Life Is Strange: Every Ending, Explained (2024)

As one of Square Enix's best games, Life Is Strange has come a long way since its first installment. It's seen four other games in the series, as well as a remaster of the original. Each game features its own unique cast, but all of them can trace their roots back to the very first, which was released in 2015. Split over five "episodes," the game puts players in the shoes of Max Caulfield, a high school senior returning to her hometown of Arcadia Bay.

The story's foundation is Max's relationship with Chloe Price, her childhood best friend, who has spiraled in the years since her father's death. One of the very first scenes in the game is Chloe being shot in front of Max, an event that unlocks Max's superpower: time travel. By letting players rewind and see the outcomes of both choices, development studio Dontnod Entertainment created a twist on the choice-based adventure genre, which normally locks fans into one path or the other.

Updated on November 17, 2024 by Robbie Robinson: Life is Strange: Double Exposure was finally released on October 29th. The trailer stirred quite a buzz, as fans questioned the very noticeable lack of Chloe Price. With the game out, fans have finally been given an answer as to why Chloe never made an appearance in the trailer. This article has been updated to discuss how Life is Strange's endings come into play during Double Exposure and to get this article up to date with CBR's current formatting standard.

Saving Chloe Is Selfish, But Not to a Romantic

Even Though It Devastates Arcadia Bay

Life Is Strange has plenty of small choices, but the large, game-defining ones typically occur just once or twice per episode. All of these choices have some effect on the game's events; however, its final ending is determined by the choice that comes at the end of Episode Five. Up until this point, Max has saved Chloe from plenty of life-threatening incidents, from the initial shooting to a near-fatal collision with a train.

Throughout that time, the strange weather and events surrounding Arcadia Bay have gotten worse and worse, with snow (in the middle of October), a solar eclipse, and eventually a full-on hurricane. The pair deduce that all of these events are some sort of karmic repercussions from Max's use of her powers — and can be averted if Max goes back to the time before she even gets them. However, if she does, Chloe will die in the initial shooting that triggered the events of the entire game.

While Max connects to plenty of people throughout her week back in Arcadia Bay, the emotional heart of the game rests on Chloe. The last episode pulls out all the stops to reinforce this, as Max has to make her way through a fever dream-esque montage of all the time they've spent together before she can even make that choice. If she does choose to save Chloe, the game ends with the two making their way through the torn-apart wreckage of Arcadia Bay before driving away to find somewhere else to make a life together. Just like the other ending, it's rather bittersweet. Everyone that the players (and Max) grew close to has been torn to bits all because of one final choice. Saving Chloe might be a more satisfying ending for players, but the damage done to all those innocent people is irreversible.

It's also this timeline that the 2018 Life is Strange comic picks up on, about a year after the actual choice. Its storyline has the two swiftly return to Arcadia Bay, as Max's powers cause her to erratically jump between various timelines — including one where she sacrificed Chloe and saved the town from danger. The comic's story can't just move past Max's choice because it's an enormous weight on the couple as they reckon with the complex emotions caused by what they've done. Saving Chloe is a selfish choice, but it's also emblematic of a Max who won't trade away her love for anything. It honestly makes a lot of sense for Max's character to save Chloe, and while it is a selfish choice, many players would likely find themselves torn about making the same decision if it were real life.

Saving Arcadia Bay Is a Choice For the Greater Good

Chloe's Final Death Is the Hardest to Watch

While saving Chloe results in somewhat of a cliffhanger, choosing to let her die results in things being tied up, both emotionally and narratively. By sacrificing Chloe, she gets her final monologue, kissing Max passionately before leaving the time traveler with her final words: "Don't you forget about me." That's right before Max sends herself back to the beginning of the week, choosing to let Chloe's death play out as originally intended in a gut-wrenching moment for her and the player. The scenes outside the shooting play out as a series of stylized photographs, set to Foals' "Spanish Sahara." This results in a timeline that's much better for everyone who isn't Max or Chloe.

Chloe's killer is brought to justice, and his arrest averts many of the negative consequences that would have normally played out during the game. Max never gaining time travel powers prevents the rest, and the game ends with Chloe's funeral. Max has become a whole different person through the choices she's been forced to make, but she now has to live without the person who helped her grow. In a final shot, a blue butterfly lands on Chloe's coffin before flying away. That butterfly is a symbol of many of the game's themes — Max's connection with Chloe, the effects that individual choices have on the world, and the connections made with other people. It's truly difficult to watch Chloe completely die, especially knowing that she dies believing Max has forgotten about her, but Chloe was always meant to die.

Life is Strange: Double Exposure Finally Continues Max Caulfield's Story

But Chloe Price Is No Longer Her Partner In Time

Nearly a decade after the original Life is Strange game, fans get to step back into the shoes of the nosy and often awkward, Max Caulfield. She's older, and hasn't used her rewind powers since the events of Arcadia Bay. However, these days, her closest friend is a young woman named Safi. While the plot of Double Exposure follows Max trying to figure out Safi's mysterious murder as Max steps back into her powers, fans also got some answers about Chloe Price. The game actually has a pretty interesting way of letting players decide what exactly the fate of Chloe was in Double Exposure. Very early in the game, Max and Safi get a drink together at a bar. Safi begins questioning Max about the "blue-haired girl" that she has a picture of in her wallet.

First, players can decide if they'd like to call Chloe a friend or a romantic interest. Safi is dying to know why Max no longer hangs out with or speaks about "that girl." After that, the game gives players the first massive choice that will impact the game: deciding if Chloe lived or died at the end of Life is Strange. Choosing Chloe's death in Double Exposure carries out the "Bay" ending. Meanwhile, if players choose the "We grew apart" option, Chloe is still alive but has gone her own way.

This is explained by Chloe having some lingering resentments about Max's power, and due to the two of them having very different ways of dealing with their Arcadia Bay trauma. It's not exactly what fans wanted. While the game should be able to grow in a direction without Max and Chloe together, there's no denying that the very foundation of the entire series was built around the two of them.

Whether fans like how Deck Nine has chosen to handle Chloe or not, at least there's finally clarity about the two of them. It's certainly a bummer knowing that Max and Chloe choose to part after everything they've gone through. The explanation for them growing apart feels closer to a cop-out than an actual good reason. If that hasn't put any fans off from playing Life is Strange: Double Exposure, then they're sure to enjoy the game that is out right now. It still maintains that perfect Life is Strange feel, even if Chloe isn't involved.

Life is Strange

Maxine "Max" Caulfield returns to her hometown of Arcadia Bay, Oregon, where she witnesses childhood friend Chloe Price being shot by Nathan Prescott. The incident triggers Max's abilities to rewind time, allowing her to save Chloe from Nathan.

Adventure

Systems

OpenCritic Reviews

Top Critic Rating:81/100 Critics Recommend:76%

Franchise

Life is Strange

Platform(s)

Android , iOS , Nintendo Switch , PC , PlayStation 3 , PlayStation 4 , Xbox 360 , Xbox One

Released

January 30, 2015

Developer(s)

Dontnod Entertainment

Publisher(s)

Square Enix

Engine

unreal engine 3, unreal engine 4

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol

How Long To Beat

15 Hours

PS Plus Availability

Extra & Premium

OpenCritic Rating

Strong