What’s the deal with this game? The first release with all its chapters was regarded as an amazing game. I even played some of the first and enjoyed it. Since then, I know they released a 2nd game and then a third? And I think they weren’t as good from what I heard. I’m just shocked they are continuing to make new ones, I guess. I just figure there would be no way to recapture what made the first special and will never sell as much as it did.
The series is still decently popular, though the newest is the lowest rated one yet. There is also more than one developer involved. Here’s a short list of the main titles, developer, and other notes listed below for each:
Life is Strange (2015)
- The original game.
- Takes place in 2013.
- Developed by Dontnod.
- Released in chapters.
- Remastered in 2022 by Deck Nine.
- 81 on OpenCritic.
Life is Strange: Before the Storm (2017)
- Prequel to Life is Strange.
- Features much of the Life is Strange cast.
- Takes place in 2010.
- Developed by Deck Nine.
- Released in chapters.
- Remastered in 2022 by Deck Nine.
- 80 on OpenCritic.
Life is Strange 2 (2018-2019)
- Sequel to Life is Strange.
- Features a new cast of characters.
- Takes place in 2016-2017.
- Developed by Dontnod.
- Released in chapters.
- 76 on OpenCritic.
Life is Strange: True Colors (2021)
- Sequel to Life is Strange 2.
- Features a new cast of characters.
- Takes place in 2019.
- Developed by Deck Nine.
- Released in its entirety.
- 81 on OpenCritic.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure (2024)
- Sequel to Life is Strange: True Colors.
- Stars the original protagonist of Life is Strange.
- Takes place in 2023.
- Developed by Deck Nine.
- Released in its entirety.
- 71 on OpenCritic.
Thanks for making this timeline because whenever news is brought up about the troubles behind this series I’m so confused on how they’ve structured their releases.
Yeah, it’s hard to keep track after they quickly abandoned the numbered naming scheme after 2. And I think that was partly because people were confused anyways by the un-numbered prequel featuring the same setting and cast of characters, while the numbered sequel was almost entirely separate.
(Caveat: I have not played Double Exposure yet so I am not sure how directly connected it is to the first game) The titles are disconnected enough that anyone can basically just jump into the series with any title at any time, the only exception being the first game and Before the Storm, since they’re directly connected. I’ve heard it said that those two can still be appreciated in either release order or chronological order, but would probably be best served played one right after the other either way.
The only other connections I know of are:
-
Life is Strange 2 - A character from the original game and Before the Storm plays a minor role in the story, but context is not required to understand the plot.
-
Life is Strange: True Colors - A character from Before the Storm features prominently in the story, but context is also not required to understand the main plot. However, this character has a DLC story that I haven’t played, so I don’t know if that ties in more to Before the Storm than True Colors alone does.
-
Wow, thanks for the info. I definitely didn’t know about true colors at all. So many!
It’s more of an anthology series, so most of the games are unconnected. This is the first direct sequel to the original LiS featuring the original main character.
There are also two different studios involved: Dontnod created the original game, Life is Strange 2 (2018), and the spinoff The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, but the other three games in the series were made by Deck Nine.
This seems rude