Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Final Thoughts on Life Is Strange: Before the Storm

 Reviews, Video games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Dec 222017
 

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?

Theories After Life Is Strange: Before the Storm Episode 2

 Video games  6 Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Nov 082017
 

After Episode 1 of Life is Strange: Before the Storm, I discussed several theories.

Now it’s time to do the same in the aftermath of Episode 2, “Brave New World.”

Spoiler warning: this post will include spoilers for Before the Storm Episode 2. If you don’t want events in Episode 2 spoiled for you, turn back now.

Last time, one of my biggest concerns was about whether or not Rachel Amber could actually be trusted. I’d hoped the next episode would help me decide, but instead, it only left me more conflicted.

Is Rachel Manipulative?

At the start of Episode 1, I thought my concerns were resolved. When Rachel lied to cover for Chloe in the principal’s office, my feelings toward her significantly improved. She was a nice person after all and she didn’t want her new friend to get in trouble!

I felt so kindly toward Rachel, I took the blame after all. In the next scene, however, Eliot asked if Rachel got off completely free and seemed skeptical about Chloe’s claim that Rachel tried to cover for her. That left me with the unsettling feeling that Rachel had manipulated me, the player, into protecting her.

The later dream sequence is the greatest source for my continued mistrust of Rachel.

In the nightmare (which includes another raven, a recurring motif in Before the Storm), Chloe speaks with her father, William. He tells her that darkness blinds with absence and loss, but fire blinds with beauty.

After how the first episode ended, it’s hard not to associate Rachel Amber with fire. Is the dream trying to warn Chloe that Rachel’s beauty and charm might blind her to her true nature? If it was an isolated line, it might be dismissed, but the rest of William’s comments make it clear he’s trying to warn Chloe about the “fire.”

The final scene that left me uncertain about Rachel was The Tempest. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the scene. I’m a Shakespeare fan to start with, and when Rachel went off-script, that was a great moment!

Except she went off-script to say that she (Prospero) would deny Chloe (Ariel) her liberty. After the ensuing discussion, she vows to eventually make her so happy, she won’t care about liberty.

Now, I can definitely see how this scene has been interpreted as romantic or heartwarming. If I had no doubts about Rachel, I probably wouldn’t have any doubts about this scene. But together with her earlier manipulative behavior and Dream William’s warnings, this scene came across as slightly obsessive to me… and I would have liked a line about how I could have liberty if I decided I wanted it after all, thank you.

What About Eliot?

Moving on from Rachel, I’d also like to briefly discuss Eliot. Eliot has generally come across as Chloe’s equivalent of Warren, a good friend with unrequited romantic feelings.

Some people thought Warren was a little creepy in the original game, but while I didn’t pick up on that, it’s definitely a bit creepy that Eliot’s search history includes multiple searches about Chloe.

Not only that, but if you talk to Samuel about Eliot, he says he can see what most people want to keep hidden… but not Eliot. With Eliot, Samuel can only see what he wants to be seen.

A developer also commented in a discussion of Eliot’s similarities to Warren saying it would be very interesting to revisit the topic after the end of the game.

One way or another, it seems there’s more to Eliot than meets the eye.

Conclusion

Damon and possibly Sera seem to be on track as Before the Storm’s major antagonists, but can we trust Rachel and Eliot? What do you think? Are there any other suspicions and theories you have about characters in Before the Storm?

Theories After Life Is Strange: Before the Storm Episode 1

 Video games  3 Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Sep 132017
 

Over the weekend, I played Episode 1 of Life is Strange: Before the Storm, “Awake.”

Despite some problems with the explanations in the final episode of the first game, I enjoyed the original Life Is Strange quite a bit.

I was a little less certain of Before the Storm because I don’t connect with Chloe as easily as I did with Max, but Episode 1 was pretty interesting and has me intrigued about their plans.

This isn’t a review, however–that can wait until I’ve played the full game. Instead, I want to talk about a few of my biggest Before the Storm theories after playing Episode 1.

Spoiler warning: this post will include spoilers for Before the Storm Episode 1. If you don’t want events in Episode 1 spoiled for you, turn back now.

There are plenty of theories out there, over course, but here are a few of the strongest ones for me.

Rachel Has Powers

Some fans speculated even during the first game that Rachel Amber has powers similar to Max. That never occurred to me at the time… but after this episode, I really have to wonder.

First, let’s consider the ending scene, as shown in this video.

Rachel’s scream doesn’t sound natural. And when she screams, the wind visibly whips around her. This happens with each scream and seems to help spread the fire. It could be symbolic… but it has a very supernatural presentation.

Second, she has an unusual amount of knowledge about Chloe. This is most evident in their “two truths and a lie” game, where Rachel is always able to see through Chloe’s lies (even knowing approximately how many years ago she broke her wrist), but also when she references Chloe’s conversations from the start of the game.

Her scream suggests power over wind (or fire?) but her knowledge could be a sign that she really does have time powers like Max.

Can Rachel Be Trusted?

We go into this with a good impression of Rachel from the sequel… but can she really be trusted? If she doesn’t have powers, her unusual knowledge of Chloe feels creepy, like she was stalking her.

Even without that, she feels a bit manipulative. And what about the fire? It’s understandable that she’s upset, but starting a large fire like that intentionally feels dangerous. There was even a part earlier in the game where characters discussed the dangers of wildfires.

I expected to like Rachel Amber, but I left the episode feeling uncertain of her.

“Ansia”?

Before Chloe returns the photograph to Rachel in the scene above, there’s a moment where we see the photo in Chloe’s hand.

The word “ansia” is written on her palm. “Ansia” means “anxiety” in Spanish, so it could refer to Chloe’s mental state, but why is it written on her hand?

In the episode, you can check your plot objective by looking at Chloe’s hand, where she writes notes to herself. However, this isn’t a section of the game where you can check… and it doesn’t appear to be Chloe’s handwriting.

Why is “ansia” written on her hand? This scene occurs right after a nightmare that showed her where to find Rachel. Could the writing have come from the dream?

The Woman in White

This isn’t a theory so much as a question, the question on nearly everyone’s minds after the episode. Who is the woman in white? And why is she smiling as the fire spreads? What does she want?

Whatever it is, it seems there’s more to her than meets the eye.

Conclusion

If you’ve played Episode 1 of Before the Storm, what do you think? Can we trust Rachel? Does she have powers? (Is she connected to the eventual storm?) Why is “ansia” on Chloe’s hand, and who is the woman in white?

Let me know your own theories in the comments!

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