That is a phrase each of us counts on when it comes to explaining things going on in our lives that seem rather complicated to even comprehend and too messed-up to try to convey to somebody else. A phrase that should allow us to walk away and shut the conversation, which is becoming too intense or too tiring to handle. However, is it always a way to avoid an uncomfortable question? Or is it rather a thought-provoking wording itself? And is life actually that strange?
From the perspective of Maxine Caulfield, an eighteen-year-old girl studying for an art degree at Blackwell Academy in Oregon, it indeed is. Why? Well, that is simple – Max is too curious, too sensitive and too artistic not to notice the odd side of the world and, also, she is the kind of person whose heart is open enough to let the greatest adventures in and become a canal that the biggest powers can freely flow through... Does that sound exciting? And would it be more exciting if I said that Max has an ability to rewind time and change her decisions in case to obtain what she needs and hopefully change the world for the better? Well, Max can do that. Or... she thinks she can.
When you get into Max's shoes once you start playing, the game world eventually becomes like a hard candy that you keep under your tongue and wish the flavour never faded away – it's so interactive and gripping that it's hard to resist the temptation to discover more and more about the world Max lives in and other characters you encounter while playing. Chloe, the best friend of Max, appears right at the beginning of the first episode and we quickly figure out that she is the one that a superpower of Max is somehow related to. We meet Chloe in the school toilet having a row with Nathan Prescott, a rich and big-gun boy dealing drugs for other students at Blackwell. Max, hidden in the corner, listens to their argument and notices Nathan taking a gun out of his inner pocket. Nathan, being under the influence of drugs and serious medication that he's been taking, shoots Chloe and... that is the second Max discovers she can go back in time and doesn't let it happen. She can save Chloe and grow to be a quiet hero solving the dark riddles of Arcadia Bay and fighting evil. She feels forceful and special, even though she doesn't completely understand the meaning of her power to rewind time or for how long this power is going to stay with her. But... who would?
However, after saving Chloe, Max tells her the secret about being able to rewind time and Chloe realises how useful such power could be in the case of a missing girl, another friend of Chloe, called Rachel Amber. Chloe encourages Max to join her in the search of Rachel and restore justice. It's easy to predict that Maxine, of course, goes for it and there the adventures start...
Life Is Strange leads the player through the world of youth and has a deep psychological factor demonstrating how some personalities grow and develop and how people make their decisions or how impostant small everyday decisions are. The game also has a carefully selected soundtrack and an inspiring atmophere in which a creative person can easily fit it and find lots of clues to get the imagination tickled. In other words, Life Is Strange doesn't only tell the story of a creative person but also wakes up the creative and curious side of the player, that guides him through life which is so damn strange sometimes.
Finally, I would totally recommend this game for those who think they are just ordinary people dreaming of having some super world-changing powers but often forget that such powers actually do exist hidden deep inside their hearts and they explode each time one makes a decision based on the whisper of his heart. They explode and start to shine high above all of us, higher than planes or rockets could ever reach, and that light is a so-called inspiration, and if humans were cars, that light would be our fuel.
