free, so if you're at all unconvinced, go download it and decide for yourself.