The Blackangel Posted March 20, 2022 Share Posted March 20, 2022 Has anyone played this? If so what are your thoughts about the game? While I have the first three, I've only played the first one a little bit, due to having them on Xbox One. I'm planning on getting them for PS4 as soon as I can. I'll se how much I can get in trade for the Xbox copies, and use that towards the PS4 copies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shagger Posted March 20, 2022 Share Posted March 20, 2022 I love Life is Strange. I didn't like LiS 2 or Before the Storm as much as the original, but did pick up True Colors a couple of days agon on sale and I really like it co far. It's easily the best looking LiS yet with a wonderful colour palate but that's not what's important in these games. They are interactive narratives, so it's all about the story and the characters. The voice acting is certainly top bar and the characters themselves are complex, but believable. I've only played the first couple of episodes so far, and I'm not gonna lie the story has felt a bit predicable, but it's still early days and I think it will bet better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaramaki Posted March 28, 2022 Share Posted March 28, 2022 I'm waiting for true colors to go down in price it's still 55 euros over here, maybe once it's down to 30 i'll pick up a copy. While i really like the series replayability is zero so that's why i haven't bothered yet. I played the first three and found before the storm the weakest of the three but maybe that's meanly because you know already know what is going to happen by the end of the game. I really like the first game arcadia bay is a joy to explore and the characters you'll get to love over time, something the second game lacks since most characters only appear in one episode and you move on to a new place. I don't know how true colors is but one thing i'd like to see is that they give us more exploration options, as in why not try something semi open world with some side stuff to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shagger Posted March 28, 2022 Share Posted March 28, 2022 (edited) On 3/28/2022 at 5:05 PM, Yaramaki said: I'm waiting for true colors to go down in price it's still 55 euros over here, maybe once it's down to 30 i'll pick up a copy. While i really like the series replayability is zero so that's why i haven't bothered yet. I played the first three and found before the storm the weakest of the three but maybe that's meanly because you know already know what is going to happen by the end of the game. I really like the first game arcadia bay is a joy to explore and the characters you'll get to love over time, something the second game lacks since most characters only appear in one episode and you move on to a new place. I don't know how true colors is but one thing i'd like to see is that they give us more exploration options, as in why not try something semi open world with some side stuff to do. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD I wasn't crazy about BtS either, but for a very specific reason. I just don't buy the relationship it portrayed between Chloe and Rachel. Before somebody goes insane, no, it has nothing to do with the fact that they are both girls. I will say doubting that one of the characters was actually gay is a part of it ( I don't fully buy that with Rachel, but I'm not gonna flat out deny it either). It's not like I can't see them together, it just doesn't make sense for me to believe it given the events of the first game. The other, and possibly larger part of it is how forced the relationship between the two actually is in BtS. For a start, I do 100% believe that Chloe was attracted to Rachel, maybe even in love with her. There is enough evidence in the original game to support that notion. This very well could have been more than a friendship to Chloe. The problems begin with the question "Did Rachel feel the Same?" and trust me when I tell you that, based of the first game, that is a resounding no. Not only did Rachel have a relationship with Frank that clearly meant something to her, there was even sketchy evidence that something happened between her and Mark Jefferson, although Mark was in a position to easily manipulate her given how Rachel felt he could help with her aspiring acting/modelling career, so we don't know for sure exactly. It's perfectly possible that Rachel was bisexual or pansexual (I'm fairly sure Chloe isn't 100% gay either), like I said, the characters sexuality isn't the problem, the problem is more about Rachels actions and behaviour. Now, given that Chloe and Rachel's relationship is portrayed in such a natural and deep way in BtS, only one of two things can be true if you buy both games plots: Rachel is a bitch and serial cheat. Rachel used Chole, same thing really. I would bet my last pound that anyone who would defend this would not buy either of those facts, but at least one (or possibly both of them) have to be true, there is no avoiding it. And anyone who played these game will agree that is not how Rachel is portrayed, especially in BtS. The original game actually does support this at least a little given how angry Chloe got when she found out about Rachel and Frank. Both games do show evidence of at least some manipulative and self centred behaviour on Rachel's part. However, Chloe's reaction to Rachel and Frank could also be explained through her own insecurities about loving Rachel even though Rachel didn't lover her back. Or even her just feeling betrayed simply by the fact Rachel didn't tell her about Frank. And honestly, I buy either one of those before I buy the idea Chloe discovered Rachel cheated on her. Before the Storm clearly does not want you to think of Rachel so negatively, that is without doubt, but the facts are the facts, facts that BtS often chooses to ignore. To summarise, the first game, at least for me, greater supports the idea that what Chloe and Rachel had was a friendship, not a romantic relationship. I'm not saying it's impossible that there was a two way romantic connection, I certainly buy that Chloe was attracted to Rachel, but that just isn't what I believed about them after I had finished the game. The fact Max can romance Chloe in the original as well, only serves to strengthen that point of view for me. You don't fall in love with someone else whilst focused on finding out the tragic fate of the person you loved before, that just isn't realistic. I am not against the idea that Chloe and Rachel were a couple, but the happy-go-lucky, fairy-tale manner it's portrayed in BtS just doesn't fit. What makes it worse is now Deck Nine forced, and I mean really forced, the player into this. And I can sum it up with one screenshot just how forced this was. For a bit of background. In this scene, Chloe and Rachel are walking home (I think to Rachel's house) after Chloe helped Rachel with a production that happened that evening at Blackwell Academy. To summarise and paraphrase the dialogue, Rachel want's to know what Chloe would like in exchange for her help. These are the options presented. Lets go through these options. The bracelet. Rachel's bracelet is a memento from her estranged mother, so not only would taking this this be pretty cruel on Chloe's part, but also completely redundant as we know that Rachel eventually gives the bracelet to Frank anyway. So this is not only an unappealing choice, but an utterly pointless one as well. The tattoo. More specifically, in this option Chole suggests they get cut together. And just like the bracelet, this is completely redundant as we know from the first game that this happens anyway. Don't kid yourselves, Deck Nine knew what they were doing with this. With these two options, it was a major twist to the arm to do the only option that isn't entirety pointless in the cannon. The kiss. And it is a passionate kiss as well, just in case you were wondering. Did I choose this option? Of course I did! it's literally the only one that makes any sense! That is along with how the cannon of Rachel between the two games doesn't actually fit that well is enough proof that of how forced this is as far as I'm concerned, but I'm not even done, there's more. In the original game Max had pretty much two romance options, Warren or Chloe. Both options are just as viable and appealing as the other with Warren being a genuinely likeable character. Is this also true of the alternate romance option for Chloe in BtS? Hello No! Eliot is creep who's barely in the game anyway. I'm not actually sure if it's actually possible to allow him and Chloe to get that close the game at all even if you tried, but I do doubt it. Either way, you don't want to. He's just another option that isn't really an option, much like the example above. Before the Storm to felt like a fan fiction, and more specifically, a fan fiction where somebody who shipped Chloe and Rachel wanted to make it cannon. And you know what, I don't think that's far from the truth either. The original was developed by Dontnod, and Before the Storm was developed by Deck Nine. Yes, Dontnod gave thier blessing and the two teams even worked under the same publisher, but to me there's too much of what they wanted in the story and not enough choice for the player in the end for me to consider it a good prequel. And it's not just Chloe and Rachel either, there's other things that don't quite add up, although that is the main one. Edited June 13, 2022 by Shagger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazycrab Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 I loved the first game but Before the Storm was TERRIBLE! It felt more like an amateur fan-fiction than a legitimate prequel. The voice acting was awful, many of the choices had zero tension if you played the first game and the writing particularly in the third episode was embarrassing. In the first game they built up Rachel as this great person but she turned out to be a self-serving bitch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prof elohstar Posted March 29, 2022 Share Posted March 29, 2022 I have not played nor see anyone around me played life is strange. It seems this game will be very much interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaramaki Posted March 30, 2022 Share Posted March 30, 2022 Damn @Shagger that is quite a post, sadly i wish i could contribute something but i've forgotten most of before the storm. I remember a few things like an entire forest got burned down and chloe and rachel first met at a concert in a barn ( i think ) and maybe a couple more but then i would be in spoiler territory. What i like most about the life is strange franchise how stupid as it may sound is the exploring and interacting with various items/people, like in the first game you can go explore the dorm or even better chloe's room/house were max makes comments about things in the past, i always tought that was pretty cool since it's add a bit of backstory and more depth to the characters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shagger Posted April 1, 2022 Share Posted April 1, 2022 (edited) On 3/30/2022 at 2:19 PM, Yaramaki said: Damn @Shagger that is quite a post, sadly i wish i could contribute something but i've forgotten most of before the storm. I remember a few things like an entire forest got burned down and chloe and rachel first met at a concert in a barn ( i think ) and maybe a couple more but then i would be in spoiler territory. What i like most about the life is strange franchise how stupid as it may sound is the exploring and interacting with various items/people, like in the first game you can go explore the dorm or even better chloe's room/house were max makes comments about things in the past, i always tought that was pretty cool since it's add a bit of backstory and more depth to the characters. It's not dumb at all On the contrary, it takes a keen eye to acknowledge just how important that is. To me, that makes a game's environment feel more real, lived in, rather than just part of the background. It adds flesh to the skeleton and is essential in a game like LiS to help immerse you in the story. The connection between the player and the environment needs to be done differently in a game LiS as the environment in itself is more inert than in an action game. This something that every LiS game has done exceptionally well. Edited April 3, 2022 by Shagger The Blackangel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Blackangel Posted April 3, 2022 Author Share Posted April 3, 2022 I'm still playing the first one and haven't played LIS2 or LIS BTS yet, so I skipped your article @Shagger for obvious reasons. I'm going to restart the game for 2 reasons. I have it on Xbox One right now, but want it on PS4 instead. Also it's been a while since I played it, and I honestly don't remember where I am, or what all I have done, so I just want to start from scratch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazycrab Posted April 3, 2022 Share Posted April 3, 2022 59 minutes ago, The Blackangel said: I'm still playing the first one and haven't played LIS2 or LIS BTS yet, so I skipped your article @Shagger for obvious reasons. I'm going to restart the game for 2 reasons. I have it on Xbox One right now, but want it on PS4 instead. Also it's been a while since I played it, and I honestly don't remember where I am, or what all I have done, so I just want to start from scratch. I recommend Life is Strange, I think you'll love it. I'm not going to spoil anything in this post but I have to tell you... DO NOT play Before the Storm. If we think of Life is Strange is like a great date. The kind where you really click, have a great conversation, a really nice time and hook up at the end of the night and all's good. Before the Storm is like then discovering the next day that your hookup was your cousin the whole time! Not only is it an objectively horrible experience on it's own but it taints the good experience you had before. It's not worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Empire Posted April 4, 2022 Share Posted April 4, 2022 Me personally, I'm not so sure. I was so excited but I just found out I'm already on chapter 4 and not much has happened yet. I've also had my fair share of bad glitches, but I just got unlucky there. I know DeckNine took on a huge project for this one and I'm just on the fence about it. If you aren't dying to play it, maybe find something else in the meantime, wait for the price to cool off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Blackangel Posted April 5, 2022 Author Share Posted April 5, 2022 (edited) So far, LIS (the first one) is living up to the hype. It's a great game, no doubt. I'm enjoying the hell out of it. But (maybe I'm a glutton for punishment) I have to try out BTS. I'll tell you right now that I'm a masochist, but you guys warning me against it has made me too curious not to try it out. Your comments have not fallen on deaf ears. But - Edited April 5, 2022 by The Blackangel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazycrab Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 1 hour ago, The Blackangel said: So far, LIS (the first one) is living up to the hype. It's a great game, no doubt. I'm enjoying the hell out of it. But (maybe I'm a glutton for punishment) I have to try out BTS. I'll tell you right now that I'm a masochist, but you guys warning me against it has made me too curious not to try it out. Your comments have not fallen on deaf ears. But - Well it's your choice, don't say we didn't warn you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shagger Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 3 hours ago, The Blackangel said: So far, LIS (the first one) is living up to the hype. It's a great game, no doubt. I'm enjoying the hell out of it. But (maybe I'm a glutton for punishment) I have to try out BTS. I'll tell you right now that I'm a masochist, but you guys warning me against it has made me too curious not to try it out. Your comments have not fallen on deaf ears. But - I think I get it. It's like waiting in line for hours to watch a firecracker to off. Even if you knew it was dud, you couldn't help it, you have to see it for yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killamch89 Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 This is the first I'm hearing of this series - it sounds a bit like the Last Of Us based on how you guys described it. How long has it been out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
