The Life is Strange franchise is set out to revolutionize story-based choice and consequences games. Core elements of the franchise are the presentation of authentic and relatable characters and relationships as well as tackling real world issues and complicated subjects (such as loss, grief, depression, bullying and suicide) and raising awareness for these. (...) In an interview with Before the Storm Lead Writer Zak Garriss, he explained that, "it’s the prerogative now of the franchise to tackle social issues, to talk about issues that are difficult to talk about, and to take a game and utilize what games have that other media don’t have to explore and open a dialogue around things like bullying or depression or domestic assault or sexual assault: what it’s like to be a teenager."[1]
(TBC)
Development
The original game, Life is Strange Season 1, was developed by the French studio Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix, released in 2015. The first episode, "Chrysalis", was released on January 29, 2015. The final episode, "Polarized", was released on October 20, 2015. The PEGI age rating is 16. The game's protagonist is Maxine Caulfield, better known as Max, a shy 18-year-old photography senior who discovers she can rewind time to change the course of events. Back in her hometown Arcadia Bay, a picturesque seaside town in Oregon, Max is reunited with her old friend, Chloe Price, and they start to uncover the truth behind fellow student Rachel Amber's mysterious disappearance, and soon they find themselves exposed to the darker side of Arcadia Bay.
Life is Strange: Before the Storm, the prequel to the events of Season 1, was developed by the Denver-based studio Deck Nine Games in collaboration with Square Enix, released in 2017. The first episode, "Awake" was released on August 31, 2017. The prequel introduces Chloe as the playable protagonist and tells the story of Chloe and Rachel's friendship three years prior to the original game's events.
A second season with a new story and new characters was announced on May 18, 2017. It is currently in development by the same team from Dontnod Entertainment that already worked on the first game. A set-up game that functions as a prequel to the events of Life is Strange 2, called The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, was announced on June 10, 2018, to be released on June 26, 2018.
The announcement blog post[2] for Captain Spirit showed Square Enix and Dontnod Entertainment's interest in expanding the Life is Strange universe:
"For us, Life is Strange is so much more than a single set of characters, places, themes or scenarios - Life is Strange is an entire universe of storytelling founded upon relatable characters facing real world issues, but always with “a twist of the strange” and we have many more stories we want to tell. The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is the first step towards showing you the true potential of Life is Strange, and the possibilities of a diverse universe filled with interesting characters and stories to tell."
Story
(insert general summaries of the games)
Before the Storm
TBA
Season 1
TBA
Captain Spirit
TBA
Season 2
- Main article: Season 2
A second season was announced on May 18, 2017.
System Requirements
Season 1
| Minimum: | Recommended: |
|---|---|
| OS: Windows Vista | OS: Windows 7 |
| Processor: Dual Core 2.0GHz or equivalent | Processor: Dual Core 3.0GHz or equivalent |
| Memory: 2 GB RAM | Memory: 2 GB RAM |
| Graphics: ATI or NVidia card w/ 512 MB RAM (not recommended for Intel HD Graphics cards) | Graphics: ATI or NVidia card w/ 1024 MB RAM (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 or ATI HD 4890) |
| DirectX: Version 9.0 | DirectX: Version 9.0 |
| Hard Drive: 3 GB available space | Hard Drive: 3 GB available space |
Before the Storm
| Minimum: | Recommended: |
|---|---|
| OS: Windows 7 or above (64-bit) | OS: Windows 10 (64-bit) |
| Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 (3.1 GHz) or AMD Phenom X4 945 (3.0 GHz) | Processor: Intel Core i3-6100 (3.7 GHz) or AMD Athlon X4 845 (3.5 GHz) |
| Memory: 3GB RAM | Memory: 6GB RAM |
| Graphics: AMD Radeon R7 250 (2GB) or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 (2GB) | Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 460 (4GB) or NVIDIA GeForce 1050 (4GB) |
| DirectX: Version 11 | DirectX: Version 11 |
| Hard Drive: 14 GB available space | Hard Drive: 14 GB available space |
Note: 32-bit operating systems will not be supported.
Captain Spirit
| Minimum: | Recommended: |
|---|---|
| OS: Windows 7 or above (64-bit) | OS: Windows 10 (64-bit) |
| Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 (3.1GHz) or AMD Phenom X4 945 (3.0GHz) | Processor: Intel Core i5 3470, (3.20 Ghz) or AMD FX-8350, (4.00 Ghz) |
| Memory: 4GB RAM | Memory: 6GB RAM |
| Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 2GB or AMD Radeon HD 7770 2GB | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 4GB or AMD Radeon R9 280X 3GB |
| DirectX: Version 11 | DirectX: Version 11 |
| Hard Drive: 5 GB available space | Hard Drive: 5 GB available space |
Note: 32-bit operating systems will not be supported.
Season 2
N/A
Reception
TBA
Awards and Nominations
TBA