Board 8 > time to play life is strange: before the storm.

(+) Yeah! (+)

picked up the deluxe edition for $6 today. I've heard good things so far but haven't been able to get to it!

okay, so, there will be spoilers in this thread. please don't talk about things ahead of me or how I'll react to x or y because I'm really sensitive about that stuff. I like to have pure playthroughs of narrative games I care a lot about (this being one). I'll probably just abandon the topic if that happens.

I don't know any specifics about the game at all outside of the reveal trailer and that it's centered around Chloe. let's go!
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okay, we start with cigarettes, a 1337 train and too-cool-for-school kate pretending to be hit by a train. yep, this is the try-too-hard life is strange that's super endearing. not endearing at first glance: chloe's voice, but I'll get used to it.

I can tell I'm going to miss max. there's something about max's inner monologue that resonates more than chloe. chloe's got this middle fingers to the world attitude that isn't really me.

did my backtalk tutorial with the bouncer. I thought there was going to be another way in so I spent a little too long wandering around. backtalk seemed kinda dumb but also appropriate for chloe. I dunno. we'll see. I'm picturing it being kinda like that one scene in LIS1 with Frank.

so yeah I'm ruining this poor dude's car and stealing his money and buying weed and huh. yeah my comment above about missing max is legit. I expect this to get better though - this is clearly just establishing who chloe is. I didn't even want to make these choices but there's no takebacks so I might as well go through with it.

I think I've decided to play chloe as a rebellious, fuck y'all motherfuckers kind of character because, well, yeah. the backtalk mechanic leans into it so why not? I told those skeevy guys to fuck off and then attacked them when rachel (?!) distracted them. rachel is not what I expected! I thought she'd be a real popular girl but she looks straight punk rock. interesting. chloe's hair better turn blue during this game.
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Chloe's voice gets better as it goes on. I think she grew into the role
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Hella tag!

I liked Chloe's new voice. I mean it didn't grow on me immediately but it didn't take very long either. She's no Ashly Burch but she's an excellent substitute.
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maaaaaaaaaaaaaaan chloe is a monster. I kept with it because that's clearly who she is, but god. as a parent trying to raise a preteen, I think I respond to this a little differently. joyce's responses are so damn good. I could never be that straight with my kid. that really hits me hard. it's tough to play chloe having been on the other side.

so, max. I feel like maybe there's a little bit too much max here? pictures, journals, texts -- I don't know. max is obviously a big deal but I feel like they're going in a little too much. this'll fade when the story picks up, I'm sure.

I chose to tell joyce how I felt. now I get to take a joy ride with david. can't wait for that! I'll save that thrill for tomorrow.
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one last comment - the game feels very empty so far. no real conversations, no friends, almost no music (I noticed this bigtime), very little sense of place. it's minimal. life is strange's first episode gets a bit of shade for being very meandering but I think it's super effective. blackwell is a great location. that opener with the tornado, the class conversation, the bathroom and the gun immediately establishes characters and place. so far, the only characters established are people from a future timeline. I hope that gets rectified soon. I want more than just a nod and wink to the original.
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transience posted...

I thought there was going to be another way in so I spent a little too long wandering around.

There is. Only if you messed up the backtalk tutorial though.

Tag!
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Bump.
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gonna start it up again in a few
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it's time for a joy ride with David. I got the impression from LIS1 that David was a more recent thing. I don't know what exactly the timeline is but I think this is 4-5 years prior? okay, I googled it and it's 3 years. that's a long time to be at each other's throats!

life post-dad, pre-David would have been more interesting, I think. just to see how melancholy they could make it. I think Chloe is 100% angst but there should be some loss and regret mixed in.

I definitely left David hanging and backtalked him to death. might as well take this angst all the way!

hey, a scene with william. too short - which I guess is fitting.

blackwell! okay, let's see chloe without family drama.
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I feel so much more in my element here.

- agreed to go to some school event
- declined to sign a fire prevention petition
- backtalked Wells. liked this one a lot more because it isn't just being a total jerk.
- listened to skip's demo. this cracked me up. the game wants me to leave so bad! told him meh anyway.
- rocked some d&d. I heard about this! this was a ton of fun. it's hilarious that everyone kept telling me I was late while I did all this stuff in the courtyard.
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I thought Skip's demo was decent!
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it was fine! I just thought chloe would talk it down.

I just backtalked drew to get nathan's folder or whatever back. didn't like that I was sticking up for a guy that would eventually kill me, but like, backtalk is what the game is about so why not? plus it seemed like chloe to stick her neck in since that's all she's done so far.
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wow, rachel is interesting - not her per se, but chloe's reaction. she's been super aggressive with everyone thus far but gets mega shy when around rachel. everyone in the school crushes on her hard and now chloe does too. it's not like her at all to be afraid to do things, like ditch with her or walk in to the locker room, but chloe's like a 13 year old here. it's out of character and kinda great.

rachel's a little too cool for me right now, and she kinda has this dead eye thing going on, but I'm down with this game as long as I'm with rachel.
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D&D's so good.

Where's that video where David's holding it out forever?
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well, I finished chapter 1.

...hm.
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https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DPX8wD_XcAAn5Co.jpg
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so, that whole section with rachel was.. really awkward. the conversations were stilted, the directions we went in didn't feel sequential.. it just felt kind of poorly designed or written? I don't know. and yet, I liked it. Rachel just kinda turns on you randomly after the viewmaster stuff and then everything after that is confusing. is she just an angry drunk? why is the conversation going this way? I would choose a selection and then everything would go to hell and I wasn't sure why.

it was clear that she had to know whoever you were spying on, and yep, it's her dad. I told her that our relationship was something more even if I didn't really feel like it was. the game has always made it seem that way, though. rachel's final talk about how much of a badass you are is basically retelling all your choices and making you think that they had some levity. they don't, though. it felt very heavy handed, like something a telltale game would do. I like telltale games too but I dunno. this didn't feel well written at all.

but I'm down with it, because I'm deep into the fiction of life is strange. life isn't strange here - it's just kinda whiny and emo. this one goes deep on being idiot teens more than the first one did. I'm in, but I'm suspiciously in.
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I'll wait until you finish Ep2 just so we can all speak openly, but I liked some of the things you didn't if you want to discuss it more later. Then again, me liking LiS probably isn't the biggest shocker.

I'm glad you aren't completely turned off on continuing despite your reservations.
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transience posted...

it felt very heavy handed, like something a telltale game would do. I like telltale games too but I dunno.

Preach.

Before the Storm is still cool and it does a number of good things, but replacing rewind-mechanics with backtalk-mechanics completely changes what originally separated LiS from Telltale games in the first place. I can confidently say LiS is my favorite of these types of games, whereas I don't know that BtS beats some of Telltale's better games. #IMissMax

The end of that first chapter carries a ton of weight. I enjoyed seeing the stakes raise high and questions linger afterward.
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I'm still mad that Max is referenced so much. who knew Chloe had so much pent up animosity towards her? I don't miss Max so much as I want Chloe's story to be her own.
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I really liked how they did Chloe's journal and it helps explain Chloe's animosity to Max in the beginning of LiS, but I agree that it makes Max a bigger presence in BtS than she really has to be.
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her journal is good! I stopped keeping up with it after the train. I'll have to check it out again.
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Augh I can't resist the urge not to talk about Life is Strange. I'll just post a thought I had after Ep1

I actually thought it was smart to have so many references to Max. It kept her in the narrative even though she couldn't be in the narrative. Max was always going to be a heavy presence in this era of Chloe's life so I thought they handled it well.

I also feel like seeing things firsthand in BtS justifies LiS Chloe in a lot of ways. Did you see the time stamps from the Max texts? Chloe was trying to keep in touch and Max took days to return those half-assed replies. That's why Chloe got so angry in LiS Ep2 when Max wanted to take Kate's call right away
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yeah I did. I dunno, it feels revisionist to me. I'd need to replay the beginning of 1 to see the introduction of Chloe. I don't remember her being all pissed at Max.
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I personally love that moment at the viewfinder where you can flat ask Rachel "Are you honest with this or are you just a really good actress" and she's like "Mystery"
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transcience posted...

yeah I did. I dunno, it feels revisionist to me. I'd need to replay the beginning of 1 to see the introduction of Chloe. I don't remember her being all pissed at Max.

If you want my view having replayed LiS last month, I'd say Chloe was pissed but mostly jaded and distant so it only showed in snide comments. She didn't really warm up to Max until she realized Max had saved her life. Then she went from "hey leave me alone for a bit" to "let's dance!"
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DeathChicken posted...

I personally love that moment at the viewfinder where you can flat ask Rachel "Are you honest with this or are you just a really good actress" and she's like "Mystery"

Around that same area: I really thought stealing the wine was forced and clunky, but I loved when Rachel was like "noooooooo" after Chloe suggested CPR.
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time to boot up episode 2!
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episode 2 starts strong. the intro scene with wells and rachel is reminiscent of the end of episode 2 - but with higher stakes. I went along with Rachel for a while but then took the blame at the end. I don't feel like this is the right choice - I get the sense that we find out Rachel is super manipulative at the end of this chapter - but Chloe is going to get kicked out anyway. lets just absolve her of this one and let her do her damn play. I'd like to see it anyway.

the scene outside with Joyce and David is also good. I refuse to comply with a search and end up walking off without getting in the car. I think this happens regardless? again, as a parent I have a super hard time watching this scene. everyone is awful here but Joyce and Joyce is lost.

I looked through my notebook and realized that it's just a catalog of my choices, like a plot synopsis. I was hoping for some more inner thoughts but it feels more like a recap. too bad there.

time to hang out in the junkyard and wait for Rachel.
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okay, I'm back at blackwell because.. reasons? I don't know why I'd do anything with Frank or why he'd even reach out to me. definitely seems like a reach.

the stuff with rachel was fine. there's something about this whole section that brings back feelings that I haven't had since I was at 15 or 16. I had some rough times when I was younger and this conjures up those thoughts. I can't tell if this game is just miserable or if I'm projecting. maybe both.

so far so good. will finish episode 2 tomorrow, probably.
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No, this game pretty firmly establishes that the universe hated Chloe even before time travel got involved
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yeah, this game has made a real strong case for the sacrifice Chloe ending because she needs to be put out of her misery. but, it makes an even stronger case for sacrificing Arcadia Bay because more than anything fuck everyone in Arcadia Bay
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Chloe VS The Bay: some people really gotta go.
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gonna start it up in a sec. hoping to finish episode 2 tonight.
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yeah, I like this game the most when I'm at Blackwell. this game lives and dies by its conversations and there's nowhere to have a conversation except for at Blackwell. Evan, Steph, Drew, Evan -- all great chats. Rachel is fun too, but I really just want to see Chloe twist other people around. the one with Samuel was surprisingly great.

I let Drew get beat up and then gave him back the money. seems like the right thing to do, and the thing Chloe would do! for once they align. I also fucked Victoria over because fuck Victoria always. I saw there was an opportunity in the ep1 wrapup to get her that I missed and I'm mad about it. because fuck Victoria always.

now I'm dressed up in the most hilarious wizard of oz-looking getup ever and I can't wait to see where this goes. it's going to be terrible/the best.
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I did the same thing with Drew and I think that scenario/set of choices has been my favorite that BtS has presented that you've seen far. Just thought it was well done and real smart to have the follow-up choice about who gets the money.
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this table setting at the Ambers is the most incredibly awkward thing ever.
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OKAY, chapter 2 complete.

the play went exactly as I expected -- this ain't no final fantasy six. that whole scene with Chloe and Rachel killed me, right up until the part where it was kind of touching? I actually nailed most of the play, not that it really mattered. again, life is strange at its best - the interplay between characters.

the scene after with Rachel is kinda rough. she's wearing her Max clothes! Rachel is just so insincere. all she seems to do is play games and she seems to have an attachment issue. Chloe is smart to kinda call her out on this, but she seems to attribute it more to her own insincerity than anything else. the choices here to prove her sincerity are odd - I didn't want to go with a kiss, but what the hell is a tattoo and who asks someone for their bracelet? I went with the kiss, and that was fine and all, but it was a little cheesy. I want to be all in on team Chloe/Rachel but I just can't feel comfortable with it.

I tried super hard to play it safe at the Amber house, not backtalking Mr. Amber, avoiding conversations, the whole nine - but it was pretty clear the second we sat down that Rachel was not going to make it. I was actually hoping for fireworks to go off even more - if they were going to set off, I wanted a full on fight. the Ambers are surprisingly tame throughout for how serious they seem to be. the mom bomb gets dropped, and I'm not sure exactly what it proves? hopefully this makes it easier to bail on Arcadia Bay. it sucks that this is a prequel. it would be a lot easier to wonder where this goes as opposed to it going to.. Arcadia Bay.
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transience posted...

I tried super hard to play it safe at the Amber house, not backtalking Mr. Amber, avoiding conversations, the whole nine

Forgive me tran but SEE YA'LL IT AIN'T JUST ME (you missed a discussion in the past about Chloe and apologist-players).
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I can defend this. Chloe has a devil's tongue but she was explicitly asked by Rachel to be careful and not to screw this up. I'm complying for Rachel's sake as opposed to burning bridges for my own.
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Hey, I didn't backtalk Mr. Amber either! I just argued that both were in character for her.

Anyway, I'll have more comments later
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I would agree with that
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I mean at the end there you could see smoke coming out of Rachel's ears, that scene was not going to end peacefully regardless of what Chloe did
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yeah, if I had put any thought into it, I would have turned. in the moment I tried to play it as cool as I could and ended up like this:



once Rachel went in, I joined.
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I admittedly got a laugh out of how winning the backtalk has Rachel's mom jump in to Chloe's defense at every opportunity. She's apparently the anti-Joyce
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Part of my last post was also about letting David search Chloe in the parking lot. I thought refusing to backtalk would reveal that she didn't have any drugs on her, thus getting to own David in front of Joyce. That isn't as loud as we sometimes want to be with Chloe, but I thought that allowed her more room to be the bad-ass she is now that she actually put points on the scoreboard against him while her mom witnessed his paranoia go nowhere.

Anyway, so I know BtS isn't over but how do you think it compares with LiS so far?
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I think it's clearly subservient to LIS and as such couldn't possibly be better. it's a decent step below in both quality and, perhaps more importantly, scope. something is lost knowing that nothing here can end well.

episode 2 was a nice jump in quality over episode 1. I wasn't a fan of Chloe going drug hunting on a whim but it brought me back to Blackwell so that was okay.

I feel like we're at episode 2 of a 4 or 5 episode arc though and it's weird to think we're going to be wrapping up instead of building further. I feel like I'm just getting to know Rachel and it'll be all over soon. I dunno, like I said, scope bothers me moreso than quality. I like it.
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It's an interesting dilemma Square-Enix has walked into. They tried two big changes to the genre at once:

1) The big one: they made a prequel. This isn't a MGS3-situation -- you're just three years before the original LiS-cannon.

2) Also matters: they changed from five episodes to three (maybe a bonus fourth, kinda?). Great stuff can most certainly come from this structure too, but this change of structure insinuates a change of pacing too and I don't think we really got that here. They still have time to make it work with their final episode, but right now it seems real hard to do.

This will be a good case study for people making these games in the future. The game's done a lot of good despite these obstacles, yet you can't help but feel the weight of them.
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