The final episode of Life Is Strange: Before the Storm is now out. There’s still the bonus episode, but since that isn’t part of the main story, we can consider Before the Storm complete.
In many ways, Before the Storm is a lot different than the original Life is Strange, and not just because the main character is Chloe. It doesn’t have the same intensity and darkness. Before the Storm could be emotional at times, but not in the same overwhelming way as the first game.
At times, it almost feels like more of a slice-of-life story, even though it definitely has some pretty serious moments. The first two episodes were fantastic and really made me excited to learn how everything would come together. Unfortunately, Episode 3 is easily the weakest.
It felt very linear, without a lot of important choices, and while that wouldn’t be bad if it brought everything from the first two episodes together into a solid conclusion, it didn’t quite manage that. It felt like it set things up but then didn’t follow through.
Click for Before the Storm spoilers
The fire was a huge moment at the end of Episode 1, but it remains a background event. Rachel doesn’t have powers, they don’t deal with the consequences of her causing so much destruction… nothing.
Why was Sera smiling at the end of Episode 1? Seeing her smile as the fire spread made her seem like a very sinister person, which doesn’t fit the Sera we see in Episode 3.
Moving on to Rachel, I didn’t expect Episode 3 to give a definite answer on whether or not Rachel was manipulative, but I thought it would come up. Maybe we’d see more evidence one way or another. Maybe Chloe would have to deal with figuring out Rachel’s intentions. Instead, it was dropped and only referenced by Eliot.
Ah, Eliot. My theory about Eliot turned out to be correct, but it felt pointless. I thought he would be tied into the plot somehow. Instead, the entire Eliot scene in Episode 3 could be removed and change nothing. Did they just want a stalker character? Or was the point to give all of the “Rachel is manipulative” arguments to a crazy character, so it could be shot down without dealing with it in a more meaningful way?
Finally, while I didn’t pursue a romantic path with Rachel, I get the impression I saw about as much romance in Episode 3 as anyone else did. Instead of continuing the Friendship/Romance split paths, Episode 3 returned to being more ambiguous no matter what you picked.
And strangely, while Before the Storm is Chloe’s story, it always felt like the story of Chloe and Rachel… until Episode 3, where their friendship takes a backseat to Rachel’s family, and Rachel herself is less present for a lot of the episode.
Still, Before the Storm had some fantastic moments, even if its conclusion wasn’t the best. The tabletop game in Episode 1, the play in Episode 2, most of the dream scenes… it was filled with great moments.
It also feels like a much happier story than the original, despite some emotional moments, as long as you pretend it isn’t a prequel. Since it is a prequel, it’s hard to escape the feeling that no matter what choices you make, you can’t really change anything.
Click for Life Is Strange (both) spoilers
I tried to make peace with David and accepted his photograph, but in three years, Chloe will still hate him.
My game ended with Nathan and Samantha happy together, but in three years he’ll be a wreck, not getting the help he needs, kidnapping and murdering people while being used and ultimately disposed of by Jefferson.
Chloe and Rachel are happy together now, but in three years, Rachel will be dead, and either Chloe or the entire town will have to die.
It was nice to go through Before the Storm thinking that maybe the right choices will actually create an alternate timeline not canon with the original game… but the post-credits scene destroyed any hope of that.
Just like with the original Life Is Strange, the conclusion of Before the Storm feels unsatisfactory and maybe like they intended to do something different and changed their minds near the end. Nevertheless, it still had many good moments and is even a somewhat happy story if you pretend it stands alone!
What did you think about Life Is Strange: Before the Storm?
“it’s hard to escape the feeling that no matter what choices you make, you can’t really change anything.”
That’s the main thing I didn’t like about these games. It gives you the illusion of being about to change things, but by the end it becomes clear that your choices actually change very little. They’re still enjoyable, but it gives you a nagging feeling.
Merry Christmas by the way. 🙂
It felt even more prominent here than in the original Life Is Strange to me, since we already know how several characters will end up.
Thanks, Merry Christmas to you, too. 🙂