Going through a demo known as The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit and the release of Before the Storm, I kind of get it. Life is Strange is masterful so far in its young existence to create stories that are more grounded than you realize. But how much do they understand people regardless of age? Quite a bit. A warning though as I will be spoiling parts of the game, so bear with me. And I'm no expert on any of this. If you haven't played any of these three games, try them out.
The biggest one of the bunch is through the rebellious Chloe Price, appearing in the original and Storm. I wasn't sure if I was going to like Storm because of her attitude in the first game. She can be a bit rough. But that is more of a rough first impression on the saddle. When you go through Storm, she is a bit more likeable and you make sense of why she is like this and how she handles life a couple years after her father's death. I've had friends lose direct family members and I can't imagine if they played this, they would be crying. As such, it triggers a painful realization in the first game that her good friend Rachel Amber, who is more prominent in Storm, was killed. Although not addressed, I would figure it triggered bad memories of her dad.
As far as other characters go, it varies throughout. From the first game, one of the biggest examples is Kate Marsh. A highlight is saving her from suicide in Episode 2 if you can. Bullying is a part of school and it bothers me to say that. You can be bullied or be a bully. I've been both and it's not something to be proud. Hell, I regret being a dick at times. But the way bullying is now with viral video, it makes me glad I was a 90s/2000s kid. With that in mind, no one should go through what Kate did. Getting drugged up and humiliated all over the world. In the real world, kids have died from the humiliation. And it's something that no one stops or tries to help. Episode 2 had a hotline setup in case any one had the same feelings as Kate. I can't think of anything else other than intervening, but even that could have consequences.
I view Nathan Prescott as a villain, but not severely. I felt bad for him since he has pressure in him from the school and his father in the original and Storm. There's always that kid who stresses over how they are in a school setting.You got to have some sympathy. The same can be said for David Madsen in terms of sympathy. Military guys don't always transition to everyday citizens after several tours of duty on foreign countries. Like Chloe, he is rough, but you make sense of it when you play Storm and the end of the original. With Rachel, it's all about secrecy, which I can understand. Some people don't give a shit and would rather do other things than take care of her. It made me think of my own life a little bit and when playing Captain Spirit. Out of all my siblings, I have a deadbeat sister, who's never gave any care about me or anyone else, who would rather drink, get drugged up, party, and fuck any thug she meets instead of caring for her kids. So much selfishness.
But the similarities with Rachel, I can kind of see in Captain Spirit in a different way. Chris Eriksen tries to live life with his dad a couple years after his mother was killed in a car accident. But the dad, Charles, griefs in bad ways like drinking and implied abuse. Towards the end, kind of blaming Chris for his mother getting killed, but regretting that. Regardless of who it is, it's difficult to not have someone around. I don't see them trying to paint Charles as truly evil, but it paints one of the darkest realities, and its something kids, regardless of age, have to deal with. They may or may not have the imagination of Chris to cope, but it may not always be enough. It's enough to make any gamer cry and trigger anything painful for people who have experienced abuse at any point.
That's why Life is Strange works. Not everyone gets the ending they deserve. They have their pros and cons and they delve deep into some of these individuals. It creates a world where there is beauty, but also darkness at both corners. And it makes me wonder how I'll feel about Life is Strange 2. The last episode released a few weeks ago, and I've seen snippets of the first episode last year. It's going to be hard to top. But alas, I am a little hyped on trying it out and seeing the culture it creates through its two brothers.
No comments:
Post a Comment