Life is Strange has been praised for many things since it came out in 2015, earning awards such as The Game Awards' "Game for Change" and Golden Joystick's "Performance of the Year," but the graphics of the title have not aged well in the last 6 years. Dontnod Entertainment has been made aware of that and seeks to improve upon this with the new Life is Strange Remastered Collection coming out on September 30th.
The Remastered Collection is set to be released with Life is Strange: True Colors' Ultimate Edition on September 10th for fans who want it just a bit sooner. The release includes the original story of Max Caulfield and Chloe Price, but also comes with an updated version of Life is Strange: Before the Storm as well. The latest trailer showed a night and day comparison between the two, but one fan took the time to record their own gameplay to show how drastic the improvements truly are against the original.
The user violetowy has created a video of around 2 and a half minutes of clips from the latest Remastered Collection trailer shown at E3 with gameplay footage violetowy took placed side by side. It does a great job at showcasing a number of changes by developer Dontnod in a visual format than just through text. Models have been redefined, and even the details in the characters' eyes have been changed for the better.
The biggest of all being showcased in the video's thumbnail. As Max and Chloe go swimming in a pool, the original game gave Max a rather stone-faced look, but the updated head and facial animations have changed that to have her hair be much more reactive to her motions, along with a proper smile coming to her face. The comparison is sure to make fans feel better about what's coming to the release as one scene of Chloe dancing appears to be reworked entirely so she looks far less stiff, which was one of the scenes the Life is Strange news at E3 didn't use for its own comparisons.
Though the video also shows some of the trailer's scenes aren't perfect, and some scenes in the video look to be only given a better lighting job or adjusted with new models and textures for certain characters. One thing to keep in mind with that is that this game is still undergoing development and until a certain point, everything shown is tentative. Life is Strange Remastered Collection isn't finished just yet, and hopefully, the only place for the collection to go from here is up.
Life is Strange Remastered Collection can be received on September 10th with Life is Strange: True Colors' Deluxe Edition, but can be bought by itself on September 30th for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.