It me. I just wanted to say that having got through the end of Life is Strange 1, and getting through the first episode of Before the Storm, that Before of the Storm seems so much better to me at this point that's it's not even funny. It's like the developers read my mind and fixed the things I had issues with in the first game, like the terrible cliche dialogue, shoving references to pop culture things in your face constantly, contrived set piece "puzzles" and how the time power ultimately leaves you completely disengaged from the choices you're making and you just don't care.
So huzzah Before the Storm, pls pls pls don't fuck it up because there are only 2 episodes left, not including the Max epilogue (which I am really looking forward to, if it's the current writing team that did it, not the Dontnod guys) and there are quite a few things floating around that seem like they would be something the game would want to address so hopefully it doesn't just let everything build up and then shit the bed in the final episode when they run out of time.
Also the writing on your hand as a way of remembering what your objective is is one of the cleverest little touches I think I've ever seen in a game. So well done for that.
"Let me tell you, when yung Rouj had his Senna and Mansell Scalextric, Frank was the goddamn Professor X of F1."
Great read Jon. Recently re-played the game myself and enjoyed your perspective.
There is a recent Edge Time Extend on LIS that in part speaks about being mature enough to follow the game's narrative through to the canon ending. Maybe it's just the wording but that didn't really sit right with me.
When you got movies like Tom Cruise in them, you can't lose
I think maybe they're right that that was the intention (being mature enough to accept fate), but it's a shame they don't read more into the fact that there is a choice (putting it down to a concession to TellTale style game design).
For me the presence of the choice changes the meaning of the whole game, even regardless of the decision you make. And actually the whole idea of a 'canon' ending seems odd to me, because it's a game and whatever you choose is your ending. Without the idea that some choices can be significant after all the others have proved to be insignificant, it would all feel very resigned and pessimistic.
Welp, made it to the end of episode 2 of Before the Storm and it's got me feeling some kind of way.
It's just shitting on Life is Strange so hard that I'd pay for a remaster of the original but written by the writers for Before the Storm.
Going to start on Episode 3 tomorrow, I really hope they don't run into the same problem they had in Life is Strange where nothing got resolved until the last episode where there just want enough time left to do it.
Right now, assuming Episode 3 doesn't jump the shark, Before the Storm is easily in my All Time Top Ten. Such literacy, many feels, wow.
"Let me tell you, when yung Rouj had his Senna and Mansell Scalextric, Frank was the goddamn Professor X of F1."
Also I just found out Life is Strange 2 is being done by Dontnod, so pfffffhahahahahahhahahah I cannot wait to wade into that steaming trash pile (still tho, I would like to be presently surprised) after Before the Storm.
"Let me tell you, when yung Rouj had his Senna and Mansell Scalextric, Frank was the goddamn Professor X of F1."
Here's my hot take fresh off the press and end of strim.
EDIT: IF YOU WANT TO PLAY BEFORE THE STORM THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS WALL OF TEXT. I will hide it for you now, np, yw.
Spoiler:
Episode 2 of this game is possibly one of the best bits of game I've ever played (or sat through if YOU A FUCKN CYNIC LEL). I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is the best written and also voiced relationships in a videogame ever, by a country mile. I thought the writing in this was insanely good in Episode 1 & 2, but Episode 3 felt a little bit like it was hurrying to the conclusion (which is a problem Life is Strange also had in it's last episode, except on their best day Dontnod didn't come anywhere near touching this game, imho and by the end of Episode 5 of Life is Strange I had lost the will to live because the game was taking the piss thinking it was way cleverer than it actually was) since you move very quickly through a couple of locations, Rachel basically isn't in the episode and then you black out for a while at end. Eventually you come around but the sense of urgency has disappeared for some reason so you can hang around and have that final conversation with Rachel's mom, even though you're left to wonder at that point what happened to Frank, Damon, Eliot and the police.
Even though you know what happens with Frank, I would still have liked the game to punch me in the fucking guts and show what it was that pushed Rachel and Frank together.
That said, I did find it incredibly poignant that the game effectively ends with Chloe and Rachel happy together in the junkyard, while you look on with the knowledge of what's going to happen in the future. The ending sting after the credits was kind of a kick in the nuts, I didn't think they were going to show it at all by that point given the omission of some elements from the ending sequence, like the afornmentioned Frank, so it's little 'HAHA SURPRISE ASSHOLE THIS HAPPENS MEMBER?' ambush was pretty effective.
What impressed me the most I think is that the game was able to take a character that comes off as a bit of a mary sue thanks to the writers having no actual clue how to write a grieving, off the rails, teenage girl and actually does a decent job of leading you through the events that make her the way she is by the time she shows up in Episode 1 of Life is Strange. Combo multiplier because the way the game unfolds you the player are entirely complicit in enabling that behaviour (Chloe I'm so sorry, txt me sometime, can we still b friends, ), or you try to do the right thing and it goes horribly wrong so what's the fucking point of keeping trying? I really didn't care for Chloe by the end of Life is Strange, but somehow in Before the Storm they were able to take the same character and actually leave me a bit sad that not only is our time together over, but that really if you were doing the right thing in Life is Strange the breakup between her and Rachel starts the chain of events that kills them both.
This post is getting a bit rambly but I just want to go back to the Rachel and Chloe relationship for a second, just to reinforce that it's the most believable and well written relationship I think I've ever seen in a videogame and I would possibly go a bit further and say that it's right up there with the best I've seen in visual media full stop. At no point did the dialogue between Chloe and Rachel seem trite, cliche, forced or like it was being twisted to fit what the narrative needed. I, a grown man in his late thirties watched two teenage girls spark up a romance and even though I knew where it was going to end up I was rooting for them the whole way and not once did I have to roll my eyes, reach for the sick bucket or any of that shit.
Furthermore, the school play is possibly one of the best scenes of any videogame of all time imho, I'm sitting here struggling to think of a better narrative sequence in a game and the dream sequence shortly afterwards with Chloe's Dad on the stage deserves a shout out as well for being equally excellent and difficult to watch in it's final few moments.
While I'm here shooting my load I might as well say the voice acting is ridiculous in this game as well.
I also really liked the way that as more and more of Chloe's life starts to fall by the wayside, the more she starts to focus on the few happy things from her childhood - her Dad (shout outs to the fixing up a car angle) and Max (culminating in playing pirates and dying her hair blue).
Oh oh and the Dungeons and Dragons bit was great as well.
In conclusion this has been a terrible review of a game that's barely a game that really left me feeling some kind of a way. Like when you finish a really good book or a TV show and you almost feel sad that it's over.
10/10 easily in Roujin's Top 10 of all time, possibly in the top 5 after I sleep on it, possibly in the top 3 at Regstock after I have a few and start crying.
"Let me tell you, when yung Rouj had his Senna and Mansell Scalextric, Frank was the goddamn Professor X of F1."
Okay cool. Then you're all set to see how it should have been done. All hail based Deck Nine (shame Episode 3 doesn't reach the heights of Episode 1 or 2 but then if it had, I would have to consider this for all time number one Roujin's favourite game, a position that has not had a new contender throw it's hat into the ring since Fallout 2 ousted UFO Enemy Unknown twenty something years ago).
"Let me tell you, when yung Rouj had his Senna and Mansell Scalextric, Frank was the goddamn Professor X of F1."
Mate, I'm still shook. I feel like I have so much to say about it still. It's been in the back of my mind the whole time since finishing it.
Was reading various opinions online, really interesting mix of opinions on it.
I'll be starting the Epilogue on the stream tomorrow, but I almost feel like putting it off, I don't want to have no more adventures left (apart from Life is Strange 2) with Max or Chloe.
Feels bad man pining over a couple of fictional teenage girls.
"Let me tell you, when yung Rouj had his Senna and Mansell Scalextric, Frank was the goddamn Professor X of F1."
Finished Before the Storm recently and it's.... okay. I'm not as critical as Roujin at dontnod's efforts as I kind of like the first game due to it's overarching themes of consequence and fate.
BTS is a worthy prologue though, character development is great and we get to see how Cloe becomes ehmm, Cloe. Rachel gets fleshed out a bit too and yes, you get to choose the nature of Cloe and Rachel's relationship. If you choose to go the romantic path you won't get hot steaming lesbo scenes but slightly awkward dialogue of 2 teen girls exploring their new relationship. Realistic, as it should be but pervs will walk away disappointed..
There's a final scene linking it to the first game. Fate still has a role to play.
Steam: Ruffnekk Windows Live: mr of unlocking Fightcade2: mrofunlocking
No, there are no supernatural powers. There's a back talk mechanic that optionally gets used against characters Chloe thinks she can get away with cheeking where you watch her engage in a teenage wannabe rebel's idea of sickbantz while the other person usually just gets confused and frustrated like they can't believe this shit is actually happening.
It's a much smaller story, it's just the story of how Chloe and Rachel first meet and what sets Chloe in the path you find her on at the start of Life is Strange.
"Let me tell you, when yung Rouj had his Senna and Mansell Scalextric, Frank was the goddamn Professor X of F1."
Interesting. I'm halfway through the episode, so far I can see what it's trying to do, but it feels a bit shallow so far, I like the angle they went with the brothers but trying to make me feel bad for the kid is hard when the game lets you be a total jerkoff to him. Also the dialogue in the ambient sections and the scripted sections seems to clash/overlap frequently and is a bit jarring. I'm hoping it gets going one I get into the next bit of the episode. That said being a dick to the kid is proving to be quite entertaining.
The opening "event" had me rolling my eyes though, as a means for propelling you into the story it was 100% schlock.
Dontnod should have hired Deck Nine before they got pinched by Squeenix to make their own game imho.
"Let me tell you, when yung Rouj had his Senna and Mansell Scalextric, Frank was the goddamn Professor X of F1."
Okay so despite The Amazing Adventures of Captain Spirit featuring the classic Dontnod inability to restrain themselves for any given amount of time when trying to set the scene for their various emotive works and despite the cliche Dad and YET ANOTHER DEAD OR MISSING PARENT as a driver for events directly preceeding the story, this was quite a lot better than the first episode of Life is Strange 2, imo, fucking lol.
Fuck the cameo at the end though, they are gonna ruin poor Captain Spirit by the end of Life is Strange.
The camera shots and the snowy locale were *italian chef hand kiss/flourish gesture* though.
"Let me tell you, when yung Rouj had his Senna and Mansell Scalextric, Frank was the goddamn Professor X of F1."
I played through Life is Strange and Before the Storm in the last month after having meant to play them for ages but then suddenly having them both available via Gamepass. Excellent storytelling despite sporadically clunky implementation... Is the extra episode in Before the Storm good? I missed being able to buy this discounted recently so I may just watch a vid.
Spoiler:
The decision early in Life is Strange: Episode 4 is now the most emotional game moment I've experienced.
It's worth it for one last bit of max and chloe and also if you want to lol at the logistics and the implications for the max and chloe dynamic the final scenes provide.
Deck Nine > Dontnod everytime.
"Let me tell you, when yung Rouj had his Senna and Mansell Scalextric, Frank was the goddamn Professor X of F1."