A memorable love letter to the meaingful decision-making titles of past, present and future.
I've played a lot of choice-driven games these last few years. Ever since Telltale's The Walking Dead, I've trudged through plenty, both good and bad. So I can say, it is rare that I come across a game with the same emotional punch as that first game. Not that I haven't seen emotional games in my time. I mean one which reaches the same standard. The games which have you agonizing over choices big and small, character or story-driven, and morality vs. emotional investment. This is one of the those great games; and as a certaint blue-haired rebel said, "Hella Awesome!"

Pros:

• First episode is free. So play it and try something better than a short demo.
  
• Reasonable 20 hours to play through the whole thing (additional time was pause time or director's commentaries).
  
• Choices are varied and meaningful. The important ones really strain your morality compass.
  
• The rewind function is a wonderful mechanic that lets you see how different choices play out, so you can decide which is best from a story perspective, or just on your own emotional decision. It's much easier than a 2nd runthrough like in most other games. Speaking of which, having multiple checkpoints makes jumping back into to any scene in the game easier. Thankfully avoiding the need to play for an hour to redo one major choice.
  
• Back to the plus about the Rewind; it adds a huge narrative punch in several scenes, and I love how the game keeps subverting your expectations of how things will play out. Well done Writing team. (Every episode end is high point).
  
• Themes and enviroment. They really bring a lot of content to the table in an art-school that is authentic and detailed. You see a lot of themes, motifs, and other metaphors to this throughout the game (especially the finale episode). Worth looking up the definition for a lot of these terms if you want to expand your knowledge. As for the environment, lot of pretty visuals and sunsets. In pretty much every major cutscene.
  
• The Characters. I love the two main leads and the contast in every scene they meet. Subtle, violent, scary, peaceful, cozy, determined, or romantic. The choice to change this relationship (and others) is at the heart of Life is Strange. In my opinion, this is like if Gone Home was seen as a flashback and given it's own story. Which is one of my favourite games, so good job character designs (art, backstory, voice, and animation).
  
• The voice work does take a little while to get used to, but it does get better as the game goes along. Side characters may be a hit or miss for voice work, but the main emotional scenes are well-acted and have the full emotional range.
  
• The Sountrack is FANTASTIC. Uses a variation of melancholic pop and modern indie folk music; and it perfectly fits in every scene it's used in. I especially like how you have an access to one of three songs when you see a Hi-Fi radio or Jukebox. Only one choice per scene, but I appreciate the personal touch. (There are guides available for listing all the songs. Have a look and enjoy the music. My favourites are Obstacles, Crosses, and Mt. Washington (The songs are better than you might think and work better with the accompanied scene).
  
• Two final endings which both provide their own form of closure to a well-drawn out narrative. It's worth seeing both.
  
• Extras post-game. Director's Commentaries are available in-game, through Steam Streaming, and some are available on YouTube.
  
• Potential TV series in development.

Cons (or Meh Points):

(Note: Due to my computer, I had to lower the quality on some scenes, and watched footage from the PS4 version afterwards to compare. My comments shoud be on the best version of this game. Something that everyone with a high-powered PC will be sure to see.)
• Animation and lip-synicing are occassionally off in the first episode. Gets better afterwards, but a lot more detail went in central characters than side-characters.
  
• This is an emotional game at times, so brace yourself accordingly. Everyone has their own standards, so I won't put a level on sadness. Just take it an episode at a time.
  
• Choices require commitment. It is difficult to pursue 2 different things in this game. Foucs on one and see how events turn out.
  
• Explanations might be lacking at times in terms of specifics, but part of the magic is focusing on character relationships in an impossible situation. Similar to how Walking Dead is, and never explaining the zombie outbreak (which is fine by me).
  
• Need for a guide. Occassionally I referenced a guide to find the optional photographs and to speed through some of the better narrative scenes when I was less patient. Worth looking at if you're completely stuck.
  
• I wanted more. Maybe I'm just in post-wonderful-game mode, but I would have liked to have seen more. An epilogue perhaps. But that's for games like King's Quest. Not here. This gave closure. I'm just a little sad it's over.

Summary: For anyone interested in the issues of: becoming an adult, art and photography, bullying, environmental protection, relationships (male and female), and living with the consequences of bad choices, then I recommend this game. Or if you just like a hell of an emotional 20-hour adventure than I also recommend this game. I can't say for certain if you will truly get as much out of this game as myself most other fans have, but I can say that you will feel something. So please give it a try, and see just how Strange Life Is. Enjoy and remember what you've seen. I certainly will. And Go #EveryDayHeroes!

Similar Game Recommendations (On Steam):

• The Fullbright Company- Gone Home: Similar focus on a female relationship with an invesigative nature as well. A bit short, but that's what makes it a special game.
  
• Telltale Games- The Walking Dead (And any other game past by Telltale made after this): The king of narrative decision-making games. Walking Dead (3 seasons), Wolf Among Us, Tales from the Borderlands, and Batman. These games will wreck your morality compass at times, but also strengthen it. Worth playing. Just pick a genre and go for it. Tales from the Borderlands is a good pick for variety of genres and a well-done female relationship following from one of the previous games. But Walking Dead is the true emotional run of their lineup. Brace yourself for that one.
  
• The Odd Gentleman- King's Quest: Also focuses on the lessons of a young woman, but she learns those lessons from her Grandfather, as he tells the story of his life. 5 episodes and an epilogue. Worth playing if you want something more lighthearted.
  
• Infinite Fall- Night in the Woods: Arguably superior to Life is Strange from a writing standpoint. Mystery, mental health and aimlessness are prevalent themes told from the perspective of a college dropout (like Chloe) and whose resolution is incredibly emotional (like Kate). The focus on characters resonates with the day-to-day life of a young adult, and even if the presentation is different, that style choice pays off in its most emotional moments.
  (Thank you to Judgemental Owl for the recommendation).

Thanks for Reading ~RB