While by no means perfect, Life is Strange: Before the Storm offers something fans of the original Life is Strange wanted to know: more about Chloe Price and Rachel Amber prior to the original game. The game succeeds at giving a deeper look at both characters that would lay the basis for Life is Strange. The music and art design are still on the same level as the original Life is Strange, and the stories are equally interesting. However, since it is a prequel game, things are already set for the outcome of the characters in Before the Storm, and unfortunately the game never breaks from this to tell something fresh, though it still has interesting plotlines.

Rather than controlling Max or having time rewind powers, the player controls Chloe, Max's friend from the original Life is Strange. Chloe is struggling between being told she has potential and the death of her father, and her life fluctuates between two extremes in the first half of the game. Once she meets Rachel Amber, however, a friendship blossoms, but Chloe also becomes wrapped up in the affairs of what were seemingly perfect people. Much of the drama comes from the plotlines that involve Rachel, and while Chloe deals with her own problems, the driving narrative force is centered on Rachel. Because of this, the first half of the story feels very slow, and is used mostly to build character. While this is fine, I feel like Rachel's character throughout the game was written with less nuance compared to Chloe - on the other hand, since Chloe's interactions with others reflect off of her as a the playable character, I felt I connected more deeply with Chloe's struggles. While I still was surprised at the twists that occurred throughout the plot of the game, I felt like it would have impacted me more had I connected with Rachel more deeply through her character development, and it's unfortunate her character was written more weakly as she is the deutoragonist of this game and a major character.

The other characters of this game were also good, and what I enjoyed was that nobody seemed the way they were initially, which I personally liked as it made me think about my initial gut reaction to characters. It also helped to flesh out characters that would otherwise be two dimensional.

The biggest problem with this game is the fact it's a prequel. By their nature, prequels are hard to write as the outcome of characters that appear in the original and the prequel are already decided, and thus to make a good narrative with them is tricky. An example of a good prequel would be Red Dead Redemption 2, where specific design choices were made to help make the narrative feel exciting to those who played the original. Before the Storm lacks this or the finesse in writing to make a truly engaging narrative, and because of this I feel it's held back. Furthermore, the lack of time rewind powers, while interesting in the sense that your choices truly matter this time around, made this game feel too similar to other story based games (i.e. Telltale games). A minor complaint, but I felt that the time rewind powers were important in setting apart the original Life is Strange from other choice-driven story-based games.

The music, as with the original game, was a main feature, and the developers knew how to time the music to important scenes. I also felt that the art in this game was on the same level as Life is Strange, and that the framing and composition choices were great for conveying emotional scenes.

Overall, while I enjoyed playing the game, the weaknesses in the writing is a setback, as well as its status as a prequel. Furthermore, the game is definitely geared towards those who have played the original Life is Strange, otherwise the impact of the game itself is dulled. I recommend this if you've played and enjoyed the original Life is Strange, and I recommend getting it on sale. If you are new to the series, however, I'd suggest playing the original Life is Strange first prior to this, as I don't believe you will get much enjoyment if this is played first.

While by no means perfect, Life is Strange: Before the Storm offers something fans of the original Life is Strange wanted to know: more about Chloe Price and Rachel Amber prior to the original game. The game succeeds at giving a deeper look at both characters that would lay the basis for Life is Strange. The music and art design are still on the same level as the original Life is Strange, and the stories are equally interesting. However, since it is a prequel game, things are already set for the outcome of the characters in Before the Storm, and unfortunately the game never breaks from this to tell something fresh, though it still has interesting plotlines. Rather than controlling Max or having time rewind powers, the player controls Chloe, Max's friend from the original Life is Strange. Chloe is struggling between being told she has potential and the death of her father, and her life fluctuates between two extremes in the first half of the game. Once she meets Rachel Amber, however, a friendship blossoms, but Chloe also becomes wrapped up in the affairs of what were seemingly perfect people. Much of the drama comes from the plotlines that involve Rachel, and while Chloe deals with her own problems, the driving narrative force is centered on Rachel. Because of this, the first half of the story feels very slow, and is used mostly to build character. While this is fine, I feel like Rachel's character throughout the game was written with less nuance compared to Chloe - on the other hand, since Chloe's interactions with others reflect off of her as a the playable character, I felt I connected more deeply with Chloe's struggles. While I still was surprised at the twists that occurred throughout the plot of the game, I felt like it would have impacted me more had I connected with Rachel more deeply through her character development, and it's unfortunate her character was written more weakly as she is the deutoragonist of this game and a major character. The other characters of this game were also good, and what I enjoyed was that nobody seemed the way they were initially, which I personally liked as it made me think about my initial gut reaction to characters. It also helped to flesh out characters that would otherwise be two dimensional. The biggest problem with this game is the fact it's a prequel. By their nature, prequels are hard to write as the outcome of characters that appear in the original and the prequel are already decided, and thus to make a good narrative with them is tricky. An example of a good prequel would be Red Dead Redemption 2, where specific design choices were made to help make the narrative feel exciting to those who played the original. Before the Storm lacks this or the finesse in writing to make a truly engaging narrative, and because of this I feel it's held back. Furthermore, the lack of time rewind powers, while interesting in the sense that your choices truly matter this time around, made this game feel too similar to other story based games (i.e. Telltale games). A minor complaint, but I felt that the time rewind powers were important in setting apart the original Life is Strange from other choice-driven story-based games. The music, as with the original game, was a main feature, and the developers knew how to time the music to important scenes. I also felt that the art in this game was on the same level as Life is Strange, and that the framing and composition choices were great for conveying emotional scenes. Overall, while I enjoyed playing the game, the weaknesses in the writing is a setback, as well as its status as a prequel. Furthermore, the game is definitely geared towards those who have played the original Life is Strange, otherwise the impact of the game itself is dulled. I recommend this if you've played and enjoyed the original Life is Strange, and I recommend getting it on sale. If you are new to the series, however, I'd suggest playing the original Life is Strange first prior to this, as I don't believe you will get much enjoyment if this is played first.