Board 8 > Life is Strange (spoilers?)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Has anyone on B8 played this game? I just finished it last night and I really loved it. The dialogue leaves something to be desired but I guess thats to be expected when French? Or French Canadian? Developers are trying to mimic American teenage slang. Ill admit there were a few hella cringe worthy moments, but I think that added to the charm.
My one complaint is that your choices throughout the game actually DIDNT matter in the end, at all.

I havent played Before the Storm yet but Im planning on it soon. I know the third chapter is about to be released.
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@Robazoid
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Before the Storm is very good
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literally almost all of B8 has played Life is Strange

A lot of people didn't like the ending (I was fine with it though)

but it's honestly one of the greatest games of all time and I feel like few people will argue otherwise after having played it
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i sometimes wonder what the "my choices didn't matter in the end at all" crowd actually wants. I have my issues with how LIS1 ended but it's because it's not done well, not my choices mattering.
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and I disagree with the idea that your choices didn't matter

I don't think choices all necessarily need to change the ending. You still did what you did, and every decision you make impacts who you are, even if the game doesn't always show it

now with the kill chloe ending, yeah, most of your actions are reversed, but Max still remembers everything she did and experienced. And in the Destroy the Town ending (which I think is the better one honestly) your choices absolutely still made an impact
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Reminder that the third episode of Before the Storm is out in 3 days
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I guess thats true, I suppose I was thinking more along the lines of your choices dont directly effect the ending. But if you look at it from Maxs perspective, they do effect her as a person. And you as a player/your gaming experience.

And regarding the ending, of course my gay ass wants to save Chloe. But I honestly feel like the save the town ending is better and more fleshed out. It felt like the ending the developers wanted you to choose.

Im so glad most people here liked it! Im surprised so many B8ers have played it. It was a really cool experience.
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yeah, we were devoted to the game for a good year or so. we had a couple hundreds of posts for every episode that came out.

I still think the Chloe ending is the best one for Max. screw the developers nudging you towards the other one.
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I thought the dialogue was fantastic, and the VAs were stellar. It was a game of incredible highs (Episode 2's rooftop scene with Kate remains one of the greatest scenes in gaming history for me) and flaccid lows (so much missed potential with Warren and the janitor guy).

More than anything, it was a Telltale-esque game that felt unique from the usual Telltale games; the time reversal mechanic added a lot of depth to what can be a pretty flat game type. I'm looking to pick up Before the Storm when it goes on sale, given that Roba, LiS's crown prince on B8, adores it.
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Johnbobb posted...

but it's honestly one of the greatest games of all time and I feel like few people will argue otherwise after having played it

Uh, jeez, I would.

I mean I liked it and it felt completely unique so it has that going for it, but it's not an all-time great game in my view. Not at all.
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I don't want to go through spoiler-tagging things so Life is Strange spoilers in this post

CrimsonOcean posted...

Has anyone on B8 played this game?

As you might've surmised from someone tagging me, I've played it! Life is Strange is my favorite game ever despite a boatload of issues that I have with it. I've never been so drawn into a piece of fiction and I still replay it every year. I could also talk about Life is Strange for as long as people were willing to listen >_>

The dialogue was off-putting initially but I felt they got better with it as the game progressed. After spending such a long time in the fandom, I also consider the awkward slang to be an endearing trait at this point. Nothing like a 'hella' or 'wowser' to give someone some LiS cred!

As for the ending, I hated almost everything about Episode 5 when it first came out. Partly I think that was because my expectations were through the roof and nothing would've lived up to them, but even after all this time I'm still quite down on it. My reasons are different from a lot of other people, though. What bothered me more than anything was the logical inconsistencies with their time travel explanations.

Of course, I was also sad that it came down to two endings where the choices didn't matter. It didn't help that one of those endings was way better than the other one. Sacrifice Chloe still makes me cry. Sacrifice Arcadia Bay just makes me angry. There were so many little things they could've done to improve both of those endings if they had the time/money/inclination, but they didn't. I've come to terms with the flawed masterpiece that Life is Strange has become. Before the Storm has the potential to top it anyway! And no, that isn't a popular opinion, I just really like Before the Storm so far. I'm happy to hear that you intend to play it.

transcience posted...

i sometimes wonder what the "my choices didn't matter in the end at all" crowd actually wants.

I won't go to deeply into it because of spoilers, but if you've ever played Tales from the Borderlands I think that game is a good example of choices mattering despite not radically changing the entire direction of the game. Before Episode 5 of LiS came out I went through the game a bunch of times, hoarding save files with different decision combinations because I wanted to see what they would impact. Then in the end they impacted almost nothing. There's a few dialogue changes with Jefferson, whether Victoria is there or not, the outcome of Alyssa's story, minor dialogue with Frank/Joyce, and whether or not Max and Chloe kiss. I honestly think that's it. I was all set to replay Episode 5 a bunch of times and then after one run through it I realized there was no point because almost nothing would be different. In Tales from the Borderlands, replaying the game from the beginning wouldn't necessarily change the ending but it would still change aspects of the ending. That was really all I wanted, just little differences depending on how I played the game.
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XIII_rocks posted...

Johnbobb posted...

but it's honestly one of the greatest games of all time and I feel like few people will argue otherwise after having played it

Uh, jeez, I would.

I mean I liked it and it felt completely unique so it has that going for it, but it's not an all-time great game in my view. Not at all.

Same here XIII. I loved it and it is unique and fun, and hits you pretty hard in all of the emotions. But definitely not one of the greatest games of all time. Like I mentioned, the dialogue was just bad in some cases. And I felt the VAs did a good job with what they had to work with. But there just isnt enough there for greatest game ever. Still, one if the best games in the genre maybe.

Speaking of VAs, Im bummed Chloes VA couldnt return for Before the Storm. It just feels weird without her. But I think the new one is doing a good job from the trailers.
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Yeah

Like I made a topic after having played LIS for about half an hour saying I'd essentially been spoiled by Naughty Dog because all I was seeing was bad dialogue and, honestly, what felt like patchy VA. That made it kind of difficult to fully get on board with at first, then I got used to it and grew to genuinely enjoy the game. But yeah. For something so narrative-heavy, not being up to scratch in that department is not a con I can ignore.
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Nanis23 posted...

Reminder that the third episode of Before the Storm is out in 3 days

Whaaaaaaaat.

LIS's better than any Telltale game and overcomes its flaws. It's a neat game I don't want to oversell but it does some things very well.
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I think the dialogue on the whole is excellent. As is the ending. I knew immediately which choice I wanted but it made me feel legitimately bad and i sat there reasoning with myself for a while having a moral debate.

And damn. I'm replaying it for the platinum and i had intended to choose different choices this time around but i dont know if i can...i love chloe too much. And I love kate too much. And just. Ugh. This game just gets me.
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My biggest complaints with it are the facial expressions sometimes falling flat in really important scenes, and that it's kind of gay bait-y. I understand all the arguments for why the max/chloe romance was never given words, only hinted at through subtext and a couple scenes open to interpretation. But i wish there was the possibility for it to be something actually verbalized and acknowledged at the end based on choices you make. Similar to how bts handles it but maybe slower/less forcefed. I think ideally they would have acknowledged it in the ending and left it ambiguous until then.
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lis1 is so much better off making that open to interpretation. woulda ruined the warren stuff for sure and I like that it's not played up as a major angle in a video game for once. it feels empowering that a character can be maybe gay and who cares?
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I'm not saying it has to be beaten over your head, or even a focal point of the game. But the way it is leaves me feeling more "we dont want to piss anyone off and possibly lose some sales" than "artisticly leaving it open for interpretation"
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And like let's be honest. How many games actually have a gay protagonist? Saying "not played up as a major angle in a video game for once" is pretty misleading because it's not something that happens often. Especially with the lead character. I'm actually struggling to think of any. Granted, im out of the loop on a lot of indie stuff.
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ah, I felt the latter. it's certainly not pushed hard.

(bts spoilers) especially compared to beyond the storm because hoooooly crap do they go for it there)
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oh it's not super prevalent or anything, but if a game/movie/whatever has a gay character it's probably gonna let you know loud and clear. they give Max space and I like that.
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Also, Warren is a stalker and a creep. And it wouldn't necessarily ruin his romance subplots anyway. Since when can games like this only have one romance option?

And why is the Warren stuff more importaNt than the chloe stuff? Why is it cool for Warren to get more directly acknowledged romance but if it happens for chloe it's bad?
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because turning Warren down is great.
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transcience posted...

oh it's not super prevalent or anything, but if a game/movie/whatever has a gay character it's probably gonna let you know loud and clear. they give Max space and I like that.

You can give her space but also put actual words to the romance. These arent mutually exclusive.
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I agree there at least. **** Warren. But including a scene in the end if you've built your relationship with Chloe the right way that gives words to the romance subplot doesn't ruin that, nor does it beat you over the head with gay.

And it would leave me feeling less baited.

Also hi transience I hope the last 6 years or so have treated you well. I hear you've got kids! Congrats and all that
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Hell. Ideally it would even give you a choice as to whether the ending includes a confession or whatever or not, in the case That you built the relationship up but didn't want it to be romantic. That would be a little trickier to handle organically but not that hard.
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hey bud - hope you're well too. thanks for the waffles.
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I haven't used waffles in ages but you made my invite tree fun to look at.

Also the irc channel name has never been more relevant to me! I blame you for how i turned out tbh

But uhh back on topic. I love max so damn much. Her voice actress just nailed it. Chloe too. If you asked me which i prefer I would probably just kill myself instead of answer. Can't wait for episode 3 of bts, but i have this feeling it will be disappointing.

Either way though, i know there will be a lot of crying. I bawled throughout episode 1 and 2 because it's so sweet but i know how their story ends.

No game franchise has made me cry more than this one
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Hmm. Just noticed a plot hole. Blackwell is described in the first game as a school just for seniors (which is weird in and of itself), but this obviously gets retconned for bts.

And even in the context of just the first game, it doesnt make a lot of sense.
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And God damnit I am so weak willed. I cant bring myself to hurt kate..
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I'm curious how they're going to reconcile all of these characters who show up at Blackwell in Before the Storm and then obviously aren't around for Life is Strange proper

I'll miss you, Steph. You're neat
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I doubt there will be any reconciliation.

And i love the license plates in these games. It's a small touch but i love it.
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I think I'm going to end up crying more on this replay than the first run.

I love max and chloe so much
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Theres like three years between BtS and LiS, so you can probably just say the missing students graduated.
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HaRRicH posted...

Nanis23 posted...

Reminder that the third episode of Before the Storm is out in 3 days

Whaaaaaaaat.

Yeah.
Where is the hype? 47 hours to go
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I have the day off work wednesday. Not specifically for this but it works out well.

I am ready to be emotionally devastated
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I just replayed BtS Episode One. I'll be doing Episode Two tomorrow as well in preparation for Wednesday! I'm hyped.
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Oh shit, I do too !!

Robazoid, go ahead and build home base.
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I have a box of tissues and a comfort blanket waiting in standby
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HaRRicH posted...

Robazoid, go ahead and build home base.

You mean making an Ep3 discussion topic? I was going to do that while waiting for the episode to download on Wednesday, unless someone else makes one ahead of time. Especially since we have this one for idle discussion in the meantime.

EDIT: On Wednesay, not tomorrow (as much as I might wish it so!)
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Glad other people think Warren was a creep too. Im bias toward Chloe but I kept thinking to myself, damn this guy just doesnt take a hint. Leave me alone!

Its cool that they give you the option to romance different people, and I honestly thought they did a good job handling the Chloe romance. I didnt feel queer-baited, which I think is a real problem in entertainment these days. Could there have been a liiiiitle more? Sure, and I would have loved it. But I didnt feel cheated or let down.
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yeah i mean it was definitely good. I just feel like the reasons for going a little further and being direct about it outweigh the reasons for leaving it ambiguous. Representation is incredibly important and leaving it so ambiguous leaves me feeling weird.

I still loved it. But I'm a dirty sjw trans trender or whatever
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Also, man, it's really telling of how well crafted these stories and characters are crafted that i literally can't bring myself to choose bad options for them in a replay. They're fictional characters and I've seen the good routes but i just cant bring myself to hurt Kate or make chloe mad
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