#LIFE IS STRANGE BEFORE THE STORM EP 2 SERIES#

There’s a lengthy sequence requiring Chloe to use her resourcefulness that somehow makes a standard fetch quest around the map enjoyable. We also get to see Chloe on her own with just her thoughts a lot, and witness the beginnings of the junkyard base Max stumbles upon in the first game. At least the confrontational scenes with Nathan and Victoria didn’t make me feel guilty, because both of those characters, as returning fans would know, aren’t exactly pleasant.

It’s a nice way to learn more about said returning character, but the task he gives Chloe and where it eventually leads to undermines the severity of a major choice made earlier in the principal’s office somewhat.Įpisode 2 sheds more light on new characters introduced in Before the Storm such as Drew, Elliot, Mikey and Steph which I personally found to be the highlights of the episode, though Steph felt under-utilised in her short appearance. Deck Nine has achieved some brilliant work in subverting tropes and making you think long and hard how Chloe wants to be remembered by her peers around school – though seeing how Chloe’s poor life choices negatively affected others made it hard to sympathise with her, regardless of the new insight we get into her deteriorating emotional state.

#LIFE IS STRANGE BEFORE THE STORM EP 2 SERIES#

Chloe spends a lot of her time navigating the dark underbelly of Arcadia Bay with a familiar series character, whose own past is tied to the danger of the first episode’s opening scenes. If you were looking for more teen angst and bitchy drama, most of Brave New World goes in the opposite direction and shows us the darker places Chloe found herself in before Max came back to town. Ultimately, it is a future many will already know from the first Life is Strange, but Deck Nine does a good job making the choices feel different and leaving enough mysteries still left for us to debate and uncover. The game presents a whole lot of genuinely difficult decisions to make for her future (the effects of which we assume will be shown in Episode 3) from the get-go. Everything is appropriately tense and the fallout of the player’s previous actions as Chloe is well reflected in dialogue, with several more branching paths to take. Principal Wells is forced to punish Chloe and Rachel for ditching school in the previous episode and the seemingly insignificant act of skipping class has dire consequences that are used to great effect in the opening sequence. The ending of Awake guaranteed the two troubled leads were heading straight for disaster and the second episode wastes little time jumping into the fire. While Episode 1: Awake (you can read our review here) focused on showing us the beginnings of Chloe Price’s tumultuous relationship with the enigmatic Rachel Amber, Episode 2: ‘ Brave New World‘ deals with much darker elements and further explores Chloe’s lasting emotional trauma and her severe lack of healthy supportive relationships, which inevitably draws her towards other damaged goods like Rachel. Life is Strange: Before the Storm kicked things off with a terrific premiere episode that simultaneously captured the well-written character drama and teenage angst of the original series while offering a fresh, exciting perspective on an existing character.

Life is strange before the storm ep 2