Quick Look: Life is Strange - Before the Storm

What a thumbnail.

@sub_o: Yeah! Really captured the heart of this game and the experience.

Storm Rasputin

I just realised it's a missing thumbnail. But it'd be hilarious if the bombcrews decided to keep it.

@sub_o: Youtube upload has a different thumbnail so something broke.

There's something tremendously fitting about a Max-less Life is Strange having a missing/broken image as the thumbnail.

e: Oh wow, the new VA for Chloe is bothering me _way_ more than I thought it would. It's got the right intonation, but it's like a really dry, lifeless version of Chloe, and there's a drawl to it that the original didn't have. Feels really jarring.

scab game

After loving LiS, I was skeptical about this because I didn't like Chloe as a character, and because Don't Nod weren't on this. Ended up absolutely loving the first episode.

I get liking Ashly Burch's performance, but developers need to be paid too. Are you really going to stop a game from being released over a single person?

I thought the writing on the first LiS was bad, but oh boy, it's way worse on this one...

You have a point, but to be fair it's not just Ashly Burch who didn't come back because of the strike and was replaced, it was all the voice artists in Life is Strange. All the characters in Before the Storm that returned from the first game now have different voices, and it's really jarring. Some are pretty similar but a lot are noticeably different. Granted a lot of the characters are pretty periphery to the main focus of Chloe and you don't see/hear them that much, at least so far in this first episode, but still.

I enjoyed Before The Storm ep 1 so far based on really liking that whole world and the first game, but a lot of this feels like the "made for dvd" version. Like when a movie studio makes a prequel or sequel and recasts the main actor hoping no one will notice or care. That's this.

I was super skeptical about this prequel but it's really, really good. Better than the original, I daresay. The opening part of it is by far the weakest though, it's unfortunate that's what's shown here, but I understand why they would. Also I think the new VO is great. It's unfortunate that it's a scab game, but it doesn't mean the quality is worse.

I feel like I'm losing my mind because everyone is so positive on this game when it seems like a step down in literally every aspect. Chloe and Rachel are just unapologetically 1-dimensional assholes, and they're supposed to be carrying this story? This game is making me feel retroactively positive on LiS by comparison, and I did not enjoy that game.

Stick into

I loved LiS and wasn't really all that skeptical about this one (I was very close to reading fan fiction and I enjoyed the fan-made VN, so anything semi-professionally produced was probably gonna be ok), but I'm still positively surprised how much I've enjoyed it.

The writing and the delivery of the lines in its best moments seem to be a step up from the first one, even if it's still not consistently great. And I don't really have a problem with the new Chloe voice, it's easy enough for me to just go with "well, she's 3 years younger here" (they also did a fantastic job with her face to make her look just slightly younger to support that notion). What gets to me are a bunch of the side characters, though. Some of those (like David or Justin) sound veeery different.

I've been obsessively listening to Speedy Ortiz since playing this.

@vicious17: yep me too - really liked it a lot

nice scab game

Can you guys please do a look at "the good stuff?" I know the first game had the same initial hurdle (almost the entire first episode) to get past the insufferable teen stuff, but based off the previews, this Quick Look, and the simple fact that this is just the Chloe-Rachel relationship prequel, I don't know if I actually believe you that this one gets better.

@loktarogar: I would refuse to purchase a game that held out against its voice talent, yes.

If developers (and I am a software developer) "need to be paid too," they should, like SAG-AFTRA, unionize and work for their own better treatment.

(The replacement voices are also really noticeable and kinda not great.)

@teddie: I know what you mean. The 1st game was sub par at best & this one is worse.

It couldn't be but it feels like everyone is liking it just because regardless of the actual quality of the game or writing. It just feels weird.

It's been so long I don't really remember David's or Justin's voice, would be a different story if I played them back to back though. The new girl doing Chloe does a great job, it takes a bit getting used to for the first 5 minutes but you won't really notice it anymore after that.

And yes, I agree. I also thought her being younger was a good reason for a voice being different.

That said, I really loved the first episode and it's been great visiting arcadia bay again, I wish they did a full season instead of a mini series.

@tinymothra: This is a story game, first and foremost. It's about the choices you make as everything unfolds. These moments are best experienced unspoiled. It's your choice not to trust me when I say it get's better, but it's also your loss.

I don't mind the voice change. Ashly is credited as a writer in this and was (I'm told) involved in picking the new voice actor and coaching/producing the recording sessions, so it seems like a reasonable enough compromise for the sake of getting the game made and out in a timely fashion. It's a shame Square won't agree to proper terms, but as far as the number of times a Japanese publisher hasn't played ball with western talent go, this got off lightly; it's not ideal, but it's good enough that I don't think it actually diminishes the game.

I'm mostly anxious about how the gameplay will hold up for two more episodes, as the 'back talk' doesn't seem like a sufficient enough replacement for rewinding. Still, the fact that I can't resist watching people playing this, after playing this first episode myself twice in a row hours after release, probably should be my indication that I'm going to love this regardless.

For the record, the intro, whioch is the part in the QL is by far the worst section of the game. It becomes significantly better once Chloe and Rachel actually meet.

@johnymyko said:

We can't even blame them for being French anymore.

I kid. I honestly don't mind the writing in this one. There were some questionable lines here and there but I really enjoyed this episode more than I thought I would.

The first section with the band isn't great, for sure. Chloe gets a lot more charming and funny after this, and the choices are much more grey than the first game. After getting used to an automatic rewind with Max, this is a nice change that the developers make the most of.

The animations are much improved, too!

That band scene looked straight out of Guitar Hero 2. But, I've heard so many people saying it's good that I'm excited. And I didn't thought I would get excited for a prequel of this.

Full Before the Storm East playthrough?

Ya, the opening is ROUGH. Like real bad. It does change a lot though - LiS is all about character interaction and any instance in which just one "key" character is present is hard to sit through. It does a pretty good job later on of providing context and crafting the Chloe that exists in LiS proper, and I on more than one occasion came away connecting behavior in Before the Storm to how Chloe acted in LiS. It's not the first game - which is not surprising - but I think it's wonderful as a supporting game.

I'll happily vouch for it getting better. By the end, I was thoroughly hooked, went back through, and replayed a few scenes in the "graffiti hunt" mode so I could play out things differently. It's really good.

Yeah Chloe's dialogue can really be hit or miss from what I've heard. There are moments where it sounded fine and moments where it's definitely NotMyChloe. Pretty funny though that her power in lieu of time rewinding is to backtalk.

@passingthrough said:

or people like things that you don't? It's not regardless of quality, people have different opinions. Is it that hard to understand?

@ybbaaabby:I feel like one of the best aspects of quick looks is that you get to form your own opinion about a game without having to trust someone else. Of course I trust you when you say you think it gets better but that does a poor job of telling me how much I would like. I share many of tinymothra's concerns and maybe it is my loss if I end up not playing the game but it would also be my loss if I end up playing it and hating it. This quick look doesn't do a very good job of helping me make an informed decision.

Based off the fact that the base game ended up being close to my GotY even after the shitty opening I'll take your word for it that this one does too. After all, this does a lot of the same missteps in making me initially hate these characters, so it'll likely make the same corrections along the way too.

Hella yeah.

If this is the bad part then I really need to play this, 'cause I enjoyed all the shitty-teen-ness of it. I've been considering waiting til all the episodes are out, but I may reconsider that.

@meauntienora: Hell yeah buddy, I've been listening to them for years. Glad to see them getting more mainstream exposure with stuff like this!

I can't disagree more. The intro seemed fine. There was significantly worse writing in the first game sometimes. The only off putting thing for me is that the voice actress (several actors from the first game it seems) is different, but I may play this anyway. Life is Strange was a great story despite being poorly written in many spots. One of the best games the year it released I'd say.

I wanted to play the first game because I loved adventure games when I was younger. I played almost every Sierra LucasArts one up until around well when Sierra stopped existing and haven't played many except for dream fall chapters since longest journey is one of my favorite adventure games.

After watching this I just don't think this looks very good (graphically) despite the warnings and such it looks like a mobile game almost and looks worse than the original somehow?

Support Unions

Best part:

I really loved LiS but then Night in the Woods spoiled me on really well written scripts with like 0% cringe involved.

Also there's stickers on the wall that say "hard fuck core" which rules.

That that train said "1337" on it.

(Also I'm not a fan of the scabbing)

Wowzers!

And now we all sit back and hope that GBE can get Austin in someday for a full playthrough of this.

I didn't like life is strange. It started strong, but the interesting thing to me was the surviving. Trying to live with your choices and realizing that things are not always your fault, and just because you can change something doesn't make you responsible for it.

I would love to see a Playdate of the full episode!

@oni: Dunno if I'd say better (yet) but its very good and I was also tentative about if I felt that this game needed to exist at all.

Bad, what?! No this is great, this is almost The Room levels great!
I cringed a lot but mostly because I've been there/done that.
It felt sincere even if it didn't necessarily portray so well which is something I appreciate.

I get that this is the worst part of the first episode but it's bad enough it's got me scared for how up and down the whole series is going to end up. Life is Strange could be pretty cringey at times but I could forgive it for the Frenchness of it whereas this thing feels like they got my 65 year old police dispatching aunt in the writing room to describe how the teens talk about drugs. Maybe I'm hearing it because I'm looking for it but the not-Ashley-Burch sounded like she was doing her absolute best to simulate Ashley Burch and just couldn't get her pitch on point.

I'll wait until it's finished to see how things shake out.