First Runner Up: Life is Strange
Ed McGlone
At the beginning of the year, no one here on the Twinfinite staff would have predicted that Life is Strange would be appearing here on this list. Even amidst all the AAA, high profile competition, a little episodic game about two teenagers captured our hearts and conquered all but one game for us. How did that happen? Max and Chloe, that’s how.
For many of us here at Twinfinite, Life is Strange catapulted its two main protagonists, Max and Chloe, into iconic video game characters that will be remembered for years to come. Watching Max struggle with her new time-twisting power and seeing her come to terms with how much damage she was doing to her best friend Chloe and the world, was an emotionally draining experience across Life is Strange’s five episodes.
It’s hard to doubt that Max had all the best intentions in the world and tried to use her powers for good. However, Life is Strange hammered home the point that you shouldn’t mess with time, with each episode ending with Max further botching everything up. It all culminates into a brutal final choice that forced us to really examine our values and after absorbing five episodes worth of content, who and/or what was most important to us (the player). Final choices for decision-driven games are almost guaranteed to be divisive and at times, unpopular (just ask Mass Effect 3). However, Life is Strange presented us with one that puts everything you could care about at stake and shows us how that choice impacted the future. For us, that’s all you can really ask for.
Aside from the supernatural, Max and Chloe also had relatable teenage issues that touched home with us as well. Bullying, sex, love, problems at home; all of these were obstacles that Max and Chloe needed to overcome and it made us root for them to succeed that much more.
The technical stuff such as the gameplay and visuals are nothing that will blow people away. However, they all play a supporting role in telling the story of Max and Chloe in a way that was so touching and memorable. It is because of that Life is Strange is number 2 and first runner-up in our 2015 Game of the Year list.
