Life is Strange: Before the Storm
Life is Strange: Before the Storm is a story adventure game where you play as Chloe Price, three years before the events of Life is Strange. The gameplay and graphics are pretty much the same as before (no rewind powers this time) with a few new additions, such as the backtalk where you use arguments and insults towards someone to get him/her do what you want.
I played the first game almost four years ago and I didn’t like it very much; most of the songs were bad, weak dialogue choices (oh, and that awful “final choice”), cringe teen drama, so much filler and Alex was just a boring character. With that being said, the story, some of the characters and graphics were pretty good.
During the last Steam Winter Sale event, I looked at the reviews of the game that my friends and other people wrote and they said that the game had excellent writing, “phenomenal” story, more fleshed out characters and basically it was for “everyone” and “not catered for teens”. It was $3 back then and thought that I should give it another shot.
Pros:
✔️ Alright story: Despite the issues that I will be mentioning later, the story was fine and it managed to keep me engaged till the end. You will also know more about Chloe and her struggles before the events of the first game, and to be honest that was the only thing that I cared about.
✔️ Some interesting characters: I liked Chloe from the first game and I still like her here, and you will meet other interesting characters, new and familiar, like Frank, Steph and Mickey.
✔️ Better soundtrack: The songs are so much better now, and I just LOVE the menu music, it’s calm, relaxing and just a damn beautiful song to listen to.
✔️ Nice graphics: Like the first game, the character models and environments look pretty good with its unique art style.
Cons:
❌ A lot of flaws in the story: There were some scenes in the game where they made me laugh unintentionally or scream at my damn screen for how stupid they were. There were so many plotholes in the story (especially in the third episode) that were left unanswered at the end and the game tried its best to bury them.
❌ Rachel: I do not like this character; she is an idiot and an awful person, and her voice doesn’t match her character. The game tried to make me like her but I just couldn't stand her.
❌ Bad writing: I don’t care what the other reviews say, this game is catered for teens and teens only; annoying jokes, uninteresting teen drama and dialogue choices that will make you squint your eyes and cringe.
❌ Confusing dialogue choices: You will be making a lot of decisions and choices in the game. Some of them are tough, but most won't matter at the end and I am okay with that, it is just that some choices have a different meaning when picked, and there are some places where you think you have to make a decision, but it turns out you won’t and the scene just continues.
❌ Poor voice acting: Aside from Chloe and few other characters, there are people that are just reading their lines like robots. Also, Is it just me or is everyone talking in a slow pace (even Chloe)? It’s like I accidentally opened a YouTube video with a playback speed of 0.75.
❌ Awful facial animations: A lot of characters have poker faces and show no emotion at all, you just can’t tell what emotion they are expressing. In addition, the lip sync is off sometimes, same goes for lip movement.
Additional Details:
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| Technical issues |
None |
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| Total playtime |
8.5 hours (without bonus episode) |
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| M&K or Controller |
Both work |
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| Offline mode |
Yes |
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| Achievements |
Yes, a lot |
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| Trading cards |
Yes |
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| Games Saves |
Automatically |
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Final Thoughts
To sum this up, I am too old for this game. I understand why a lot of people like this franchise and I don't judge them for that, but at least in Telltale's The Walking Dead: Season One I connected more with the story and its characters as they had detailed facial expressions and body gestures, far better writing and voice acting, and drama that I actually cared about.
I admit that the game has a good story, some interesting characters and a good soundtrack, but they are buried behind a wall of cringe writing, awful facial animation, poor voice acting and teen drama that I just can't relate with. However, I'm glad that it introduced me to the fantastic menu music which is now one of my favorites.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dxlFjIP3p4
Final rating: 4/10
Zitat:
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