..I'm not going to be bother with the whole "it's-been-so-long-since-I-last-posted" nonsense. I mean, you can see for yourselves how long it's been!
Maybe...about an hour ago now, I just finished the first episode of Life is Strange: Before The Storm which is a prequel (developed by Deck Nine) to the original game Life is Strange which was developed by Dontnod Entertainment.
And...I am still reeling from what I just witnessed :,) I mean, fans of the original Life is Strange know how important the relationship between Chloe and Rachel is as it's one of, if not the main element that drives the game forward. So I was very excited (but also nervous) as to how their relationship would really get played out. After playing the first episode, I can definitely say I was not disappointed! ..but let's save all my opinions for later on in the review :,)
As for what drove me to review the game, I had thought about reviewing each episode as they were released a while ago and decided to do that straight away while the events are still fresh in my mind.
..sometimes my memory isn't so great ^^;
[ 20/12/17 Edit: I've completed all my reviews, so I'm going to leave the links here in case you want to read them all ]
Life is Strange: Before The Storm - Episode 2: Brave New World Review~ By SerahNyan (ME!)
Life is Strange: Before The Storm - Episode 3: Hell Is Empty Review~ By SerahNyan (ME!)
So, let's get this review hella started!!
--SPOILER ALERT--
Usually I just use a "warning" before reviews, but I am going to talk a lot about the first episode and what happens, so if you haven't played the first episode yet and want to do so without knowing what happens...maybe don't read this review quite yet.
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[ Available on Microsoft Windows, PS4 and Xbox One ]
Plot Outline~
Life is Strange: Before The Storm is set three years prior to the events of the original Life is Strange and, as opposed to Life is Strange where you play as Max Caulfield, Life is Strange: Before The Storm is played through the view point of 16 year old Chloe Price.
Currently, Chloe is feeling very alone and very abandoned. Her father has died and Max, her best friend, left her to go and live in Seattle. Chloe has tried to keep in contact with Max but Max eventually stopped talking to her.
With Joyce, Chloe's mother, bringing her new boyfriend, David Madsen into the picture, Chloe is feeling very frustrated at all these changes happening around her. Along with the absence of her now ex-best friend and her father gone, Chloe becomes very rebellious as a way to deal with all these emotions.
One day, she meets a girl called Rachel Amber who is very beautiful, very popular and has big dreams and the two girls form an unlikely friendship that becomes something very special to them both.
Gameplay~
Much like the original Life is Strange, you experience this game from a third-person point of view, only this time you assume control of Chloe. Unlike Max (who you control in the original Life is Strange), Chloe doesn't have any super natural abilities and definitely not the ability to time travel. Instead, Chloe has a little feature called "Backtalk" which is something of a...type of mini-game, I guess you could say, that allows Chloe to lash out and insult people as a way of getting them to do what she wants which, in turn, gets her out of less than desirable situations :,)
Something similar to the original Life is Strange though is the power of "Choice." You will be given various times in the game to interact with different people by being given the chance to make a choice on how you'll respond to things people say to you. And depending on what you choose, this affects the overall outcome of the game.
People who've played the original Life is Strange know that Max kept a diary which let us see more about how she felt about all the things that were happening. Chloe doesn't exactly keep a diary, it's more like she's writing letters to Max telling her what she's been doing, though she never sends these letters.
..it actually causes me emotional pain knowing Max has been completely ignoring Chloe all this time.
And again we all know Max enjoyed taking pictures of her surroundings (which also earned us Trophies in the original game). Now Chloe is no photographer, so instead Chloe is given a "Graffiti" option which allows her to draw on different areas in her surroundings which, of course, earns us the trophies.
Episode 1: Awake Summary~
We begin this episode as Chloe who has entered an old mill to attend a night-time concert of this band she likes called Firewalk. She ends up getting into a bit of trouble with two men who are also there and help comes to her in the surprising appearance of Rachel Amber.
It becomes public knowledge the next day that Rachel and Chloe were together as Rachel posted a picture of the two of them on social media, so if you're conversing with people the next day, they may comment on this wondering what the hell Chloe was doing with Rachel since they've never spent time together before. There are a couple of new people Chloe is friends with, Steph and Mikey, and there also appears to be someone Chloe is "well-aquainted" with known as Elliot. It is hinted that him and Chloe have hooked up a few times and he is apparently keen to keep the relationship going while Chloe is a bit more reserved about it thinking that their time together was "just something she did while she was bored."
Chloe and Rachel are reunited as Chloe is about to enter Blackwell Academy and Rachel suddenly appears at the front doors and pulls her toward the rehearsal of a play she'll be in. After some discussion and assisting Rachel with the task of bringing her her belt (which you can choose to bring to her while she's changing instead of tossing it over the divider. I'm not really shy, soo...) the two of them decide to ditch school together.
Rachel pulls Chloe into the back of a cargo train where they talk a lot about themselves and Chloe is even given the option to "flirt" which actually made me laugh SO much as Rachel's reaction was priceless... Uh, no pun intended ^^;
Anyway!! They eventually end up on a small cliff with a viewfinder there. They spend some time together looking through it and improvising weird yet funny conversations between people they see until Rachel witnesses a man meeting a woman which greatly upsets her. She lashes out a little at Chloe claiming that it's weird of Chloe to take a girl out and not offer her a drink, so the two of them sneakily steal a bottle of wine that a picnicking couple nearby have. After walking for some time together, they end up at a familiar place to all who have played the original Life is Strange which is the Junkyard. There, Chloe confronts Rachel about her change in mood to which Rachel tells her to just back off and leave her alone.
What happens next, I felt, was a really important scene.
Rachel asks Chloe what she thinks "This is" between them to which you can respond with either..
"A friendship"
OR
"Something more"
I chose the latter and I'm so glad I did because it actually made the scene seem a whole lot sweeter and Rachel even confesses to Chloe later that she feels the same way and that Chloe is totally badass for saying what she feels.
After Rachel leaves Chloe in the junkyard, Chloe becomes excessively emotional and starts beating on cars and trashing nearby junk pieces until she finds a car which triggers thoughts from when her father died. You then enter a dream sequence and once you've woken up, it's darker now and Chloe walks away and finds Rachel again.
Rachel confesses that the man they saw through the viewfinder was her father and that the woman he was with was not Rachel's mother. Rachel is in tears explaining all this and apologises to Chloe for treating her the way she did after they had such a great day together. After this, Rachel shows Chloe a photo she has of her and her father taken years ago to which she then proceeds to burn it. Rachel then tosses the flaming photo into a nearby bin and then in a fit of rage, kicks it over which causes the tree nearby to catch fire.
What happens next is interesting...
There have been many theories presented by fans that Rachel is a time traveller like Max or has some sort of super natural power and it seems that...they were in fact correct.
Rachel screamed a few times after kicking the bin over and whenever she did, a strong and seemingly powerful gust of wind surrounds Rachel and blows towards the tree.
Whether or not this is a sign that Rachel has super natural powers is still unknown...but it was very mysterious and definitely left me surprised and feeling that Rachel is definitely more than she appears.
My Thoughts~
When I first heard about this game, I wasn't really worried about a completely different developer working on this like some fans were. What concerned me was how the relationship between Chloe and Rachel would be fleshed out. I already mentioned briefly that Chloe and Rachel's relationship is the driving factor of what Life is Strange is all about, so I was really hoping the team working on this game would do it right. While it is only the first episode that has just been released and with two more still to go, I'm feeling very good about it so far. SUPER good, in fact!
Looking at how Rachel and Chloe interacted during their day together (or more accurately looking at how I made them interact) really made me feel that their relationship is truly something special. Granted it's the player who makes the choice on how everything pans out, but I definitely feel that there is a very deep love in their relationship; not necessarily a romantic love, but something intense nonetheless.
Also, after playing the original Life is Strange, I completely fell in love with Chloe and Max and how close they are and how even after being apart for so long, they come back together and mend that time like they had never really been apart! So I was a little...maybe irritated at first knowing Life is Strange: Before The Storm would be based around Chloe and Rachel. I remember being all like..
"NO! No, no, no, no, NOOOOOOO!! It's Chloe and Max! Always Chloe and Max!! I don't know how I feel about Rachel being in the game! I don't know if I want it! I don't want anything to ruin my perfect Chloe and Max!!"
..which looking back on that reaction now makes me feel very embarrassed based on how much I enjoyed the first episode :,)
But...already...I feel that there is something much more powerful in Chloe and Rachel's relationship and as a pose to Chloe and Max who, I have to admit, always felt a little bit broken because of Max abandoning Chloe. But I still love them greatly, you know? They are very close, close friends and Max did so many things for Chloe and tried so hard to stop her impending destiny.
And we all know what happens with Rachel, too. We know she dated Frank and that she, towards the end of her time in Arcadia Bay, wrote a letter to Chloe claiming to have met someone who changed her life (that likely referring to Mark Jefferson) so there is abandonment there, too. But there is still something between Chloe and Rachel that I can't quite put my finger on. I think it's the fact that during the one day they spent together, they instantly became so close. Almost like a fated type of friendship.
I also really liked how the first episode fleshed out overall.
Because we're only getting three episodes of Before The Storm, the developers need to show Chloe and Rachel meeting, to their friendship becoming what we know it to be, to the time when Rachel disappears. And when you think about it like that, there is a lot of ground to cover. So they need to show what they can within the amount of episodes they've chosen to have. And while the relationship between Chloe and Rachel developed quite rapidly in the first episode, it still didn't end up feeling rushed or forced. It definitely felt natural and honest and I think that is because there is a genuine spark between the two girls and Deck Nine really captured that perfectly, I think.
Another big thing that had fans very upset was that Ashly Burch who provided Chloe's voice in the original Life is Strange wouldn't be back to reprise her role due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. I was also saddened by that because Ashly has such a personal connection with Chloe and because of this, she brought to Chloe a special sort of depth that no one else would ever be able to do.
So I was very skeptical thinking about the new voice and how they would portay Chloe.
And, I have to say, I'm not at all disappointed with how Chloe sounds. Yes, I'm still sad that Ashly isn't voicing Chloe as I would truly love to hear Ashly as Chloe during this particularly tough and challenging time in her life. But Rhianna DeVries who takes on the role of 16 year old Chloe really did a wonderful job in her own right! She really managed to capture the emotion that Chloe would currently be feeling and especially during the junkyard scene where Chloe is breaking old junk and pushing things over, you can really hear the raw hurt in her voice when she's shouting...it was really outstanding and I was definitely brought to tears;;
I also really like Rachel's voice actress as well. When I first heard her in the trailers, I wasn't so sure. But hearing her more during the episode was better as you get more time with her. I think she did a great job, too!
The music in the first episode was beautiful~
A band called Daughter took on this role and they also managed to capture within their pieces of music a certain sound that also reminds you of the original Life is Strange soundtrack. The musical sound as a whole does a great job at capturing the different feelings of characters at the right time and also the background music in each environment feels unique and just...fits perfectly within everything at the right time.
As for character designs and background designs...it almost looks slightly improved from the original game. Especially movements when characters are speaking looks more matched than the original game when you'd hear speaking but not in time with the movement of the characters mouths :,)
While close up views on the backgrounds looks a little weak, the overall environments look stunning and there is definitely a good amount of depth added that makes even the faraway views beautiful and appear almost life like. Light within the graphics is also used well offering darkness when moods shift to showing more brightness when good things are happening. It's all just...very well put together.
Conclusion~
Life is Strange: Before The Storm Episode 1: Awake definitely starts off strong. It dives you right into the world we all remember and giving us a game through Chloe's perspective gives us all new insights into how she thinks offering more depth to her character. We start to see the beginnings of what makes her who she is to us and what it is about Rachel that means so much to Chloe.
Everything that made the original Life is Strange what it is still remains within this game giving returning fans familiar things to look forward to. While I'd say that fans of the original Life is Strange will get more enjoyment out of this, it's not as if newcomers wouldn't enjoy Before The Storm, either!
So I think if this game is on your radar, old fan or new, you can enjoy it regardless of your previous knowledge on the game.
..I'm really thinking Life is Strange: Before The Storm has many special and emotional moments waiting for us and I can't wait to see how this new story will lead up to the start of the game that we all know and love so much!
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Thank you for reading my somewhat messily put together review :,)
Because I was trying to recall everything I felt while playing this episode while it's still fresh in my head, it's not set out like my regular reviews :,)
But regardless, I hope you reading it now were still able to enjoy it :3
I'll see you guys in my next blog post!
Have a hella awesome day! ;D
BYESIES~! c:
xoxo~
