XP: Life is Strange Episode 5

Finally reaching the last of the Life is Strange series of blog posts. I have done some, but not much TV watching, and maybe someday I will write about them. But for now, I am living a busy life outside of work, and have even started a project of sorts with some close friends. Once we’ve gotten past the beginning stages I might post something about it. Until then, onwards to the finish line!


Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

What I played:

Life is Strange Episode 5: Polarized

Max wakes up to find herself strapped to chair in the Dark Room. She manages to free a limb to sift through photos within her reach, leaping herself across the timeline and make enough changes to travel to the very beginning of it all. She finds the sweet spot where Mr. Jefferson and Nathan are arrested, Chloe is alive, and Max is in San Francisco as the winner of the Everyday Heroes contest. Unfortunately, she forgot about the giant tornado that she had been fretting about since the beginning of the game, and she has to go back once again to make sure she is at Arcadia Bay instead of San Francisco. All the time traveling takes it’s toll and she falls unconscious, her dream state reviewing all the choices she has made and revealing the one she knows she will have to make.

What I experienced:

Right off the bat we are faced with a consequence of the previous episode as Max wakes up in the Dark Room. Remember when we were being nice and we chose to warn Victoria about Nathan probably being the killer? Yeah that backfired. In her wariness to avoid Nathan she went to Mr. Jefferson for help, and well, we now know that he was the real killer after all. So, Victoria ended up kidnapped, drugged, and tied up next to Max in the Dark Room. If you choose not to warn Victoria, she is not there at all, which means she is there directly because of your choice. I thought that was a nice touch, since people don’t always know what consequence an action will have. If everyone knew the exact consequence of their actions then there would be no mistakes, and we all know that’s not how the world works.

Now on to the very complicated journey of multiple time-leaps through photographs. The first two leaps are within her time at the Dark Room where she causes eough changes to have her journal placed within her vicinity, all so she can time-leap even more and make bigger changes in the past. During this journey we learn about Mr. Jefferson’s motivations, whose voice has suddenly taken on the gritty serial killer whisper now that his true intentions have been revealed. He rambles in typical Bond villain style about how being there to photograph the very instant a girl’s innocence is taken away makes them the purest model, or some shit like that. His reasoning was flimsy, but then again some people don’t need much of a reason to do crazy things. On a cool note, when Max goes back to the day where she first got her powers, you hear Mr. Jefferson’s lecture on how he can use his camera to capture any one of them in a moment of desperation forever, which took on a whole new meaning given he is a serial kidnapper.

Anyways, he teamed up with Nathan to supply the funding, drugs, and scout for potential “models” for his photographs. Nathan wanted to copy the creepy new father figure he found in Mr. Jefferson and tried to bring in Rachel Amber, but accidentally overdosed her. Since Nathan was now becoming out of control, Mr. Jefferson killed him. He found out the girls stumbled onto his secret lair through some surveillance system, and used Nathan’s phone to lure the girls to the junkyard. It was nice to finally get an answer as to what happened to Rachel Amber, and it seemed plausible enough. It also gave a reason why Nathan was not present, although later in the episode there is a moment where we hear from him. However, the lesson we learn from Nathan is be a good father to your children, because they will accept any alternative so long as it gives them love and acceptance.

This is a tactic used all over the world to recruit youth into doing what they might normally not consider. Gangs will shower youth with attention and even start to provide financially to their families when the parent is unable to, which serves as the example for the young person that the criminal life is the better path to continue providing for the family. After-school specials always talk about how the criminal/gang lifestyle is a terrible option, and if they stay on the “right path” they can become a fully functional member of society. The sad thing is, depending on the level of funding for schools, employment opportunities, and family support system, entering a life of crime might not be wrong. It’s hard to choose to become a functional member of society when society has forgotten to invite you in.

As I mentioned before, Max time leaps enough times to make it back to the first day she got her powers, and that is where we really get to notice how much Max has grown as a character. In Episode 1 she was so shy and lacked any confidence in her abilities as a photographer, that she failed to turn in her photo for the “Everyday Heroes” contest. She even destroyed it after she was too shy to talk to Mr. Jefferson. This time, she walks around with no fucks given:

The last line was absolutely perfect. Jefferson commented about it being easy for her to submit her photo since he was expecting the shy girl that was in his class moments before. But after facing down a knife-wielding drug dealer, uncovering a friend’s dead body, witnessing her best friend getting shot in the head, and then herself becoming a kidnap victim, Max is no longer that same girl. There is so much more to worry about that turning in a photo. Even calling Victoria out on her insecurities are easy enough to check off her to do list, right after she checks off “survive.” Everyone has struggles, it’s just all of our struggles are relative to where or who we are. Middle-class Americans worry about getting in trouble if their boss notices they’re five minutes late, while families in war-torn areas worry about whether their loved one is dead or alive if they come home five minutes late. That is simply the norm for their respective areas. Max’s norm has shifted dramatically in only one week.

During that time leap Max had also sent David, the head of security, a text about where Mr. Jefferson’s Dark Room was. This lead Jefferson and Nathan to be arrested and Chloe to be alive again. Not only that, when she returned to the present she finds out she won the photo contest and was en route to San Francisco with Principal Wells to view the gallery where her art is being displayed. Max takes her celebrity status in stride now that alls well at Blackwell. Mr. Wells encourages her to go around and talk to everyone to discuss her artwork, and Max is left feeling surreal that she is a “real” artist.

As an aside, I want to explain why I used the air-quotes. I myself do creative writing, mostly short stories, some fan-fiction (I even have an outline for a fan-fic of this game), and a couple of novels that are in the first draft phase. My friend once showed one of my drafts to a professor in college who then asked if I was going to become a writer. I replied that I was already a writer, but whether I would become a famous writer was yet to be seen. I believe there are actually billions of artists in the world, it’s just a select few do artwork as a profession, and even fewer who become world famous. For some it is by choice, others it’s because one way or another opportunities don’t line up in just the right way to get them to be famous. Either way, I think that it is a disservice to not consider someone who engages in a creative outlet as a “real” artist, whether they get paid or not. Now the developer’s intentions may not have been to discount other artists, and it could be just Max’s point of view as a young adult, but I still felt like they could have added some counter-argument from Mr. Wells or even from a patron at the gallery to show some legitimacy for other artists.

While at the gallery, Max suddenly remembers about the tornado that has been on her mind ever since, oh I don’t know, the beginning of the fucking game! She calls Chloe to find out that the tornado did indeed form, and Chloe is about to be killed...again. Max then uses her gallery picture, a selfie, to return to the time she took the picture and destroy it right then and there so she is at Arcadia Bay instead of San Francisco.

Max's Award Winning Photograph

This somehow leads to Mr. Jefferson burning her journal, so she winds up right back to being strapped in a chair at the Dark Room. I had to read a comment somewhere to explain to me that Mr. Jefferson burned the journal out of anger once he found out Max had destroyed her own photo. But to me it seemed unlikely Jefferson would have found out about it, and even if he did it seemed like a pretty weak reason for him to burn her journal. It was just a plot device to have Max deal with Jefferson head on instead of him getting arrested off camera.
At this point the episode has mostly been on rails, with no real choices even if many seemed to be presented. But anytime I ventured outside of what the developers wanted, it quickly led to a dead end and there was only one solution to get through each segment. David arrives to save the day, and this time the choices have an impact on whether he ends up with a scar from his fight with Jefferson, and whether Jefferson will even walk out of there alive. Once David has Jefferson tied up, you have the choice to lie to him about Chloe and say you got separated, or you can tell the truth and tell him Jefferson killed her. If you chose the truth, David executes a still unconscious Jefferson with his pistol. I kind of liked how there was no dramatic music or pleas for mercy from Jefferson. It was just done and over with like the crime of passion it was. Very good storytelling moment in my opinion.

Finally free, Max goes outside and calls Warren to ask for the picture he took of both of them at the End of the World party to time leap and save Chloe...again. Warrens tells her the tornado has formed off of the coast and he sought shelter at the Two Whales diner. Max uses Jefferson’s car to go into town. While on the way Max listens to a voicemail from Nathan explaining how he was manipulated, sorry for what he had done, and warned her about Jefferson.

While Nathan’s apology was very touching, this moment also took a rather large logical leap that broke the story. Chloe was the one to receive the text message from Nathan’s phone as a trap, and that text message was sent by Jefferson after he killed Nathan. If Nathan had called Max and left that voicemail, it had to have been before he was killed. No matter how you look at it, Max should have received the warning before they went to the junkyard. Yet another plot device to keep the story going.

Max arrives and witnesses the damage the tornado has already caused. She winds her way through the rubble and saves the occasional person with her rewind ability. Max even prevents the Two Whales diner from blowing up by preventing flames from connecting to some kind of fuel leak. Once inside, the survivors entail Joyce, Warren, and Frank; if Chloe hadn’t killed him in Episode 4. There you get some exposition from Frank about his feelings for Rachel Amber. You can then choose to tell him that his own drugs were used to kidnap and kill his girlfriend to give him a come to Jesus moment, or you can leave him be. You can do the same for Joyce by encouraging her to patch things up with David or leave it be, but there is no option to tell her about Chloe. Call me morbid, but I was a little disappointed because I didn’t get to see how she reacted to the news.

Cold blooded Max couldn’t even let him finish

Then there’s Warren. Max finally divulges to him about her powers and everything that has gone on for the last week. Warren, true to his puppy love persona, accepts it all without question. Max sticks to the facts regardless of how flirty you may have chosen to be with Warren. He hands over the photo, and before Max time leaps you have the choice to kiss, friend-hug, or leave without goodbye. The kiss is the only moment in the game where you have any catharsis from the small flirtatious moments you choose throughout the game. Every other time she seems so wishy-washy even with actively flirtatious choices selected, that it kind of diminished the experience of the game. Now if you chose to friend zone Warren then the rest of the story fits much better, so my guess is the developers had that in mind as the “true” arch.

With one last time leap Max brushes off Warren to convince Murder-Face Chloe not to go to the junkyard. Despite all the choices you have, the only one that works is to tell Chloe about the alternate timeline, and the tough choice about keeping her alive or her dad. Chloe hears about her dad and snaps out of her rage long enough to listen to the plan. The girls decide to tell David and the police about Jefferson, and seek refuge at the lighthouse which is out of the direct path of the tornado. The plan works and Max slingshots to the present where she and a very much alive Chloe are at the beach making their way to the lighthouse. But all the time travel has taken it’s toll causing Max to pass out from the strain and enter a twisted dream world. The sequence covers a lot of stuff, but there are two things I want to highlight.

First is the townsfolk’s pleas to not let them die in the tornado:

Then comes the Partner in Time moments with Chloe:

The reason I want to focus on those two moments is because of the impact it has on the player for the next and final decision. Choose to return the world to it’s original timeline by letting Chloe die, hopefully fixing any disruption in the universe; or let Arcadia Bay get destroyed for the sake of keeping Chloe alive.
When looking out the diner window you see the streets packed with residents, just to give you a taste of how many lives are at stake. But then right after you are walked through all the moments you shared with Chloe, both good and bad, and reminded of how much Max has already sacrificed to keep her best friend by her side. I thought those two scenes did a very good job of making it difficult to make that choice.

From a logical standpoint,it makes sense to save as many lives as possible by sacrificing one life, even if it is her best friend. However, you then have to start asking yourself: if sacrificing one life is okay, then how about two? Or ten? Or one hundred? Where do you draw the line? And is saving the life of thousands of strangers really worth more than someone you actually care about? What if those strangers were criminals? As I mentioned before, criminals are oftentimes people with no other accessible means to provide for the ones they care about. Not only that, but even non-criminals are not entirely innocent. Their imperfections are socially acceptable, or in the case of white-collar crimes, just not pursued because the system was designed by those white-collar folks with their needs in mind.

So from a morality standpoint, is it really so bad to keep the one person you care about at the expense of people you know nothing about?

There does seem to be the hint of a “true” ending, since one of them has a whole new song and the scene lasts a little longer. The alternate ending seems to be keeping Chloe alive, since it is only a short scene of the two girls driving through the rubble of the town and then leaving Arcadia Bay (and the Two Whales has blown up, since Max wasn’t there to stop the fuel leak). The true ending is sacrificing Chloe, in which you use the blue butterfly photo (shoutout to the “butterfly effect”) to return things as they were. This scene also was interesting because you go all the way back to Episode 1 and hear Nathan talk about how he is tired of people trying to control him, which no longer seem like the ravings of a madman but rather more of a cry of frustration and pain. Very impactful, and it really brought the story to a full circle. Furthermore, if you shunned Warren Max ends up kissing Chloe good-bye, hinting that Max is sacrificing more than just her friend.

In conclusion, Life is Strange asked for some small leaps of logic to progress the story, and for the most part it leads to such an interesting outcome that I was okay with taking those leaps. But Episode 5 had so many larger leaps with so little payoff that it really impacted my ability to enjoy the story. However, despite the flaws, the developers did a really good job of referring back to Episode 1 to help you look at things in a different way. The same goes for using the dream sequence to make the player feel divided by their final choice. You’re left feeling justified with either choice, even if logically saving more lives is probably the better option. I thought the game overall had a great story, even if it was a white hipster tale.

I’ll leave you with this question: What would you guys have chosen? Save your friend/lover or save the town? Let me know in the comments!

XP: Life is Strange Episode 4

Onwards with the blogging! Busy weekend spending time with my family, so all is good. I was also working on a short story, so that dominated the time I would have spent writing the blog. I did manage to finish my second playthrough of the game, so I got to see how most of the choices played out. I might dabble a little bit into the developer’s commentary, but I probably won’t do a whole other playthrough. Now onwards with the blog post, and spoilers warning from here on out!

Here are the other episodes:
Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3

What I played:

Life is Strange Episode 4: Dark Room

Max learns that Chloe became handicapped because of a series of events that occurred when she saved Chloe’s dad, William. Max makes the difficult choice of allowing William to die in order to save Chloe’s life, yet again. The girls pay Frank a visit and get information to decrypt his accounting books, which allows them to put all their evidence together and retrace Nathan’s steps the night of Rachel Amber’s disappearance. The trail leads them to the “Dark Room,” an underground lair someone clearly used to take pictures of Kate, Rachel Amber, and many others while they were drugged. There they find out where Chloe’s best friend is. The duo crashes the Vortex Club party to look for Nathan. While there, it is announced Victoria was the winner of the Everyday Heroes contest, but there was no sign of Nathan. Chloe receives a text from Nathan that tells them where he is, and they go for one last showdown; however it is anything but.

What I experienced:

We as players are eager to come back from the cliffhanger ending of episode 3 in order to find out just what exactly happened to Chloe that led her to become a quadriplegic. The girls are (st)rolling along the beach alongside the dead whales, where Chloe reveals that her father gave her a car for her 16^th birthday and shortly after she was in an accident that lead to her becoming disabled. The dialogue choices in this sequence allowed the player to ask directly what happened or to tip-toe around the subject. You get the choice to just rip the band-aid off and learn what you did, or try and be respectful of Chloe maybe not wanting to talk about her accident. Either way Chloe shows how brave she is by answering the (unasked) questions freely.


I just want to add that I really liked how the voice actress was able to change the portrayal of Chloe’s character once again through simple tone and volume. In the previous episode the actress made Chloe sound younger and carefree since she had yet to bear the tragedy of her father’s death. In the original timeline Chloe has a harsh/angry tone since she is, well, angry at the world for taking her dad. Instead in this segment Chloe sounds older and tired, like just talking is in itself draining her energy. Which, given her physical state, could very well be the case. This goes a long way to determining what type of connection we as players develop with Chloe, and even re-think what lies underneath the tough facade of the original Chloe.


Max spends the rest of the night with Chloe just hanging out, quickly re-establishing a connection that only old friends can. The next day Max explores the house and talks with William and Joyce, who make it clear that despite the exorbitant medical bills, they are grateful to have Chloe in their lives as is. But of course, those exorbitant medical bills are leading the family into bankruptcy.

I don’t think it was really the developer’s intentions to call to attention the messed up health care system that exists in the UnitedStates. Instead, I really think they were only including it as a way to twist the knife into the feels of the player. The tones of William and Joyce have are the same tired one that Chloe has, only for them it is less physical and more emotional stress. This also does a good job of twisting the knife even more, as the noble parents suffer silently for the benefit of their child. Chloe herself admitted that she has caught on to them trying to hide their frustrations over her medical condition, and will act out to give them the opportunity to take some of the stress out on her. The lesson: the family that suffers together is, well, a family.


Not only is the family about to drown in debt, but Chloe’s lungs are slowly failing despite all the treatments, and it is only a matter of time before she dies from it. This is where Chloe asks Max to end her life, that way her family doesn’t waste any more money on her and she can go out with the good feeling of the time spent with her best friend.


You are actually given three options this time: accept, decline, or “I don’t know.” I was hoping in choosing “I don’t know” this might give you an opportunity to talk to William about the original timeline, albeit in a hypothetical “if you could give your life to save your daughter, would you?” I felt being able to talk to him about that sort of scenario would make it easier to make the choice on whether she should travel back in time again or not, since he seemed like the type of parent to gladly give his own life so long as it saved his child. But alas, we never get the chance to talk to William about it, and instead it only adds a few lines of hesitation from Max before you are once again forced to make a choice: accept or decline Chloe’s request for euthanasia.


The impact of that choice is dulled slightly in the obvious knowledge that Max will once again go back in time, only during this turn she will not interfere with William’s death. You stand justified with either decision regarding Chloe’s euthanasia. It’s okay to let Chloe slowly suffer and die because you will just undo her condition altogether. Same goes for euthanasia, because she will not remain dead, you’re going to undo it all and have Chloe back; albeit the angry Chloe. There is no suspense in whether you will find the photo again, or somehow not have her abilities in the alternate universe. However, despite the impact being dulled it was still an interesting segment to experience and raised some thoughts.


The morality surrounding euthanasia is ambiguous, much like morality in general. Those in favor and those opposed have their reasons, but none of those reasons are absolute. In this instance, I use the word absolute as in it covers any given scenario at any given time. In Life is Strange, Chloe’s situation does seem to warrant the need for euthanasia. She is slowly dying, and is aware of how little time she has left. However, she still has some time she could use to make more memories with her parents and Max, which might make it a premature decision. But then there are examples of when someone is diagnosed with a terminal illness, given months to live, and ends up living years beyond their allotted time; not only that but sometimes people are misdiagnosed completely. The biggest hurdle to overcome for a general acceptance or opposition of euthanasia is this: at what point can a person be 100% certain they will die, and what level of suffering is acceptable to where you decide to carry out the act of assisted suicide. The answer varies from person to person, and can only be determined by the people involved in the situation at that time. Thus, it it is difficult to say that euthanasia is absolutely right or wrong.


While in the alternate timeline we as players are also given the chance to explore the other differences through the journal and text messages menu, which I thought was a nice attention to detail. The journal entries changed from longer, near daily entries of a girl unsure of herself to very short entries spaced further apart in time where she talks about her hangovers from partying. The text messages show that in the alternate universe Max is a full fledged member of the Vortex Club, and an influential member at that, seeing as Victoria sends many messages seeking Max’s (or in this world she goes by “Maxine”) approval. It was very small detail, but reading through the messages shows just what kind of a world Max had stumbled into.


Once back in the original timeline, a very grateful Max hugs Chloe, and she decides to keep the experience of the other timeline to herself so as not to sadden her friend. Max is in Chloe’s room looking at a board with all the evidence of the case so far, but there are still some clues missing to be able to make any sense of it. Frank's accounting book has his customer's names written in code, there is no way to track where Nathan was the night of Rachel Amber's disappearance.


Max goes into David's garage and breaks into one of his filing cabinets where he has pages and pages of GPS coordinates of people he was following. While in there you find a letter and a few other things that show his human side instead of the military tough guy persona he has. This did a good job of rounding out the character, especially after the explosive argument he and Chloe had in the last episode.


Once Max absconded with the information, she does one of two things depending on what you did in episode 2. If you failed to save Kate, she and Chloe go break into Nathan's room. If you saved Kate, Max goes to visit her in the hospital. The hospital scene was a heartwarming type of scene. Kate thanks you for saving her life, and she even started to draw happy children's illustrations too. That scene showed how most people end up feeling after they were pulled back from the brink of suicide, or if they had survived an attempt. Now they may not be all as hopeful as Kate, but most recognize it is not the best solution to their problem, at least for the moment anyways. What most people may not know is that once someone has attempted suicide, the likelihood of that person attempting again is fairly high. This is true for any behavior a person does. The first time you try something new, it feels strange and, if it it's risky, somewhat scary. But once you have tried it out, it suddenly doesn't feel as scary and can even become familiar after so many times. The takeaway is that if you can remind someone that there are an infinite amount of solutions outside of suicide, they will eventually find some hope to live. But keep an eye on them the next time you notice them having some trouble, because they may be thinking about suicide again. Just FYI.

When Max breaks into Nathan's room you see all the twisted artwork he is into.

Max learns more about Nathan snooping around in his dorm room. The art that he is into definitely suggests that he is disturbed, and the emails from his dad show that it might be for good reason. Whether he has his reasons or not, the overwhelming evidence is that he is still an asshole. Especially when she and Chloe run into him and he goes after Max. Warren gives him a beat down for touching his woman, and you learn that he is not as tough as he tries to be. Just angry.


The girls go to Frank's RV on the beach to ask for his customer list, and this scene can go one of three ways: Chloe shoots Frank dead, Chloe shoots Frank in the leg and he gives up the list, or Frank becomes an ally and hands it over willingly. If you spared Frank's dog the fate of getting ran over, the dog attacks trying to protect Frank, and Chloe shoots it dead. This leads Frank to get mad and attack with his knife, and Chloe has to kill Frank. If the dog is already injured or you can rewind and have Frank secure the dog ahead of talking. He still attacks but Chloe only shoots him in the leg that time. Otherwise, you can talk to Frank like the human being that he is, be honest about why you were scared and did (not) pull the trigger, and be honest about wanting to find Rachel just as badly as he does. The lesson of the segment is that even "criminals" such as Frank are actually just people who do socially unacceptable things because that is all they know.

After all of that we as players get to piece together the information through a mini-game of sorts. It did not feel out of place since it used a lot of the same interactions with objects that we as players have already grown accustomed to. The only difference was the lack of need for rewinding time, except when it came to unlocking Nathan’s cell phone.


All evidence points to Nathan, and the girls track some coordinates to a barn his family owns. After a bit of lock & key puzzles, the girls enter the Dark Room. On a side note, one of the keys was a three digit code written on a paper the girls thought might contain the code to his phone, which was four digits. That was another small attention to detail that I thought was kind of cool, and I actually have no idea how the girls get in if the player fails to take notice of it.

The infamous Dark Room

The Dark Room is a bomb shelter remodeled into a photo studio, filled with state-of-the-art photography equipment. There is a backdrop, lights, computer, printer, even a stereo system. There the girls find binders labeled with victims names, notably Rachel, Kate, and even Victoria; though hers is empty...for now. Rachel’s photos show her being buried at the junkyard, and Chloe races back and uncovers her body. That moment was actually touching, with the right music, dialogue, and voice acting to pull it off.

I also liked as a storytelling element that they did not keep Rachel alive as a prisoner, because I felt it would have been too difficult to realistically explain why anyone would do so. Not only that, but this time they did not do something to dull the impact of an action. No rewind, no picture to leap back in time and save Rachel. The lesson is clear: sometimes the world just sucks, no matter how powerful you are.


The girls go to the aptly named “End of the World” party to look for Nathan and get revenge. The name of the party is fitting twofold: the world could literally be ending due to all the weird phenomena, and Chloe’s world ended metaphorically at discovering her best friend was dead. If you thought Chloe was an angry teenager before, that was nothing compared to how angry she got after finding Rachel Amber. She was so pissed that she even ignored the fact that there were two moons up in the sky. A drunk Warren sneaks a selfie with Max using her instant camera, just long enough to distract her and lose track of where Chloe went. You then spend the time interacting with everyone at the party looking for either Chloe or Nathan.


The interactions with all the characters at the party were kind of interesting in the fact that they highlighted the changes Max underwent as a character. In the first episode’s tutorial segment, Max talked with everyone but definitely had a self-deprecating tone anytime she said something about herself. That slowly changed through each interaction with the side-characters to where she started giving them advice on what to do and even calling some of them out on their shit. Everyone noted how much more confident Max has become, while Max has a little bit of a “good-bye forever” tone because she is not sure just what will happen once they find Nathan. If there’s one thing Life is Strange does well, it’s character development.


Speaking of which, there is another bit of character development when Max runs into Victoria at the VIP section of the party. Now, how this interaction goes is dependent on whether you were nice to Victoria or whether you embraced your mean girl persona. There was an option at one point to either warn her about Nathan or not. If you were mean to Victoria then even if you warn her she will just make a bitchy comment and ignore it. If you were nice to her, you end up sharing a really touching moment where you encourage her as an artist, let her know she has nothing to feel insecure about, and then she accepts the warning. Victoria also acknowledges just how bitchy she has been and also gives compliments to Max. While she was still a little bitchy before reaching that point of the conversation, it took significantly less time to break the facade, which was a welcome improvement! Victoria accepting the warning has a consequence in the next episode, which was a rather interesting one too, but I’ll talk about it whenever I post on episode 5.


Then comes the WTF ending. Reunited once again, Chloe receives a text message from Nathan that he is going to destroy the evidence they found. The girls foolishly declined to go to the police once they found the body, so Rachel’s body was left unguarded in the junkyard. The girls rush back, Chloe with her gun drawn, constantly talking and giving away their position. As a result, the killer gets the drop on Max by drugging her with a syringe, and then head shots Chloe as she turns around. Max, unable to move let alone rewind time, looks up at the killer, Mr. Jefferson, before she blacks out.

Now as far as twists go, this one was fairly decent. I was left stunned that it was Mr. Jefferson as the killer, and I managed to not be outraged once the initial shock wore off. The hardest thing about a twist on who really done it is whether it seems believable or not, and if there was enough of a hint to make it not feel like everything you experienced was for nothing.


An example of a horrible twist was this book I once read. The author described a kidnapper of teenage girls as a short-tempered guy on a motorcycle. Throughout the whole book there were scenes where the perpetrator was “shown” but never named. Since it is a book readers could not just see who it was, only read the actions being described. There was a known character who was quick tempered, rode a motorcycle, and seemed to like his girls young. It seemed so obvious that it was him that I knew right away it wasn’t. The plot, prose, and pacing of the book were horrible, and the only reason I kept reading was to see who the real perpetrator was and see if there were any clues that would make the whole terrible experience worth it. The twist was revealed, and there was NOTHING that pointed to the revealed character, and that led me to be the most upset I have ever been with a book (as you can tell by my bringing it up; I just can’t let it go!).

The point I am making is that while there was nothing really obvious pointing to Mr. Jefferson, there were a couple of moments that led to some kind of suspicion. At the end of the first episode there was a montage where it showed all the characters and their current standings. In that montage there was a moment where the principal and Mr. Jefferson were meeting in the middle of the woods, leaving you with a feeling of conspiracy. Then in episode 2 there was the conversation he had with Kate where she ran away crying. When Max talked to Jefferson about it he seemed to have an aggressive tone, like he had something to hide. There were other moments too, but those dots don’t really connect until you hear him talk in episode 5. It didn’t matter that even during a second playthrough with the gift of hindsight, there were no hints linking him to the crime. But, those little moments I mentioned before kept me from going insane like the book had, because they were just enough to make me believe that it could have been him.


In conclusion, the episode was fairly solid in storytelling and had a few life lessons thrown in there, even if some of them were dulled down to keep it from getting too depressing. The overall theme was that sometimes the world just sucks, since William has to stay dead and there is no way to save Rachel Amber. While I wish for some elements to be elaborated, like talking to William about Chloe, or more evidence connecting Mr. Jefferson, the episode itself was good. Now I shall leave with you this question: what movie/book/game/whatever had the best twist ending you’ve experienced, and which one had the worst? Let me know in the comments!

XP: Life is Strange Episode 3

Back to it after a somewhat busy weekend with a roller coaster of mourning and celebration (for two separate occasions). Life is weird like that sometimes! Speaking of which, let’s take a look at just how weird this game gets. Spoilers abound throughout this post so, turn back now or forever hold your peace. To see my thoughts on the other episodes, check out the links below.



Episode 1
Episode 2

What I played:

Life is Strange Episode 3: Chaos Theory

Chloe and Max raid the principal’s office at Blackwell Academy to search for evidence on Nathan and his involvement in both Kate’s and Rachel Amber’s cases. Being teenagers, they also take the time to break into the school’s pool for a midnight dip and escape before David catches them. Max and Chloe search David’s personal files in the garage for any evidence he might have on Nathan. David and Chloe blow up on each other again, but this time it leads to a major change in the family. The duo break into Frank’s RV for more evidence, and discover he and Rachel were in a relationship. Chloe is hurt, and lays out all the pain she has felt ever since her dad died. Max then discovers a new aspect of her ability to control time, and uses a photo to travel back to the moment before Chloe’s dad, William, dies in the car accident. Max uses the opportunity to change the outcome, but she doesn’t find out just how much has changed until she returns to the present.

What I experienced:

The opening scene of this episode is Max alone in her room, either reeling from the rush of saving Kate’s life earlier that day, or reeling from the sadness of failing to save her close friend. The creators did a good job of making her reactions believable for either possibility, and they use the environment and some of Max’s inner dialogue to set the mood. An example would be when you look at Kate’s bunny that Max took in; the inner dialogue is either of hope that the bunny will be reunited with Kate after her hospital stay, or one of sadness that the bunny will never see her owner again. Also, the texts and social media posts are either praise for Max saving Kate, or condolences and reassurance that Max tried everything she could to save Kate. The tone for whichever outcome remains all throughout the rest of the game anytime Kate is mentioned, which I thought was a nice touch. It makes the experience consistent and changes the feel of the rest of the story in a meaningful way.

Max continues the investigation into Nathan’s involvement in the incidents, and breaks into Victoria’s room for any details she might have, but not much is revealed other than she knows of some of his family drama. Max and Chloe then overhear a conversation between Victoria and Mr. Jefferson where she makes a pass on him, and then threatens to blackmail him with a false accusation if he does not choose her for the winner of the contest. Mr. Jefferson brushes her off like a boss, and they continue on to break into the principal’s office with a little help from Warren via text instructions. Once inside they dig through some files on Nathan to find out he is having behavioral problems, and his wealthy father is threatening to withdraw donations from Blackwell Academy if they are not covered up. Money may be able to change what gets put down on paper, but it can never change the reality.

In Nathan’s file, they discover a really weird drawing with “Rachel in the Dark Room” scrawled all over it.

Seeing as how the next episode is titled “Dark Room,” you can guess that this piece of information will become very important to the story at a later time. I thought this was a nice piece of foreshadowing, as it reveals Nathan is definitely involved, but still not sure how or why.

While in the principal’s office you are given opportunities to snoop into other characters’ school records, which adds an extra layer of character development. You see Rachel Amber was on David’s radar for potential drug distribution (but then again with his paranoia who isn’t) and she was actually caught with some drugs on her. You learn about Chloe’s failing grades, Warren is good at science but not art, and Max is labeled as a loner with lots of artistic potential. It was interesting to see the “grown-up’s” perspective of all the characters.

Before leaving the office there is a choice to take an envelope of cash set aside for renovations for handicap accessibility, or leave it be. There isn’t really any major consequence tied to this, but I do like how in the next episode Max sort of flip-flops on her choice because of different information she gets regarding the fund.

Of course since two teenagers have the run of an empty school at night, they have to get into some kind of shenanigans. They break into the gym and Max gets an opportunity to be nosy and break into the side characters’ gym lockers. You get a few more character details like how Stella seems to have a crush on Warren, Hayden is a typical jock, Victoria is insecure, and a few other little things.

The moment of swimming with Chloe is more of a slice of life moment rather than contributing to the overall story. Slice of life is just that, a story that is meant to be a reflection of what happens in real life without having too much drama, action, or fantasy. It is all about portraying a moment that anyone can relate to. The scene in the pool is the two friends taking a moment to reflect on life; past, present, and future. Everyone has at least one moment during their adolescence where they thought about how much their life has changed since childhood, how their life is now, and what direction do they want to go in. The scene also gives a much needed break from some of the darker stuff that has passed and will soon come to pass for the characters.

David and another security guard break up the party and the duo barely manage to escape back to Chloe’s house. The next morning Chloe coaxes Max into being more confident in her abilities, not only with her time powers but also as an artist and as a person. Max’s experience with Kate, whether it was good or bad, has caused Max to view herself differently. She tries on some of Rachel Amber’s clothes she left behind at Chloe’s house, and has an attitude that she is willing to push herself into being more active in her own life and who she wants to be. Max is beginning her journey into adulthood, even if she herself has not realized it yet. Her conversation with Joyce also reinforces this idea, as she talks to Max about noticing a change and encouraging her to be more confident as well.

Chloe then enters the conversation and starts an argument with her mom as a distraction while Max digs into David’s files in the garage. His laptop is secured with a password, and Max digs through his personal belongings to try and figure it out. This segment reveals a lot about David’s character; what he has experienced and what he values. His service in the military shows he has a strong sense of duty, a thank you gift for saving someone’s life shows he experienced life threatening situations, and memorabilia of his first meeting with Joyce along with cards for Chloe show he really values his family.

Those revelations make, depending on the choice you make, the next scene kind of heart-wrenching. David returns grumpy from spending all night writing reports on the girls shenanigans, and Chloe decides it is the perfect time to reveal to Joyce about all the surveillance he has done on the students at Blackwell Academy, and in their own home. You are then given the choice to either side with Chloe or with David. All the character development you get about David right before is supposed to make you hesitate on putting David down; however for me since David wasn’t the one to reveal all those details to Max through his own words or actions, I felt it was not as impactful as it could have been. If you side with David, Joyce tells Chloe to take a step back as she talks with David about it. But if you side with Chloe Joyce asks David to move out of the house while she thinks about their relationship. I did not find it very realistic for Max to have so much influence over Joyce and I felt this was one of the more weaker storytelling moments of the game.

Regardless of what happens, the girls take their leave and set their sights on getting into Frank’s RV for more info. They track him down at the Two Whales diner, where he is throughly enjoying a plate of beans[link to clip if available] while his RV sits in the parking lot. Max is left with the task of obtaining the keys while Chloe finds a treat for his dog who was left inside the RV to guard it. Max takes the opportunity to exact revenge on Frank for threatening her and Chloe, such as spilling his plate of beans on the floor, spill water all over him, or just flat out insult him. She rewinds to take it all back, and has to get more information from either Nathan or a police officer to get Frank to at least converse long enough to take out his keys.

We get even more character development, this time on Frank and Nathan. Nathan lets loose that there is a lot of pressure from his family and he feels like he does not have the ability to make his own decisions; BUT he still manages to be a dick and insult Max at the end of every sentence. The police officer reveals Frank used to participate in dog fights, but then had a change of heart and freed all the dogs in whatever dog fight ring he was in. Frank’s current dog was actually one of the ones he rescued from that night. Max uses the information to ask about petting his dog, but Frank sees through it and tells her no, pulling his keys out to taunt her that she will not get what she wants; which of course she does once she snatches them and rewinds like it never happened.

The girls face the dog before going into the trailer, and there is a choice to either throw the treat into the parking lot or into the street. At the end of every episode it shows the statistics of what choices you make compared to everyone else, and 94% of people chose to keep the dog out of harms way by throwing it into the parking lot. Being a dog lover myself, that statistic gave me some hope for humanity. There’s a saying that a society can be judged on how it treats it’s prisoners, and it’s pets; thankfully Western society has respect for dogs. I know in some cultures it is normal for a dog to be considered food, but there are plenty of instances were people raise pigs or chickens as pets even though they are considered food in Western culture. However, on my second playthrough I (painfully) got the dog ran over to see if it had an impact on the story later on, and it actually does in the next episode.

Once inside the RV Max finds Frank’s accounting book, along with pictures and letters that show he and Rachel Amber were romantically involved, which is why he was wearing the bracelet the other day. Chloe feels betrayed that her new/old best friend would lie to her and feels betrayed by the only person she felt close to during those 5 years Max was gone. 

She rants about how everyone in her life has betrayed her: Max for being gone and not keeping in touch, Rachel Amber for lying about Frank, her mom for asking for a ride from her dad, and her dad for dying in a car accident on his way to pick her up. She then cried about how everything in her life went bad after her dad died, and if he had stayed alive everything would be so much better.

That scene was actually very emotionally charged, not only because her situation was sad but it was also frustrating making the dialogue choices and still getting the same response. As an adult (well, I should say as an emotionally healthy adult since I have seen plenty of adults in my line of work who feel the same as Chloe), you learn that sometimes life just hands you a really bad situation that is outside of your control. In Zen Buddhism there is the concept that there are no good or bad events in life, there is just life. Chloe has clearly not learned this lesson and her anger stems from her resistance in accepting that fact.

Chloe dumps Max back at Blackwell so she can be alone for awhile, and Max sulks in her room after the emotional dump Chloe put on her. Max stares at a photo of her and Chloe taken right before William was killed in the car accident, and after a little focus she time leaps into her 13 year old self at the very moment the picture was taken.

The first thing I noticed was how much different Chloe acted when she was younger. Her voice was not only lighter from being younger, but also without the depressed/angry tone she had as an adult. The voice actor for Chloe did a pretty good job making that distinction, and she does the same with present day Chloe in the next episode.

Max decides to make her best friend’s life better and hides the car keys from William, forcing him to take the bus instead of drive and then all is well. Max returns to the alternate-timeline present and discovers she is part of the Vortex club, and she rushes to Chloe’s house to see the results of her handiwork. William answers the door, alive and well, and calls Chloe to the door. There, Max discovers her best friend is a quadriplegic in a wheelchair, ending the episode on that cliffhanger.

Max’s actions obviously had some unforeseen consequences. We don’t learn of the chain of events which led to Chloe being in a wheelchair until the next episode, but suffice to say it was all connected to the change Max did. The title of this episode is in reference to the very concept which led to the unforeseen consequence. Edward Lorenz, one of the mathematicians to develop Chaos Theory and coin the term “butterfly effect,” had this explanation for what Chaos Theory is:

“Chaos: When the present determines the future, but the approximate present does not approximately determine the future.”

That’s basically a fancy way of saying everything in the present is the cause of what’s to come in the future, but there is no way to tell just exactly what that future will look like just by looking at the present. All of this assumes a complex system, much like the weather, or in Max’s case, time travel. For something simple, like say rolling a ball off a table, the future consequence is known: it will fall down. But in a complex situation, where there are a seemingly infinite amount of variables, there’s just no telling what will happen. For Max, she changed a huge variable by keeping William alive. There was one more person with free will running around and making whatever decisions they want, all of which effect other people and their own actions, so it all just spiraled out of control. The lesson is lfe is too complex a thing to control. Even with free will, humans are still at the mercy of the universe; the only thing free will can do in those situations is grant a person the ability to choose how to cope with it.

In conclusion, this episode had less life lessons and more storytelling elements. There was a lot of character development in this episode, not only for the “good” characters like Max and Chloe, but also for the “bad” characters like David, Frank and Nathan. This brought a pretty good balance to each of the characters, and you’re left with the impression that not everyone is as they seem to be. We are left with the thought that maybe, just maybe, good and evil are more subjective than people like to believe. I’ll leave you with this question for today: was there ever a time you tried to do something nice for someone and it completely backfired? I know for me that is a near daily occurrence. Let me know in the comments!

XP: Life is Strange Episode 2

[This post has been edited to include a link to the documentary trailer, and with the real statistic of the risk of sexual assault. The statistic I put earlier was a placeholder which I forgot to change.]

Carrying on with the next episode! I might throw in a random “What I Saw” TV show blog post in between these gaming XP posts, so if you’re dying to read my thoughts on all the twists and turns of this game you might end up having to wait even longer. Although given my track record for coming out with posts regularly, I may just be bullshitting. I keep forgetting to add spoilers warning, and the synopsis is largely spoiler free so that is your rubicon if you want to play the game first.


Episode 1

What I played:

Life is Strange Episode2: Out of Time
The school is buzzing with a viral video of Kate making out with a bunch of random guys in a “Vortex Club” party. Max proves to Chloe that her rewind power is real and Chloe insists they test out her powers and mess around with shooting a gun in the junkyard. Frank crashes their party and makes it clear he wants his money, and Chloe confronts him on where he got Rachel’s bracelet, which he is wearing. Chloe almost dies, again, by getting her foot caught in train tracks. Back at Blackwell Academy, Kate can no longer stand the shame of the viral video. An unscheduled eclipse occurs, giving a really dark omen about what impact Max’s meddling with time is really having.

What I experienced:

Now that all the characters and plot have been introduced, the story starts to take more shape. Bullying takes center stage as Max wakes up the next day and finds the entire school is talking about a viral video of Kate, the devout Christian, at a “Vortex Club” making out with several guys. Victoria seems like she is the mastermind behind the video, and she writes down the link to the video on the bathroom mirror to help make it even more viral. When Max talks to Kate she reveals that she doesn’t remember much from the party, and the last thing she remembered was having one sip of wine offered to her by Nathan. The only thing she remembers after that is Nathan taking her some place that was all white like a hospital, but it wasn’t one. Chloe had admitted at the very end of the first episode she had partied with Nathan and felt like she had been drugged but she got away before anything happened; whereas Kate was not so lucky.

The premise for the episode is very sensitive, where it is obvious that Kate was drugged and therefore easily influenced to do something she wouldn’t normally do: like allow herself to be kissed by other men. This episode raised awareness for an issue that may be well known to all but spoken about by only a few. Women face a very real threat for sexual assault in college campuses across the U.S. There is a documentary, The Hunting Grounds, which covers just how widespread the problem is. And the threat of sexual assault isn’t only on college campuses. Statistics show that 25% of women in college will experience some type of sexual assault in their lifetime. Bringing such a serious issue up in a videogame is a very brave thing to do, even if the creators did blunt the severity of assault by not having it be full on rape. Although just to be clear, ANY kind of physical contact when in a condition that leaves a person unable to give consent is wrong. It’s just I feel it is a rarity that it stops before it reaches rape unless the perpetrator is interrupted, and as depressing as it would have been I think it would give a really big acknowledgement of what really happens to women if they had a character experience that level of trauma. The lessons are: Ladies, don’t ever take a drink that you yourself did not prepare or see get prepared (if from a bartender). Men, don’t be fucking assholes and drug/assault women!

Moving on, you can choose to encourage Kate to report being drugged or discourage her, since by now Max has been informed by the principal her report of Nathan bringing a gun to school is being ignored due to his rich family’s connections. Justice is a hard thing to come by for sexual assault victims, and most never even get reported. Kate still feels a little down no matter what you choose to do, and while the episode climax is related to Kate, all roads leading out of the climax are not the same and have a really big impact on the tone of the story.

Max meets Chloe’s mom, Joyce, at the diner that she still works at and they have a nice little heart to heart about how much Chloe has changed over the 5 years. The death of Chloe’s father and Joyce remarrying a paranoid army veteran has caused Chloe to rebel on all fronts, even though the only enemy she is fighting is herself. Joyce represents every parent’s struggle to see their child grow into a happy and responsible adult. Joyce asks Max to be a more positive influence on her daughter, because the reality is teenagers respond more to their peers than to their parents.

While talking to Chloe after she arrives you are given a choice to answer Kate’s phone call or ignore it as they are about to leave the diner. Chloe gets mad if you answer the call, even though she has no idea what is going on with Kate at the moment. I think that moment highlighted the fact that people make assumptions on what they know, and its hard for people to imagine the world outside their own bubble. This is how people get classified as an “other” in our society, which I have mentioned quite a bit in my posts on The Walking Dead. Humans have a limited scope to care about others, and if someone is not within the clan they are not someone worth worrying about. Once we get to know the person, however, they no longer are an “other” and we realize we are more similar than not. But to Chloe, anyone outside of her definition of family (Joyce, her dad, Max, and Rachel Amber) are classified as other and not worth bothering about.

After Max proves to Chloe that her powers are real through some impossible predictions, she whisks Max away again to her and Rachel Amber’s hideout: the junkyard. There Chloe has Max tests her powers while messing around with a gun she stole from her step-dad, David. Max blacks out after rewinding so many times, and when she wakes up a drug dealer whom Chloe owes money crashes their shenanigans. Chloe notices the drug dealer, Frank, is wearing one of Rachel Amber’s bracelets and confronts him; however he pulls a knife out and Max, who is holding the gun at the time, has to choose between shooting or not. The gun doesn’t fire even if you choose to shoot, but the consequence is either keep the gun or have Frank take it when you fail to pull the trigger. There is another consequence, but it doesn’t occur until a later episode.

Max saves Chloe yet again after they mess around the train tracks and Chloe somehow gets caught on the track. You use her rewind to keep the oncoming train from pancaking her friend until you figure out a way to rescue her. This left me with a feeling like fate itself was trying to kill Chloe, and that thought is kind of a theme for the rest of the story. How much of what we do is fate, and how much is really up to us? Depending on your philosophy, either we have free-will but it doesn’t matter anyways because the world will keep doing it’s own thing (existentialism), how do you even define what choice really is (metaphysics), or we’re just the universe’s play thing (religion).

Upon returning to class Max interacts with her classmates more, and you can choose to keep up the mean girls war with the Vortex Club or befriend one of it’s members. The consequence of that action doesn’t become known until a later episode. Then there is Warren, where Max is given more opportunity to give mixed signals by thinking he is cute when helping him to complete his science lab, or just ignoring him and letting him fail. You also talk to the science teacher, who is heading a petition to block the installation of surveillance cameras around the campus because it would give the school a prison like feel. You can agree with or debate with the teacher on the pros and cons of surveillance, which I thought brought a nice change from the white hipster liberal vibe of the story overall.

Surveillance is usually framed as the state conducting surveillance on it’s citizens, and the citizens have to decide just how much privacy they are willing to give up for the sake of security. Post 9/11 the public was clamoring for more security no matter the cost. It has been more recent that the public has begun to question just how much access to information the government should really have on all of us. But now with smartphones, surveillance has been flipped around where the citizens can now monitor the state. The Black Lives Matter movement has resulted from the citizens casting surveillance on the police and their brutality against black citizens. Basically, the debate on surveillance can be left open ended because it really does depend on how it is being used.

Right before class begins Max witnesses Mr. Jefferson and Kate having a serious discussion and Kate walked away upset. Mr. Jefferson’s tone is somewhat accusatory and unlike his usual self. Victoria and Nathan both act like bitches and give Max a warning to not rock the status quo of the privileged. Like I said in the previous post, there is no escaping the bitchiness part of Victoria, even if she acts nicer after you give her a moment. But once Mr. Jefferson starts his lecture it gets interrupted with the announcement of Kate being on the dorm rooftop about to jump to her death.

GaLm experiencing the episode climax.

This climactic moment is one of the best that I have experienced in a game. Many action oriented games try to create the feeling of an epic moment through music, explosions, cheesy dialogue and constantly changing camera angles. This moment was climactic in the simple fact that Max has basically drained her rewind power, and whatever decisions you make cannot be taken back. A mechanic that is the core part of the game is removed from the player, and it is up to the player’s skill and memory to talk this young girl.

There are two outcomes: say all the right things and she comes down on her own, or say one wrong thing and she jumps to her death. In my first playthrough, I said all the right things except for one thing at the end because I couldn’t remember if she had all brothers or all sisters (it had been two weeks since I had played the first half of the episode so I drew a blank on that detail). I stuck with that mistake because I didn’t want to take away the impact of not being able to rewind in that moment. But, I will say that it was not a smooth experience because she was sounding so hopeful throughout the whole interaction but kept dramatically refusing to come down until the third or fourth dialogue choice. The second playthrough I remembered and talked her down, and got to see what changed in the story afterwards.

The funny thing is I failed to talk Kate down even though that is my current profession. I work at a crisis mental health center. It is literally my job to keep people from suicide (and I’m happy to say my track record is much better than with Kate). Since it is my profession, I can talk quite a bit on the matter but I will try to keep it short.

There’s a saying out there that is cliché but also very true; suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. What drives people to it is people feel that their raison d’etre, their ikigai, their reason for existing in this world, has been taken away from them. For Kate, her reason for being was living her life according to her morality of being a chaste girl and being able to represent her family honorably. The slutty act of making out with random guys and the shame of having it all on video meant she had no more reasons to live. When a person thinks they have lost their purpose their, loss becomes their reason to die; but on the flip side, if they were to somehow be able to gain it back it also becomes their reason to live. Usually it just takes time, some effort, and maybe a new perspective, but they can regain what it is they felt they have lost, even if it’s not exactly the same as it was before. Suicide is a difficult subject to broach with someone, so if you know of anyone who needs help you can call the National Suicide Prevention line at 1-800-273-8255.

Before the episode ends, you make one more decision when the principal drags everyone involved in the incident with Kate into his office. He is basically searching for someone to blame, and leaves it up to Max to decide between Mr. Jefferson, Nathan, and David who is head of security. Nathan is obviously an asshole, David is a paranoid and had confronted Kate about something in episode 1, and Mr. Jefferson had that shady moment right before she went to the roof. Nathan was the obvious choice I went for in round 1, but I chose Mr. Jefferson for round 2 for reasons you will learn by the end of episode 4. Basically whoever you chose is kicked out of Blackwell Academy, but you don’t really spend any time in class afterwards so it is not that impactful plot-wise.

The episode ends with Max and Warren witnessing an unscheduled solar eclipse. The eclipse is used to show that all of Max’s messing with time is having a cosmic impact on time itself, even if it isn’t all that clear how. The butterfly is flapping it’s wings and it’s tearing the whole world apart. I think at this point Max has also spotted dead birds all over Arcadia Bay, which is another sign the universe is getting really messed up. Those events segue into the next episode title of Chaos Theory, which basically is a mathematical interpretation of the butterfly effect.

In conclusion, the title of the episode fit really well, once again. Max runs out of time to rewind due to messing with her powers too much. Kate almost (or if you mess up) runs out of time in her own way. I really liked how the game took on these heavy issues that are sadly all too common in adolescent life. I also liked how they came up with a reason for not being able to rewind take back whatever outcome happens with Kate. It didn’t feel like it was a bullshit reason that Max’s powers stopped working and I was immersed in the experience. I probably really like this game because it gets darker and darker as it progresses, because usually it makes for a really interesting story. While there is a lot of heavy stuff in this post, I will ask you something lighter. What was the most epic moment you ever experienced in a videogame? Let me know in the comments!