Life is Strange (Remastered)
Probably the most iconic emotional narrative game
My Score: 10/10
This game is truly remarkable. Despite half the game being in the form of cut scenes and dialog, I can't complain as it is almost perfect. I missed it when it first came out in 2016 as I didn't play this kind of game then, but I'm glad I found it while searching steam for something different.
This game had me crying for the first time in years, it's like it found all my repressed teenage memories I thought were locked away somewhere and brought them all flooding back to the surface. I'm not complaining, I just didn't know a video game could do that. I chose the save Chloe option for my first play through as after going through all the effort of bringing her back like 5 times, I just couldn't sacrifice her. Initially I tried to convince myself that the storm wasn't that bad, although the comics seem to suggest it did damage most of the town.
I believe it could be because as a teenager I experienced something very strange: I had a constant sense on deja vu between the ages of 16-18, so around the age of the characters in this game and the prequel. At the time it felt like I was stuck in a time loop and had to live these years over and over again. I felt sure that I had made a mistake in a previous life and now was a chance to redo things, only in real life we don't get an "unwind" ability like Max does. Eventually the "storm" stopped and I went to university, got a job and got on with my life,. Until I played this game and all those memories good and bad came back to me.
I also know several people in real life who lost family when they were of school age and it completely broke them like it did to Chloe. Luckily most of them ended up ok in the end, once they settled down. For this reason I can't hate Chloe for the things she does as a teenager, as I know given the time to heal, things would likely turn out ok eventually. This also seems to be the case in the comics, although I'm not sure how canon they are.
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1265920/Life_is_Strange_Remastered/
