#that's not to mention having Sera as a favorite character! or say Chloe Price!

[5mcsinatrenchcoat]

"I will complain but I will play it anyway", "No one hates Dragon Age like Dragon Age fans" well I am too old and tired for all that shit. Been for a long time. I come to play these games to relax and have fun, and have fun I shall.

(This does not include, like, valid criticisms of certain topics handling, for example. I mean the other things.)

This is my official statement that this blog is a "yes fun allowed" zone.

[honeyons]

my thoughts on Life is Strange: Before the Storm (review-ish)

DISCLAIMER: I will NOT talk about shipping or anything about that! I really don’t care about shipping in Life is Strange and I KNOW people here have strong opinions! you can ship what you want! I don’t care and I won’t talk about that now. as for me: I have played Life is Strange and Life is Strange: Before the Storm and I played EVERY route because I wanted to see the outcome.

PLEASE don’t make this post into some shipping war shit. look at this as some sort of a review (it’s not really but you get my point).

okay, forgive me for the mess but I try to structure this post.

Location: Like always in every LiS game I got struck with the beautiful scenery and music. It just feels like pure peace just sitting there and enjoy the moment. Even tho many NPC’s talk about how shitty Arcadia Bay is, the aestetic and scenery makes you want to live there. also new places were introduced like the park or the mill.

Story: The Story itself was... okay. I know it’s harder to come up with a good and emotional story without the impact of superpowers (like the butterfly effect in LiS 1). the whole plot with Sera felt a bit weird to me actually. was not really my cup of tea. Also what bugged me and threw more questions: why would Rachel be okay with cheating on Chloe (if they were lovers) with Frank but she’s mad at her dad for cheating? sounds a bit fishy and I think that’s more about the inconsistensies that came up. while I love and adore what Deck Nine did, a little bit more detail research to that wouldn’t have hurt (I’M NOT accusing them of not doing enough research but it just seems like it)

also didn’t like that they introduced a bad guy (Damon Merrick) and killed him off immidiatly. I get that there need to be a concistensy to LiS 1... but there are other options to handle this. He was THAT baddie mcbad, a very powerful criminal and he was killed off camera. that’s a bit lazy.

All in all it was a bit weird that the whole plot was stuffed in only 3 episodes which made everything feel rushed.

Music: I actually liked the music more than in LiS 1. It got me into Daughter a lot and I enjoy her music very much.

Characters:

Chloe - I  have to say, I liked Chloe much much more in BtS than in LiS. She grew a lot to me. We explore her trauma from losing her dad and it is really really emotional. Also I liked the aspect that her journal are letters to Max. we also explore how she felt about Max, many mixed feelings in being angry and missing her. a nice detail is how her clothing style is kinda changing from skater style to punk rock, so we still get to have both clothing styles until we have full punk rock Chloe in LiS 1. My favorite scene (and one of the most emotional ones imo) is the junkyard smash scene. her emotional outburst and wanting to destroy stuff really hit hard. (a bit off topic but imo I agree to the fan theory even more that Chloe suffers from BPD and depression. )

Rachel - so I gotta say, this game is not really for people who liked the mystery around Rachel in LiS 1. I always liked Rachel and especially in LiS 1 that there is this mysterious person you only hear rumors about and see some pictures. My problem is that Deck Nine tried to make Rachel live up to these rumors a bit too much, there was a bit potential lost. because all in all, these are rumors, they can be wrong, they can be exaggurated. I really liked how Rachel encouraged Chloe to be part of the play. And I can imagine she did a lot of things like that. Showing Chloe things out of her (Chloe’s) comfort zone that are good and enjoyable, that things like the play are actually fun and don’t suck. I enjoyed Rachel a lot she is a fun character and even shows that a “perfect” person has their own struggles. And no. I don’t think she has element powers. the wind was more to underline her pain, the fire was more symbolic for her anger. for example the candles at the tables, the flames grew and we see Rachel being quiet yet tense. the flames were symbolic for her anger that boiled up.

relationship between Rachel and Chloe - like I mentioned in the “Story” section, it all felt very rushed (no matter if you choose friendship or love). But still it was shown how much they care for each other. Even tho I’d love to see more happen what we saw in the ending sequences. Because those little shorts were more to what we knew about Rachel in LiS 1 and I wanted to explore more of this. What bugged me a bit was that we as Chloe weren’t really doubting anything even a bit. yes the junkyard scene was the only time Chloe called her out and they got into a fight. what I rather wished for is for example something like this:

the scene were Rachel drugged Victorias tea.

C: Rachel! I.. I know that you want to be in the play..and you deserve it, really! but that was insane... you could get in seriuos trouble... have you forgotten what happened this morning?

R: I thought Chloe Price doesn’t care about getting in trouble?

C: I don’t. I get in trouble all the time but I care about YOU. I don’t want you to get in more shit.

R: I... I’m sorry. you are right, that was a bit extreme. I promise not to do such thing anymore.

(JUST AN EXAMPLE. I DON’T KNOW IF I GOT WAY OUT OF CHARACTER BUT YOU GET MY POINT)

All in all I enjoyed their relationship and the deep care for each other it’s more hurtful because we as player know what’s going to happen and the very last sequence in the dark room is very very heavy. BUT I get why a lot of people thought of Rachel to be manipulative. I myself had my doubts too sometimes (even tho I love Rachel). I think Deck Nine did a bit of a messy writing in her character (like I said above with living up to her rumors) mixed with Chloe being totally okay with EVERYTHING Rachel does paints that kind of a picture. maybe I could be wrong too since there is the whole Frank stuff still open and we never got an explaination why Rachel hooked up with him. I didn’t really get the feeling in LiS1 that she’s manipulative..more.. desperate I guess? so that’s a bit messy on that part.

Nathan - I liked him better in BtS than LiS1. The scene where his father is mad at him before the play was heavy (for everyone who know how bad abusive parents are, this hits hard) and we actually see Nathans concernes and being afraid. I really enjoyed him in the tempest play (when you encourage Samantha to talk to him). it shows a different side of him. also he wasn’t constantly flexing with his familys power. so yeah, I liked him better in BtS.

Eliot - oof. I get what point Deck Nine wanted to come across but they pushed that too much from the start. If they wanted the scene in the Ambers office more of a shock value they should’ve written him better. yes he is definitely a creepo but there was potential wasted to make a good shock moment in the end. For example, they could make postitve interactions between Chloe and him so we don’t suspect him imidiatly as creeper. because every interaction (even the “nice” ones) were hostile. what I’m trying to say is that Deck Nine had a good chance to build up a good shock moment for the player but it was ruined from the start.

okay I don’t want to get in each and every character.

Bonus Episode Farewell: tears. just tears. the only thing I have to say is... from a logical standpoint I don’t get why Max HAD TO leave on the exact day of the funeral. I mean... yeah she had to go anyway but her family could’ve delayed that for a few days to be there for the Price family. HOWEVER from a stroy telling point this gets you more tears in your eyes (to leave on the funeral) and goddammit this made me cry every time.

all in all I really really love BtS and it was so nice to visit Arcadia Bay again, seeing familiar and new faces. I love it even with it’s flaws.