Developer: Don’t Nod
Publisher: Square Enix
Year: 2015
Platform: Windows, Xbox, iOS, Android, Mac
Rating: 9
I came for the time travel. I stayed for Maxine and Chloe.
Life is Strange begins in media res, our hero Maxine Caufield alone in her thoughts in the middle of a photography lecture at the esteemed Blackwell Academy, a private art school for ambitious high school students. After being admonished by her professor and teased by the class bully, she plugs in her headphones and heads for the bathroom. There she witnesses the murder of another student, and following an emotional outburst of fear and anger, finds herself back in the same photography lecture ten minutes prior, with just enough time to prevent the murder from happening.
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Author: Ryan Veeder
Year: 2011
Development System: Inform
Cruelty Rating: Polite
Length of Play: 2 Hours
My Rating: 7
Taco Fiction has one of the more intriguing openers I’ve ever played. You are a petty thief in need of some cash, and the opening prompt gives you specific directions on how you’re going to rob the taco joint next door. If the protagonist were the violent sort this could be off-putting, but the game lets you know he has no interest in hurting anyone.
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Author: Daniel Ravipinto
Year: 1996
Development System: Inform
Cruelty Rating: Merciful
Length of Play: 2 hours
My Rating: 5
Awards: Best Story — 1996 XYZZY Awards
Tapestry was one of those games that was pretty revolutionary when it was released. Replaying parts of one’s life wasn’t a new concept by any means, but the storytelling device was ripe for the interactive-fiction treatment. As such it wooed me at the time, but replaying it all these years later I mostly just see the flaws.
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Munching Numbers, Letters, Ensigns, etc.
Death By Troggles 