TheLife is Strangeseries is beloved because of its story and character growth. It poses difficult questions about death, violence, bullying, and sacrifice. The series also makes you think about love, relationships, and morality. Suffice it to say, it’s emotionally challenging.
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Despite the fact that the series asks you to make tough decisions regarding a myriad of topics, there are details in each game that are brilliantly placed and add to the overall experience.
There is one reference to self-harm in this article. If you are struggling, please seek help and remember that you are not alone.
10Admire Nature
In the first Life is Strange, you play Max Caulfield a new student to the prestigious Blackwell Academy which features an amazing photography program. One day at Blackwell, she sees a mysterious deer conveniently before discovering her strange new powers.
Later, when exploring Blackwell Academy, Max receives a prompt to photograph two squirrels eating food. This particular moment encapsulates the calm before the storm since it’s before the horrific events that occur later. It reminds us to take a moment to slow down and enjoy life. In this case, wildlife.
9Cherish Every Moment
During the second episode of Life Is Strange, Max has to deal with an aspect of bullying that is particularly brutal. At a Vortex Club party, Kate Marsh experiences something that too many women know. As a result, she falls into apreventable bout of depressioncausing her to consider self-harm.
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In one scenario, Kate doesn’t survive, and a vigil is held in her name. The town feels the effects of the loss of a teenager who was plagued by insecurities and bullying. If you save her, she lives and has a good life. She is forever grateful to you. Assuming she is alive in your playthrough, the two of you become close friends. This event reinforces the theme of cherishing life, which prevails throughout the series, and emphasizes that time spent with friends and family is valuable.
8Play A Tabletop RPG
One scene in Before the Storm shows the accuracy of a tabletop roleplaying game. You can clearly see attention to detail through the DM screen, a full set of dice, fantasy miniatures used for combat situations, and character sheets. The DM puts you up against the “Raiders of the Black Well” likely inspired by the school name, Blackwell Academy.
While this scene feels like a fun minigame, it’s actually foreshadowing as one of the characters is seen later in the series. Plus, they are still an avid tabletop player when you see them.
7Everything Is Better With Pirates And Chloe
Chloe is an interesting character for several reasons. She struggles with changes in her home life after her dad is killed and now has quite the rebellious streak. Over the course of the game, you watch her grow through herawesome wardrobe changesand personality shifts.
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She begins as a reserved girl and transforms to a rebellious one. This is seen when Chloe examines her new look in the mirror. She has dyed a part of her hair and now sports a chic grunge look. On the mirror sits a pirate hat which Chloe kept from her childhood adventures with Max. Chloe may have a tough exterior now, but her lifelong friend will always have a place.
6Let Your Imagination Fly
The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit follows Chris who has an active imagination that he uses to deal with his home life. He may only be ten years old, but he finds ways to cope by flinging imaginary blasts at enemies or playing the Hawt Dog Man game on his dad’s phone.
In fact, Hawt Dog Man is seen throughout the franchise as a T-shirt, teddy bear, poster, dog toy, fan website, and playable minigame. A detail that you might miss is that these references illustrate a theme of remembering childhood when life gets rough. That theme is reinforced in each game, but is more obvious in Captain Spirit.
5Tie In Two Stories With One Sign
Life is Strange 2has a lot of interconnectivity. When Sean and Daniel are walking alongside a road because they are running away from home, the two pass by a city sign that you might have overlooked because the focus at this point is survival. However, looking more closely at it, you can see the sign says, “Beaver Creek Welcomes You.”
For those of you that may not have played the free episode that released before Life is Strange 2, the town name is significant because it is where Chris, or Captain Spirit, resides. Bet you didn’t see that one coming.
4The Pirate Theme Multiplies
In Life is Strange 2, we see Sean Diaz sporting an eye patch which is often associated with pirates. Not only is this a nice nod to Chloe and Max being the pirates of Arcadia Bay, but stories are more fun when they include pirates. It’s just a fact.
Another connection point between the games is from a chance encounter with a man that you might not be expecting. This mysterious person is none other than David Madsen from both Life is Strange and Before the Storm. Between the pirate connection and David, Chloe has become immortalized in the series.
3I Spy A Familiar Animal
Upon entering Haven Springs, Alex Chen admires the scenery from a small footbridge that crosses over a beautiful creek. Not only do you get the opportunity to appreciate the setting, but you might not think about the significance of the creature drinking from the stream. Like in the first game, the theme of protecting wildlife is prominent because the groundskeeper took good care of the squirrels that ventured onto school property. Max also repeatedly saw a deer that no one else saw. In Life is Strange 2, the Diaz’s declare themselves part of a wolf pack because wolves are devoted protectors of their own. And in True Colors, Ryan is an outdoorsman who is incredibly cognizant of wildlife’s role in the world.
What all of this means is that the developers are making a point about protecting and respecting wildlife as it is a theme carried throughout the series. It’s well known that humanity’s survival depends on wildlife, so protecting them is important.
2Fire Walk With Me
In True Colors, when Alex visits the record shop for the first time, you’re inundated with stimuli as the store contains records aplenty, a black cat that lounges on the merchandise, and the walls are plastered with posters. It’s a normal store, but it contains small details you might miss at first glance. On one of the walls there is an obvious reference to Before the Storm with the Firewalk poster.
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What is less apparent is that the fictional band name Firewalk is its own reference. Specifically, it’s a reference to the movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me which was the inspiration for the Life is Strange games. One more detail taken from the record store is an album cover that faces Alex when she enters. It’s aptly named, “Life Is Strange.”
1Live Action Roleplayers Rejoice!
True Colors has a whole section dedicated to live-action roleplaying (LARP). LARPing relies on acting while in costume. The two players involved search the town for gear, potions, and scrolls to defeat the big bad at the end. The townsfolk participate as either adversaries or shopkeepers.
The storyteller is Steph from Before the Storm, and the fact that she is all about gaming makesher one of the best charactersin the series. Additionally, the LARP turns into a turn-based RPG with character cards and health bars. This was not on our bingo card, but it’s a nice touch.
