Comparison

Life is Strange vs Five Dates

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Life is Strange

Experience a choice-driven narrative adventure as a rebellious teen forming an unlikely friendship. Your decisions shape the story, leading to multiple endings. Engage in unique conversation modes, customize your character's appearance, and leave your mark on the world with tags and drawings.

Highlights
  • Choice and consequence driven narrative
  • Multiple endings
  • Risk/reward conversation mode
  • Witty tags and drawings
  • Outfit customization
  • Licensed indie soundtrack
Features
Read full description

"** Supported Devices: OS: Xcode 14.3 supported devices, iOS 12 or higher. All devices starting from iPhone X. ** Life is Strange: Before the Storm features Chloe Price a 16 year-old rebel who forms an unlikely friendship with Rachel Amber, a beautiful and popular girl destined for success. When Rachel’s world is turned upside down by a family secret it takes their newfound alliance to give each other the strength to overcome their demons. - Choice and consequence driven narrative adventure - Multiple endings depending on the choices you make - ‘Backtalk’ - A risk/reward conversation mode that allows Chloe to use her barbed tongue to provoke or get her way - Make your mark on the world with witty tags and drawings - Choose Chloe’s outfit and see how people react to your look - Distinct Licensed indie soundtrack & original score by Daughter"

About

Five Dates

Experience a modern dating simulation where your choices shape a millennial's video dating journey during lockdown. Navigate conversations, awkward scenarios, and unexpected truths with five distinct personalities to discover attraction and compatibility.

Highlights
  • Interactive video dating simulation
  • Branching narrative choices
  • Multiple potential matches
  • Explore modern dating challenges
  • Engaging conversation topics
Features
Read full description

Vinny, a millennial from London, joins a dating app for the first time while living in lockdown. With five potential female matches, Vinny must pluck up the courage to video date with wildly different personalities, starring Mandip Gill (Doctor Who) and Georgia Hirst (Vikings). The viewer’s choices will define Vinny’s interactions with each date and their interest in seeing him again. Amidst a branching, multi-directional chain of conversation topics and deep-dive questions, Vinny is faced with digital game dates, awkward scenarios and unexpected truths. Five Dates is an exploration of the unpredictable modern dating experience, which follows an average single man as he navigates the world of digital dating. Through his journey, the decisions the viewer makes for him will challenge their own conceptions of attraction and compatibility. From the publishing studio that brought you The Complex, The Bunker and The Shapeshifting Detective.

Screenshots

Life is Strange4 screens
Five Dates4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Five Dates at 4.3 against Life is Strange's 3.5. Five Dates also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 33 months) and review sentiment (55% vs 30%). Life is Strange's advantage is ratings volume (1.2K vs 231). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Life is Strange sells 7 one-off in-app purchases and Five Dates sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Five Dates holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Life is Strange has 1.2K ratings behind it against 231, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 30% of Life is Strange's written reviews are positive against 55% of Five Dates's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Life is Strange ships an update every 33 months, Five Dates fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Life is Strange versus Five Dates: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLife is StrangeFive Dates
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (1.2K ratings)4.3 (231 ratings) — better
Positive reviews30.4% of reviews55.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.2K — better231
Update frequencyEvery 33 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size1.3 GB2.0 GB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperSQUARE ENIX Co., Ltd.Wales Interactive Ltd.

Customer experience

Life is Strange

All ratings1,170 ratings
Positive56.8%
Neutral12.1%
Negative31.2%
Written reviews365 reviews
Positive30.4%
Neutral18.9%
Negative50.7%

Five Dates

All ratings231 ratings
Positive83.1%
Neutral5.2%
Negative11.7%
Written reviews60 reviews
Positive55.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative25.0%

User reviews

Life is Strange

From 1.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great story and characters
  • 🎨 Beautiful art style
  • 🎶 Excellent soundtrack
  • 👍 Engaging gameplay

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent glitches and bugs
  • 🕹️ Frustrating controls and navigation
  • 🚧 Unpolished mobile port
  • 💰 Expensive for a mobile game

Five Dates

From 231 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Realistic dating simulation
  • 👍 Good acting and direction
  • 👍 Interesting and evolving story
  • 👍 High replayability
  • 👍 Funny and cool gameplay

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Game requires purchase after demo
  • 🐛 Repetitive gameplay loop
  • 🐛 Short story length
  • 🐛 Choices don't significantly alter story
  • 🐛 Long download times

Bugs and requests

Life is Strange

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Characters disappearing or glitching during scenes
  • Crashes and freezes, especially in later episodes
  • Inability to progress due to game-breaking bugs
  • Graphical issues like distorted textures and animations

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add controller support
  • Improve camera and movement controls
  • Optimize performance and stability
  • Provide more free content

Five Dates

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • Keeps asking to buy the game after purchase
  • Stuck on a white screen after paying
  • No sound in the game
  • Game crashes mid-way through dates
  • Game takes a very long time to download
Show 5 more
  • Storage full error despite free space
  • Videos glitch and don't coincide
  • Game freezes on processing dates screen
  • Game crashes and forces restart of date
  • Video freezes if game is minimized

Requested features

10 requests
  • More inclusivity (LGBTQ+ options)
  • Female protagonist version
  • More date options
  • Continuation of the story/new seasons
  • New characters
Show 5 more
  • More sexy situations
  • Behind-the-scenes video
  • Option to replay for different choices
  • Lower price for full game
  • More choices visible longer

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Life is Strange

One-time7
  • Bonus Episode$1.99
  • Episode 1$2.99
  • Episode 2$2.99
Show 4 more
  • Episode 3$2.99
  • Season Pass [Episode 3-4]$4.99
  • Season Pass [2-4]$6.99
  • Season Pass [Episode 1-3]$7.99
1 purchases

Five Dates

One-time1
  • Five Dates - Unlock Full Game$4.99

Questions

Is Life is Strange free?
Life is Strange is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Five Dates free?
Five Dates is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Life is Strange or Five Dates?
Five Dates is rated higher. Life is Strange averages 3.5 out of 5 from 1.2K ratings, while Five Dates averages 4.3 from 231 ratings.
Do Life is Strange or Five Dates have ads?
Neither Life is Strange nor Five Dates shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Life is Strange or Five Dates?
Life is Strange ships an update every 33 months, and Five Dates fortnightly. Most recently, Life is Strange was updated on October 30, 2026 and Five Dates on October 24, 2026.

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