Not long ago, gaming would be seen and dismissed solely as an immature, adolescent, gory male pastime. For kids. For that depressed adult glued to the screen, munching chips like there was no tomorrow. To imagine aged gaming aficionados discussing story elements and character arcs in-game over a cup of evening tea, that too with straight faces, is laughable. Story? What story could there possibly be in mowing down hapless, imaginary civilians in a make-believe world on a screen?

“The saga came to a close this week, and it’s been quite a trip. My heart still aches thinking about it all—I’m so attached to the characters!” says a blogger. Patricia Hernandez here talks not of a book or a movie trilogy, but the epic slice-of-life drama and episodic crime thriller adventure she embarked on that is Life Is Strange. Released in 2015 by Dontnod Entertainment, this game snoops inside your soul for the feels, grins evilly and Hulks them into the ground. When you get to the end of Episode 2 and Crosses by Jose Gonzales whispers in the background, that aching pang of bitterness, horror and perhaps guilt (or relief?) will hit you. Without a doubt. And it will hit hard.

Let’s get to the specifics. How exactly does L.I.S. manage to touch on themes like friendship, family, bullying, coping with loss and the competitive spirit while also being an engaging whodunnit thriller (not to mention incorporating elements of time travel)? The illusion of choice, that’s how. Throughout the game, the playable protagonist, Max Caulfield (a 15-year old photography student) makes a variety of choices, through dialogue options and by doing things in game. These choices affect (or appear to affect) the story as you continue playing. In a way, every person who plays the game has a different experience tailored to his/her choices. Not all of it affects the game (the ‘illusion’ of choice) but you don’t know which ones do and which ones don’t.

Here’s where it gets tricky: the protagonist, that is you, also has time-powers including reversing time, freezing time and travelling through photographs. Aha… so you can now not only ‘do’ things, but also undo them (and redo them based on new info and undo them… ad infinitum). It is common to see a player ruminating over a certain dialogue choice, going back and forth in time and choosing different dialogue options, trying to come to terms with one’s own decision.

Why is this important? Because it makes the characters and the decisions feel real. And if it feels real, suspension of disbelief helps you make it real. You care about the characters. You care about what your ‘hero’ says. You search frantically in a junkyard, hands shivering on the keyboard, searching for that one thing which will undo the death of your best friend. You observe events and have epiphanies about the mystery and undo events and have, well, even more epiphanies. People who were mean to you early on… well, turns out they weren’t so bad after all. Were you rude to them? Does it make any difference? You feel the characters around you grow and develop over the game, instead of watching a pre-ordained ritual most other games provide.

Wait a minute… isn’t that what a story is supposed to do?

Here’s an example: Somewhere through the first episode, Max observes inspector David Madsen confronting her classmate. Without prior information, it could mean several things.  You’re presented with the choice of clicking a photo (in case David is in the wrong and you need evidence of harassment) or simply intervening for your friend (which seems to be more humane). Of course, not knowing who’s in the wrong or even what they’re talking about, you will be tempted to rewind time once you have talked to them. Maybe make the decision again. Maybe not. And if you think it gets obvious once you play it through once, nope. Not even a little. If anything, undoing and redoing it once will only torment you further.

“One of the best interactive story games of this generation”, touts Eurogamer. With Life is Strange 2 set to release in 2018, this series is probably going to transform the nature of gaming itself in the years to come.

Climb on when it’s early, people. There’s an interactive storytelling revolution on the horizon and we can’t wait to get there!

P.S. Check out Obstacles, by Syd Matters, the theme song of L.I.S. Beautiful track.