The first episode Life is Strange: Before the Storm I left on August 31, but we held a full -fledged review until we see all three parts of the game. On both previous episodes, we issued separate reviews – if you want a detailed analysis, we advise you to familiarize yourself with.
But the brief information for everyone who did not follow the news: Before the Storm is a prequel to the episodic quest Life is Strange 2015. The plot begins three years before the events of the original game, and the central character made Chloe Price – the best friend of Max Caulfield, the main character Life is Strange. There is no more time mysticism and rewinds, but we finally meet Rachel Embert (that mysterious girl, around the searches of which all the adventures of Max turned around), and we learn how they made friends with Chloe. The prequel is developing a not already familiar French studio Dontnod Entertainment , And a little -known American team Deck Nine Games.
Official trailer for all three episodes.
Why supplement the already completed story? Why give the prequel to the "stranger" developer? Why take risks and make a game that may not reach the original and ruin the fans all the impression of the series?
All these issues were very worried about the fan community-but only until August 31, 2017. As soon as the first episode came out, it became clear that Before the Storm not only “reached” to Lis (they are completely similar as two drops of water), but it surpassed it in some ways.
Teenage Angst
In Before The Storm, we find young and very lonely Chloe: it was hard for her to lose the best friend Max, who left the city and stopped responding to messages. In addition, Chloe still lacks his beloved father, who died two years ago in a car accident, and the new mustachioed guy of his mother only pushes salt to the wound. At school, too, everything goes awry, and the point is to be a “good girl”. It was at this moment that life pushes Chloe with the School Star Rachel Embert-and this is where their story begins.
In BTS, everything is far from as grandiose as in Life is Strange: situations where you need to save an entire city or solve the issue of life and death, you will not meet. The conflict in Before the Storm revolves around a modest dozen people who solve their personal problems – but this, sorry for the stamp, "not a bug, but a feature".
Yes, Before the Storm is unlikely to be remembered for the global plot, detective line and unexpected turns. Her merit is more likely that the developers dared to tell a story unexpectedly close to any player, and did not hesitate to speak on topics that are considered to be children's or beaten. As a result, it turned out to be a living plot, which at least somewhere will break you on Scarab Wins Casino bright emotions-and if you are lucky, then several times. The same property was inherent in the original Life is Strange, and it was on it that the Deck Nine team concentrated. They did not completely copy the formula for success, but took one key component – and developed it as they could.
Any perfect choice here also augs in the future, even if it does not entail such destructive consequences as Max was. But it is no longer possible to pick up your words back – no time rewind! – And the influence exerted on the world around it seems more … permanent, or something. Blurted out stupidity and in vain offended someone-now live with it. Well, or load the last checkpoint.
Some completely insignificant actions from previous episodes suddenly germinate seriously in the final of the third-and this is impressive, although the central plot is still quite lines. On the other hand, from a branched story, entirely given to the player’s power, it is rarely obtained by a good narrative – and here also the ending is preceded in advance. And under such conditions, Deck Nine Games did almost the best that was possible: without focusing in the future, they gave the player to feel the present – and admiring to suffer over a difficult election.
This is not to say that the departure from the "great tragedy" to chamber history at least somehow simplified these moments. Yes, most small solutions are still obvious. But in the answers to the main questions, players are divided approximately equally (this is evidenced by the final report with statistics after each episode) – the same situation was with the final solution in the original. “Correct answer” is absent in principle: and so, and Syak will have to lick hands.
Of course, not the whole story is focused on teenage suffering: they did not forget to add humor in places, and in some cases its role is played by the face of Chloe. Despite the rare misses with the movements of the lips and the general woodenness of faces, it sometimes gives out such a living facial expressions that it is impossible not to laugh at.
All demons are here
The absence of Ashley Burch in the role of Chloe can not be noticeable if you don’t know about it: the new actress Rihanna Devrise plays so much as the heroine. With the younger version of Chloe, in principle, it is easier to associate herself – “from the inside” it became easier for the player to understand it, and some vivid situations with parents and peers are even forced to feel like a teenager again. The buzz from the forbidden adventures was transmitted no worse than despair in hopeless situations – and at the same time you do not feel that they squeeze a tear out of you. "Hella Relatable", as they write in English -language reviews.
Fans were also afraid that the meeting with the real Rachel would destroy her mysterious charm, created in the original. But the alarm did not materialize: if in Life is Strange you did not understand why Chloe was so worn with his Rachel Amber, then after Before the Storm you will definitely understand. She was not made either too sexy, nor too cute, nor evil, or vice versa good – she was made alive. She has shortcomings – at times Rachel even annoying the order – but neither we nor Chloe is able to resist her charm: chemistry between the main characters is obvious and natural. And the passage of Before the Storm unexpectedly deeply transforms the memories left from Life is Strange. After some events of new episodes, I would like to double -check the five old and look at the familiar events with new eyes. Not only the vision of events changes, but also the interpretation of what is happening – and, oddly enough, our attitude to Max.
Chloe's text diaries play a large role in this, where she does not get tired of telling a lost friend about all her joys and sorrows. In Before The Storm, these records were many times more interesting than in Life is Strange, so we recommend that you familiarize yourself, even if you are not a fan of reading long texts. You will learn a lot of new things.
And besides, the study of secondary characters is amazing. Not only the main characters look alive, but also those who got for five to ten minutes of “screen time”. Against the background, by the way, a couple of old acquaintances flashes, who will later appear in the events of Life Is Strange – and it would be logical, perhaps, moreover, to develop their history even more strongly. But the developers did not become fixed on the already prescribed heroes, but created their own – and no worse. Almost every character has its own advantages and disadvantages that do not allow him to be included in the list of unambiguously “bad” or “good”. Even a vile look of Chloe's stepfather in the third episode shows that he is able to behave humanly-and most of the heroes are completely amazed at the complexity of their characters. Of course, decisions from this, of course, are not easier.
Pros & Cons
Everyone has their own ways to cope with complex interlocutors. Max did not really know how to lie and wagging in conversations, so she was saved. And chlorine in order not to leave the fans without new game mechanics, they screwed “BackTalk” – conversational fights that can be won if you can do it on time and find yourself in the case of the opponent. In time – the word is fundamental: the timing to the choice of the answer is highlighted well, so, as in a real skirmish, you must react instantly.
At first, this supplement seemed interesting. But the farther, the clearer it became that it was contrary to the plot logic and the characters' characters – and the replicas sometimes sound very false. Apparently, this was also understood by the developers: if in the first episode of such Backtalks there were seven pieces, then in the second they met less often, and in the third part we found only one opportunity to pomplend (it is possible, however, that some dialogue the options were missed due to previous elections).
And, as expected, the loss of this mechanics did not have a special influence on the game. The plot only became smoother – and for adrenaline in Before the Storm, not this component was responsible from the very beginning.
But Deck Nine very coolly realized the idea of “games in the game”, giving Chloe the opportunity to play with friends in D&D. And, interestingly, in the first episode this option is available to everyone, but in the third – only to those who made certain elections in the past.
But the element of the quest, as in the original, is present insofar-scrap: not a single difficult task for all the passage, we did not meet. Yes, and did not expect: the whole series Life is Strange is not at all about it.
Nevertheless, it cannot be said that Before the Storm has no shortcomings at all. For all the depth of the characters, some storylines break off too rudely, as if in a hurry. The cruel drug dealer just disappears somewhere; The story of Eliot, giving him to perform so brightly and ambiguously in the third episode, in the epilogue click without any development. Frank, Neuthane, a mysterious blonde – all of them are simply hidden from sight without special explanations, although the potential of each of the heroes allowed to “unravel” their characters much better. I would like to say that Before the Storm would not have prevented another “middle” episode to bring to the mind the line of these characters.
In addition, in some places replicas sound incredible; Some acts of heroes are surprising to their illogicality. But you forget about this almost immediately, you should go further in the plot: the game skillfully pulls the player's attention from his worst sides to the best. And no matter how criticize it, it is still obvious: BTS is not a car for cutting money on a franchise, but a real fruit of love created by sincere fans of the game.
Without forceing us to solve the fate of the world again, Before the Storm focuses on more mundane problems. Is there always better honesty than a deception? Is any truth valuable-or is it better not to know something? Is it possible to lie to loved ones to protect them from suffering? And then you are better then than those whom you yourself accuse of lies? How to understand if you will be lying to yourself?
We are not given answers (finding them is already our task), but once again they convincingly prove that the world does not divide into white and black. Before the Storm is not a fantastic fairy tale, but the daily story of two ordinary people who just met in time. Each player finds his hidden meaning in it, and the selected answers may tell more about you than about Rachel and Chloe.
Pleased
- excellent script that causes vivid emotions;
- deep study of all characters – not only the main ones;
- the opportunity to look at the original of 2015 with new eyes;
- complex elections and non -obvious consequences;
- soundtrack;
- 10 times better than any average prequel.
Sharped
- Weak implementation Backtalk;
- not brought to the end of the plot lines;
- In the gameplay – nothing new.
How we played
What: The key is provided by the publisher.
On what: PC.
How many: about 10 hours – for all three episodes.
Achivka of the editorial office
"Breatily"
Five minutes silently stare at the screen, not knowing what to choose in the final.
About localization
We played the original in English, but there is already a fan translation of subtitles from Tolma4 Team, created in cooperation with Deck Nine Games.
Great
8.0
Grade Gambling
Verdict
Life is Strange: Before the Storm – this is a living proof that good prequels 1) really exist and 2) are able not only not to spoil the memories of the original, but also to deepen its plot.