Well. It's over ; ___ ;
Life is Strange: Before The Storm saw the release of the final episode, Hell Is Empty yesterday and just like that.. It's done;;
I miss it so much already </3
And I just want to say for the record... It was one hella crazy ride! *o*
I know I said this in my review for the second episode, Brave New World but once again...this episode was even better! They just got better each time and this one was no let down either :,)
This final episode had to basically tie everything up that the game had given us so far and honestly...I think it did very well! I mean, three episodes is pretty short to begin with (especially when compared to the original Life is Strange which had five), but regardless of that...Deck Nine still managed to complete a wonderfully emotional game that kept you hanging on every little thing that happened all the way through.
I downloaded this episode as soon as it released (5pm GMT) and had to wait until...maybe just gone 9pm before it was ready to play (;*△*;) I reckon I maybe finished the episode around 12:30am, so...a pretty decent length :3
And... OhmyGOD!! ( ; ; ) I don't even know how to describe this feeling I have right now. It's almost like a feeling of loss :,) Like I'm so sad without this game! Life is Strange is probably the only game I've ever played that has emotionally affected me like this;; While I'm playing it, it's just a rollercoaster of everything and once it's done, all the emotions are left over and I just can't stop thinking about it!
There is SO much more I want to talk about!! ..but better leave that for the "My Thoughts" section of the review :,)
Oh! And if you're interested, I'll put the links here for my reviews of the first and second episode :3
Just in case you want to read them ^^;
Life is Strange: Before The Storm - Episode 1: Awake Review~ By SerahNyan (ME!)
Life is Strange: Before The Storm - Episode 2: Brave New World Review~ By SerahNyan (ME!)
So let's get this review started!
--SPOILER WARNING--
Usually I just use a "warning" before reviews, but I am going to talk a lot about the third episode and what happens, so if you haven't played the third episode yet and want to do so without knowing what happens...maybe don't read this review quite yet.
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[ Available on Microsoft Windows, PS4 and Xbox One ]
Plot Outline~
Life is Strange: Before The Storm is set three years prior to the events of the original Life is Strange and, as opposed to Life is Strange where you play as Max Caulfield, Life is Strange: Before The Storm is played through the view point of 16 year old Chloe Price.
Currently, Chloe is feeling very alone and very abandoned. Her father has died and Max, her best friend, left her to go and live in Seattle. Chloe has tried to keep in contact with Max but Max eventually stopped talking to her.
With Joyce, Chloe's mother, bringing her new boyfriend, David Madsen into the picture, Chloe is feeling very frustrated at all these changes happening around her. Along with the absence of her now ex-best friend and her father gone, Chloe becomes very rebellious as a way to deal with all these emotions.
One day, she meets a girl called Rachel Amber who is very beautiful, very popular and has big dreams and the two girls form an unlikely friendship that becomes something very special to them both.
Gameplay~
Much like the original Life is Strange, you experience this game from a third-person point of view, only this time you assume control of Chloe. Unlike Max (who you control in the original Life is Strange), Chloe doesn't have any super natural abilities and definitely not the ability to time travel. Instead, Chloe has a little feature called "Backtalk" which is something of a...type of mini-game, I guess you could say, that allows Chloe to lash out and insult people as a way of getting them to do what she wants which, in turn, gets her out of less than desirable situations :,)
Something similar to the original Life is Strange though is the power of "Choice." You will be given various times in the game to interact with different people by being given the chance to make a choice on how you'll respond to things people say to you. And depending on what you choose, this affects the overall outcome of the game.
People who've played the original Life is Strange know that Max kept a diary which let us see more about how she felt about all the things that were happening. Chloe doesn't exactly keep a diary, it's more like she's writing letters to Max telling her what she's been doing, though she never sends these letters.
..it actually causes me emotional pain knowing Max has been completely ignoring Chloe all this time.
And again we all know Max enjoyed taking pictures of her surroundings (which also earned us Trophies in the original game). Now Chloe is no photographer, so instead Chloe is given a "Graffiti" option which allows her to draw on different areas in her surroundings which, of course, earns us the trophies.
Episode 3: Hell Is Empty Summary~
Once again, this episode picks up right after where the second one leaves off.
After being told at the end of the second episode that the woman, Sera, who Rachel and Chloe believed to be James' (Rachel's father) mistress is actually Rachel's birth mother, James then goes on to explain to Rachel about why he met her that day and why he never told Rachel about her.
It turns out Sera was a free spirit when she was younger, much like Rachel. Sera didn't have any specific plans for the future and kind of went through life not worrying about anything. When Sera had Rachel, James believed that this would help Sera to settle down and live with him which did happen...but only for a while. Sera was a drug addict and was even shown to take drugs right in front of Rachel while she was a baby. James didn't want Rachel to be around a mother like that, so he took Rachel away from Sera and raised her with his new wife. On that day when Rachel and Chloe saw James kiss Sera was when he refused Sera's plea to meet with Rachel. Apparently Sera had been clean of drugs for a while and felt she was ready to see Rachel, but James rejected her and that was that.
When Rachel retreats to her bedroom after being told all of this, Chloe goes up to see her and after the two talk for a while, Rachel reveals that she still wants to meet with Sera and Chloe vows she will do anything she can to make that happen.
When Chloe goes home the next day, she decides to call Frank, her drug dealer to ask about Sera since Chloe saw her leave Frank's RV in the second episode. Reluctantly, Frank agrees to meet Chloe in the junkyard later.
Before leaving, Chloe decides to take a shower and find her father's tools in the garage to fix up her truck that still isn't working. But before she can leave, she sees her mother, Joyce and David in the kitchen cooking together and she notes how happy her mother looks. A conversation scene with them ensues and you can be understanding towards David, or refuse to hear him out. Regardless of what you choose, you'll end up leaving and headed for the junkyard.
Chloe manages to fix up the truck she has and takes it for a quick joy ride around the junkyard before Rachel shows up since Chloe told her that she managed to get her drug dealer to meet with them to talk about Sera.
Chloe and Rachel are then ambushed by Frank and Damon who was hassling Drew for money in the second episode. Damon also wants to know why the two girls are so interested in finding Sera and eventually realises that Rachel is the DA's daughter. Because Rachel is who she is and is used to getting what she wants, when Frank and Damon refuse to help her, she lashes out at Damon and hits him across the back of his head with a plank of wood that was lying close by on the ground. Damon already had a knife and attacks Rachel and ends up stabbing her arm. Frank then holds off Damon and gives Chloe and Rachel a chance to escape.
Chloe takes Rachel to the hospital where she undergoes surgery, but is obviously okay afterwards.
While Chloe is waiting for Rachel to wake up, she has a relatively decent talk with Rachel's father about what happened. While here, you also visit Drew who (depending on what you choose in episode 2) may or may not have a broken knee. And also depending on what you choose, he may act differently. I chose to remain in his dorm room with Mikey and because Drew acted thankful for that choice, he wasn't bad to talk to. So maybe if you left the room, he would act differently.
ANYWAY!
Once you've visited them, Chloe is told that Rachel has woken up and goes to see her.
After everything that happened in the junkyard, Rachel is still determined to find Sera and Chloe is still going to help her do that. Rachel tells Chloe the code to her father's office at their home and Chloe will head there to see if she can find any clues as to where Sera may be. Before Chloe can leave the hospital, she sees Eliot who is suspicious of her and Rachel's relationship and gets a little bit hysterical when Chloe won't really give him any firm details on what they are both doing.
Once you arrive at Rachel's house and enter James' office, a lot of things come to light.
Instead of finding out about Sera, you end up discovering that James was actually in contact with Damon. So Chloe uses James' phone to convince Damon to tell her where Sera is and after you do everything he wants, he will send a photo of Sera who he currently has with him. It turns out he kidnapped Sera to get money from James. Chloe finds the money he wants in James' office but before she can leave, Eliot walks in after apparently following her to Rachel's house. Eliot snaps a little bit saying that he is the one who really cares for Chloe and that Rachel is just an actress using Chloe to get what she wants from her. While in the office, Eliot closes the office door which locks itself and after a while of trying to convince Eliot to calm the hell down, Chloe throws a trophy that was in the office through the window which sets off the alarm to the office. Eliot runs out and that gives Chloe the moment she needs to go to where Damon has Sera.
Once she arrives at the old mill which burned down, she spots smeared blood on Frank's RV and deduces that he must be hurt somewhere. But since she is there for Sera, she doesn't have the time to try and find out. When you enter the mill, you will eventually find Damon and Sera who he has tied up about to drug her. Chloe steps out before this happens to pay him the money. Damon lashes out at Chloe as he is angered to know she was pretending to be James' to get information from him. It is then revealed that James has continuously lied all along and that he asked Damon to kill Sera.
Before Damon can hurt Chloe anymore, Frank shows up and manages to fight him off. It is then implied that Frank killed Damon.
Chloe received a blow to the head from Damon and when she wakes up, she finds Sera sat nearby. Sera then asks Chloe to never tell Rachel what James was planning. She knows that James loves Rachel and that she can never truly be a mother to her and that she wants Rachel to keep her family.
When Chloe gets back to the hospital, you are then faced with your final choice:
Tell Rachel the truth
OR
Hide the truth from Rachel.
My Thoughts~
Before I get into the whole nitty-gritty of everything, I just want to say something first.
I made a HUGE mistake! ∑(ﾟﾛﾟ〃)
I'm not sure why, but right from the start...before the game even came out, I just immediately assumed that it would cover everything between Rachel and Chloe. From right up to when they meet to when Rachel disappears. It was during the wait for the third episode that I realised that just wouldn't be possible.
1. Because there are only three episodes and that just wouldn't be enough no matter how much you condensed everything into them.
2. Because Rachel and Chloe are friends for...at least three years! NO WAY would a game with three episodes be able to cover three years! Even if you did a years space between each one...it just wouldn't make sense and just wouldn't work!
I'm so stupid!!(￣д￣)
I mean, when you look at it again Chloe is 16 when she meets Rachel and 19 in the original Life is Strange! And I can't remember exactly how long before the original Life is Strange it was when Rachel disappeared.. Was it 5-6 months?? Either way, there is still three years of their friendship! So...my stupid little brain really made a big mistake there, huh? :,)
And one more thing!! Because of all the fan theories that went around (yes, I know they are simply just fan theories) about Rachel being the root of the storm and everything in Life is Strange, I thought that when Rachel kicked over the bin in the first episode and screamed and the wind whipped around her while the tree was aflame that maybe she had some sort of power that made her being the storm true.
But that was also just another mistake I made because that was never touched on again in the game :,)
Yeeeeeaaaaa... So. No supernatural powers whatsoever in Before The Storm.
Just a lot of teenage drama. XD
Just kidding. I know it's well founded and not "drama."
Let's get back on track now :,)
I absolutely, completely, totally and truly LOVED this game with every ounce of my being! ♥
It's possible that I may like it even more than the original Life is Strange..! (ﾟﾛﾟ)
I just think that there is something so alluring and powerful about Rachel and Chloe's friendship that isn't the same with Chloe and Max in Life is Strange. I mean, I know it's not supposed to be. But there is just such a bigger and greater appeal to Rachel and Chloe than there is to Chloe and Max even though they were best friends in their childhood.
And despite Deck Nine using just a three episode arc, I really think they managed to capture the intensity of Rachel and Chloe's friendship. It honestly just never felt forced or rushed to me! Like they say in the game..
"Sometimes when you meet someone who is going to change your life...you just know it."
There is just such a magical force between the two that just feels so natural that it just...completely draws you, as the player, in! ..at least it did for me >ω<
I know a lot of people have negative feelings towards Rachel because she hooks up with Frank and then later Mark Jefferson, but does that lessen how much Rachel clearly cares about Chloe? We all know Rachel is full of ambitions, but she is also a very damaged soul. And I think anyone would make decisions they may not always be proud of if you're deeply hurting inside and not sure where to go or what to do. And it's also heavily implied that Rachel hooked up with Frank because of his "stash" to quote Nathan :,)
And Rachel believed that Mark Jefferson truly saw potential in her and also believed that he cared about her. And we all know how that guy has the creepy good ability to honey his words, so what reason did Rachel have to not believe him? And Rachel did write to Chloe about him, so never did she stop caring about Chloe. Rachel just had big, big dreams that she would never not go after!
Honestly, after this game...
I am 100% all about AmberPrice! ♥
They just suit each other so well and compliment each other in all the right ways. They really care and love each other and...I just think their friendship is such a wonderful thing ;ω;
Also!! That ending sequence! It's probably one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen;;
It shows Chloe full dye her hair blue, it shows them in the photo booth together taking pictures, it shows them with their tattoos...it shows them doing so much that players of the original Life is Strange will recognise! I honestly cried so much during that; it was just a little bit of perfection! ;ω;
And once again.
Something we knew we'd have to do. We all saw it coming.
That final decision.
That awful final choice you make.
I mean, granted this one wasn't as hard as choosing whether to Sacrifice Chloe or Sacrifice Arcadia Bay...but it was still a pretty tough decision.
Actually, I think it was equally tough, just in a very different way.
I already said what it was in the Plot Outline, but basically what you're deciding to do is whether you'll tell Rachel about what James was doing all along or not.
I mean, to keep a truth that big from someone seems really horrible;; But then to tell Rachel that James wanted to have Sera killed seems horrible also as it would just break apart that family.
But me being who I am...I hate lies and keeping things from people (unless I've been told a secret that no one wants me to tell), so... I chose to tell Rachel the truth.
And it was SO sad! James walked into the room when he heard Rachel crying and that look she gave him...he straight away knew what had happened;; I mean, something that big! Even if it rocks your entire world...wouldn't you want to know?
Also while I was looking at all the different choices you could make and what other players chose at the end, I saw that there was one that said something like "Rachel meets Sera .. 5%" or something like that. So...if you choose to hide the truth from Rachel...is that how she meets her birth mother? Because I didn't get that one.
I mean, I'm obviously going to play the game more than once, so I'll find out at some point.
So, yea;; It was just a really tough choice to make. I mean, keeping Rachel in the dark about something like that just seems cruel. But then telling her the truth is also cruel as it would just break her. Honestly...is there a right or wrong answer for that one?! If so, I would like to know what it is :,)
If there was one thing I hated...it was this:
After the moving and gorgeous ending sequence...the credits role...and what do we see?
We see Rachel's phone has had a ton of missed calls from Chloe. It then starts vibrating receiving another call from Chloe. The screen pans out and we see Rachel's phone on a familiar glass table.
Something isn't right.
The screen pans out more and what do we hear?
Camera shutter sounds.
Then it clicks.
Rachel is in Mark Jefferson's Dark Room having those sick pictures of her taken.
It then hits you that after that...she will likely only be alive for a few more hours at the most.
THAT WAS NOT NECESSARY!!!! ; ____ ;
We know, okay?! We know that Rachel dies and what happened to her that lead up to that!
We didn't need to see it happen;; That was just too awful;;
When it clicked and I realised what was happening, I started crying! So loudly, I wouldn't be surprised if I woke up my sleeping mum and sister!
I was devastated to see that included at the end.
It literally put a skid mark all over that ending sequence that I loved so much </3
It was just...so upsetting;; And just reminded you fully of the cold, hard truth that Chloe faces in Life is Strange.
If there was also another thing I hated or didn't like...
It was Eliot??
Like, why was he suddenly stalking Chloe and following her to Rachel's house. He refused to let her leave and got really frightening when talking to her about Rachel just using her and demanding that Chloe tell him the truth. Honestly, that felt unnecessary to add into the game. It didn't add anything at all apart from..
"Well, what the fuck was that?!"
It made no sense and made no difference to the plot at all :,)
That was definitely something I consider to be pointless.
Moving along now to something else ^o^
The voice cast was brilliant in this episode! I've been back and forth especially with Rhianna DeVries :,)
I liked her in the first episode.
Her voice and tone of it bothered me a lot in the second episode as it sounded to have a constantly sarcastic ring to to.
But she won me back in the third episode :,)
There was such emotion in Chloe's voice during this episode! It felt so real and heartfelt;;
Kylie Brown (voice of Rachel Amber) was brilliant as well! This episode was really where Kylie shined! Rachel was the centre of all the hurt this time round because of her father's secret coming out and I really think she delivered the raw emotion Rachel would have been feeling.
And I've always thought this, but she plays the role of the popular girl in school and then swapping to the real girl with Chloe so well!
They're both wonderful actresses :3
And again with the music, Daughter were fabulous as well ;ω;
I've loved how that throughout the game, they've used different instruments to convey the different feelings of the characters. And the lyrics are so expertly matched with the music and the scenes in which the songs are used;; Each piece of music they made and each song they created fit into the game like a puzzle piece and really helped to craft the emotion that was being shown.
Bonus Episode~
Before The Storm may be over, but it's not quite the end yet~! ^o<
There is one more episode we have to look forward to! >ω<
And that is Life is Strange: Before The Storm - Bonus Episode, "Farewell" ♥
This episode brings back our two favourites; Chloe and Max.
It's going to give the players...mostly likely our last chance to play as Max;;
This episode is set before Max moves away from Arcadia Bay and before Chloe's father dies.
So it's a chance to see what their friendship was like before there are life threatening stakes on the line, like Ashly says :,)
And also! It's super exciting for have Hannah Telle to come back and voice Max and also extra suuuuuuuper exciting to have the amazing Ashly Burch back to voice Chloe since the Strike she was part of prevented her from returning to voice Chloe in Before The Storm;;
This episode will hopefully release early 2018! So we still have some hype left in us, guys! ;D
Conclusion~
To conclude my review (..or whatever you can call this..) XD
Life is Strange: Before The Storm is seriously one of the greatest gaming experiences;;
It's wonderful and it's wonderful in all the best ways ♥
I remember last time when I wrote my conclusion, I went on to say how I was "on the fence" about Chloe and Rachel having an option to kiss, but now I've finished the game...
I'm over the fence.
And on the side of AmberPrice!! >ω<
I still have my own personal view of what their relationship was like, but seeing it in a romantic way like Before The Storm offered isn't a bad thing either :3
I think it's that Chloe and Rachel are two people who aren't shy about certain things, so neither of them have problems showing each other-- Or anyone, for that matter how they feel.
So that's why I'm okay with it now :3
But with the game as a whole...
It's amazing!! And I'd seriously recommend it to every Life is Strange fan!
It contains all the elements that make a Life is Strange game what it is and doesn't hold back with all it's emotional punches! While 3 episodes was short, the team planned it all out very well and the writing (of course) was great so... What can I fault? Nothing.
10/10
..seriously.
I loved it! It was just...everything I could have hoped for in the end ;ω;
Though I could have done without that final scene ; ___ ;
And I cannot wait for the Farewell episode! That's also going to pack an emotional punch or two, I'm sure :,)
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Thank you for reading this review(?) and I really hope you enjoyed it! ^^
I know my reviews are exactly "reviews"...but regardless of what they are, I still hope they are enjoyable :3
And I also hope everyone who played Life is Strange: Before The Storm had a hella amazing time doing so! ..I know I did *ω*
Once again, thank you for reading and have an awesome day! ^o^
BYESIES~! c:
xoxo~
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