Every so often a piece of art comes along that grabs hold of your brain, burrows into the recesses of your grey matter, and doesn’t let go. You spend hours upon hours thinking about it, obsessing over its intricacies, details, and hidden meanings, wondering if anyone else is as obsessed as you are. Life is Strange is one of those pieces of art, and it turns out there are 3 million people as consumed by it as I am. There is a digital series in the works from Legendary Digital Studios, Square Enix, and dj2 Entertainment, but now there’s even better news for fans of the video game. The 2015 episodic adventure game from French developer DONTNOD announced in a video that not only had its sweet, savvy little game passed the 3 million copies sold mark, but that there is a sequel in the works too.
For those who are unfamiliar, Life is Strange tells the story of Max, a spunky but shy photography student studying at an elite private high school in the fictional town of Arcadia Bay, which is presumably somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. What starts as a high school bullying incident that gets out of hand quickly evolves into a sprawling story of sex, drugs, murder, a missing girl, time travel, and a race against time to prevent an apocalyptic future. Max discovers she has the ability to rewind time, which can create a butterfly effect-style chain of events leading to multiple outcomes, thus giving every choice she makes serious weight. Its quirky teen-speak, compelling characters, and branching dialogue options make it an incredibly addictive gameplay experience. My friends and I jokingly called it Teen Peaks since it feels a bit like if David Lynch directed Juno or something similar.
There is currently no timeline for release or any real details about the Life is Strange sequel other than the fact that it is in the works. For example, we have no idea if any members of the original Life is Strange cast like Max or Chloe will return. The new game will not be appearing at E3 this June, DONTNOD revealed on their Tumblr, so don’t get your hopes up prematurely. One thing’s for certain: any sequel they make will be full of choices as hard as this one.
What do you want to see from a Life is Strange sequel? Let us know in the comments below.
Image: Square Enix/DONTNOD
Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious).
