Life Is Strange
Everything in Life Is Strange builds to this moment: saving Arcadia Bay from the impending storm. Along the way you also need to save one resident of Arcadia Bay almost constantly, Chloe, your estranged best friend who you’ve just reconnected with. The rekindled friendship is, at times, tenuous, but you can always tell that there’s a great deal of love between Max and Chloe. There’s hope that after finding Rachel, the three of you will be “hella best friends.” Alas, you’ll learn that there is no saving Rachel. And maybe there is no saving Chloe.
That’s for you to decide. Do you save Chloe one last time but let that ever-present storm wipe out the entire town taking more lives with it? Or do you sacrifice your friend, your hopes of rekindled friendship (and maybe something more), and work to mend the broken trust from years gone by without speaking, all to heroically save the town without a superhero’s ultimate standing ovation?
It’s a real trolley problem, but at least the people on these metaphorical tracks are only virtual. Maybe that’s why most people save Chloe, according to the stats given after your choice is made. You can also go back and rewrite history if you’re not satisfied. But I know my choice: save Chloe because it feels good. No, I’m totally joking. I save the town every time. I can’t justify letting all the other Chloes and Rachels who mean so much to others die for my one friend.
Regardless of what you choose, it makes the emotional payoff of Life Is Strange as satisfying as it is heartbreaking. — Lisa Marie Segarra
