Life is Strange: Episode 3 - Chaos Theory (PlayStation 4) Review

Chaos Theory picks up hours after Out of Time's gut-wrenching climax. Environmental aspects and NPC interactions will depend on players' choices, but the main focus of the story does not: Max receives a text message from Chloe asking to meet in the middle of the night. From here the first part of the episode is slow and, in comparison to the previous one, less exhilarating. There isn't much on the line, nor is there a lot to do among the empty halls of Blackwell Academy, with the world tucked away in bed. A few moments of character development carry an otherwise mostly mundane exploration segment, although it isn't without its surprises and plot twists.

The picture-taking mini-game is more complex throughout this episode, with some of the photo opportunities requiring Max to be in a certain place at a certain time, and most of them well-hidden around the world. In-game previews serve as a guide, but actually finding the photo ops requires thinking outside the box, and sometimes even interacting with the environment and leading things to the perfect setup. Rewinding time can be fun, but viewing the same dialogue bits repeatedly can be tedious, even with a skip button available.

Dialogue is less annoying this time around; cheesy remarks are cranked way down without much sacrifice to the story's feel or tone. The audio itself feels rushed, though, with certain lines clearly louder than others, and sometimes the delivered dialogue sounds like a rough take that somehow made the final cut. This is accompanied by a few graphical stutters and texture pop-ups, but the sound and visuals are more or less saved by expert lighting decisions and the moody soundtrack.

Most importantly, things ramp up after the first segment, and the team at Dontnod proves it still has a lot of tricks up its sleeve. The ability to control time is a lot of power to wield, but things are never as simple as they seem, including one section where players will have to navigate many routes of dialogue to solve a certain puzzle - or get juicy tidbits on the game's backstory - without causing too much trouble. The episode culminates in another major development regarding Max's powers, ultimately leading to a beautiful instrumental track guiding the audience through a climax as emotionally powerful - although much less predictable - than that of Episode 2.