New to Life is Strange? Start with the first game if you want to follow Max and Chloe. Start with True Colors if you would rather meet a different main character. Before the Storm takes place earlier in the story, but it makes more sense after the first game because you already know Chloe and Rachel.

The short answer

  • For Max and Chloe: Life is Strange → Before the Storm → Double Exposure → Reunion. The later games return to these characters.
  • For a separate story: Try True Colors for Alex and a small-town mystery, or Life is Strange 2 for Sean and Daniel’s journey.
  • If you only want one game first: Choose the original Life is Strange. It introduces the characters and the kind of choices the series is known for.

This is an order for following the story, not a claim that every game requires the one before it. You can pick a different starting point based on the characters you want to meet.

1. Life is Strange: start with Max and Chloe

Life is Strange introduces Max Caulfield, her ability to rewind time, and Chloe Price. The two investigate events in Arcadia Bay. Start here if you want to understand why their friendship matters in the later Max stories.

Students sit in a photography class in Life is Strange.
The first game introduces Max and Arcadia Bay.

2. Before the Storm: learn more about Chloe

Before the Storm takes place before the first game and centers on Chloe and Rachel Amber. Play it second if you want their friendship to have more context while keeping the first game’s mystery intact.

Rachel appears in a stage costume in Life is Strange: Before the Storm.
Before the Storm follows Chloe and Rachel.

3. Double Exposure: return to Max later

Double Exposure follows an older Max as she investigates her friend Safi’s death. She can move between two timelines. It is easier to understand Max’s history if you have already played the first game.

A dialogue choice appears while Max talks with Safi in Double Exposure.
Max returns in a new mystery.

Square Enix also lists Reunion as a later story with Max and Chloe. If that is the game you want to reach, the original game and Double Exposure are the clearest preparation. Check the publisher’s current details before choosing an edition or platform.

Two other places to start

  • True Colors: Alex Chen can sense strong emotions and investigates her brother’s death in Haven Springs. Choose it if Alex’s story interests you more than Max’s.
Alex reaches toward a blue emotional aura in Life is Strange: True Colors.
True Colors centers on Alex and her power.
  • Life is Strange 2: Sean and Daniel travel after a tragic event. Sean’s decisions influence his younger brother. Choose it if you want a story focused on family and responsibility.
Sean stands in front of Daniel in a snowy forest in Life is Strange 2.
The brothers’ journey is a different story.

Before you play

The games deal with death, grief, danger and difficult choices. A calm-looking scene does not mean the story is light. Check the rating and content warnings for the specific game, especially if you are choosing for a younger player. If you want another kind of story, see our story-game comparison.