Emily Striker
Guest Contributor

ooking for an escape from the real world, but do not want

to read a book? I definitely recommend you give this game
a try. Now, before you glance past this because you don’t like
video games or aren’t skilled with a controller, you don’t have
to be. I myself would much rather stick my nose in a book or
put on a movie. This game isn’t like the standard video-game.
There is no mashing of buttons, levels to work through or
final bosses to defeat. You must determine what the main
character will do. Your decisions influence what happens to
the world of the game.

The game revolves around photography student Maxine
Caufield. Like your average boarding school student, she has
classes to maintain, social clicks to work around and a career
to work towards. Except Max isn’t your average student,

and there’s more going on at school than mundane classes
and bullies. Upon witnessing a girl getting shot in the girl’s
bathroom, Max discovers that she can rewind time! . At

Poo Culture ts

Blackwell Academy, tensions are high amongst the students
and school staff. The Vortex Club has been participating in
questionable after-school activities, serious conflicts exist
between students and staff and the mysterious disappearance
of Rachel Amber looms in the background of everything.The
number one issue that the game keeps referring back to is a
storm wiping out Arcadia Bay. With these new powers, the
reunion with her childhood-friend Chloe Price and illegal
behaviour of the Vortex Club, it’s up to Max to put the pieces
together and put an end to the strangeness in her life.

As mentioned before, the game isn’t hard for non-gamers

to play. I especially enjoyed the depth of the game. As time
progresses, you can read Max’s journals, her texts and go
through her dorm room. Instead of giving you the necessary
information you need to act as Max, you can get to know

her quite well—if you're willing to put the time into going
through her things. I especially enjoyed being able to
manipulate the storyline according to my choices. Instead of

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giving a “Game Over” option and making you redo the entire
level, you have the option of rewinding so you could change
your answer. It can be extremely frustrating when you're
stuck trying to beat the same level over and over again.

Of course, this game isn’t all easy. Some desired actions can be
quite tricky, and the order you do them in can influence the
game. If you’re thinking that this game is brain-rotting, be
assured that you NEED TO PAY ATTENTION. Information that
was given to you hours ago may resurface. You cannot afford
to rush through the game if you want to complete it well.

The only aspect of the game I didn’t enjoy was the lack of
roaming. This means that sometimes, you can’t go back

out of a building or you can’t go past a certain borderline.
For some, this may feel uncomfortable and constricting to
your game use. However, it does make figuring out what you
have to do much easier—both for gamers and non-gamers.

Look for Life is Strange online for consoles and PC.