It’s hard to find time to play this game. With most games, I’m content to play for about an hour now and then. With LiS, I would rather play an entire chapter at once, so I don’t break the dramatic tension. I’ve read that each episode is supposed to take about two hours, but for me it’s taking almost four. I just want to go everywhere and read everything, and I take tons of screenshots.
When we left off, I had gone back in time to save Chloe's father. When I got back to the present, her dad was alive... but now Chloe was was in a wheelchair. Sometime in the intervening years, Chloe had been in a bad car accident, and was now paralyzed from the neck down. That family really needs to take more cabs.
I watched Blade Runner with her, during which she fell asleep. In real life, I've tried to watch Blade Runner twice, and fell asleep both times. Girl after my own heart. Later, Chloe told me that she wasn't going to live much longer, and that she wanted to today to be her final memory... and she asked me euthanize her.
It wasn't an easy choice, but ultimately I refused. I do think someone in Chloe's position has the right to die on her own terms, but I just can't be the one to do it. Ethics aside, could I live with myself afterwards? Would the memory of watching her last breath haunt me forever, especially knowing I flipped the switch? Would people know it was me? Would I get arrested for murder?
It didn't matter anyway. Pull the plug or don't, I knew my next action was going to be more time travel. I wish there was a way to save both Chloe and her father, but it doesn't look like that's in the cards. Jaunt back, jaunt forward, and Chloe's dad is dead again.
When we left off, I had gone back in time to save Chloe's father. When I got back to the present, her dad was alive... but now Chloe was was in a wheelchair. Sometime in the intervening years, Chloe had been in a bad car accident, and was now paralyzed from the neck down. That family really needs to take more cabs.
It wasn't an easy choice, but ultimately I refused. I do think someone in Chloe's position has the right to die on her own terms, but I just can't be the one to do it. Ethics aside, could I live with myself afterwards? Would the memory of watching her last breath haunt me forever, especially knowing I flipped the switch? Would people know it was me? Would I get arrested for murder?
It didn't matter anyway. Pull the plug or don't, I knew my next action was going to be more time travel. I wish there was a way to save both Chloe and her father, but it doesn't look like that's in the cards. Jaunt back, jaunt forward, and Chloe's dad is dead again.
I swear, this game could be used in ethics classes. You’re constantly given variations of the Trolley Problem, and even though there are no “correct” answers, I still feel like I lose every time.
Back at Chloe's house, we got serious about assembling all the clues we'd found. It's so nice seeing Chloe get excited about something, instead of just getting angry at everything. She's like a different person when her life has a purpose.
Yes, Chloe has grown on me. I said earlier that she’s hard to like, but the more I see of her history (both versions), the more I like her. Before, I saw her as a jerk who reacts to adversity in the most self-destructive ways. Now I see her as more of a tragic survivor desperately trying anything to feel alive again.
The specifics (drug use, stealing guns, open hostility, etc) initially turned me off. I’m not against recreational drug use per se; it’s one of those things that’s fine for some people, but not for me. But allowing herself to get into so much debt to a scuzzy dealer like Frank? There’s no way she ever needed drugs that badly, unless… unless...
...well, unless she didn’t care how much debt she got into, because she wouldn't be around long enough for it to matter. Before Rachel went missing, she and Chloe had been planning to skip town together. Come to think of it, I’ve been there. Some of my credit card debt was accumulated during the darkest days of my depression, when getting little things in the mail gave me tiny moments of happiness that kept me going. I didn’t think about having to pay it off because on some level I didn’t expect to live to see the end of the year.
...well, unless she didn’t care how much debt she got into, because she wouldn't be around long enough for it to matter. Before Rachel went missing, she and Chloe had been planning to skip town together. Come to think of it, I’ve been there. Some of my credit card debt was accumulated during the darkest days of my depression, when getting little things in the mail gave me tiny moments of happiness that kept me going. I didn’t think about having to pay it off because on some level I didn’t expect to live to see the end of the year.
…huh. Maybe I owe Chloe an apology.
Anyway, putting the clues together was a little tedious. I didn't want to try every number in Nathan's notes to unlock his phone, so I made a quick trip to GameFAQs. It turned out to be his birth date, which I suppose should have been my first guess.
Our clues led us to a barn in a remote location, where we found the hidden bunker where someone - we assumed Nathan - had been taking drugged women. It was very disturbing. Then we found clues to the location of Chloe's friend Rachel. We raced to the junkyard and found Rachel's grave. Chloe was devastated, then enraged. She dragged us to a school party so we could find Nathan.
The party was a noisy reminder of why I don't go to parties. But that just shows how good this game's programmers are - I actually felt social anxiety walking around all the students. I saved Alyssa from yet another minor accident, and nearly embarrassed myself sneaking into the VIP area.
After asking everyone at the party about Nathan, we received a text saying that the evidence was about to be destroyed, and we rushed back to the scrapyard.
Okay, here's another one of those times when the game doesn't give you a choice, when I very much would have chosen something else. I get that a game can't give you infinite choices (which is why Dungeons & Dragons will always be superior to video games), but yeesh. It's weird to have my character act one way when I control her decisions, then make irrational choices when the cut scenes take control.
So, yeah, I would not have chosen to return to the junk yard. It felt like such an obvious trap. I realize that normal humans have emotions and all, and don't always think things through, but rushing to the junk yard at this time felt like running straight into a crocodile's mouth. And I was right. A mysterious figure stepped up and drugged me, then shot Chloe.
Jeez, she dies a lot. She's the Rory Williams of video games. As I blacked out, I saw the face of our attacker. M... M... Mr. Jefferson? Well, suddenly I don't feel as guilty about throwing him under the bus at the end of episode 2. I can't say it was a total surprise. When the game kept pushing Nathan, David, and Frank as the villains, I wondered if the real baddie would be someone less suspicious.
Okay, fine, I had no clue.
Nice cliffhanger. How will I get out of this one? Pretty sure the answer will involve rewinding time, but I can't wait to see it play out. It pains me that I probably won't get to play again for a week.
Anyway, putting the clues together was a little tedious. I didn't want to try every number in Nathan's notes to unlock his phone, so I made a quick trip to GameFAQs. It turned out to be his birth date, which I suppose should have been my first guess.
Our clues led us to a barn in a remote location, where we found the hidden bunker where someone - we assumed Nathan - had been taking drugged women. It was very disturbing. Then we found clues to the location of Chloe's friend Rachel. We raced to the junkyard and found Rachel's grave. Chloe was devastated, then enraged. She dragged us to a school party so we could find Nathan.
After asking everyone at the party about Nathan, we received a text saying that the evidence was about to be destroyed, and we rushed back to the scrapyard.
Okay, here's another one of those times when the game doesn't give you a choice, when I very much would have chosen something else. I get that a game can't give you infinite choices (which is why Dungeons & Dragons will always be superior to video games), but yeesh. It's weird to have my character act one way when I control her decisions, then make irrational choices when the cut scenes take control.
Jeez, she dies a lot. She's the Rory Williams of video games. As I blacked out, I saw the face of our attacker. M... M... Mr. Jefferson? Well, suddenly I don't feel as guilty about throwing him under the bus at the end of episode 2. I can't say it was a total surprise. When the game kept pushing Nathan, David, and Frank as the villains, I wondered if the real baddie would be someone less suspicious.
Okay, fine, I had no clue.
Nice cliffhanger. How will I get out of this one? Pretty sure the answer will involve rewinding time, but I can't wait to see it play out. It pains me that I probably won't get to play again for a week.
Btw, earlier this week I watched the Black Mirror episode “Bandersnatch” on Netflix, and I highly recommend it for people who like LiS type games.
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