Life is Strange: Arcadia Bay Collection brings together remastered versions of the original Life is Strange game and its prequel, Before the Storm. Life is Strange is developer Dontnod's foray into the growing genre of episodic adventure gaming popularised by studios such as Telltale Games and their like. Players step into the life of Max Caulfield, Life is Strange's protagonist. Early in the first episode (collected on this disc alongside all the other parts) Max wanders into an argument that's rapidly going south in the bathroom of her school. A gun is pulled, a shot rings out, Max reaches out to help the fallen girl... and finds herself back in class. Inexplicably, time has rewound and Max realises that some how she's the one who has done the rewinding. Using her knowledge of what's about to happen, Max stops the shooting, and proceeds to begin to use her newfound ability to solve her problems. But changing time, as decades of time travel have taught us, is never straightforward. Max discovered that the girl she saved is her childhood friend, Chloe, but as they try to rekindle their friendship a sense of impending doom begins to grow. As the game progresses it plays out as a story about the relationship between the two friends and the consequences of your choices. It offers a rich tapestry of possibilities, but the choices that you make can have deep and unforseen consequences. It's a game that packs and emotional punch and really pushes narrative storytelling in games forward. Life Is Strange: Before the Storm is developer Deck Nine's prequel to the first game. It focuses on Chloe Price and her unlikely relationship with schoolmate Rachel Amber. When Rachel discovers a dark family secret her world threatens to unravel, and it's the two girls' friendship that gives her the strength to keep going. The game plays out much the same way as its predecessor. In the absence of Max's time twisting powers, however, Deck Nine introduced a 'backtalk' minigame in which players can use Chloe's gift for sarcastic putdowns to turn things in their favour.
