Life is Strange: A few tips to keep in mind when playing the time-traveling adventure
A tale of two young women and friendship
Life is Strange is a game that has had quite a journey. It started out flying under the radar a bit and released pretty quietly, despite being published by gaming behemoth, Square Enix. After a couple of years, it quickly rose to prominence by building a huge following and becoming one of the most popular story-based games of the last decade or so.
Since its release, the original game has made its way to mobile on Android and iOS, with a Nintendo Switch release coming later on as a remastered edition. The first game follows the tale of a young photographer, Max Caufield who goes back home to Arcadia Bay, Oregon after heading off to Seattle five years prior.
While attending Blackwell Academy, she runs into her old best friend (in dramatic fashion), Chloe Price who is a rebel and graffiti artist, and thus, their mind-bending, emotional adventure begins together after their reunion. The gameplay focuses on interaction, investigating, and making major choices, a signature for the series. All of this while featuring Max's very cool power to rewind time. Here are a few tips to take note of when playing the game on mobile.
1
Observe Your Surroundings
As we mentioned, the biggest gameplay element of Life is Strange is interaction. Think of it almost like a point-and-click adventure. When you're in certain locations in the game, definitely take the time to check anything and everything. There could be things like old photos, notes, and other documentation that can give you a deeper dive into the story.
Fortunately, the pacing of the game allows you to take your time in doing so for the most part. If there are times where you want to speed things up, then hold down the sprint button to make Max walk or run faster from place to place (simple, isn't it?).
Taking a look at everything can help give you more background on the story and can even open up some new dialogue options for you too. Max is a creative and artistic-minded character so it's only fitting that she shows her curiosity, am I right?
2
Be Mindful of Rewinding
In Life is Strange, Max has this neat little power where she can rewind time. The power sort of just triggers out of nowhere when a shocking event occurs in the school and Max witnesses it. But, once she has used it the first time, you can use it at any time.
This really comes in handy when you want to redo something or want to change up your minor or major choices. However, it's important to note that, your rewind gift does have its limitations. If you move around for too long and felt like you missed something, you may not be able to rewind that far back.
Also, if you leave a room or area and progress the story a bit, you won't be able to rewind back to the previous location. So, although having some time travel power is awesome, the game still reminds you to do certain actions that can't be undone and that your choices can have consequences.
3
Take Your Time With Major Choices
The essence of the Life is Strange games is the choices you make. They can really change certain aspects of the game and its story. Usually, with choice-based narrative games, you have a limited amount of time before you can make a decision.
Here, the screen pauses with a vibrant glow around it and an angelic sound, indicating that the choice is major and can change the course of the game. The good thing is that when choices like this come up, it pauses as we mentioned, so you can take as long as you want before deciding.
Also, another good thing is that, even if you make your choice but feel immediate regret, you can use Max's rewind power and give it a second thought. You can rewind and switch it up as much as you want as long as you haven't left that particular area of the game yet. And having an excuse to use the rewind power in all of its epic glory is never a bad thing in my book.
If you are not eager to spend any money on mobile games right now, then this is an article for you!