Lost in Translation?? (Life is Strange - Before the Storm)

Game: Life is Strange - Before the Storm
Platforms: Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Linux, macOs, Android, iOS
Played on: Xbox One
Price: £13.99 (for all episodes)
Available on Xbox Game Pass: Last time I checked yes, but was in the leaving soon section


Well here it is, the first review and as promised it’s on Life is Strange - Before the Storm, Deck Nine and Square Enix 2017 episodic prequel to Life is Strange. In this game you take control of Chloe Price, the anarchistic best friend of Max Caulfield in the previous title, 2 years before the time twisting events of that game take place. But before I get too into Chloe’s adventure I have to put in a quick word on the original game. Also there may be a few minor spoilers about both games so there’s your warning.

Now Life is Strange is a good game, in fact it’s an excellent game, that is if you’re a critic. All I kept hearing was how this game was better than Telltale Games, such as the incredible The Walking Dead, but I couldn’t see it. It boils down to one thing, simply this was a game that’s not been made for me. It’s not for me, there’s a reason I was finding it hard to connect with an 18 year old girl discovering a new power, and that’s because I’ve never been a girl struggling to find my place in the world and trust me I’m grateful. So if you have ever felt like this, then go play Life is Strange as I promise you will have an incredible emotional connection to its story.

The other reason I didn't enjoy it was that it’s writing misses the mark, the dialogue is cringy and covered in what can only be described in what feels like a 30 something male trying to be cool. Maybe it’s because I’m British and theses things are said in America, I mean do they say ‘hella’ unironically?

So this being said, surely I won’t enjoy a game about a girl trying to find her place in the world as she deals with not only her fathers death, a mother who’s moving on and being 2 years younger than the girl in the previous game? Well surprisingly I did! Immediately the game feels smoother, more crisp and all the transitions seem nice and to the point. I will say there was a bit of having to angle the camera correctly with your character in the exact right point to click on things, but mostly this isn’t an issue at all. Well, so far so good, now let’s try some dialogue.

Speaking to the first character (a bouncer at a rock gig) all seems well and good. The bouncer correctly tells you to leave, you’re 16, you can’t go in, but being an angsty teen you don’t take no for an answer. This is where you enter a new mini game, essentially you’re given dialogue options to convince the bouncer to change his mind, this is also where the dialogue slips into old ways. At one point the bouncer says something along the lines of ‘no you’re not coming in’ to which your, again unironic, reply is ‘you could have a flamethrower, an army of robot ninjas and a motherf***ing dragon on a leash in there, and I’d still kick you a**!!’ ... now I’m sorry but I don’t know if any 16 year old that says that. Again maybe it’s me, I am old now. Or maybe it’s an American thing, who knows? But for me, it’s a lot of unnecessary cringyness slipping in again. Almost as if the games trying too hard to be cool. And sadly throughout the game this isn’t a one off, much like I’ve mentioned before.

But we’ll move on, you get in, (this will happen regardless) and this is where you meet the central plot point of the game, Rachel Amber. You and Rachel are opposites when it comes to the grades department, straight A’s to your failing marks. You are the outcast and she’s the popular girl, you shouldn’t get on but for some reason you’re drawn together as kindred spirits. Over the first episode and the following two, we learn a lot about Chloe and how she became so close to Rachel and the unbreakable bond they share moving into the previous main Life is Strange game.

Mostly the game is very much what you’d expect, you move around a bit, speak to a few people, but crucially about these types of games you make a few decisions, and this time those decisions really count and do matter. It does feel what you choose does effect the game and will change the way it plays out for you. Which to be honest is quite refreshing in games like this, as those who play them know, the decisions don’t really make any difference. But here they seemed to and that meant I was more invested in the story and what it was trying to portray. And if I’m honest, I need a good storyline to grip me in a game that lacks action such as this genre.

There were a few confusing decisions about the voice acting, for example a fully grown man in the first game is still a fully grown man in this game, but so you know he’s 2 years younger they feel the need to raise his voice an octave or two. But despite this the voice work is excellent as you’d expected a cast headlined by Ashly Burch.

I do have to mention one scene that takes place in the third episode that I feel needs to be touched on. Without going into spoiler territory or too much detail, a scene takes place between a male character and a female character and I feel it’s a scene all too common for woman everywhere. And especially teenage girls. The scene is almost understated but really puts forward a modern day problem well and hopefully anybody who’s been in that position never have to experience it again. But well done to Deck Nine and Square Enix for not shying away from the issue. It doesn’t need to be in there but really it’s a stand out moment for me in the game.

Overall what we have here is a very solid game, but as I said about the previous one it’s not made for me but I still had a lot of enjoyment playing the game. At times it did feel the episodes dragged on a touch too long. For me it’s an improvement on the first game and for that reason I’m going to give it a decent score. I will say for me it’s maybe not worth the full price but I have noticed this game is often on sale so I would definitely pick it up at the right price.

But let me know you’re thoughts on the game, please leave a comment here or even come find me on Twitter with the handle @peterlinsdell and keep your eyes out for a new review next week and I even have an small post coming up soon about Xbox game pass so hopefully you guys enjoy the read.

Final Score: 6/10