I’ve been looking forward to the release of the life is strange Remastered collection for Switch, and was quite prepared for the (semi-)portable port to be something of a “downgrade” from the versions already available for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. I’m used to it, I’ve spent many (hundreds) of hours on things like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, dark souls and Alien: Isolation on the Nintendo console. But what met me when I relaunched the exceptional original title in this story-adventure series still came as a surprise.
Check out the release date trailer for Life is Strange on Switch below…
Make no mistake: This two-game release, which includes both the groundbreaking first game and the prequel series Before the storm (plus the bonus episode, ‘Farewell’), is exactly the kind of visual experience that has Switch’s detractors smiling gleefully, ready to swing in the comments with lines about why you’d want to waste your time on such an inferior version. Textures in the first game – which originally came out in 2015 with a simple yet classy aesthetic, all sharp lines and bold colors – can be muddy and glitchy, and characters move like stiff puppets, an impression only exaggerated by their skin tones. strange looking wooden in selected scenes. Apparently facial motion recording has been added to this release, but it’s not noticeable. Things are better in the prequel game, which shows up with stronger contrast and depth in each scene, better suggesting that this is a real place rather than a dollhouse recreation of one. Also character models seem to have a warmth to them that is missing in life is strange yourself. When you play the two at the same time, bouncing between episodes, the visual differences are shocking.
Elsewhere, loading times are long – it takes a full minute to get from the menu for the first game’s episodes to the beginning of gameplay, and a few loads halfway through the game were so long I wondered if the game had crashed (even the save/load camera icon on the corner froze a bit). And this might be a me thing or something related to the remaster process itself, but I find interactive elements in a row way trickier than my PS4 playthrough seven years ago, though memory is a tricky thing and maybe it was always so unnecessarily annoying. Nothing feels particularly optimized, and everything is rather rough around the edges, is what I’m saying. If you’re hoping for a game that really shines on your lovely OLED, this isn’t it, and I’d be surprised if the company that has run this port, Cyprus-based Dragon’s Lake Entertainment, consider this as a showcase for its talents ( the logo is absent from the pre-title screen lineup from Square Enix, original developers DONTNOD Entertainment and Before the storm makers Deck Nine).
It’s also worth noting that while the PC, PS4, and Xbox remasters go on sale as remastersand watch the part in footage, this Switch release bears the name Life is Strange Arcadia Bay Collection. ‘Remastered’ has been dropped from its official title – and maybe that’s a damage-mitigation measure on the part of publishers Square Enix, given how ugly this thing sometimes looks. But looks aren’t everything, and if loading times aren’t too bothersome for you, this modern classic of its kind (and its very solid prequel) remains a worthwhile investment of your precious time, if the price is correct.
For those who have never played life is strange, I’d still recommend giving it a try on something other than Switch if you’re able. But if this is your only option, Max Caulfield’s time-consuming story and her remarkable ability to rewind what just happened before her (and our) eyes is special enough that this particular version’s shortcomings almost fade into the background. make them disappear, as long as you’re willing to let them in and your wallet agrees. The story moves at a surprisingly fast pace as seen on a repeat playthrough – perhaps an impression caused by this no longer being released in five separate episodes (it’s the absence that makes the playtime feel longer, no one is saying) – and while you can rummage through other people’s things and possessions, the second time player will likely follow a more streamlined path. Just because something is marked doesn’t mean it’s worth your time (assuming you can align it just right too).
Max can almost always rewind time whenever she wants, but there are crucial decisions you have to make in each episode where you can see the different results of using her powers and then progress according to the outcome of your choice – sometimes there is no right or wrong to choose, with the story of this game painted in different shades of gray. In the early game, those are relatively innocuous things, like whether or not to water the plant in Max’s dorm room, or take the blame for finding a joint at your friend’s — but just like the game that remembers choices does. that it also logs those who have more dramatic effects not only on Max’s personal journey, but also on the lives and fates of her fellow Blackwell Academy students and other residents of Arcadia Bay. Before the storm sees things from the perspective of Max’s friend Chloe, during a time when the couple has broken up. Our protagonist instead spends time with the same Rachel Amber whose disappearance represents a fundamental mystery of the first game.
This collection features all of the original music from the first release, including tracks from Foals and alt-j, which is great to watch – few games have a licensed soundtrack that matches the mood and themes as much as Life is strange, even if there are some incongruous choices along the way (I’m not sure an 18-year-old would ever “trot” on his bed to a Sparklehorse song, even in the vaguest moments of the late Mark Linkous, but then Chloe is Chloe) . Oftentimes, these songs take place during a break from the action as Max sits down and takes stock of everything she’s seen—and can even stop the lilting guitar run on the title screen. you a while in your game (I’m definitely guilty of letting it run for a while after completing an episode). So while the look and movement of this port may disappoint you, the tunes certainly won’t.
For £32.99 on Nintendo eShop, Life is Strange Arcadia Bay Collection isn’t a bad package value wise – there are two full games here, albeit long available elsewhere, with replayability sewn through the fabric of each as your this-or-that progression leaves a trail of alternate routes to it. And yet I tend to only recommend this, especially on Switch, when it’s on sale. For methe presentation isn’t where it needs to be in the first game, and doesn’t do justice to a game (and series) that has captivated so many since 2015. Life is Strange deserves better than this, and so do Switch players who might have been better off with a direct port of the 2015 PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 release than this remaster which, ostensibly, is not.
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