Critical Play: Mysteries

Life is Strange

I played Life is Strange, a popular adventure mystery video game. The premise of the game is centered around time travel. The player plays as Max Caulfield, a teenager who discovers she has the power to rewind time and change events after witnessing a shooting. The “mysterious” aspect of the game is not immediately apparent, but as the game progresses it becomes evident that Max’s choices in the past have the power to influence the present.

As the game goes along, the player learns more about Max’s background, about her friend Chloe Price, as well more about Max’s own abilities. The game is fascinating because so much of the narrative is not revealed at the beginning. Instead of having a typical introduction and exposition sequence, Life is Strange begins with the player in medias res. This strategy personally hooked me as a player, as I was motivated to keep playing to find out more about Max and how each of her actions influenced the present. The game also plays kind of like a puzzle, because the player can rewind time to experiment with different outcomes, attempting to “solve” for the best present outcome.

The setting of a high school also called to mind many teen mystery shows like Pretty Little Liars or Riverdale, so getting to control the narrative in a similar setting with fantastical powers was really enjoyable for me. Overall, the game design and premise strikes me as genuinely inventive and innovative, a clear departure from the more canned mystery games of the past.