Life is Strange: Before the Storm
EpiSodE 1 - AWAkE
Whenit was announced that Deck Nine was developing the prequel to the much loved adventure game, Life is Strange, anyone with knowledge of the developer let out a collective moan. Before becoming Deck Nine, the developer was formerly known as Idol Minds and was responsible for a bunch of forgettable, non-narrative games. Imagine our surprise in finding that, not only has Deck Nine managed to make an excellent prequel to the Dontnod Entertainment developed original, by forgoing the time-travel elements of the original, they have managed to deliver a first episode that feels grounded and full of heart.
Max, the time-travelling photographer from Life is Strange is sidelined for her former best friend and sometimes foil in the prequel. Chloe Price is the very model of teen angst. She’s a punk at odds with her mother and her army veteran boyfriend who demands respect and wants to be a symbol of discipline in the household. She’s angry at the world, constantly surrounded by a cloud of smoke (of either the fun or nicotine variety) and couldn’t give two shits about school. She’s smart and can be kind but is more likely to cut with her words than say something nice. In short, Chloe is all too relatable for someone who was ever a teen, and despite her prickliness, is a likeable protagonist.
The opening act sets the scene for everything that is to come. Chloe has snuck out of the house to head to an underground club to see a band she likes. Using a new mechanic, “Backtalk”, Chloe must convince a bouncer to let her in. Rather than using logic or evidence to convince people, Backtalk is about snark, anger and shutting people down, using keywords from their dialogue or evidence from the surroundings to add ammunition to her hot takes. In Backtalk sequences, players must make quick dialogue choices that will score points against the target without giving them any ammunition to fire back with. It’s a simple mechanic but one that works well and really serves to reinforce Chloe as a character. She telegraphs who she is at every moment, using her appearance and words as a barrier to keep everyone away.
Inside the club Chloe gets into a fight and is recued by Rachel Amber, a popular girl who would never run in the same circles as Chloe, but the two of them have something. A bond forged of teen longing and sadness, and through this we get to see the vulnerable, kind Chloe. They both want to escape their lives, even for a moment, and have someone to share the adventure with. The pair bond fast, becoming something more than friends almost immediately, but the world, teen anger and societal pressures make things hard. It’s a wonderful, charming and heartfelt first chapter in a prequel series and we can’t wait for the next instalment to find out what is happening with Chloe and Rachel, whether there will be more D&D, and whether fire will consume more than a memory.
rather than using logic or evidence, Backtalk is about snark, anger and shutting people down