If you have ever wanted to take back something you said, a new game should grab your attention.
Square Enix has announced it will be releasing an episodic story-based game called Life is Strange, which features a protagonist who can turn back time.
The game was revealed on the Square Enix blog. The post states the game's premise: "Max Caulfield has been absent from Arcadia Bay, Oregon for five years now. Upon returning home she discovers that Rachel Amber, a fellow senior at school, has disappeared under mysterious and rather uncomfortable circumstances. While trying to uncover the truth Max reunites with an old friend, Chloe, and makes a startling discovery: Max has the power to rewind time..."
Life is Strange is being made by DONTNOD Entertainment, the Paris-based developers behind 2013's action drama Remember Me. That was a science fiction game set in a future where some people have the ability to manipulate the memories of others. With Life is Strange, DONTNOD seems to be continuing its exploration of sci-fi stories.
The blog post emphasized the episodic nature of the new game: "What if this title was wholly different to anything we have ever attempted before, both in gameplay and narrative? What if this title was released digitally as regular episodic content, with each new chapter building and evolving based on the choices you made in previous episodes?"
This description of Life is Beautiful resembles some of the unique features of The Walking Dead episodic story games from Telltale Games. In those games, your choices impact the people around you and their opinion about you. These choices carry from one episode to another, changing the plot of the entire series. The Walking Dead episodic game will soon be releasing the last episode of its second season.
We will soon find out if this game has more than a passing resemblance to Telltale's games. Square Enix has stated a playable demo will be at Gamescom, the gaming convention being held in Cologne Germany later this week.
Life is Strange will be released for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One, though a release date has not been announced.
