STORY OVERVIEW Life is Strange begins with Max Caulfield who finds herself caught in a ferocious storm, unsure of how she ended up in this location. After trying to make her way through the wind and rain, she suddenly finds herself back in class at her school, Blackwell Academy. Certain that what she’d just experienced wasn’t a dream, Max feels somewhat out of it for the remainder of the period while her photography professor, Mr. Jefferson, lectures on about selfies being modern examples of portraiture. After class, Mr. Jefferson encourages Max to submit a photo to the Everyday Heroes contest. Max goes to the bathroom to splash water on her face. Feeling insecure about her photograph that she was going to submit to the contest, she rips it in half and the pieces fall to the floor. Then, she sees a blue butterfly off in the corner of the bathroom. Just after snapping a photo, a guy walks into the bathroom in a panic. Shortly after, a girl with blue hair walks in asking for her money. The guy pulls out a gun and shoots the girl. Max jumps out from the corner and reaches her arm out toward them when suddenly she is back in class, going over portraitures again. She realizes that she went back in time and experiments with her new ability in class a bit before running to the bathroom to stop the girl from being shot by setting off the fire alarm. Max notices some weird things going on at school such as the security guard David Madsen harassing another student, Kate Marsh. It is also believed that Nathan, the boy from the bathroom, has been involved with some drug schemes as mentioned in the bathroom. Later that day, Max learns that the girl from the bathroom is none other than her old best friend, Chloe
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DECEMBER 2019 | LEVEL STORY
Price. Max had been living in Seattle for the past few years but returned to her home town of Arcadia Bay to attend Blackwell Academy for their photography program. She hasn’t talked to Chloe in quite some time and it is clear that Chloe was hurt by this. They go to Chloe’s house and Max learns that Chloe was close friends with the missing girl whose posters are all over school, Rachel Amber. It is implied that they were in a relationship with one another. Chloe’s stepfather is David Madsen, the campus security guard. He demands to come in Chloe’s room to tell her to stop blasting the music. He is harsh and overpowering toward her, and accuses her of stealing his gun. Chloe says she didn’t steal it. Max decides to confide in Chloe about her new time travel powers after having another vision of the storm. Chloe puts Max to the test, asking her questions she would only know with her powers. Although Chloe is excited, Max is hesitant and sure that her powers won’t last forever. The two go to the junkyard by the train tracks where Chloe and Rachel used to hang out, and test David’s gun which Chloe revealed she stole after all. While there, a man named Frank comes and says Chloe owes him money. The exchange is very hostile. Meanwhile, a video leaks and circulates around campus of Kate Marsh. Students shame her for the video and it is clear she is having a difficult time dealing with it. On a rainy afternoon, students rush to the girls dorm where Kate is on the roof about to jump. Max tries to rewind time but finds her powers are no longer working. She makes her way to the roof to convince Kate not to jump. (It is at this point that the player’s decisions can affect the rest of the story. They can stop Kate from jump-