Life is Strange takes a step into the past with Life is Strange: Before the Storm. In this prequel set prior to the opening events of the first game, players are put into the role of Chloe Price, the estranged best friend of Max Caulfield , but this time around time travel has been replaced with a bit of sass.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm is the 2017 prequel to episodic adventure game Life is Strange, it is developed by Deck Nine and published by Square Enix, it is available on PC, Playstation 4, and Xbox One.

When Chloe Price met Rachael Amber.

When the initial five episode season of Life is Strange was released by Square Enix it started as an experiment to see if the episodic format was beneficial to their developmental staff in a number of ways including financially and creatively. Thankfully for Square, Life is Strange was a smash hit for the publisher and developer DontNod both critically and commercially. Now a three (or four?) episode prequel series starring troubled teen and co-lead of the first season of Life is Strange; Chloe Price has been released and it’s a rare, damn good prequel.

Taking place a few years prior to season one, the time travel mechanic has been replaced with a new “back talking” mechanic that allows Chloe to get the upper-hand on people in dialogue bouts.

THE GOOD: While players of season one may have been a little annoyed by bad girl Chloe Price in season one, in the prequel she’s written as a totally different and far more sympathetic character. Still hurting from the death of her father and coming to terms with her mother dating, Chloe is starting out her journey as a rebellious. chain smoking, beer drinking teen, but she’s far more understanding here than in her previous introduction. Episode one also gives off vibes that Chloe could be struggling with accepting her sexuality, which season one has heavily hinted that Chloe might be a closeted lesbian, or possibly even bisexual when detailing her relationship and closeness to Rachael.

Chloe’s relationships are far more fleshed out here than in season one.

THE BAD: The talk back mechanic while cool wasn’t really used much in episode one, so hopefully it can be utilized to its fullest potential in episodes two and three.

Return to “Blackhell” Academy as Chloe Price.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Life is Strange: Before the Storm is a fantastic continuation of the Life is Strange series and former co-lead turned lead Chloe Price receives some much needed fleshing out from her prior reveal in season one. The talk back mechanic while fun, needs to be utilized more to its fullest potential. However, despite being developed by new team Deck Nine, Before the Storm retains the quality of its predecessor.