Life is Strange was definitely a bit of a sleeper hit. A narrative game with a cool time travel hook, it pushed character development and growth over action or even puzzle solving.
It has not only inspired a few more entries in a larger series, but also a host of other games since its release.
If you’ve already played through this series and want to see more, there are plenty of games that follow in Life is Strange’s footsteps.
Below are just a few of the games that might help you to recapture some of the feelings from Life is Strange.
Let’s discuss 10 games like “Life is strange” that we believe are great options if you want something similar.
1) “Tell Me Why”
If you’re going to look for a game like Life is Strange, it probably makes sense to go to the same publisher for your next game.
Dontnod’s follow-up to it’s biggest hit is “Tell Me Why”, a game that treads at least some of the same ground in terms of gameplay elements as Life is Strange but does do a somewhat better job of adding in intriguing puzzles in the midst of a really good story.
Tell Me Why puts players in the role of a pair of twins as they return home after years of estrangement.
To say much more would really ruin a lot of the lovely story points of the game, but suffice to say that the story is both heartfelt and interesting.
The twins in this case get their own version of a supernatural power, albeit one that’s a little less flashy than that in Life is Strange.
Though the supernatural elements do help in terms of gameplay a bit, this really is the kind of game that you’re going to come to just for the story.
2) “Oxenfree”
Oxenfree is another narrative game that tends to have plenty of fans among those who are fans of Life is Strange.
It’s another game that stars a young adult protagonist and that plays around with supernatural concepts, though in many ways Oxenfree seems like it’s a more narratively defined game than Life is Strange.
While the latter game is definitely more episodic and wide-ranging, Oxenfree really confines itself to a single large location and to one very specific type of story.
Oxenfree also plays very differently than Life is Strange. There really isn’t an attempt to make things photorealistic here, so the game has actually ended up aging a little more gracefully than Life is Strange.
Playing around with some light platforming and exploration is a great way to experience a narrative, though, and enjoying the world of Oxenfree seems to be a little easier for those who aren’t used to games like Life is Strange.
At its heart, though, this game does feel like it’s cast from the same mold as Life is Strange.
3) “What Remains of Edith Finch”
What Remains of Edith Finch is part of a genre that’s derisively known as the walking simulators.
These games are generally less about action or even puzzle-solving than they are about moving around and experiencing a story.
While Edith Finch is definitely held up as an example of the genre, there is a fair bit of gameplay here as well.
At its core, though, this game does tell a story that makes it fit right in with the kind of universe seen in Life is Strange.
What Remains of Edith Finch is really a game about dealing with the past and lost. Your character is given a chance to go back to their family’s home and to wander around, slowly but surely experiencing the various tragedies that brought about the ends of their family members.
These deaths are illustrated through a number of unique gameplay segments, each of which has players taking on actions that can range from swinging on an old swing to taking on the form of various animals.
The game itself is as beautiful as it is sad, though, and the story is definitely the biggest reason to give this game a try.
4) “The Walking Dead”
The Walking Dead probably isn’t the first franchise that you have in mind when you’re looking for games that are like Life is Strange, but Telltale’s The Walking Dead actually has a fair bit in common with the former title.
Though there’s no time-travel here and the story is more about dealing with a zombie apocalypse than dealing with the various issues at the core of the Life is Strange series, The Walking Dead has an emotional core to it that makes it feel very similar to other story-driven titles.
The first entry in the series is definitely the place to start, as it introduces you to both the universe and to many of the recurring characters of the game.
Taking on the role of a man named Lee, the game really revolves as much around his attempts to safeguard a child named Clementine as it does anything else.
There is certainly a greater threat looming in most episodes, but your biggest choices come down to how you are going to maintain your relationships in the midst of all the drama.
Much like Life is Strange, it is the seemingly-inconsequential choices that you make that will end up having the biggest impact on the ending.
5) “Detroit: Become Human”
It is fairly difficult to talk about Life is Strange without taking a closer look at some of the other narrative games that have come out in recent years.
While many games put the narrative up front, others try to add a little bit of action if only through the use of movement and quick time events.
It’s hard to say that there’s a company better known in this genre than Quantic Dream and it’s likewise tough not to look at Detroit: Become Human when you’re talking about Life is Strange.
Detroit: Become Human takes place in a near-future world where androids have become a fairly common consumer good.
Players take control of several different androids as they go about their duties and become entangled in a larger plot.
Like Life is Strange, there’s a lot of work done here to explore various themes through the use of fantastic elements.
Unlike Life is Strange, though, it’s hard to say that Detroit: Become Human is able to weave in the same kind of emotion during the course of its admittedly impressive run time.
6) “Until Dawn”
Until Dawn, a major hit from Supermassive Games, is another one of those narrative-based games that tends to be discussed alongside Life is Strange and Quantic Dream’s various titles.
Until Dawn tends to hew a little closer to the Quantic Dream model than the Life is Strange model, though, as this game can very much be thought of as a kind of interactive horror movie.
So, how does this game scratch the Life is Strange itch? Like that game, Until Dawn is definitely driven by player choice and there is quite a bit of story to get through in this game.
Unlike Life is Strange, though, players take on the role of multiple characters and there’s often a good chance that a decision can lead to death.
If you’re looking for something like Life is Strange but you don’t mind getting scared, you might want to give this title and some of Supermassive’s follow-up games a try.
7) “Firewatch”
Firewatch is one of those games that absolutely gave rise to the somewhat-dismissive term “walking simulator”.
With that said, this is easily one of the best walking simulators out there and it is likewise a game that manages to touch on a lot of the same things of loss and growth that made Life is Strange so compelling to so many people.
Though the setting and the main character are very different, the game does put players through an emotional journey over the course of a well-realized world.
Firewatch places players in the role of a man who is taking on a summer job as a fire watcher in a national park.
His job is to simply watch for fires over the course of the summer, but the game quickly reveals a compelling mystery as well as a fairly complex relationship that only takes place over a radio.
Most of this game centers around walking from one place to another to respond to prompts, but the conversations along the way are what makes the game.
If you’re looking for a game with some serious emotional weigh, this might be your next title after you are done with Life is Strange.
8) “Fahrenheit”
Fahrenheit, also known as Indigo Prophecy in certain parts of the world, is really one of the earlier 3D narrative games.
The first real stab at this model from Quantic Dreams, you can see an awful lot of the DNA of games like Detroit Human and even Until Dawn in this QTE-heavy experience.
Unlike those titles, though, there is a web of relationships and emotional trauma to work through in the game that makes it feel much more like Life is Strange than most of the titles that would come later.
Fahrenheit puts players in control of three characters – a murder suspect and two police officers.
You’ll often find yourself working to at odds against yourself in this game as you switch between characters, yet you’ll also see some impressive character growth during the quiet bits.
The game takes a strong supernatural twist fairly early in the game before going totally off the rails near the end, but it’s the very impressive relationship between the main characters that makes this one worth playing.
9) “The Wolf Among Us”
If you’ve never read Bill Willingham’s “Fables”, the world of The Wolf Among Us can seem a little odd.
Based on the hit comic series that depicted a world of fairy tale characters who were forced to flee their homes and settle in New York, Fables brought some pretty weighty themes into the world of public domain characters.
The Wolf Among us technically takes place before the comic series, which gives even those new to the franchise an easy way to get into the game.
The Wolf Among Us stars Bigby Wolf, aka The Big Bad Wolf, as he works his job as a private eye in Fabletown.
Along the way, he runs into characters like Snow White and The Beast, among others, and is drawn deeper and deeper into a really enjoyable noire-style mystery.
The game is big on player choice and captures some of the same vibes as Life is Strange, but it shares most of its DNA with the Telltale-published Walking Dead games.
10) “Before Your Eyes”
If you take it on a very basic level, Before Your Eyes is a fairly interesting game. It’s all about looking back at life after death, accompanied by a psychopomp.
It’s not the first game to do this, of course, but the whole idea of looking back at the choices that you have made in order to understand the now is definitely one that tracks with games like Life is Strange.
What’s interesting, though, is that Before Your Eyes takes a new technological step forward with how it works.
Instead of being focused on a mouse and keyboard or a controller, Before Your Eyes utilizes a webcam.
It actually tracks your eyes so that you can look around and interact with glances rather than with your fingers.
It’s definitely an imperfect way to play a game, but it’s interesting in this context. If you’re looking for something truly unique that still has heart, you might want to give this game a try.
Image Credits
By https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/tell-me-why, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64662994
By Telltale Games – https://www.mobygames.com/game-group/telltales-the-walking-dead-series, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61320012
By https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0gZ0wZH5Rl-YnlQ2lKEV8Q, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2458606
