Life is Strange - Episode 1

Episodic narrative adventure where choices and time rewinding shape events

DONTNOD Entertainment, Feral Interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux) · Published by Square Enix, Feral interactive (Mac), Feral Interactive (Linux) · Released Jan 29, 2015

Action Adventure

Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive; 96% of 176K
Recent reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive; 98% of 736 in 30 days
Playing now: 210; peak 24h 290
Steam Deck: Playable
Last update: Unknown; no patch notes found

What is Life is Strange - Episode 1?

A single-player episodic adventure set in Arcadia Bay. You play Max Caulfield, a photography student who can rewind time, making choices and altering events while investigating a fellow student's disappearance with her friend Chloe.

For you if...

+you prefer story-driven adventures built around consequential choices
+you like teen mysteries involving time manipulation
+you value character relationships and a licensed indie soundtrack

Not for you if...

−you want fast-paced action or deep combat
−you dislike slow, dialogue-heavy teen drama
−you expect every choice to produce a distinct outcome

What players say

96% of 176,099 reviews are positive · 98% of 736 in the last 30 days

Players most often praise the emotional story, Max and Chloe's relationship, and the soundtrack. Other players find the gameplay slow and limited, call the teen drama clichéd, and argue that some choices have less impact than expected.

Screenshots and trailer

Life is Strange - Episode 1 system requirements

As published by the developer.

Minimum

OS: Windows Vista
Processor: Dual Core 2.0GHz or equivalent
Graphics: ATI or NVidia card w/ 512 MB RAM (not recommended for Intel HD Graphics cards)
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Storage: 5 GB available space
DirectX: Version 9.0