 Hi! For disclosure, I'm not going to talk about the issues Life is Strange has. There are a few of them, and they're mostly technical. A lot of people seem to have some kind of issue with the endings. I really don't. I thought they were fine, quite honestly. Instead, what I'm going to do with this video here is to celebrate what I loved in Don't Know Entertainment's frankly brilliant video game. Life is Strange is a five-part, episodic adventure game developed by Don't Know Entertainment and published by Square Enix. It tells the story of senior photography student Maxine, known as Max Caulfield, and her return to her hometown of Arcadia Bay after a five-year absence. Something of a social outcast, Max doesn't quite fit with most other students at her new school. When she discovers the ability to go back through time, as a girl is shot right in front of her very eyes, Max decides to stop the deed from ever having happened. Little does she know that the girl shot in front of her is in fact her estranged best friend, Chloe, with whom she hasn't spoken for the five years. She was away from Arcadia Bay. The game is part mystery, part high school simulator and part science fiction. And yet, underneath it all, Life is Strange is a beautiful story about friendship. It is a story about the strength of the bond between two very different girls. It is far from perfect, but it is very, very good. Mainly on the merit of its characters. And those characters come alive in somewhat unexpated ways, considering that they start out as little more than the stereotypes we all know. And love to hate. They are a few stronger compliments I can give to the writing team than this. They brought the characters to life. If they hadn't, honestly, I don't think Life is Strange would have worked at all. One of my favorite writers of words about the games said this about Life is Strange and I quote, I know it sounds like there is a lot of criticism there, but episode one is also earnest and gawky and sweet. Life is strange itself, feels teenaged. It's not realistic and it's not subtle, but it taps into a vein of fiction I'd forgotten existed. One which is imperfect, exploratory and full of liminal charm. And those are the words of Philippa War of Rock Paper Shotgun fame. And she's really quite hit the mark, hasn't she? Life is strange, really is charming, and it will touch you, and it will certainly leave a mark. This adventure will be bittersweet, and it might drain you emotionally at times. Hell, I actually teared up at two, possibly even three occasions. I was horrified for both Max and Chloe at different moments in the game, as well as for other, more minor characters. And although I saw the ending coming, I still felt that that final choice in the game was important. I did not actually expect the choice. It affected me more strongly than most game endings I've played through, at least in recent memory. And I will talk more about it in a few days in a spot of field video. But for now, let's just say that hopefully it will not disappoint you. I will miss Arcadia Bay, I will miss Max's selflessness and Chloe's awesomeness. But I guess that it's time to finally say goodbye. However, I am glad that over the period of eight months, I got to live through this adventure. It really was one of the most special times I've had with a game, and it will forever be burned into my memory. It is not the destination that matters, it is a journey. And this journey, it was beautiful. At any rate, one thing is for certain, this game surely loves its little butterfly for shadowing. And I did too, honestly.