Arcadia Baes
Format: PS4/Xbox One/PC (Reviewed on PS4)
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Deck Nine
What is it: A story-driven graphic adventure game and prequel to the cult hit Life is Strange. Set three years before the events of the original game, and once again in the town of Arcadia Bay, players take control of fan-favourite character Chloe Price. Chloe is sixteen and at a difficult time in her life, still dealing with both the death of her beloved father and the loss of her best friend Max, who has moved away. As she takes the first steps towards the rebellious character players know from Life is Strange, Chloe meets Rachel Amber, the most popular girl at school, and the two form an instant connection - one that will be tested as you guide Chloe through a story that sees a dangerous element of Rachel's family make itself known.
Review: Before I even begin to start talking about Before the Storm, I need to talk a bit about Life is Strange. And I need to restrain myself as I could talk about it for hours - I absolutely adore Life is Strange. I fell in love with the game when it came out on console last year; it could easily be criticised for having a hipster vibe, which it does, but the story (with it's sci-fi twist) and the relationship between the central characters Max and Chloe had me emotionally invested in a way I haven't been since The Last of Us, and it introduced me to the word "hella". There may be some of you who don't play video games but have been kind enough to read this anyway, who are now thinking "emotionally invested? In a video game?" - yes, really. Storytelling isn't just limited to books and films and other mediums these days. Video games are capable of telling rich, emotional stories that affect you deeply. So, before we dive in to Before the Storm, allow me if you will to give you a brief outline of the original game's story, as it really helps to understand where this prequel fits in and what it's about:
In the original Life is Strange you play Max Caulfield who, at 18, has returned to her hometown of Arcadia Bay after moving away to Seattle five years earlier. Max feels incredibly guilty for losing touch with Chloe Price, her former best friend, and when she sees a strange blue-haired girl being shot Max discovers she has the power to rewind time. She uses it to save the girl, who turns out to be none other than Chloe - after initial awkwardness, Chloe forgives Max and the two rekindle their friendship, discovering their deep bond is still there. Chloe is frantically searching for Rachel Amber, who has been missing for several months, and Max learns Rachel became Chloe's best friend - and possibly more - during her absence. Max uses her new powers to help Chloe find out what happened to Rachel, but it leads them to a very dark and dangerous place, and the more she uses her powers the more Max has visions of a deadly tornado destroying Arcadia Bay, leading her to the most difficult decision of her life.
When Before the Storm was first announced, fans of Life is Strange had concerns: first, that it was a new developer taking the helm (Deck Nine, compared to Dontnod for the original), and second, that due to the SAG-AFTRA strike during the time of development, original voice actor Ashly Burch wasn't able to return to voice Chloe again - instead she would be voiced by Rhianna DeVries. I'm happy to say that any concerns have been dispelled, as Deck Nine have done a wonderful job in creating a worthy addition to the series that captures the feel of the original, and DeVries does a fine job voicing Chloe. Ashly Burch was, wisely, hired by Deck Nine as a story consultant for the game and had a lot of input into how Chloe is portrayed here. From a visual point of view Deck Nine have absolutely nailed it, perfectly recapturing the graphics and general aesthetic of the original, which really helps returning fans get right back into this world.
So let's talk about the actual mechanics of the game first. The game is episodic, just like the original (albeit three chapters compared to Life is Strange's five) - the first episode came out in September, but I held off reviewing it until the third chapter was released this month. If you've played the original you'll feel instantly at home, as Deck Nine have recreated it to a tee: it's played from a third-person perspective and you move Chloe around, interacting with objects and people to advance the story. When you speak to people there are multiple dialogue choices and, just like the original, the dialogue you choose or actions you take directly impact how the story plays out, meaning that several playthroughs of the game are possible with different endings available. Anytime you're faced with a decision that effects the story you're warned with the same visual and audio moments that fans of the original will recognise:
Bringing up the pause menu brings up a familiar set of screens from the original, here altered to fit Chloe: her phone, where text messages that you receive from characters frequently throughout the story can be viewed; a journal where Chloe recaps what's happened in the story so far along with her thoughts in it, this time in the format of letters to Max that she never sends; a photo album of characters in the story, each of which can be selected to view a bio of them written from Chloe's perspective, and finally a screen that records all of your graffiti - this is a new feature introduced for the game. In the original, Max could take optional photographs (many of which you had to seek out and find the right prompt for) which acted as collectibles for the game. Chloe isn't into photography like Max, but she does like graffiti, so in this game you can seek out areas and things for Chloe to leave her mark on, and just like the original some of these are not visually obvious and need to be found. Another new feature for the game is called backtalk: these are moments where Chloe can engage in verbal sparring with another character to get the result she wants - as the player, you have a short amount of time to read each response you get and choose the most suitable verbal attack. It's a cool addition that reflects Chloe's growing rebellious nature and provides an additional challenge.
Games with a format like this need a strong story to drive it, and I'm happy to report that Before the Storm delivers a fantastic one that's rich with emotion and feels perfectly in place as a precursor to Life is Strange. I'm not going to go in to any spoilers as to what happens in it, in case anyone reading this decides to get the game - which I absolutely recommend you do - but I will say that it's well paced, multi-layered and captures the feel of the original. Life is Strange had an element of sci-fi to it's story, what with Max's time powers, which Before the Storm doesn't for the obvious reason that Max isn't there; instead it has a more realistic story dealing with things like grief from the loss of a loved one, first love, and betrayal from those most close to you. These are all things that anyone can relate to, no matter who you are - hell, I'm a thirty-six year-old man, and at times I was teary-eyed as this story of two teenage girls unfolded. The biggest compliment I can give the story is that I found Chloe and Rachel's relationship just as compelling as Chloe and Max's: the two can have a purely platonic relationship or a romantic one, depending upon your choices - I went for romantic, as that's what Life is Strange implied, and let me tell you there were some hella feels in some scenes - but either choice feels completely real and believable, and the voice acting from both Rhianna DeVries as Chloe and Kylie Brown as Rachel is fantastic. Brown was nominated for a 2017 Golden Joystick award (the gaming equivalent of the Oscars) for her performance. There's a sequence in the second episode of the game where Rachel manages to convince Chloe to be a last-minute stand-in for Ariel in their school production of The Tempest, in which Rachel is playing Prospero, and the whole scene is an absolute joy, both hilarious and emotional as Rachel cleverly alters the dialogue to convey a message (and a promise) to Chloe about their plans together. It was wonderful and the best moment of the game for me.
As a fan of the original game, it was also really interesting to see these characters at this point in time, knowing what's in store for them. In Life is Strange Chloe is blue-haired, tattooed and a legitimate bad ass, not giving a single fuck about anything. In Before the Storm she's taking her first steps towards this, smoking weed, sneaking out to rock clubs and mouthing off at people, but we get to see just how vulnerable she really is: she's still deeply affected by the death of her father William, the hurt still fresh and portrayed through several effective dream sequences where she interacts with him; she's deeply angry at the arrival of David, her mother's new boyfriend (who, as players of the original will know, ends up becoming her stepfather) who she sees as a stranger violating her home; and most of all she's lonely, still deeply upset by the disappearance of Max, the best friend she thought she'd have forever. It makes the appearance of Rachel and the impact she has on Chloe all the more believable.
Rachel was something of an enigma in the original game - we never got to meet her, only seeing her face on a missing person poster and learning about her through what Chloe and other characters told us. Here we get to learn about her properly: on the surface a model student, the most beautiful and popular girl in school, but it's all a facade for her true rebellious personality underneath, one that instantly connects with Chloe on a deep level. She's a vibrant character that undergoes a journey of her own as a skeleton in her family's closet comes out and, knowing the tragic fate waiting for her in Life is Strange, it makes the time we spend with her here a bittersweet one.
By now you're probably sick of me mentioning "the original", especially if you haven't played it. Well, sorry - it's very relevant to keep alluding to it. Deck Nine have, to their credit, gone to great lengths to ensure that Before the Storm has strong links to Life is Strange, not just in the visuals and story. There are lots of little things for fans to find, including some very deep cuts. Here are just a few of them:
- Rachel's outfit featuring the red plaid shirt is both worn by her, and one of the ones she gives to Chloe, and players can put it on in episode three. This is the same outfit that Max borrows in Life is Strange, which Chloe reacts noticeably to upon seeing her in it
- In the first episode where the two girls are getting to know each other on the train, Rachel says rather cryptically to Chloe "Don't be surprised if you wake up one day and I'm gone" which, as it turns out, is exactly what's going to happen in the future
- While exploring Chloe's room, opening a drawer of her dresser will find a mix CD given to her by Max featuring two cartoon versions of them as pirates on the cover - this is the exact cover of the soundtrack CD for Life is Strange
- Even though she's not physically in the game, Max is everywhere - there are far too many instances to mention here, but there's her pirate hat on Chloe's mirror, a picture of the two of them on the wall of the Price living room that players can also see in Life is Strange, and Chloe finds her father's old camera in the garage and comments on how Max would probably find use for it, which she does
If you've made it this far, congratulations and thanks for sticking with me. In what must be incredibly obvious by now, I absolutely loved Before the Storm. In fact, it's my official Game Of The Year (TM) for 2017. I loved everything about it, especially being such a huge fan of the original Life is Strange, but it all boils down to the story: this is a wonderful tale of loss and love featuring two incredibly well-acted and fleshed out characters. You do need to be a fan of this style of narrative-driven story games to enjoy it, as if you're not then this really won't be for you, but if you are then this is an absolute gem of a game that, for all my mentions of the original, you don't need to have played to appreciate or enjoy.
One final aside - there's an additional bonus chapter of Before the Storm coming in early 2018, where players will get to be Max again. We're going back further in time to the point when she leaves for Seattle and has to say goodbye to Chloe, and both Hannah Telle and Ashly Burch have come back to voice Max and Chloe again. There will be hella feels. I don't know if I'll survive.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
I don't need to say anything else. Go and buy this game.
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