Life Is Strange: Before the Storm

When I played episode 4 of 2015’s true Game of the Year, Life is Strange, I knew that I would never be the same person as I was before. That may sound overstated and kind of ridiculous, but I have written about why this game, and especially the character of Chloe, hit me the way it did (those spoiler-filled writings can be found here, here in the best new character section, here as my overall game of the year, and my retrospective of it here). The way I feel toward the original Life is Strange is unlike how I feel toward any other piece of media. I connected with that game, its world, its characters, its defining soundtrack, and all of its idiosyncrasies on such a deep, personal level that every time I step into a professional wrestling ring, it’s under the last name Pricefield (the amalgamation/ship combo of Chloe Price and Maxine Caulfield, the two main characters of the game. Worth noting: I did not come up with the name. The name was created by the incredible community surrounding Life is Strange and at no point do I ever intend on trying to present the name as anything other than a reference to something that has deep personal meaning to me). I had a lot of hope for this game, but a TON of reservations about something else with the Life is Strange name on it. With all of that being said, I’ll finally move on to my thoughts on the follow-up/prequel (da freaquel).

The story in this first episode follows Chloe Price through her first chance meeting with Rachel Amber at a concert, during which Rachel bails Chloe out of a rough situation. The next morning, we are reintroduced to Chloe’s mom Joyce and future step-dad David, where Chloe shows that she is still the lovably rebellious punk that she was in the first season, although she sounds drastically different this time around (but I'll go into more detail on that later). Upon arriving at the all too familiar Blackwell Academy, many characters from season one and a few new ones are introduced in ways that make them stand out right off the bat. It's worth mentioning by name Steph and Mikey, because accepting the offer to participate in their activity leads to what may be one of my favorite sequences in any game ever. It was nice seeing the familiar faces again and most of the new characters are likable in their own ways, but this game is about one person, Rachel. Once inside the school, Chloe is quickly whisked away by Rachel and the two spend the rest of the day getting to know each other after their meeting the night before. The interactions between the two in this sequence are incredible because of how wildly different they are. Rachel is everything she was made out to be by most of the characters in the first season. She is smart, beautiful, popular, good at everything, and is basically perfect in every way, to an unsettling extent. Opposite is Chloe, the crass, asocial smart-ass who’s life is a perpetual train-wreck (some of the many reasons I relate as strongly to her as I do). This dichotomy of personalities is what is going to be the driving force behind the rest of the episodes. The only criticism I have about the overall story in episode 1 is that the events happen a little too fast to feel natural. Chloe and Rachel go from complete strangers to being partners in crime over the course of 24 hours. Despite that, I am interested in seeing how their relationship develops, even though it is known how this all ends.

As I mentioned above, I came into this first episode hopeful but worried. This game is literally the one thing that could disappoint me harder than Mass Effect Andromeda. I was about five or so minutes into the game when I got to the first “backtalk challenge”, a new Chloe-specific feature that replaces Max’s rewind power from the first season. It was during this interaction with a bouncer outside of a concert where all of my worries disappeared. It is clear that the team at Deck Nine not only did their homework but also deeply cared about bringing fans an experience that deserved the Life is Strange moniker. One of the more memorable things about the first season was the vibe it gave off. It was truly unlike anything else I've ever played, and Deck Nine was somehow not only able to capture it, they absolutely nailed it. From the outset, this very much feels like Life is Strange. It sounds like Life is Strange. The character interactions are on par with anything that happened in the first season. I could go on about every little thing Deck Nine did right, but it'll suffice to say they did pretty much everything they needed to in order to make an episode that can stand against almost any from the first season.

However much I could write about this game, there are a few things that I need to point out before I end this rambling nonsense. When I first heard that Ashly Burch would not be reprising her role as Chloe, I'll admit I was upset. Of course one of the first real “victims”, for lack of a better word, of the ongoing voice actors strike would be this character voiced by this actress in this game. It almost made me not want to play because I consider Ashly’s performance in the first season to be one of, if not the best voice acting performance I've ever seen in a game. In many ways Ashly was Chloe and no one else would do. I had watched a few gameplay trailers earlier this year, so I knew what to expect, but I still thought I would be thrown off by the new voice. After giving it an open minded chance, all I can say I Rhianna DeVries absolutely nails it as Chloe. Even though she sounds completely different, her performance is phenomenal throughout the game. Her delivery on every sarcastic quip that Chloe has to offer is second to none and she is able to hit the emotional moments as well as anyone could have hoped for. Rihanna may not reach the emotional highs that Ashly did just yet, but she does step up to deliver a performance worthy of a nomination for best performance at the end of the year.

Finally, one criticism of this game I feel like pointing out is as strange as possible. One thing that is instantly noticeable is that the game feels too natural. This may sound insane out of context, but there was something about the awkwardness of every aspect of the first season that endeared itself to me and many others. The hella awkward dialogue that was almost nothing but references, the janky lip-syncing, and the stoic character faces all would have tanked any other game, but with Life is Strange, they became some of its most endearing aspects. Especially the dialogue. The first season brought such classic lines as; “Go fuck your selfie” “You're going to get in hella more trouble for this…” and of course the showstopping “I just vaped some DANK OG bud”. Even though those may sound irritating to even just to read, there was such an earnestness behind them that they became endearing in their own strange way. It's as nonsensical as a complaint can be when looking at it from the outside, but lines like this gave Life is Strange its own identity. But many people out there will appreciate the fact that the dialogue is drastically cleaned up this time around.

There's not much else to say about Life is Strange: Before the Storm, Episode 1: Awake without going into spoiler territory. With how much the original game means to me, this game could have very easily turned into a front runner for my “Most Disappointing” award come Game of the Year time and I may have actually felt emotional had it not been any good. But after playing through the first episode, I can firmly say it is not just good, it's hella amazing. Deck Nine took the things that made Life is Strange one of the most memorable games of the past few years and modified them to fit the new tone that casting Chloe in the lead presents. The soundtrack here is every bit as on point as the first season, but now every song has a grimy, heavy sound fitting Chloe’s rebellious nature (example 1, example 2). They exchanged Max’s rewind abilities, for an ability that allows Chloe's brash, in your face personality to truly shine through in some amazing ways. On top of that, the developers fixed what many people considered to be problems. The dialogue is massively “improved”, the facial animations are improved allowing characters to emote accordingly, the lip-sync issues are gone, and Before the Storm in every way is vastly improved on the technical side.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm exceeds all of my expectations and delivers what is the first of hopefully three incredible episodes. Even though the ending of this story is set in stone, I can't wait to see how Deck Nine gets there.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm, Episode 2: Brave New World does not have a confirmed release date announced as of the writing of this review.

Likes: Soundtrack is as on point as the first season’s, Chloe feels the exact same even if she sounds different, Rhiana DeVries is fantastic as Chloe, backtalk system is great way to differentiate Chloe from Max

Dislikes: missing the endearing awkwardness of the Original, events happen a little too fast.