Tag Archives: #BeforetheStorm

Life is Strange Before the Storm Episode #2 Review

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Currently, I’m playing Deadpool, the game by High Moon Studios & Activision along with episode #2 of Before the Storm. Episode #2 was available for download on October 19th, 2017. I only was able to finish the episode a couple days ago due to my limited availability for gaming. Before the Storm is a prequel to Life is Strange which is one of my all-time favorite games I played this year. This prequel is told from the perspective of Chloe Price, Max Caufield’s best friend from their younger years. These episodes explain Chloe’s relationship with Rachel who if you played Life is Strange, know that Rachel disappeared in that episode. I do like to include spoilers in my video game reviews so please avoid them if you’re planning on playing Life is Strange or Before the Storm. 

SPOILERS 🙂

[Image is a poster for Life is Strange Before the Storm. On the left is Chloe and on the right is Rachel]
Chloe on the left & Rachel on the right. *Image from Youtube*

Chloe Price and Rachel Amber are in Principal Well’s office due to their actions for skipping school in the previous episode. Rachel claims that ditching school was her idea which was the truth to avoid Chloe having to take the blame. One of the biggest actions you can make here is to decide to go along with Rachel or say she’s lying and take the blame. I chose to go along with Rachel because it was her idea to ditch school which Chloe went along with.

Chloe avoids her mom and David to hang out at the junkyard where she finds a beat-up truck. She tries to repair it as she would love to leave Arcadia Bay for good. Frank Bowers, Chloe’s drug dealer calls her about a possible way to escape the debt that she owes him by stealing drug money from Drew, her classmate. She searches Drew’s dorm and finds the money, but his younger brother Max arrives with Drew as she is leaving Drew’s dorm. Suddenly, Max is left in the dorm with Chloe as Drew is beaten by a fellow drug dealer looking for money. Another crucial decision in the game is to decide to intervene even though Drew specifically said not to, or to stay silent. I chose to stay silent to protect Max. After witnessing this, you can choose to keep the money or give it back to Drew. I chose to give it back to Drew because I couldn’t bear to keep the money.

Rachel and Chloe attend the Tempest which is a play Rachel was supposed to play the lead in, but Principal Wells banned her from performing after ditching school. Rachel ends up being the lead in the play along with Chloe and they perform the play together. It’s a huge bonding moment for the two of them. After the play, they agree to leave Arcadia Bay and move to LA.

Rachel and Chloe go to Rachel’s house for dinner. This is a huge deal because Rachel’s father was seen by Chloe and Rachel making out with another woman. Rachel is confused and heartbroken over her father’s actions and Chloe thinks he’s an ass. A fight erupts after dinner where Rachel’s father reveals that woman is Rachel’s biological mother. [insert drama music here]

End of SPOILERS!

 

 

Before the Storm is fun especially if you really enjoy Life is Strange, but the story feels more character driven, than plot driven. The game doesn’t really have a plot to it, it’s more to tell Chloe Price’s story outside of the little knowledge we knew about her. I think that makes this version much weaker than Life is Strange, but again I am enjoying playing each episode. I can’t stress enough how much I recommend Life is Strange and if you haven’t played it, you’re missing out.

Life is Strange Before the Storm Episode #1

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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.

[Image is a poster for "Life is Strange Before the Storm" It features Chloe on the left and Rachel on the right]
Chloe is on the left & Rachel is on the right. *Image from Youtube*

*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.