Life is Strange: Before the Storm

So, Life is Strange remains to be one of the most conflicting gaming experiences of my life; part of me loves it, I think it's an incredible story, and is an important game to play - but then part of me absolutely hates it; I hate the dialogue, the characters, the inability to skip cutscenes, and I wish I could run just a little bit faster. Life is Strange had a very satisfying ending for me in general, but the only thing I wanted more of was to see more Rachel Amber. Rachel Amber was the most intriguing part of the story, and while she was important, I was never pleased with how her story ended, or how much we got to know her. Life is Strange: Before the Storm is the prequel to the events of the first game, and gives me everything I could have hoped for regarding Rachel Amber - it definitely doesn't tick all the boxes, but Life is Strange: Before the Storm is a positive in my books.

As with its predecessor, Life is Strange: Before the Storm has a 10/10 soundtrack, beautiful cinematography, and is in general a very aesthetically pleasing game. I love the character design, the environments, and the little details we see throughout the story. The narrative is strong, and the characters feel like they have more of a story, and a background behind them this time round, but Before the Storm swings and misses once again with it's awkward, unrealistic dialogue. Maybe I'm just getting old, but when I was 16, I didn't talk the way these characters do. Maybe it's a geographical thing, but listening to these characters talk feels like it was written by a middle aged man who has never actually spoken to teenagers before, and is going purely on stereotypes that he's read on the internet. Characters inner dialogue is less cringe, but still creates a huge disconnect between myself and the characters I'm meant to associate with. There are intense, beautiful moments in game that are ruined by the awkward words coming out of otherwise well-written characters mouths.

I love prequels, but getting invested in the story is always a bit weird for me; I know that no matter the situation, I know how these characters stories end. I know that the decisions I make won't change the end game, because we've already seen the effects of these characters choices in Life is Strange. At the same time, it was both beautiful and devastating finally experiencing the story of Rachel Amber. We know how her story ends, but getting to understand her, and why Chloe was so in love with her was an emotional rollercoaster. I loved getting to see Rachel Amber happy before the end game, but then I remembered how her story ends and there was an ache in my heart that I rarely feel in games I'm not 100% obsessed with; looking at you NieR:Automata. Seeing Rachel Amber happy came down to the decisions I made in the end game, that I don't regret doing, because she got to live an ignorant but blissful life before it came to a brutal end. Kind of a spoiler; I never normally make the decision to lie to a character in game. Being mean in games hurts me more than it probably should; this time round I lied. I kept a secret I probably shouldn't have, because I didn't want the last few months of Rachel Amber's life to be full of heartbreak. I've been told I get too personally invested in video game characters and their non-existent emotions. I don't think that's untrue.

It's interesting to think about Life is Strange without the core mechanic from the first game; Before the Storm makes up for not having magic time powers, by having an incredible story about female companionship, sexuality, teenage rebellion, and consequences to our littlest actions. I'm probably the leader of the "I hate Max Caulfield Club", but having a story purely focusing on Chloe and Rachel was exactly what I wanted. I could finally relate to these characters in how they experience feelings for the same sex for the first time. The cute, awkward flirting felt meaningful, and was the first time I looked at what Life is Strange was offering and thought 'yes, this is realistic.' Without going into it too much, the story in Before the Storm is brief, but exciting. It gives a lot of detail in what's to come, and I loved getting to experience antagonist characters through the eyes of someone that isn't Max. The antagonists of Life is Strange are my favourites of the story, and seeing these characters before Life is Strange provides more insight to their actions, and more reason for me to dislike Max. I'll finish this part off by saying that David Madsen deserved better.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm is once again an incredible story, it features some awkward dialogue, and is an emotional rollercoaster. It's beautiful cinematography, soundtrack, and improved relationships all make me love Before the Storm more than it's predecessor, even without the magic time powers. I'm excited to see what more Life is Strange has to offer, but I guess we'll see in the bonus episode titled "Farewell" coming out March 6. On one final note; Rachel Amber deserved better.

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