Review – Life is Strange Episode 3 Chaos Theory

It’s obvious when someone has a secret. We all can tell, right? People talk around us, ignore us and just their general sense of behavior and actions are altered when one is trying to hide something from us. It’s a psychological defense mechanism. The facts surrounding these changes in behavior are where the mystery lies. After all, there are always more than two sides to every story, right. There’s this person’s side, that person’s side and of course the truth always lies somewhere in the middle. In order to get to the truth, however, we often need to wade through some secrets. These can range from little white lies to huge, life changing secrets that sometimes certain people just don’t want uncovered. Unfortunately, for Max and Chloe, it’s the latter in Life is Strange episode 3 Chaos Theory.

At the end of episode 2, depending on your choices, you were either a hero or wallowing in your own misery as Max. Luckily, we were the hero, but no spoilers. Episode 2 focused more on the intricate details of Max’s relationship with friends and allowed us to explore in order to uncover clues to what’s really bothering them. As we found out, people are usually not what they appear to be. Chaos Theory picks up the pace a little bit and has a few more “action” oriented sequences and conversations. In their attempt to find out the true happenings of their friend Rachel Amber, Max and Chloe run into more people that obviously know what’s going on and some that don’t want it uncovered. These tense moments flow beautifully within the context of the game and its storyline, that is “Life is Strange”. Never has there been a game title more aptly named. The ebb and flow of life’s little moments from crazy to quiet are wonderfully scripted in Life is Strange.  The tense scenes not only make the tender moments with Max in episode 3 that much more memorable, but also bring back to mind those scenes from episode 2. We’re reminded of how important every little thing we do and decision we make is and how it impacts so, so many people around us.

The start of the episode gets going right out of the gate. If someone is keeping secrets at a school where the rich kids parents make donations, what better place to start than the principal’s office? That’s right where we see Max and Chloe, and also right where I begin to feel like a massive douche for ever making fun of or thinking “Look at this person, what’s up with them?” when seeing someone like Chloe. MUCH more of Chloe’s past is revealed in Chaos Theory and if it doesn’t tug at your heart strings and make you reevalulate decisions you’ve made in your own life, you’re either a psychopath or an angel who’s done no wrong. Ever. In their entire life. The script and voice acting in Chaos Theory somehow tie you to the edge of your seat and it’s an amazing accompishment considering both the genre and setting of the game. This isn’t a sporting event or some non stop action movie, but as close to real life as one can get in a game.

Whenever a game or anything for that matter ties itself into real life decisions and the surrounding emotions involved, it keeps people interested because we reflect on the game using our very own life and decisions we’ve made in similar situations. As I said in our review of episode 2, I’m 36 years old which is twice the age of Max. Being older, I have a much deeper appreciation of the decisions she’s going through because even though I’m a guy, I’ve still lived through decisions much like she’s had to make (without the time bending ability of course). Being that as it may, I find myself reflecting on not only Max, but my own decisions. That’s the beauty of Life is Strange for everyone who plays it. Younger players appreciate the game differently as they haven’t lived long enough to understand the implications of the decisions they made under similar circumstances so they use the experience to aid them in the future. People like me, however, look at Max and think “Man, did I make the right decision all those years ago? What would’ve happened if I did this instead of that?”

All these emotions come to a head at yet another jaw dropping ending. Not much could top the emotional impact a decision could have on one person than the ending of episode 2. But, that’s exactly what Chaos Theory managed to do and it’s incredible. With the increased story line and deep, emotional scenes, Life is Strange Episode 3 continues on the upwards hill of the roller coaster in anticipation of that deep, fast plummet to the end that will surely have us reeling with emotions. It is a must purchase by all meanings of the word and is just a fascinating and incredible emotional experience for anyone with a pulse.