After being awarded a scholarship to study photography at the exclusive Blackwell Academy, jaded teen Max Caulfield (what a phony!) has an apocalyptic vision of her town being torn apart by a tornado made of glass. Soon after, she realises she has somehow gained the ability to rewind time. Try to picture what Sands of Time might be like if the prince were a teenage girl in the 21^st century. That’s some imagination you have there.

It’s hard to discuss an episodic adventure game with an emphasis on difficult choices without drawing comparisons with Telltale, the pioneering developers of The Wolf Among Us etc. It’s clear that Dontnod Entertainment, whose début title Remember Me is now largely forgotten, have been heavily influenced by Telltale’s unmistakable recipe.

So it follows that through-out the episode Max finds herself in a number of tricky situations, the repercussions of which will (presumably) effect the upcoming episodes. Chrysalis even ends with a layout of what percentage of players chose what.

However, Life is Strange adds a unique and game-changing twist to the formula with the main character’s ability to rewind time. In The Walking Dead, once you’ve made your horrible decision, you have to live with it. In this game, you always have the choice of re-winding and changing your choice. The result is that it made me agonise over every decision, replaying each scene over and over. There’s never any clear-cut options either.

Saying that, it was interesting that it turned out all of my choices were in concurrence with most other players, which may suggest that the choices were a little more clear-cut than they first appeared.

Unfortunately, Dontnod Entertainment took on all of Telltale’s philosophies, warts and all. As a result, Chrysalis has a few puzzles through-out the episode, but describing them as simple would be an understatement. The only challenge lies in seeking out all of the episode’s content, because there’s a lot to see and read and it’s surprisingly easy to skip most of it. I had to play through it twice once I realised how much content had passed me by.

Life is Strange is an odd mixture of high-school drama and sci-fi elements. Max spends most of the episode dealing with her school life and Blackwell’s various students, whilst the time-bending aspect of the plot takes a back-seat. The focus on everyday life with a supernatural filter is engaging, but for an interactive drama carried by its dialogue, the wooden facial animations often break the immersion.

I’m not normally one to comment on a game’s graphical fidelity, and in Chrysalis the heart-warming lo-fi soundtrack and breezy atmosphere do more than cutting-edge graphics ever could. However, it’s difficult to take the dialogue seriously when the character’s lips barely move as they talk.

Not that I’d ever be able to take much of the dialogue seriously anyway. At times, Chrysalis, and its protagonist Max, are endearing, but just as I’d feel the character was beginning to grow on me, she’d say something so obviously written by a forty year old who thinks they’re down with the kids that I’d cringe with embarrassment. ‘Are you cereal?’ Yes, I’m afraid I am.

It feels like Dontnod Entertainment have tried to appeal to every Instagram-using teenager who thinks that what is going on in their tiny world is the most important thing in the universe.

The dialogue is also littered with references to geek culture, as if the writers focus-tested what a typical gamer was like and came up with ‘self-centred introvert who watches Doctor Who’ and based their protagonist around that.

Screwing up the dialogue in a completely narrative driven game could completely ruin it, but Chrysalis is still an engaging introduction to Life is Strange. I felt drawn in and affected by it in a way I can’t really put my finger on. I appreciate that such a statement does not make for good analysis, but I’d hope if you played it, you’d understand my sentiments.

The aforementioned time-bending mechanics are an essential part of what makes Chrysalis a success. I’m certain that everybody has fantasised about being able to turn back time. It’d give you the upper-hand in every argument you ever had. Life is Strange offers the opportunity to live out that fantasy.

Being a gifted photography student, there are several opportunities for Max to take photos through-out the levels, which is a nice touch. Furthermore, Chrysalis is such a refreshing experience because it is filled with nice touches, including themes and mechanics that you’d normally be hard-pressed to find in a video game.

It isn’t without its flaws, and if I hear the words ‘awesome sauce’ in the next episode then I’m going to abandon the series, but Chrysalis is a charming and oddly enthralling opening chapter. I was genuinely saddened when the episode finished. It tries way too hard to be liked, but that’s endearing in itself.

Maybe, if the developer receives good feedback from the first episode, they’ll drop the act and let the story breath a little, or maybe they’ll drown everything good about the game in even more hammy dialogue and irrelevant references. Check back in March to find out!

8/10

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