In this feature, we’re going to take a look at what we feel have been the fifteen best adventure games so far this generation. Given how many of these there are to choose from, missing out on a few great ones was unavoidable on our part, so if one (or some) of your favourites got left out, let us know in your comments. With that out of the way, let’s get this started.

DETROIT: BECOME HUMAN

Adventure games are largely the domain of indie developers or studios with smaller budgets, but not exclusively so- David Cage and his team at Quantic Dreams have been making masterful adventure titles for several years now. And with Detroit: Become Human, they truly hit the ball out of the park. With a story that was meaningfully branching, choices and consequences that truly made the player stop of think, and excellent setting, and some of the best visuals we’ve ever seen in any video game, Detroit: Become Human ranks among the best of the best of this genre.

Most of us may be getting ready for Life is Strange 2, which is due to launch its first episode later this month, but Mac and Linux users are only now catching up to Life is Strange: Before the Storm. Developed and released by Deck Nine last year, Before the Storm is a prequel to the original game, starring Chloe, and her adventures with her best friend Rachel.

Yes, that means no Max in this, sadly (unless you play the bonus Farewell episode), which also means no time turning in this game- although you do get a new talkback feature that was not in the original game. Before the Storm is a three episodes long miniseries, and was widely acclaimed for its writing and sympathetic portrayal of Chloe, the troubled teenager from the original game whom so many fans of that game grew to love.

It’s being ported by Feral, who do good work with their Mac and Linux conversions, so you’re in good hands. It launches on September 13, and is available now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Life is Strange has quite a lot going on. After the finale of Deck Nine’s Life is Strange: Before the Storm, topped off by the bonus Farewell episode, Dontnod Entertainment confirmed that its next Life is Strange game would have more information in the coming months. Now, Titan Comics has announced that it is working on a Life is Strange comic book miniseries.

Only four issues are planned at this time and other than the fact that they “dive back into the story of its beloved characters”, there hasn’t been much information unveiled. Titan Comics has preciously worked on comics for video games like Bloodborne and the recent Sea of Thieves.

More information on the Life is Strange miniseries will be revealed “soon” so we’ll have to wait. If you’re interested in Life is Strange, you can read our review of the first game here and Before the Storm’s review here.

As Deck Nine Games’ Life is Strange: Before the Storm comes to a close with the bonus episode “Farewell”, more information on the next game will be coming soon. Dontnod Entertainment announced on the game’s Tumblr that it would be presenting more information on the new story and cast of the “next Life is Strange” game in the “coming months”.

“We now look forward to the coming months, when Michel Koch and Raoul Barbet’s team at Dontnod returns to present the new story and characters of the next Life is Strange,” the developer stated. That sounds like it’d be around the time a particular gaming expo will be held.

Regardless, this is a big deal for fans because it will be the first major continuation of the story since Life is Strange launched in 2015. Life is Strange: Before the Storm was a prequel that took place several years prior and focused on the relationship between Chloe and Rachel.

For now, it’s a matter of speculation – will Max Caulfield return in some way for the sequel? Will it still be set in Arcadia Bay? How does one explain the strange phenomenon that have been occurring over the past two games? Time will tell so stay tuned for more information.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm, the three episode prequel miniseries for Dontnod’s breakout hit graphic adventure game, was better than it had any right to be. It was a prequel, it didn’t have the original game’s beloved main character, and it didn’t have its signature gameplay mechanic.

And yet, it turned out great. It turned out fantastic, really. And if you’ve been waiting for the series to be complete before you jump in, now would be the best time to do so, since the series is complete, and you can now jump in. And Square Enix will incentivize you by releasing not one but three editions for the game’s physical release.

There will be a standard release, a Limited Edition, and a Vinyl Edition. You can find details for all three below, as well as a new video about the upcoming “Farewell” episode for the series, which lets us say goodbye to Chloe, Max, and Arcadia Bay once and for all. Life is Strange: Before the Storm is out on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Limited Edition ($39.99 / €39.99 / £34.99)

• Complete season of Life is Strange: Before the Storm
• Bonus episode “Farewell”
• Physical art book
• Soundtrack CD
  1. Daughter – “Flaws”
  2. Koda – “I Don’t”
  3. Daughter – “Glass”
  4. Ben Howard – “Black Flies”
  5. Daughter – “Youth”
  6. Lanterns on the Lake – “Through the Cellar Door”
  7. Daughter – “All I Wanted”
  8. Speedy Ortiz – “No Below”
  9. Daughter – “A Hole in the Earth”
  10. Broods – “Taking You There”
  11. Daughter – “Burn it Down”
  12. Wolf Alice – “Bros”
  13. Daughter – “No Care”
  14. Brody Dalle – “Don’t Mess With Me”
  15. Pretty Vicious – “Are You Ready for Me”
• Digital Content
  • Mixtape Mode – Design your own playlist from the Life is Strange licensed soundtrack and listen to it alongside a cinematic scene from the game
  • Outfit Pack – Change up Chloe’s look with three new complete outfits. Includes Punk Doe, Hawt Dawg Man & Illuminati outfits
  • Episode 1 from the first season of Life is Strange

Vinyl Edition ($69.99 / €69.99 / £59.99) – Square Enix Online Store Exclusive (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

• All of the content from the limited edition
• Vinyl set of the licensed soundtrack

Pre-Orders

Pre-Order to receive exclusive Chloe and Rachel figurines. Availability subject to demand. This offer may not be available in certain territories please check your local retailers for further information.

That feeling of universality – that no matter who you were, you attended high school and built relationships with people that changed your life and learned about yourself – is probably one of the reason Dontnod’s Life is Strange became a huge hit in 2015. It’s also why picking new studio Deck Nine to make a prequel without the original voice actors (they were unable to appear due to the SAG-AFTRA strike) was a pretty risky move on the part of Square Enix. But it’s also one that has paid off in spades.

"The game picks up about three years prior to Dontnod’s original, and follows a younger Chloe Price as she navigates the loss of her father, a changing family dynamic, life in high school, and her unlikely relationship with Rachel Amber, the most popular girl at Blackwell Academy."

I’ve never played the original Life is Strange, so I’m coming into Before the Storm without knowing much about the previous game, aside from a general outline of the story and the characters. Thankfully, you really don’t need to know anything about the original game to appreciate what Deck Nine has accomplished here. Before the Storm stands alone, and it’s a better experience for it.

The game picks up about three years prior to Dontnod’s original, and follows a younger Chloe Price as she navigates the loss of her father, a changing family dynamic, life in high school, and her unlikely relationship with Rachel Amber, the most popular girl at Blackwell Academy. Beyond that, I am reluctant to get into specifics, as I feel this story deserves to be experienced with as little knowledge as possible, though those who have already played the original game will be familiar with some of the outcomes and characters already.

If you’ve played any adventure game in the last few years, you probably know how Before the Storm plays. You’ll move Chloe around in environments, interact with objects, solve puzzles, and chat with other characters. Because Max is absent from this game, there is no time travel mechanic. Instead, your decisions are permanent and carry quite a bit of weight.

"The gameplay wrinkle here is Backtalk, which allows Chloe to trash talk her way out of situations, manipulate other people, and generally win arguments."

The gameplay wrinkle here is Backtalk, which allows Chloe to trash talk her way out of situations, manipulate other people, and generally win arguments. How well you do is based on how you respond to specific arguments. Come back with something that turns what your opponent has just said on its head, and you’re a step closer to “winning” that encounter. Less direct responses usually result in a win for your opponent. It’s a fine system, and what’s impressive is you don’t always have to use it to get out of a situation if you play your cards right.

The gameplay part of Before the Storm works fine, but there’s not a lot of it, especially in the third episode. Like most games of this type, the gameplay is secondary. Occasionally, this can feel a bit restrictive, but the situations where you lose control always contribute to the greater narrative purpose, and the decisions Chloe, and the other characters, make in these scenes are so consistent with their characters that you’ll hardly notice.

The real strength here is the writing, which is strong throughout the entire series, and peaks in Episode 2. Every character feels real, and the story moves in unexpected directions. While nearly every character in the game has an arc supported by strong writing, and is capable of surprising throughout the story, the standouts are unsurprisingly Chloe and Rachel. Their relationship is natural and beautiful, filled with sadness, discovery, and joy.

"It’s alternatively furiously joyous and and intensely heartbreaking, and by the end, I was touched by the story Deck Nine chose to tell, and how rare it is to see something like it in the medium."

The new voice actors fill in their roles admirably, providing depth, nuance, and understanding to their characters. The standouts here are undoubtedly Rhianna DeVries, who plays Chloe, and Kylie Brown, who plays Rachel. DeVries provided Chloe’s motion capture performances in both games and replaces Ashley Burch, who stayed on as a writing consultant and is no doubt much of the reason for Chloe’s strength as a character. That said, there are no bad performances, which contributes to the feeling that every character matters and this is truly an ensemble piece.

There are some inconsistencies: the graphics can be a bit uneven between characters, and like most games, the controls can be awkward and sometimes get in the way. Unlike the original game, there are only three episodes here, and running through it takes about ten hours, depending on how much you want to explore. Episode 3 is the weakest, but the game is never bad, and finishes well enough that you’ll likely forget any inconsistencies by the time the credits roll.

Instead, what you’ll remember is what sticks with you: the excellent performance of The Tempest, the times in the junkyard, and spending time with all these characters. And at the core of it are two incredible young women, who share pain and loss and awkwardness and joy and hope. They make mistakes and share their dreams, and in finding each other, find the courage to be themselves. It’s alternatively furiously joyous and and intensely heartbreaking, and by the end, I was touched by the story Deck Nine chose to tell, and how rare it is to see something like it in the medium.

"It’s a particular credit to Deck Nine that they can do all of this in the confines of someone else’s world and that it works as both a prequel and a standalone story."

Games tend to be bad at these kinds of stories. They’re hard to tell and not conducive to gameplay. That’s why many stories in games focus on simple plots: beating the bad guys, saving the world, the galaxy, the universe, whatever. The mechanics – shooting, hacking, slashing, jumping, etc – are usually equally simple. So when one does something like this, when one gives us complex characters and is unafraid to have them be people with damage and hopes and fears and dreams and trauma, it’s something special. It’s a particular credit to Deck Nine that they can do all of this in the confines of someone else’s world and that it works as both a prequel and a standalone story.

What Life is Strange: Before the Storm understands is this: life is hard and often cruel, that everyone carries their trauma with them, and that our damage tends to define us. We’re going to make mistakes. We’re going to lose some people and meet new ones and if we’re very lucky we’ll learn from our mistakes and have people in our lives who will forgive us. Things will get bad and the bad days will be really terrible and sometimes you’ll just want to take a match to this whole lousy, wonderful world. But it also knows that the good things, and the good days, are really beautiful. Chloe and Rachel’s story proves that, even if you already know how it’s going to end.

This game was reviewed on the PC.

One of the best games of this generation was Life is Strange, the fantastic graphic adventure by Dontnod that launched two years ago, winning the hearts of players and critics the world over. And while Dontnod is currently working on a Life is Strange 2, it will be completely different and isolated from the world and characters that we fell in love with in the original title.

That original title’s world and characters got one last chance to shine with Life is Strange: Before the Storm, the prequel to that game’s events that Square Enix has been releasing this year. The first two episodes are already out- and the final episode will be available on December 20 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It will be titled ‘Hell is Empty.’ Make of that what you will.

You will get one additional chance to say goodbye to Max (the protagonist of the original game, who was not in this series) and Chloe- the Farewell episode which stars Max and Chloe will be launching early next year, and will be available to all purchasers of Before the Storm‘s Deluxe Edition.

The original Life is Strange was a moving, tender, heartfelt game that ended up winning millions of fans worldwide- and the credit for that lies squarely on just how fantastic its two main characters, Max and Chloe, were.

Max and Chloe were brought to life by some exceptional voice work- Hannah Telle’s turn as Max made her instantly empathetic and identifiable, and every player could fall in love with her right away. Ashly Burch’s Chloe, on the other hand, came off as tormented and angry, exactly the kind of character she needed to be for us to want to help her.

After both of them were absent in Before the Storm, the three episode prequel series to the original, Burch because of the voice actor’s strike, and Telle because Max, sadly, does not feature in the series. However, the bonus ‘Farewell’ episode brings Max and Chloe together one last time before the series moves on to new characters- and, fittingly, Burch and Telle will return to reprise their respective roles one final time, too.

I don’t know what Life is Strange 2 will be like, or whether it will ever be as great as the original was- but, I think, for fans of that first game, playing the Farewell episode, which is due out in early 2018 for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC, just became non-negotiable.

The second episode of the three part prequel series to 2015’s breakout hit, beloved graphic adventure Life is Strange, Life is Strange: Before the Storm, is available now. The new episode is called Brave New World, and it continues Chloe’s story (leading in directly to the events of the original Life is Strange).

For people who were interested in Chloe’s life before Max’s return to Arcadia Bay, and Rachel Amber, her best friend whose disappearance was the crux of much of the original game’s plot, this new episode is a must-play. For people interested in the tech side of things, this is still going to be an important release, because Life is Strange: Before the Storm is now enhanced for PS4 Pro and Xbox One X with this new installment. The striking art the series uses should stand out in 4K for sure.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm is available now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. A Life is Strange 2, with all new characters, is under development at Dontnod as well.

Deck Nine have dated the next episode of Life is Strange: Before the Storm. Episode 2, titled “Brave New World” will be out on October 19th for all platforms and a new trailer indicates some of the events, characters and locations that players can look forward to.

Taking place before the events of Life is Strange, Episode 2 of Before the Storm sees Chloe and Rachel dealing with their family lives. In the meanwhile, their friendship continues to grow and Chloe gets involved with Frank Bowers, the drug dealer from the first game. Needless to say, things take a bit of a bad turn from there.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm’s first episode released in late August and received above average critical acclaim for its handling of events, especially when the plot seems like a foregone conclusion. Dontnod Entertainment, which created the first game, is currently busy with Life is Strange 2 and Vampyr. The latter is an action RPG focusing on vampires in a plague-ridden London which has been delayed to 2018.