PlayVerdicts
LIFE ISSTRANGEPLACEHOLDER ART
AdventureStory RichChoices Matter

Life is Strange

An episodic story adventure about a student who can rewind time, with choices that change events.

Platforms
PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Modes
Single-player
Released
Jan 29, 2015
Developer
DONTNOD Entertainment
Publisher
Square Enix

Overview

Quick facts

Genre
Adventure, Story Rich, Choices Matter
Platforms
PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Game modes
Single-player
Developer
DONTNOD Entertainment
Publisher
Square Enix
Release date
Jan 29, 2015
Steam Deck
PlayableRated by Valve, not tested by PlayVerdicts
Playtime
Not availableNo reliable source yet

Supported features

Feature list not verified yet.

Can you run it?

System requirements

No PC system requirements are listed for this game.

The case for and against

Reasons to buy, and what to know

Reasons to Buy

  1. Exceptionally well reviewed

    Rule-based

    96% of 176,688 Steam reviews are positive (Overwhelmingly Positive).

  2. Free to start

    Rule-based

    It costs nothing to try, so the risk is time, not money.

Things to Know

  1. No recent updates

    Rule-based

    The last recognised patch or update post was 3,929 days ago. Posts are recognised by their titles, so a missed one is possible.

Computed from Steam reviews, the patch feed, the price history and the store listing by fixed rules, not written by hand. Rules: Reasons: 85%+ positive on 1,000+ Steam reviews; the latest reviews (≥50) just as positive; patched within 90 days; free, or a sale of 50%+, or priced within 5% of its lowest recorded price; Steam Deck Verified; co-op; full controller support; 10,000+ players in game right now (online games). Things to know: below 70% positive; fewer than 500 reviews; the latest reviews 10+ points under the all-time score; no recognised patch for 365+ days; priced 1.5× above its lowest recorded price; an install of 100 GB+; SSD required; Steam Deck Unsupported; no single-player mode with under 500 players in game right now; no single-player mode; in-app purchases; Early Access. At most five of each, in this order. Lines come from Steam's own listing and review counts; no text is written by hand.

Right now

Current game status

AreaSignalSummaryData as of
  • Performance & Stability

    No status signal

    No performance data has been collected for this title yet.

    Not yet checked

    No further detail is available yet.

    Demo data

    No source linked yet.

  • Bugs & Crashes

    No status signal

    Bug and crash tracking is not connected yet.

    Not yet checked

    No further detail is available yet.

    Demo data

    No source linked yet.

  • Recent Updates

    Last patch over a year ago

    Latest patch or update post: “Patch Update 19th January 2016 (20160116-397647)” on Jan 19, 2016 (3929 days ago).

    Oct 23, 2026

    Recognised from official Steam announcement titles. Whether a patch fixed a specific problem is not assessed yet — see the patch history below.

  • Monetization & Content

    No status signal

    Content and monetization review has not been done yet.

    Not yet checked

    No further detail is available yet.

    Demo data

    No source linked yet.

  • Player Sentiment

    Overwhelmingly Positive

    Steam: 96% of 176,688 reviews are positive (Overwhelmingly Positive).

    Oct 23, 2026

    Counts come from the public Steam review totals. Theme-level analysis of what players praise or criticise has not been collected yet.

Not shown: Multiplayer Health (not applicable to this game).

What players keep saying

Player feedback

Measured Steam numbers first, then recurring themes (not yet collected). Sentiment is only shown when it has been measured.

Steam · all-time

96% positive

Overwhelmingly Positive · 176,688 reviews

Steam · most recent reviews

No recent reviews returned.

VerifiedSource: Steam user reviews ↗Fetched Oct 23, 2026Counts only; recent figure is a sample of the newest reviews, not a full time window. Steam reviewers are not all players.

No theme-level feedback analysis exists for this game yet.

Buying advice

Price & buying advice

Verified

Current price

Free

No discount · Steam store (US)

Historical low (any store)

—

No verified price history

Value for money

—

Needs price and playtime data

Price verdict

Free to play

Steam lists this game as free, so there is no price decision to make.

Price data checked: Oct 23, 2026

Check the price at

Plain store links. Any future affiliate links will be disclosed and never influence the verdict.

Price alert

Life is Strange is free to play, so there is no price to track.

How it changed

Verdict history

Recorded by the site, never reconstructed
  1. Oct 23, 2026

    First recorded

    Free to play

    96% positive of 176,688 Steam reviews · price $0 · a good price for it · last patch 3929 days ago

No change since it was first recorded.

Recording started on Oct 23, 2026. What happened before that is not known.

A change is recorded only when the new verdict shows up on two checks in a row, so a brief flicker around a threshold does not appear here. Each entry shows the evidence at that moment.

Why you can trust this

Sources & methodology

Rule-based

Evidence status

  • Public store & publisher metadataPartial
  • Patch notes and update historyPartial
  • Performance benchmarksNot collected
  • Player review analysisPartial
  • Price historyNot collected

Linked sources

How the recommendation is formed

This recommendation is computed from measured Steam reviews, patch activity and price history using fixed, public rules. It has not been reviewed by an editor. Rules: Fewer than 500 Steam reviews → Insufficient evidence. Latest-review sample (≥50) below 65% positive and 10+ points under the all-time score → Wait for fixes. All-time score below 40% positive → Not for you. Score 80%+ and a good price (free, deep discount, near a recorded low) → Buy now; a good score at a price that has been much lower → Buy on sale; otherwise Worth considering. An exceptional score (92%+) at a fair price (little to gain by waiting) also → Buy now. Free-to-play games: unless one of the rules above (Insufficient evidence, Wait for fixes, Not for you) applies, the verdict is Free to play — the question is whether to try it, not whether to buy it. Score 40–79% (mixed to positive) → Worth considering at a good price, otherwise Buy on sale. Patch freshness: a Buy now is downgraded to Worth considering when the last recognised patch is over 180 days old AND the game is online-only (no single-player mode, so updates matter) or recent reviews are 10+ points under the all-time score. For Wait for fixes, a patch within 30 days means recent reviews may not reflect it yet; none for 180+ days means a fix may not be coming. An old patch alone never lowers a verdict, and an unrecognised patch history is never treated as stale. Confidence counts available evidence (review volume, recent sample, price history, patch feed) and never exceeds Medium without editor review. The Steam price is compared with the lowest price ever seen on Steam (or, if unknown, the lowest at any tracked store). Price signal: within 5% of the all-time low, within 10% of the 12-month low, or 50%+ off → good. If waiting could save under 25% or under $5 → fair (little to gain). Otherwise: on sale but cheaper before, or never discounted beyond 30% → fair; no sale and much cheaper before → wait.

  1. 1Collect official, store and permitted community sources
  2. 2Check current patch and update state
  3. 3Compare price against history
  4. 4Write a plain-language verdict with a confidence level

Where evidence is missing

  • Steam review totals are collected; theme analysis has not run yet.
  • No hardware benchmark data is connected.
  • No price history feed is connected.