Life is Strange: Before the Storm

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 576 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 414 out of 576
  2. Mixed: 103 out of 576
  3. Negative: 59 out of 576
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  1. midipon
    Jan 11, 2020
    0
    These characters are awful, unlikeable and do not grow. The models are like playdough, the music is unbearable and the story is a big nothingburger where you run errands for terrible people and avoid the parents that are trying to steer you away from drugs and alcohol and try to please a manipulative girlfriend. The worst part is Chloe, who has zero redeeming qualities and 50 reasons whyThese characters are awful, unlikeable and do not grow. The models are like playdough, the music is unbearable and the story is a big nothingburger where you run errands for terrible people and avoid the parents that are trying to steer you away from drugs and alcohol and try to please a manipulative girlfriend. The worst part is Chloe, who has zero redeeming qualities and 50 reasons why anybody over the age of 21 would hate her attitude.… Expand
  2. lukaszw
    May 3, 2018
    4
    I really liked Life is strange but the prequel is very boring.
    First of all your choices don't matter and the outcome is usually the same no matter what dialog option you choose.
    The pace of the game is extremely slow and all you have to do is to press a button, listen to a dialog for 1-3 minutes and press the button again.
  3. Cill2000
    Jan 18, 2018
    4
    When I first saw this game get announced, I was very excited. I absolutely adored the first season and I wanted to play this game right away.
    Then, when I booted up the game and started playing episode 1, all my expectations dropped.
    Firstly, Chloe is not a good character in this game. I know she had the reputation of being super edgy in the first game, but in this one, she is SO bland    When I first saw this game get announced, I was very excited. I absolutely adored the first season and I wanted to play this game right away.
    Then, when I booted up the game and started playing episode 1, all my expectations dropped.

    Firstly, Chloe is not a good character in this game. I know she had the reputation of being super edgy in the first game, but in this one, she is SO bland and uninteresting. There was so much potential for her in this game. We could have explored how her father's death affected her, the most of that we see is the "Car Dreams" and nothing of significance comes from that. We could have seen her slowly show signs of her becoming the character she was in LiS season 1, nope! She's kinda already there, but without any of the charm.

    Next, is one of the bigger problems with this game; The story of Rachel and Chloe meeting and forming a bond goes FAR too quickly. Stop and ask yourself, have you ever met someone for the first time and said, "I trust this person with my life. I think I'll run away with them." This seems to be what both of these characters think and it is aggravating. I understand that they must know of each other, since they're in the same year at school, but we learn that the Firewalk concert was the FIRST time they actually hung out or were together. This becomes worse if you go the 'romantic' route with her, as not only do they trust each other fully in less than a day together, but they are both suddenly in love. This plot line needed more time in order to feel a bit realistic.

    Now, the part where I talk about the romance. My main problem here is that you get a definite "Yes" or "No" to whether they love each other based on your playing. Chloe loving Rachel is something that was something that was more than hinted in LiS season 1, but there was never anything saying Rachel loved Chloe. Whether or not you think Chloe and Rachel were together in that sense, she was going out with Frank during the time Chloe knew Rachel, so Rachel's feelings for Chloe aren't exactly clear and from Chloe's reaction to this, she was clearly betrayed by it. The answer to the question about Chloe and Rachel being in a relationship is off to me. To me either they were A) In fact dating, or at least seeing each other; B) Not romantically involved; or C) Chloe had strong feelings about her, but never acted. Here, we can only really get options A and B. It just feels off that other possibilities wouldn't be possible here.

    Ok, this is where I'm going to be my last list of negatives before getting into what I liked about this game. To start off, the environments don't have much life to them. Unlike Season 1, there are very few random NPCs walking around. It might be a small thing, but having them there shows that the world of the game is more than just a few isolated scenes and makes things seem alive. Next, the 2 Truths and a Lie game. This may just be nit-picking but I hated how no matter what you say, or what order you do it in, Rachel has the same dialogue and always knows which ones are true and which ones are lies. I played that scene so many times just trying to find the right combination to get some different dialogue. I guess I wasted my time. Lastly, the final scene. It was just SO stupid. She lights the picture on fire, puts it in the bin, then runs and kicks it into the tree! Then whenever she screams the wind blows and spreads the fire. Does Rachel has "Wind Powers"? I couldn't take the scene seriously at all, it was trying too hard to be meaningful.

    Alright, time for the positives! To begin, the character outfits.
    I love character customisation in games. Being able to change what you wear is something I just adore and the outfits you have to choose from, while all of them aren't amazing, helps add your own little touch to the game. But I do wish there were a few more points where you could change, maybe in Collector Mode or something.

    The D&D-esque sidegame was AMAZING. I loved the writing in it and it was very enjoyable. Just the idea of having you play something like D&D with some new characters just felt right and added some much needed charm to this otherwise lacking overall game.

    The music is still good, not quite on the same level as Season 1 but still good in its own right. Nothing feels out of place and the songs are quite decent

    Overall, this game is very disappointing to me and has a LOT of missed potential. The game should not have been handed off to a new developer studio and definaltely not to a new writer. With something like a character's backstory, the person or people who came up with and went about bringing the character to life in the story, should be the people to tell that story.

    I'm giving this a 5/10 as the game is just very dull and uninteresting, with a lot of scenes and characters that don't feel right. I'm hoping Season 2 of LiS is far better than this.    … Expand
  4. martianyippie
    Jan 7, 2018
    3
    Wow have I been DISAPPOINTED by this game.
    While "Life is strange" was a great adventure game with lots of choices and the story was pretty intense, this game at first tries to promise you the same, but all you get is a very shallow lesbian love-story and domestic family issues...
    And all decisions you make have only minor till no effect on the total outcome. Yes, you get to know some    Wow have I been DISAPPOINTED by this game.
    While "Life is strange" was a great adventure game with lots of choices and the story was pretty intense, this game at first tries to promise you the same, but all you get is a very shallow lesbian love-story and domestic family issues...
    And all decisions you make have only minor till no effect on the total outcome.
    Yes, you get to know some of Chloe's background story before the happenings of life is strange. But.. that's it. Or even worse... most of Chloe's behaviour is even incomprehensible in the end.

    All in all I am pissed about the time I wasted playing this game and cannot understand most of the good reviews.
    Well, maybe because I usually don't read sad romantic teen love-stories!    … Expand
  5. GuybT23
    Jan 24, 2018
    3
    A game so boring I do not remember having ever played it. The only thing that is saved are the songs. The first chapter is almost interesting the other two are ridiculous and go towards a very slow drag towards the end. boredom boredom boredom wait minutes and minutes to press a button to progress into something. Uninteresting and other intrusive characters when they should not be, holesA game so boring I do not remember having ever played it. The only thing that is saved are the songs. The first chapter is almost interesting the other two are ridiculous and go towards a very slow drag towards the end. boredom boredom boredom wait minutes and minutes to press a button to progress into something. Uninteresting and other intrusive characters when they should not be, holes in some secondary events. Yawns… Expand
  6. brunopersio1986
    Nov 8, 2019
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is a peace of garbage i don't recomend even if you want play it to get platinum throphy. I tried but is hard to play. If you lost one throphy you must play the entire chapter again, and the history is very boring, is about a rebel snowflake. Don't spend your money in this pile of vomit.… Expand
  7. Kaneris
    Jan 1, 2018
    2
    The story is pointless as many of the characters on it.
    The lack of time travel makes the choices of the game even more irrelevant.
    The conection with the Original Life is Strange is weak as hell. This game has nothing to do with the orginal one, that was an 8 from my perspective. The soundrack, the characters, the choices, the lack of time travel and the inconsistencies with the    The story is pointless as many of the characters on it.
    The lack of time travel makes the choices of the game even more irrelevant.
    The conection with the Original Life is Strange is weak as hell.
    This game has nothing to do with the orginal one, that was an 8 from my perspective.

    The soundrack, the characters, the choices, the lack of time travel and the inconsistencies with the original makes this story (0 gameplay btw) pointless and a really waste of new characters...    … Expand
  8. livelovelaugh22
    Mar 24, 2020
    0
    WHAT A TERRIBLE GAME.
    Let us hop in.
    We have horrendous voice acting, teenage drama, cringe dialogue, cheesy characters, and major choices that don't matter at all because the original game takes place after this. I felt like I was playing a 13 year old, teenage girl's fanfiction. Rachel Amber was the main character, and she excelled at being annoying, and acting like a rebellious    WHAT A TERRIBLE GAME.
    Let us hop in.
    We have horrendous voice acting, teenage drama, cringe dialogue, cheesy characters, and major choices that don't matter at all because the original game takes place after this.
    I felt like I was playing a 13 year old, teenage girl's fanfiction.
    Rachel Amber was the main character, and she excelled at being annoying, and acting like a rebellious teen, and the Chloe actor was stupid cringy trying to be edgy.
    The game completely ran out of ideas so most of the second and third episode was filled up with a lame subplot about Sera, Rachel's mother. Not going to spoil it, but the story felt like a bunch of cringe and bad ideas and stupidity mushed into a game. Very cheesy and corny, and not in a good way, like the original game.
    Overall, this is a pile of hot garbage and is not comparable to either of the Life Is Strange games, and is barely comparable to Captain Spirit, which means your game sucks. This earns my first zero rating.    … Expand
  9. GGWPGGWP
    Dec 23, 2017
    1
    What a pathetic money-grubbing attempt. The story is horrible, and unlike the REAL Life is Strange, there is no ACTUAL choice involved in the prequel. No matter what you do, the result, is the same. Not even any grey areas to play with. What a shame. The original one deserves a whooping 8/10, while the only reason I am rating this 1, and NOT 0, is because of the tremendous effort by theWhat a pathetic money-grubbing attempt. The story is horrible, and unlike the REAL Life is Strange, there is no ACTUAL choice involved in the prequel. No matter what you do, the result, is the same. Not even any grey areas to play with. What a shame. The original one deserves a whooping 8/10, while the only reason I am rating this 1, and NOT 0, is because of the tremendous effort by the voice artists. Everything else just plain sucks....even the music; which, I never expected to be able to say about a "Life is Strange" sequel cum prequel.… Expand
  10. malordin
    Apr 5, 2020
    0
    Absolutely useless game where all possible and impossible directories are stretched, and where there is no warning that the game will be loaded from the last saved point, 010
  11. moothemagiccow
    Oct 18, 2020
    2
    I liked Life is Strange 1. Could not put it down.
    This game, however, is super boring!
    "Go pick up my belt, it's in my bag in the other room." Then I go and get the belt, from the bag, and bring it to her!
    There's no mystery, nothing exciting, just this angry teen.
  12. dontjimmymejulz
    Jan 2, 2019
    4
    This game is SO slow and plodding I could barely keep myself awake to play it. Everything --- --moves -------at------a------Glacial-----Pace - all the characters seem to be on a heavy dose of valium, the words are positively dragged out of their little pixel mouthes. I enjoyed the first one, but this one seems to be stretched ( even at 3 episodes and a bonus episode ) to the point ofThis game is SO slow and plodding I could barely keep myself awake to play it. Everything --- --moves -------at------a------Glacial-----Pace - all the characters seem to be on a heavy dose of valium, the words are positively dragged out of their little pixel mouthes. I enjoyed the first one, but this one seems to be stretched ( even at 3 episodes and a bonus episode ) to the point of dilution. There's a little bit of that teen-angst, indy movie vibe that made the first game kinda interesting... but not enough to sustain this long winded dull-fest.… Expand
  13. Sherbert
    Nov 10, 2020
    3
    Ok, so I played the original, which was painfully average. Come to find out that a prequel was made, starring my least favorite character from LIS. This is my problem with the game, Chloe is insufferable. I hate everything about her personality. This takes a game that was already average and takes away the only semi-good things about it (Max, reverse time, meta ending) and makes it a gayOk, so I played the original, which was painfully average. Come to find out that a prequel was made, starring my least favorite character from LIS. This is my problem with the game, Chloe is insufferable. I hate everything about her personality. This takes a game that was already average and takes away the only semi-good things about it (Max, reverse time, meta ending) and makes it a gay love story. I'm not homophobic or anything, but I didn't care about either of the main characters in the slightest. Wouldn't recommend.… Expand
  14. TheGoldenEye23
    Dec 28, 2021
    4
    This game has some of the most awful people and characters i have ever seen. Not many games have made me dislike a protagonist and their main supporting character like this. They don't grow and don't change and in one instant, do something incredibly despicable and tone deaf. The type of thing that should raise immediate red flags for anyone that has played the original Life is Strange.This game has some of the most awful people and characters i have ever seen. Not many games have made me dislike a protagonist and their main supporting character like this. They don't grow and don't change and in one instant, do something incredibly despicable and tone deaf. The type of thing that should raise immediate red flags for anyone that has played the original Life is Strange. Now admittedly, i already disliked Chloe from the first game but this game always either adds fuel to that fire or leaves me feeling indifferent about her.

    The characters have no chemistry together because in my opinion, the voice acting across the board is atrocious. No one is really convincing in what they do and say because of the voice acting. The story in general is uninteresting and i wouldn't say that the choices you make along the way don't matter; rather, i look at it as a "Choose your adventure" style of game where the ending is the same but how you get there should be different. But the thing is, the choices are so binary and so reductive that it doesn't feel like much changes when you do make different choices. Another thing about the story is the fact that, as a prequel, i don't think think it feeds into the main game comfortably.

    As for the music and art design? Unremarkable. It's a very easy platinum on PS4 but that's all it's good for.    … Expand
  15. l1lj4
    Apr 6, 2022
    4
    actually kinda bad. didn't really like rachel who was the main character in it, much less entertaining than the life is strange.

Awards & Rankings

100
#100 Best PS4 Game of 2017
45
#45 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. IGN Japan
    Jun 26, 2018
    87
    Due to the fact that this is a prequel, the storyline and characters of Life is Strange: Before the Storm feel a bit contrived. Nevertheless, despite these inconsistencies, fans of the original Life is Strange will still be moved by Chloe’s adventure.
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  2. GameSpot
    Apr 18, 2018
    80
    It's rare that a prequel truly works, where a story can captivate despite the audience knowing what's coming and where the path will lead. Life Is Strange: Before The Storm is one of those exceptional stories because it draws you in on its own terms. The only problem: You know it's building you up just to break your heart.
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  3. Attack of the Fanboy
    Mar 22, 2018
    80
    Is this game as good as the original Life is Strange? Personally, I don't think so. But it's still great nonetheless and definitely shouldn't be missed by fans of the first game.
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