ActionAdventure
Life is Strange - Episode 1
Hooks you almost right away
Gets good by 2h almost every game dips in hours 2–3
Fully opens up by 7h rated like by long-time players
Reach the ending 34% of players who started
Started playing 68% of owners
Steam reviews 96% positive of 176,590
What the data shows
- In the first 2 hours 1 in 7 reviews are negative (13%); after 10h it's 1 in 45 (2%).
- Fully opens up by hour 7.
- The opening is criticised less than in 85% of games we track.
- 34% of players who start reach the ending.
- The biggest drop-off is between “Chrysalis” and “Out of Time”: from 74% to 44% of starters.
- Only 68% of owners have even the first achievement — the rest barely played.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 177,158 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 300 reviews: 15.6h for positive, 1.8h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (67.8% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
- Started playing 100%
- Chrysalis Finish Episode 1: Chrysalis 74% −26
- Out of Time Finish Episode 2: Out of Time Most players quit here 44% −29
- Chaos Theory Finish Episode 3: Chaos Theory 40% −5
- Dark Room Finish Episode 4: Dark Room 36% −4
- Polarized Finish Episode 5: Polarized 34% −2
story milestone ending biggest drop-off
Story milestones were labeled by AI from achievement names and descriptions; mistakes are possible.
All achievements (60)
story milestone ending side
- Macro Eyes Take optional photo #1 in Episode 1: Chrysalis 100%
- Chrysalis Finish Episode 1: Chrysalis 74%
- Red Eye Take optional photo #5 in Episode 1: Chrysalis 62%
- Out of Time Finish Episode 2: Out of Time 44%
- Dynamic Range Take optional photo #7 in Episode 2: Out of Time 44%
- Field Of View Take optional photo #1 in Episode 2: Out of Time 40%
- Chaos Theory Finish Episode 3: Chaos Theory 40%
- Dark Room Finish Episode 4: Dark Room 36%
- Resolution Revolution Take optional photo #10 in Episode 2: Out of Time 35%
- Polarized Finish Episode 5: Polarized 34%
- Manually Exposed Take optional photo #8 in Episode 4: Dark Room 33%
- Light Leak Take optional photo #10 in Episode 1: Chrysalis 32%
- Telephotogenic Take optional photo #3 in Episode 1: Chrysalis 32%
- The Reflex Take optional photo #3 in Episode 3: Chaos Theory 31%
- Compressed Take optional photo #5 in Episode 2: Out of Time 31%
- Histogrammar Take optional photo #4 in Episode 3: Chaos Theory 31%
- Framed Take optional photo #3 in Episode 5: Polarized 30%
- Flash! Take optional photo #10 in Episode 3: Chaos Theory 30%
- Pinholed Take optional photo #6 in Episode 3: Chaos Theory 28%
- Colorized Take optional photo #8 in Episode 2: Out of Time 27%
- Focused Take optional photo #6 in Episode 1: Chrysalis 25%
- Ambient Take optional photo #1 in Episode 4: Dark Room 24%
- Time-Lapsed Take optional photo #2 in Episode 4: Dark Room 23%
- Meter Made Take optional photo #9 in Episode 2: Out of Time 23%
- Full Exposure Take optional photo #2 in Episode 2: Out of Time 22%
- Zoomed In Take optional photo #7 in Episode 1: Chrysalis 22%
- Image Stabilizer Take optional photo #4 in Episode 2: Out of Time 21%
- Pixelated Take optional photo #6 in Episode 2: Out of Time 21%
- Focal Pointed Take optional photo #8 in Episode 1: Chrysalis 21%
- Wide Angles Take optional photo #2 in Episode 1: Chrysalis 21%
- Close-Ups Take optional photo #4 in Episode 1: Chrysalis 21%
- Dioptric Power Take optional photo #6 in Episode 4: Dark Room 21%
- Maximum Aperture Take optional photo #9 in Episode 1: Chrysalis 20%
- Rangefinder Take optional photo #4 in Episode 4: Dark Room 18%
- Optican Take optional photo #9 in Episode 3: Chaos Theory 18%
- Fisheye Take optional photo #7 in Episode 4: Dark Room 18%
- Sensor Take optional photo #7 in Episode 5: Polarized 17%
- Processor Take optional photo #3 in Episode 2: Out of Time 16%
- Silhouettes Take optional photo #10 in Episode 5: Polarized 16%
- Viewfinder Take optional photo #8 in Episode 3: Chaos Theory 16%
- Balance Take optional photo #3 in Episode 4: Dark Room 16%
- Night Vision Take optional photo #2 in Episode 5: Polarized 16%
- Bokeh Take optional photo #5 in Episode 3: Chaos Theory 15%
- Lenscrafted Take optional photo #2 in Episode 3: Chaos Theory 14%
- Slideshow Take optional photo #9 in Episode 4: Dark Room 14%
- Blowup Take optional photo #5 in Episode 5: Polarized 13%
- Incandescent Take optional photo #1 in Episode 5: Polarized 13%
- RAW Strength Take optional photo #7 in Episode 3: Chaos Theory 12%
- Visionary Take all optional photos in Episode 1: Chrysalis 12%
- Gamma Value Take optional photo #5 in Episode 4: Dark Room 12%
- Iris Take optional photo #6 in Episode 5: Polarized 11%
- Camera Obscura Take optional photo #4 in Episode 5: Polarized 11%
- Lab Master Take all optional photos in Episode 2: Out of Time 11%
- Parallax View Take optional photo #1 in Episode 3: Chaos Theory 11%
- Camera Eye Take all optional photos in Episode 3: Chaos Theory 8.8%
- Tripod Take optional photo #10 in Episode 4: Dark Room 8.8%
- On Display Take optional photo #8 in Episode 5: Polarized 8.7%
- Light Meter Take optional photo #9 in Episode 5: Polarized 8.4%
- Shutterbug Take all optional photos in Episode 4: Dark Room 8.1%
- Selfie Awareness Take all optional photos in Episode 5: Polarized 7.5%
Steam page Updated: 2026-10-22.