You are Max, a photography senior who saves her old friend Chloe by discovering she can rewind time. The pair soon find themselves exposed to the darker side of Arcadia Bay as they uncover the disturbing truth behind the sudden disappearance of fellow student Rachel Amber. Meanwhile, Max begins to have premonitions as she struggles to understand the implications of her power. She must quickly learn that changing the past can sometimes lead to a devastating future.

With a unique hand-drawn art style, Life Is Strange is a compelling, story-driven experience where choice and consequence play a key role in how the narrative unfolds. But there is a twist. At the beginning of the game Max discovers she has a remarkable power… the ability to rewind time. In Life Is Strange the player has the power to affect the game’s narrative and also change the course of history itself.

Life Is Strange will be available to download for free on PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Mac and PC starting indefinitely from July 21, 2016.

The first episode is basically an introduction to the world of Life is Strange. You will see Max and Chloe reunite and you will make important choices that will influence their destiny. You will see some of the short-term consequences of those choices but bear in mind that there are also mid and long-term repercussions that will pan out over the course of the later episodes, in a butterfly effect manner. So you might rewind your choices as much as you want in the short term but you will never know what might happen further down the line. And of course we’ll ensure that you always get surprised by unexpected turns of events and that your experience really feels unique and customized by your choices.

This first episode is also an introduction to the general mechanics of the game and although Life is Strange emphasizes story and choice over puzzles, you will also see an evolution over the next episodes in terms of how you need to combine different types of interactions and rewinds.

“Although our team set out to create an award-winning narrative we still cannot believe the response we’ve had from players of Life is Strange” said Oskar Guilbert, CEO of DONTDOD Entertainment. “We’re really glad that Square Enix have decided to give the first episode away for free so more players can begin their journey and see why people have fallen in love with the game for themselves.”

“By making the first episode of Life is Strange free, we’re really excited to welcome new players to the world of Arcadia Bay and our passionate, vibrant community” said Jon Brooke, VP Brand and European Marketing at Square Enix, “We’re incredibly pleased with the awards that the series has won to date as well as the support that our community have given us throughout the campaign.”