![]() Kate, meanwhile, finds her life spiraling out of control thanks to a Steubenville-reminiscent viral video, with the implication that she, like Chloe, may have been drugged by Nathan. Nathan’s threats against Max escalate to the point that he even breaks into her room to leave a message. Chloe has to be saved from two uncomfortably close calls with a knife and a freight train, and that’s when she’s not busy practicing with a gun to fend off Nathan Prescott. The impending storm looms on the horizon, and already the people of Arcadia Bay are discussing portents like last episode’s freak snowfall. ![]() The stakes are definitely higher in this episode (there are even a few explosions if you know where to look). In that critical moment the choices you make are immutable, and the outcome should you make a mistake has drastic implications for the rest of the season. In a spectacular scene toward the end of the episode she develops a new ability, stopping time entirely and walking through a crowd surrounded by frozen people and birds and raindrops, but shortly thereafter she becomes too exhausted to rewind at all. ![]() It’s clear that the powers put a strain on her, and she even expresses concerns that they might not be permanent. In the process she suffers headaches and nosebleeds and even passes out. At the end of Chrysalis she revealed her abilities to her old friend Chloe, and she spends a lot this episode showing them off and testing their limits. The idea that Max’s powers can “burn out” is central to the episode’s plot. ![]() In general, the game’s effects are quite impressive, especially the double exposure visuals that accompany the use of Max’s powers and the film burn and melting that occur when they’re abused. I’m personally very fond of the hand-painted, “impressionist” textures and the way they play with water effects. Faces are stiff and barely expressive, and the lip-syncing is totally off, although that’s made up for somewhat by how good the rest of the body language is. Life is Strange has caught flack for its graphics and especially its animation, and I certainly can’t argue against the latter criticism. Quantic Dream’s games are rarely so well-shot, and Telltale can’t even pull off half of these tricks with their engine. The game even puts its spiffy post-processing effects to use – before Max wakes up in the intro she’s shot out of focus to convey her grogginess. A particularly strong example comes early on when Max is riding the bus: she rests her head against the window while the town zips by behind her, and in the distance we see the lighthouse from her dream – the only still object in the frame aside from her. It would be painfully ironic if a game so focused on photography was made by people who didn’t know how to frame a shot, but it’s worth noting just how good the camerawork is here. It’s not strictly vital to the experience, but it highlights Jonathan Morali and Sébastien Gaillard’s remarkably effective use of licensed music, not to mention Damien Charbon and Matthew Beaudelin’s eye for shot composition. When you do hit the button, you’re treated to one of the best opening credits sequences you’ll ever see in a game, backed by alt-J’s “Somthing Good” on Max’s hi-fi. The episode opens on a black screen with a bleeping alarm and a button prompt marked “snooze,” and no matter how long you let it ring, Max resolutely refuses to get out of bed. It’s the small moments that really sell the story, and they pass quickly. At one point Max gives us what could well be the game’s poetic thesis statement: there’s an inherent contradiction in wishing a moment could last forever. Dontnod may or may not succeed at changing how games handle choice, but thus far they’ve nailed the first two acts of a coming-of-age story that could rival The Breakfast Club, Freaks and Geeks and Toradora!. It’s the ideas behind that story and their execution that impress me most. I’m not necessarily talking about the way its choice-driven narrative is shaping up – though true to their word the studio has thus far shown some satisfying knock-on consequences for actions taken in the last chapter. There are moments in Life is Strange Episode 2: Out of Time where I feel like Dontnod is onto something huge.
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