Life is strange.. and sometimes gaming is weird. When I think about this game I get goosebumps, and yet, I cannot really say this is the masterpiece everyone is talking about. Just to be clear, this is a nice game, a gaming experience I'd recommend... but at least in my book, a masterpiece is something else.

Let's start with the mechanics: Life is Strange is the love child of all the Telltale games, a wonderful narrative experience but finally with a (little) bit of the good old puzzles. Nothing too hard to figure out, but it's definitely a start for all the graphic adventures fans out there. Maybe this is the step in the right direction we were all waiting for, maybe the future of graphic adventures starts here. I sure hope so. Max's power can be tricky, and the first couple of times it can be challenging to understand exactly what to do. Sadly, after that it's always the same thing.

About the setting: I hated the setting, but that's probably me, and it does not compromise the enjoyment of playing Life is Strange. Maybe I'm too old for these games, maybe I'm just an arid person, I don't know xD but I often find the game is trying way too hard to play the teenager/internet generation card, falling almost always into boring stereotypes. Or maybe it just does not resonate with me.

The story: Now this is different. The actual chain of events and the way they are fed to the player are very engaging. The narrative experience is well crafted and it flows naturally from the first frame to the last. The game tackles some of the most important and problematic issues of the newer generations, from bullying to euthanasia, and in some way even homosexuality and religion. Everything is always tasteful, even when extremely sad and making a choice becomes really hard, but to be completely honest I also feel that it never really adds anything to the table. Not that it would be a strict requirement, obviously, but then, remember what I said about masterpieces? Life is Strange succeeds 100% in creating an emotional bond between the player and the protagonists, to deliver a highly enjoyable, very well written, emotionally powerful (incredibly powerful) narrative experience.

The choices: another great thing. The game is full of choices, and even a small detail can have a huge impact down the way, creating a high re-playability value. Another big improvement from the Telltale games.

The graphics: I put the graphics in the end because I don't really care about it, generally. Graphics are nice, nothing extraordinary, technically speaking, more than once it happened to me to listen to dialogues without the model even moving its lips, but it's not that big of a deal to me. Art direction? That's a different matter, and Life is Strange does very good in it. The game art style, the composition of the different shots, everything contributes to deliver the right vibe in every situation.

To make it painfully short: Garden State meets Donnie Darko meets Telltale Games.

Recommended.

Life is strange.. and sometimes gaming is weird. When I think about this game I get goosebumps, and yet, I cannot really say this is the masterpiece everyone is talking about. Just to be clear, this is a nice game, a gaming experience I'd recommend... but at least in my book, a masterpiece is something else. Let's start with the mechanics: Life is Strange is the love child of all the Telltale games, a wonderful narrative experience but finally with a (little) bit of the good old puzzles. Nothing too hard to figure out, but it's definitely a start for all the graphic adventures fans out there. Maybe this is the step in the right direction we were all waiting for, maybe the future of graphic adventures starts here. I sure hope so. Max's power can be tricky, and the first couple of times it can be challenging to understand exactly what to do. Sadly, after that it's always the same thing. About the setting: I hated the setting, but that's probably me, and it does not compromise the enjoyment of playing Life is Strange. Maybe I'm too old for these games, maybe I'm just an arid person, I don't know xD but I often find the game is trying way too hard to play the teenager/internet generation card, falling almost always into boring stereotypes. Or maybe it just does not resonate with me. The story: Now this is different. The actual chain of events and the way they are fed to the player are very engaging. The narrative experience is well crafted and it flows naturally from the first frame to the last. The game tackles some of the most important and problematic issues of the newer generations, from bullying to euthanasia, and in some way even homosexuality and religion. Everything is always tasteful, even when extremely sad and making a choice becomes really hard, but to be completely honest I also feel that it never really adds anything to the table. Not that it would be a strict requirement, obviously, but then, remember what I said about masterpieces? Life is Strange succeeds 100% in creating an emotional bond between the player and the protagonists, to deliver a highly enjoyable, very well written, emotionally powerful (incredibly powerful) narrative experience. The choices: another great thing. The game is full of choices, and even a small detail can have a huge impact down the way, creating a high re-playability value. Another big improvement from the Telltale games. The graphics: I put the graphics in the end because I don't really care about it, generally. Graphics are nice, nothing extraordinary, technically speaking, more than once it happened to me to listen to dialogues without the model even moving its lips, but it's not that big of a deal to me. Art direction? That's a different matter, and Life is Strange does very good in it. The game art style, the composition of the different shots, everything contributes to deliver the right vibe in every situation. To make it painfully short: Garden State meets Donnie Darko meets Telltale Games. Recommended.