I hate coming up with catchy titles for blog posts. I struggled to write this article for the longest time because I couldn’t come up with a creative title. One month ago I wrote about Life is Strange so check out my review if you haven’t already. I received a comment on the post directing me to Before the Storm, a prequel game released starring Chloe and Rachel. I recommend completing Life is Strange plus the first episode of Before the Storm before continuing to read this post. Also, spoilers are included.

*Final Warning: SPOILERS*

Chloe at this point in time has just lost her father in a car accident. She often has flashbacks to being in the car with her father before he’s hit by another vehicle. She blames Max for not being around and she slips into a depression.

The episode begins with Chloe wandering around a farmhouse where a punk rock band is playing. I like how instead of Max’s optional photos, Chloe carries a Sharpie to graffiti with. It’s fitting to her personality. This is also the event leading to her meeting Rachel because she saves Chloe from these creepy guys at the concert. Throughout the episode, I found Chloe and Rachel’s friendship to be awkward, yet endearing. I personally hope there is a romantic relationship between the two of them.

One of my favorite scenes in the game is when Chloe plays D&D with a couple friends. I start to like Chloe more through this scene because she treats her friends extremely well and seems to have a good time.

One unique game mechanism in Before the Storm is Chloe’s back talk ability. To progress a certain sequence in the game, Chloe has to use her sass to get what she wants. The game gives prompts to choose from based on what the characters say. If you choose the correct response, Chloe can sway characters into doing what she wants. Although every time I used Chloe’s ability, nothing major in the story happened. The mildest incident is chasing off a bully, but that’s about it.

Life is Strange was one of my favorite games I beat this year, and I personally got my money’s worth of Before the Storm. I think Before the Storm has a lot of hype because of how fantastic Life is Strange was. The next episode is available for download on October 19th.