Developer: Dontnod Entertainment
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform: Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PC
Tested on: PC
Life Is Strange: Episode 4 – Review
After a very long two months, Dontnod Entertainment has finally released episode four in the five part episodic adventure of Life Is Strange. We’ve been following this game from the start and the end is in sight. The other episodes have scored good and were generally well received by the public, so let’s find out if this one is up to par.
Story
Since we’ve come all this way to episode four, we will mainly stick to the story since Life Is Strange is a story driven game and not much changes gameplay wise. We’ll also give you a quick idea of what the story revolves around but keep in mind that you will read quite some spoilers if you haven’t played the game or read the other reviews.
In the Life Is Strange series, you’ll be playing as Max Caulfield, a teen student who moved back to her hometown after being away for a couple of years. Max studies photography at Blackwell Academy, one of the most prestigious schools in Arcadia Bay. One day in the middle of a boring class, you suddenly get a strange feeling. Little do you know, the things that happen from then on will change your life forever.
SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT
A lot has happened since the first episode and of course episode four builds further upon the established story. In the beginning everything was relatively fun and games but things have started to become a lot more serious. You’re still investigating the disappearance of Rachel Amber, the best friend of Chloe Price, your childhood friend. In episode three, you come closer and closer to proving your suspicion: Nathan Prescott has something to do with it.
Another major event that happened at the end of the previous episode was the ability to travel further back in time than you imagined. While looking at an old picture of Chloe and you, you get transported so far back into time that you’re back in your old body. It happens to be right at the time when Chloe’s dad went out and had a fatal accident, so you do everything you can to prevent it. You succeeded, but it changed Chloe’s life forever as she is now paralysed. Instead of handing her bongs, you’re now feeding her water.
Luckily, you find the old picture again that altered the timeline in the first place and you decide to make another sacrifice for the greater good. You let Chloe’s dad go out and have his accident, making everything back to how it was. When you are back on your feet, you and Chloe decide to investigate further and head into the dorms to search Nathan’s room for evidence. You find out that he is related to Frank, the drug dealer who Chloe had trouble with before and you decide to pay him a visit.
This is where the game starts to turn into a part of a crime scene movie. With all the evidence you and Chloe collected, you decide to look for clues as to where Rachel might have gone and what happened with Kate Marsh at the Vortex Club party. After putting the clues together, you head to an abandoned shed which has a hidden bunker beneath it. It seems to be some kind of photography set, the “Dark Room”. While looking through the file cabinets, you find labeled ring binders with pictures of victims, including Rachel and Kate.
After looking further into the binders, you find clues that Rachel might have been killed and buried at the junkyard. Surely enough, you find her body when you head over there and start digging… In an act of rage and foolishness, you decide not to call the police and you take matters into your own hands. Nathan Prescott must pay! You head to the Vortex Club party in the hopes of finding him, but he’s nowhere to be found. While at the party, you suddenly get a text message from Nathan saying that you won’t find Rachel’s body again after he’s done. Chloe and Max both rush to the graveyard to see what he’s up to. However, this is where the story makes one of the most unexpected plot twists (again).
When looking at the story of this and previous episodes, it proves that the developers still have plenty of ideas to make the story interesting and amazing time and time again. It’s full of plot twists, ups and downs and it’s starting to get really tense as well. It’s hard to imagine what they have in store for us for the last episode, but it’s probably going to be good as the rest.
Graphics
Not much has changed graphics wise since the previous episodes. The art style remains the same, but the game has started to become a lot darker, even darker than the previous episode. You get closer to the horrifying truth about Rachel and Kate and the environment reflects that with a dark atmosphere and adventures during the night. However, for the first time in the series I’ve experienced quite a bit of frame drops during the Vortex Club party. This is probably due to the party lighting and big amount of people.
Sound
Just like the previous episodes, this one has amazing music yet again. For the first time in the series you also get to hear some party music thanks to the “End of the World” party of the Vortex Club, which is a nice change of pace.
Gameplay
Gameplay has changed close to nothing, since it’s the same game after all. All of the mechanics of the previous episodes are still at your disposal and this is of course to be expected. You still move with WASD or with the controller and use the designated buttons to rewind or fast forward time, which you’ll be using quite a lot. As with episode three, there’s a new mechanic that allows you to get flashbacks by looking at pictures but it’s only been used twice in the game so it will probably not return in the last episode. As stated in the first review, the game is still enjoyed best with a controller as it gives you the possibility to sit back and relax and gives you the best overall experience.
Conclusion
The second to last episode brings us further to the conclusion of the amazing plot and story of Life Is Strange. In this episode, it starts to get really tense as you get further to the truth of Rachel, Kate and the Vortex Club. It builds further upon the dark atmosphere of the previous episode and brings yet another major plot twist in play.
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