I recently finished Life is Strange, and I can tell you that it stuck the landing. It is perhaps one of the most intense gaming experiences I’ve ever had. Every choice mattered, and some of those choice were hard to accept.
Spoiler Warning
This article will spoil the entire story of Life is Strange. If you haven’t played it yet, and don’t want to find out what happens then you can read something else instead.
The last time I played Life is Strange it forced me to make a difficult choice. A choice so hard that despite it only being a video game I had to walk away and think about it. In my mind I was confronting what it would really be like to make that choice. To have to let your best friend go so they could be at peace.
Of course we return to the timeline where Chloe is still alive and continue following the mystery of what happened to Rachel. We learn the horrifying truth of how she was murdered and attempt to bring the murderer to justice. Max uses her powers several times, eventually creating a timeline where everyone is brought to justice and one where she can be together with Chloe.
Except…
The storm is still coming. And it hits. Hard. Chloe and Max try to escape to the lighthouse, and are forced to watch as the typhoon hits Arcadia Bay. It’s Chloe that figures it out. All of these anomalies started the first time Max altered time. Max is the cause of the storm. In order to stop it she needs to go back and reverse what she did. She needs to let Chloe die.
Chloe begs Max to let her go for the good of Arcadia Bay. Throughout the whole story Max has watched Chloe die several times but she’s always been able to bring her back somehow. If she lets her go this time, Chloe isn’t coming back.
The game doesn’t make it so easy. It forces you to make one final choice. It asks you if you want to let Chloe die again.
So I make my choice. I see the consequences of that choice. I finish the game. I won’t play it again. That choice will always be the one I made.
