Title: Life is Strange: Welcome to Caledon University
Author: Chris Farnell
Publisher: Titan Books
Release Date: April 14th, 2026
Price: 39.99 (USD)
Boss Rush Network had been provided with a copy of this publication from Titan Books for the purpose of this review. To see other reviews related to the Life is Strange series please click here.
READER WARNING: The following publication from Titan Books does reveal story, characters, insights, theories, and superpowers within its pages that directly relate to all Life is Strange games. Recommended it to be enjoyed after playing all or many of the games to appreciate the lore and backstory of its characters and locations.
Life is Strange: Welcome to Caledon University is a book in the style of a college introduction handbook. It describes what the game has created and has embedded even more of its charm with artful expression, miscellaneous facts, and easter eggs to be discovered and deciphered by those who have been saturated in the Life is Strange world. The handguide is a used copy that is riddled with notes, trivia, and plenty of doodles for you to ponder on. Where will you start? I recommend page 1 of this 160-page hardcover beauty.
Author Chris Farnell has taken the Life is Strange franchise and has written a fun deep dive within the walls of Caledon. Caledon University is a factitious college located in the U.S. state of Vermont. In both Life is Strange: Double Exposure, and Life is Strange: Reunion we get a pretty well-rounded look at the campus, and some insight into the surrounding town of Lakeport.
The book takes what we already have discovered in The Life is Strange series and provides more emphasis and details on people, places, and the stories that go with them. Page by page I found myself enjoying the description more in detail, such as the history of the Abraxas Society and its transformation over the years, its traditions, and its secrets. Really if you love Life is Strange you will enjoy the extended lore that is presented here.
The focus of this book is in fact that it is a guide for Caledon University and the surrounding area off campus, but the underlying notes of this book are really the world building that it provides the fans of the series and so instead of telling you what everything is within this book I wanted to focus on three main avenues in which really sparked my interest in this alternate hardcover medium of this series.
- The variety of art and media forms.
Life is Strange is known for many things, but it is stocked full of different mediums of media, art, and entertainment. In the games we have experienced musical and art expressions, theatrical performances, D&D deep dives, and even LARPing around town. These things fill the gaps around fleshing out the story and its characters. So, all these elements make up a great recipe for the game, and this book is no different.
We read about and view the different art mediums out in the quad at the campus or the displayed art pieces for purchase at the Snapping Turtle. We can read about the films that Moses and Max have watched and hear their opinions and backstory of each movie. We get to read about the various podcasts that are within the game and get a better feel at what each one brings to the table. We get a detailed roadmap and stories of Chloes punk-rock band Drugstore Makeup she manages. We can see poetry written by Safi, and the influence her deceased friend Maya has played in her life. We get Max’s photography pieces and the awards she has won because of her talent. This book is packed to its bindings with all sorts of influence.
2. The call back to past games
Life is Strange has been very good about tying in past characters, games, locations, and concepts within each new title that comes out. Certain things that they bring back time and again are as simple as the goofy mascot Hotdog man. Every time I see a doodle, a sticker, or commercial within the game it takes me back to the other games in the series. Another one of these time machines is the reference to the band Firewalk which always has me transport my thoughts to Chloes band experience. The book provides.
At the end of Life is Strange: Double Exposure you learn that Safi and Diamond leave to travel across the country to find others like themselves. In the book they have journal entries of past characters, who they don’t say by name but give a description that clearly is referring to past games. They talk about an empath in a small Colorado town and a boy who has telekinesis type powers. These connections weave a solid tight-knit web that makes this hit home much more deeply and I am all for it.
3. The hope for future installments in the franchise.
If you played all or most of Life is Strange games, you know some are stronger in areas than others. If you played Life is Strange: Double Exposure the game didn’t go over too well as a strong title in the series, in fact many people thought it was the end for the series because people got laid off from the company due to sales. However, they came out with Life is Strange: Reunion that really sums up the story that was previously told and ultimately giving the fans a better glimpse of the future.
By having a book like this one we further the lore, the mystery, and the unknown of the franchise, giving us clarity and tying up potential loose ends and maybe even starting new ones for us to reflect on. This book packs in a lot that really heightens fans’ thirst for more and gives a sneak peak at the dessert menu of what could be next. Let’s see if our lives can continue to get completely and abundantly strange.
Final Score:
If you love Life is Strange at all this book is for you. What I liked most about this book is that it provided the same vibes I feel while playing the game. You find something interesting, you stop to explore its premise, you process it, and you connect the dots to other knowledge you have from other games, characters, and lore that you came across previously. You stop and slow down like you do within the game to enjoy the scenery, music, and to process the story to that point and make theories on what could be next. This book gave me a similar feeling that I appreciate and enjoy. Life may not always be what we had pictured, wrote down on paper, or strived for, but we can guarantee that whatever strange thing happens along the way, we can overcome, we can contribute, and we can persevere. Stay strange my friends.
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Shane Kelley is a Senior writer for Boss Rush Network, as well as a writer for Another Zelda Podcast. His favorite game is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. You can contact and reach out to (Stillsaneshane) on X or Bluesky. I would love to hear from you. Also, you can now go to my website at Stillsaneshane.com.
Images: taken by author
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