Life is Strange: Before The Storm is the prologue to the previous Life is Strange game that was released back in 2015. This time you’ll be taking control of Chloe Price, the rebel young girl. Check out the launch trailer down below to get the feel of the game.

I have to be honest. When I heard that the developer of Before The Storm is Deck Nine instead of Dontnod Entertainment, I didn’t think that it will uphold the quality of the previous game. (Sorry Deck Nine!) But when I played the first episode of the game. I was like, “Wow, this is the Life is Strange that I know.”, and I was relieved. And now, let’s get into the in-depth review!

• Story
  The game takes places 3 years before the previous game. In this game, we will play as Chloe Pierce, who is kind of a rebel teenager. One night she went to an old mill to watch the secret live of her favorite band, Firewalk. In there, Chloe got herself into a trouble, and that’s when she met someone who’ll change her life forever. Yes, you are right. That’s the night where she met Rachel Ambers, the perfect girl who’s likable by everyone at school. The whole point of Life is Strange: Before The Storm is that it’ll focus on the relationship of Chloe & Rachel. In the first Life is Strange, we know that Rachel means something to Chloe. We heard Chloe talked about their relationship piece by piece. In this game, we will learn what that relationship meant to Chloe, and what happened between the two of them.I personally think that “Awake” is a good start to the prequel. You can feel that “fate” brings Rachel & Chloe together. It feels kinda slow at the beginning, but everything starts to become interesting when the gear starts moving between the two of them. I enjoyed the story so much in “Awake”. The game portrays Chloe perfectly as a teenager who has problems that are too much for her to handle. She lost her father due to an accident some times ago, her mother brings her new boyfriend to their house (and had sex with him), her best friend left her (Max). So Chloe has a lot of things stuffed inside herself, and you can see her frustration about all of that in this first episode.9/10 for the story. While the story has some flaws (like how perfect Rachel is), it feels like we can almost feel how Chloe felt at the time. And it’s a start to another great story.

   

• Gameplay
  The thing about Before The Storm that’s different from the previous game is that you are not using Max Caulfield. Which means you can turn back time if you made a wrong decision. You can only move forward in this game. The gameplay doesn’t change much other than that, but this time Chloe has a special skill called “Backtalk”. It’s kind of a mini-game where you back talk to someone to get what you want. It’s fun to see that you can hurl words to the people you are talking to and see their reaction. But what’s annoying is that sometimes it will only take one mistake for you to lose in the back talk. As Chloe can’t rewind the time, you’ll have to accept your defeat (or just load from the last check point). And this time, you can choose how do you want to treat your friends at school.  You can try and be the cool & friendly Chloe or just be an asshole Chloe. Spend some time with the nerds with their dungeons & dragons game, or dissed them for being a dork. But just like every other game like this, your choices will have consequences.9/10 for the gameplay. It keeps the original gameplay and adding much more options. Not being able to rewind time actually affects how you play the game. And it’s fun to be Chloe and doing some “back talk”.

   

• Graphics
  I won’t be saying much about the graphics of the game, as it’s not where the game excels at. The game still looks like it’s using an old gen graphics, but the way they play with the camera angles, draw distance, and also the lighting, it gave us the right nuance for the scene at that moment. Check out some of my screenshots of the game.

And even though the graphics not that good, the environment is pretty detail. Like what’s written on the wall, poster, & stuff like that. While graphic isn’t this game strong suit, it’s not showing as bad. But instead, it feels like the old Life is Strange is getting a little makeover.

8/10 for the graphics. While the game doesn’t actually use the next gen engine, it feels like they can bring the nuance of the scene to life, and together with the music, it’s what makes Before The Storm, a Life is Strange game.

• Sound & Music
  Nothing much to be said about it. The OST & Theme songs for the game is absolutely amazing. Check out the video down below.

Daughter did a great job with Life is Strange: Before The Storm. If you see the video above, you can see what were they thinking when they make the score for the soundtrack. Also not forgetting those awesome songs from Speedy Ortiz, Pretty Vicious, Lanterns on The Lake. Trust me, I’m getting the OST once it has been officially released. And you should too.

10/10 for the sound & music. The prequel proves that it can also have an awesome OST & music to accompany our playthrough. 

• The Verdict
  I can say with confidence that Before The Storm is the prequel that Life is Strange deserves. I feel happy playing the 1st episode, as it feels nostalgic but also fresh. Playing as Chloe Price brings us a new perspective on the game. If you played the first game and enjoyed it, then don’t hesitate in getting this game as well. It’s worth it.

The Score: 9/10
You can look all over the internet & you’ll find that most of the reviewers give these game high score. It’s a very good opening episode, and I enjoyed every minute of playing it. If you like the first game, then there’s no doubt that you’ll love this game as well.

Erhanz finished the first episode of Life is Strange; Before The Storm. This review is made based on his experience in the game.