Life is Strange is a potent examination of choice, leaning on all the consequences that can stem from your actions. It uses the mechanic of rewinding time (along with side themes of photography as a way to snapshot the past) to underscore its key themes, while also drawing you into a world filled with characters who have hopes, fears, and motivations.

It's certainly not perfect. Lip-sync is sometimes off or even missing in some scenes (during one pivotal scene in the fifth episode, there's a large amount of time where Max's lips aren't animated to move at all), which can be distracting. Some of the conversations have a really clunky flow since they're moving from choice to choice, and a character's reply will sometimes feel very tonally disjointed from what you just said. Some of the dialogue also feels a little stilted, although it is at least partially based off of teen dialect in the Pacific Northwest, which is a cool touch.

I found that, despite its awkward, almost teenaged, flaws, Life is Strange pulls you into an emotionally-compelling story, showing you the struggle of a young, vulnerable heart to make sense of the world. It's often melancholy, sometimes funny, sometimes nostalgic, sometimes intense, and it all builds to a powerful finale. As the ending cutscene played, I sat back, still not sure if I had chosen wisely. I made my call, and knew I had to live with it. I don't think Max was the only one whose heart grew during that journey.

Content Advisory: frequent coarse language; scenes of blood and violence; scenes of emotional abuse; threatened sexual assault

Full review at Ludicrus Gaming[ludicrusgaming.blogspot.com]