20. Life is StrangeI'm noticing I have a habit of grouping two or three similar games on my list, at least in these lower rankings. I guess my mind just goes "I like both of these narrative-and-choice-driven adventure games about equally, but not as much as the games right above them, so they'll be right next to each other". And I guess that's fine, since this is another great game in a similar style as the last one. Heavily narrative-based adventure with a lot of player choice - much more so here than in The Walking Dead, which is probably why I prefer this over that one - and a healthy dose of puzzle solving gameplay with an occasional stealth moment thrown in.
This game starts out pretty unassuming - you play as Max, a fairly average high school student who's really into photography. Through some completely unexplained course of action (literally, never explained or even tried to rationalize - and I'm okay with that, honestly, it's better than some shoehorned "destiny" or convoluted magic reasoning; just a thing that happens), Max gets the ability to rewind time, at least a short distance. The rest of the game is Max using this ability however she and the player chooses.
Other early events that occur in the game's runtime include Max reuniting with her old friend Chloe, who she hadn't seen in years, and finding out that Chloe had made a new best friend in that time period who had mysteriously gone missing about half a year ago. I won't say much more on that front as telling any more would be spoiling a lot of the great twists and turns of the story, but suffice to say it's a very intimate coming-of-age tale more than anything else, using its time mechanic less as a main focus and more as a way to move the story forward.
The game does start off a bit awkward with a good dose of high school drama and I'll freely admit the first episode can be a bit offputting on the whole. But by the end of episode 2 I was absolutely hooked on the story following an incredibly heart-pounding and terrifying sequence, and the game only escalates from there, with further time shenanigans and higher stakes. The atmosphere of the game in the last three chapters changes tone entirely, becoming a lot more dire as Max grows as a character, with some pretty chilling sequences occurring and some pretty messed-up characters rearing their heads, but, well, you'll just have to play to find out.
The choices in this game mostly don't add to up major changes, but it's a lot of smaller, intimate details that can change the other characters' personalities and attitudes towards you. And with the time rewind mechanic, you can see all the possible outcomes of any scenario and be certain of which one you want to pick - though odds are it's not going to be a very black-and-white decision, there are a number of moral dilemmas throughout the game but it never really feels like the game is judging you, more than you have to live with the consequences of the actions you take, full well knowing the outcome. And it can be the difference between someone living or dying, in quite a few cases.
I feel this writeup isn't particularly helpful but more than any other game on this list this is really a game you have to experience for yourself to see the appeal of, and while I love it I'm also aware it may not be for everyone. It's far less showy and extravagant than The Walking Dead, but I feel I can connect with the characters better and feel that choices carry more weight, especially since people aren't dying left and right here. But yeah, definitely a good game and a really memorable experience.
Oh, and did I mention the soundtrack? Lots of indie rock, and one of the endings is accompanied by
Spanish Sahara. which only made a really sad ending even more heartbreaking. Yeah, the soundtrack is excellent. And Spanish Sahara is also excellent.