➤ Life is Strange Solution - Episode 1: Chrysalis 🕹

Please note:

The solution is based on the US version of the game for Xbox One. There may be differences with any other editions.

The main feature of Life is Strange is the ability to rewind time and change the course of events, making different decisions or changing your behavior after witnessing the most immediate consequences of your actions. As the game takes care to communicate the way, on those specific occasions when the player finds himself at a crossroads it will affect future events. For the moment only the first chapter has been released, so we do not know how and how much each single decision can affect future events. In this solution, therefore, we will limit ourselves to pointing out the key moments and illustrating the various options available.

The photography lesson

Maxine's adventure begins on a wooded slope, under persistent rain. You can't do much else but climb up the path, watching the tornado on the horizon, until you reach the lighthouse. This short prologue is used by the game to teach you the basics of commands, before plunging you into the middle of a photography lesson.
While the professor speaks in the background, you are given time and a way to familiarize yourself with the game interface. By moving the view with the right analog of the pad you will bring up textual descriptions of the objects that surround you, while stopping on one of these you will be presented with options to interact, which usually are limited to "look" and "use". To continue with the story you will have to take a selfie with the phone on your left, so in case you are interested in knowing some more details about the protagonist's life and her relationship with other classmates, leave this action for last. However, after making the self-timer, a cut-scene will interrupt the action, at the end of which Professor Jefferson will ask you a question about the history of photography, asking you to link the origin of the selfie to a great photographer of the past. . This time the answer does not matter, whatever option you choose you will have to suffer a slight reprimand from the teacher and discover that the most hated partner seems to be more prepared than Maxine. At the end of the conversation, the bell signals the end of the lesson. You can leave the classroom if you want, or lose a few more moments observing the details of the classroom, taking the first optional photo (which unlocks a lens) and chatting again with prof. In the latter case, don't worry too much about the answer you will give.
Your next destination is the bathroom which is on the right down the hall. Of course, along the way you can get to know your schoolmates by observing them and listening to Maxine's comments. You also begin to notice how the walls are literally covered with leaflets, many of which refer to the disappearance of a local girl. Arrived in front of the bathroom, enter and turn on the tap to rinse your face. This simple action triggers a series of key events for the continuation of the game. Photograph the blue butterfly that mysteriously enters the scene and get ready to witness the rapid precipitate of events inside the bathroom that will end in a fight after which a girl will be killed on the ground. Just as happened a little while ago at the lighthouse, all of a sudden you find yourself back in class, again in the midst of the same explanation heard a few minutes earlier.
Once again, to reactivate the chain of events necessary for the story you will have to take a selfie. On this occasion, however, during the query that follows, in addition to the two wrong answers, the game will also show you an icon at the top left: by pressing the corresponding key, the game will add among the possible options the correct one that you heard the first time Maxine has experienced this moment (in case you are distracted, the correct answer is "The Daguerreian Process"). So after the lesson, talk to Professor Jefferson again. In case you have followed our advice, Maxine should already have an answer ready to provide to the professor when asked if she has already decided which photo to use for the exhibition.

Life is Strange Solution - Episode 1: Chrysalis

If, on the other hand, you have not yet spoken to the professor, opt for one of the possible answers, listen to the sermon you will receive, then rewind the time and opt for the added answer among those available. Making a good impression on the professor, however, is not one of the priorities of the day when you know that you are just minutes away from a murder. In reality, the game leaves you plenty of time to linger through the corridors again if you have overlooked any detail previously. In any case, your destination is once again the bathroom: go inside and as before, use the sink tap to start the sequence of the quarrel. This time, however, you can stop the discussion before the worst happens. To do this you will have to move the attendant's cart, pick up the hammer from the ground and sound the alarm. Time is short, however, so on the first attempt you won't have time to foil the aggression. Then rewind the time to discover that the trolley will already be moved this time: pick up the hammer without hesitation and use it with the alarm. Upon exiting the building you will be stopped by the principal. During the conversation you will have to make the first important decision of the game: report Nathan for the armed attack in the bathroom or keep quiet about what happened. Both solutions will have consequences, but for now you can't know which ones. So act according to your conscience and go out.

Outside

Take your time to explore the surroundings and notice that you can take a photo of the statue in the center of the courtyard, the first of ten optional photos in the chapter linked to an objective / trophy. For the complete list of optional photos, please refer to the video at the end of the solution. Near the entrance you will find a teacher (you recognize her by the purple shirt) who will ask you to sign a petition against electronic surveillance on campus. Once again choose according to conscience. Then approach Brooke, the Asian girl wearing a gray hoodie. Before talking to her, however, examine the backpack and the drone that is inside, then start the conversation and when possible choose "That's a HiFly Drone" three response options to impress Brooke and convince her to let you use the drone. In case you forgot to check your backpack, before speaking to her, rewind time and fix it.
Then move on to Justin, the boy with the red hat on the wall with the skaters. Also on this occasion it is good to collect some information about him during a first chat, then rewind the time and opt for the right answers. However initially choose "I came to Noseslide", then when it is time to select a trick, your answer should be "Three Flips" in case you are interested in taking all the optional photos. Then turn your attention to Daniel, the boy intent on drawing sitting on the grass. Daniel will ask you for permission to take a portrait of yourself and post it on social media: once again, the choice is yours. Finally, talk to Hayden, the boy with the glasses. To consult his portfolio you will have to answer correctly ("Robert Capa"), but by now you should have learned that the power of rewinding time is very useful when you don't know what to say on the first try.

Bedroom

Once the social obligations have been disposed of, you must at all costs enter the dormitory and retrieve the USB stick, but the nice (euphemism!) Vittoria seems determined to hinder you at all costs. Yet there must be a way to get rid of it. Start by exploring the small room on the left, looking for a switch that activates the automatic sprinklers. Memorize this detail and return to Vittoria to sabotage the paint bucket (just interact with the object). Now wait for the attendant to go up the ladder and go back to the closet to activate the sprinklers ... and here Vittoria will find a nice stain of paint on her brand new sweater. At this point, however, you have to decide whether to take revenge and mock the girl covered in paint or show a good heart and console her. This is another of the fundamental decisions for the continuation of events, so think about it.
Inside the dorm corridor, explore the environment as you proceed to the back where Maxine's room is located.

Among the various objects you can interact with, the most important is the yellow note on the desk that tells you how the USB stick you are looking for was borrowed from your friend Dany. Then head to his room on which door you find Juliet furious with Dany for having flirted with her boyfriend. Or at least, so Vittoria told her, one who certainly cannot be blindly trusted. Better to see clearly. So go to Vittoria's room in search of evidence. Interact with the PC and print the email in which Vittoria admits that she made fun of Juliet. Then bring the press to Juliet and talk to Dany about what happened, then get the USB key you need to meet Warren at the parking lot. As you head in that direction, however, you witness a small incident involving Alyssa, the girl on the bench, hit by Logan's clumsy throw with the football. By rewinding the time, you can warn the girl and avoid a bruise. In addition, the ball will crash into the window, allowing you to take another optional photo. Upon exiting the dorm area you will witness another interesting event, which is a disturbing conversation between Kate and the campus guard. This is another topical moment in which you will have to decide whether to intervene or simply take a photo.

Parking

At the parking lot you find Warren at the bottom of the area, leaning on the hood of his new car. New is excessive indeed, but it does nothing. Before approaching, however, you can write something with your finger on the dirt that covers the rear window of a van and take an optional photo: once again, for all the others, we refer you to the video at the end of the article. Approach Warren and start the conversation. In this case it doesn't really matter what you decide to answer the boy. However, Nathan will enter the scene soon, rather nervous. You will be verbally assaulted, but don't worry about the consequences of your responses. Either way Nathan and Warren will end up fighting when Chloe's timely entry into the scene. During the drive with her, you will have to answer a series of questions. The result will in any case end up saddening your savior. So rewind the tempo and take advantage of the appearance of more appropriate responses, repeating this operation until you can use as an answer: "I take photos". Once in the room, Chloe asks you to put a CD in the stereo: ravanando among her things on the desk you will find a CD, but also a photo of the missing girl already seen in the corridors of the school. The conversation that follows is not particularly important. Once the pleasantries are closed, look for the power socket on the right wall and turn on the power strip. Then move to the stereo and turn it on. While Chloe listens to her music, you can now explore the house. Examine every corner of the house to find that the girl's father is the guard you saw earlier at school. Your target, however, is the filing cabinet in the garage. As you consult the documents, the sheets fall into a puddle of oil: to avoid leaving traces, read them first, then rewind time. You then examine the TV to find that Chloe's dad has placed cameras in every room of the house. At that point you can start looking for the tools you need to repair the camera. They are located above the washing machine, but by activating the latter the tools fall under the cabinet. So go back in time, move the cardboard under the cabinet a little further, then activate the washing machine again, finally collect what has fallen by pulling the cardboard towards you.
Now go back to Chloe and fix your reflex, then after a short chat you will be asked to turn down the volume and take a picture of your friend. Suddenly, however, Chloe's father will return home leaving you with two options: hide or stay in the open. In the first thing you will have to use the power to move the object that blocks the door of the wardrobe where you can hide from view. From inside the closet you will have to decide whether to come out and defend Chloe or watch helpless as the violence suffered by your friend. Avoiding hiding instead you will have to decide whether to take the blame for the bag of weed that will send Chloe's father on a rampage or to put the responsibility on her. At the end of the discussion, leave Chloe's room by going out the window.

Return to the lighthouse

The last part of this first episode takes place in the same initial setting, much quieter and less stormy. Once again you will have to go up to the lighthouse, but first take a moment to take the photo of the sparrow placed on the stone in the middle of the path thus unlocking an objective / trophy. At the top you can take another photo, with Chloe from behind. After examining every detail nearby, talk to your friend, choosing your answers according to your conscience. This conversation will have no consequences. Suddenly, however, you find yourself catapulted again in the initial instant of the game. Resume the climb, avoiding the falling stones, until your path is blocked by the fall of a branch. Approach the trunk and rewind time: at the resumption you will find yourself in the same spot before the collapse, so you can continue towards the lighthouse without being hindered. In the few meters that separate you from the summit you may have to use your power again to avoid other obstacles. Arrived in the open space in front of the structure, locate the newspaper stuck on a wooden stake and shaken by the wind. Finally, interact with the page to start the final movie of the game.