I've been thinking of the LIS games more in terms of the locations than the characters. Obviously the characters are the focus and are almost universally compelling but the towns they exist in are the critical backdrop that make them pop. Max and Chloe need Arcadia Bay for their story to work. Sean and Daniel are sculpted by every place they pass through on their journey.

Haven Springs doesn't exist. Yeah, I've seen photos of the place it's based on, it's kinda similar, but visual similarity only goes so far. It's a town "where everyone knows your name" to such an extreme that it has a dedicated social media app. Leisure activities include city-wide LARPs and going to the record store. It's a fantasy, I suspect a particularly generational fantasy, and it's taken for granted that you will love this place, because you, dear Life is Strange player, fall over for mountain aesthetics and alternative music, we know this. And, look, they're right. I'm not immune. I want to live here.

Also taken for granted: Typhon's motivations. We understand they are evil with little more setup than the words "corporation" and "mining." I finished episode 5 still trying to puzzle out if the grand conspiracy was actually worthwhile to any party involved, and at that point the game had long left me behind.

Those complaints aside, what kept me invested was the same thing that's kept me invested for the other 3 or 4 games. I liked spending time with Alex. And Duckie. And Steph and Ryan and the ice cream shop owners and that guy who lost his cat. Disappointing as the plot may be, the crew that guides you through it almost make it work. If anything I'm bummed we didn't get more time with the supporting cast. (The game runs short compared to the previous entries.) Charlotte seems like she has a lot going on, should I do another playthrough and see what happens if I choose other options for her?

I probably won't, because I'm too satisfied with the route and ending I got. I thought a lot of the decisions were fairly obvious, but the end-of-chapter stats screens tell me the masses were surprisingly split.

Part of me is worried what I'm actually describing is growing up. The other part of me is booking a flight to Colorado.