Deck 9 continue to impress with the second episode of their Life is Strange prequel Before the Storm. I enjoyed the first episode, deciding that Deck 9 had made the right choice to focus on their own story, while retaining the basic gameplay and style, to keep fans and newcomers happy. My only concern was that three episodes was too short a run to tell a truly engaging tale. As it turns out, a day in the life of Chloe Price can feel like an eternity.



As with all narrative-driven adventures, it’s near-impossible to discuss key plot points without ruining the experience. Suffice to say, "Brave New World" covers several major events in Chloe’s life that set the scene for the opening of the first game. It also reinforces her character, revealing someone who is trying to be a strong-willed and outspoken outsider, but will ultimately stand up for those who can’t do the same. You are still given plenty of choices but this typically revolves around avoiding conflict or intervening using the dialogue challenge mechanic. In hindsight, she really was the best character to expands upon from Life is Strange.

The second episode continues to focus on the impact of family drama in both Chloe and Rachel’s lives, but also delves deeper into Arcadia’s drug scene. Chloe’s carefree attitude towards drug use is challenged when she witnesses the dangers that other debt-ridden users face from their thuggish suppliers. The inevitable late-episode reveal shook up my assumptions about key characters, left the narrative hanging, and has me longing to get my hands on the final episode.

Unlike episode 1, there are plenty of tough choices that left me sitting and staring at the screen for minutes at a time. Not all of these were moments of danger however; Brave New World some has incredibly touching moments between characters and I was actually hesitant at times to get Chloe’s hopes up, my stomach in a knot knowing full well what must happen in the future.



Gameplay remains unchanged but there are some stand-out moments, such as a theatrical play that I enjoyed just as much as the tabletop roleplaying session in the first episode. The dialogue challenges are considerably tougher this time, with less time to make your choice and little margin for error. For the first time, I found myself using the “reload last checkpoint” option that typically puts you back before a conversation sequence. It felt a bit like cheating but I got to see a greater range of outcomes; some events wildly different, other events playing out much the same regardless of my choice.

Presentation remains a mixed bag but the camera work, visual effects and expertly-chosen licensed soundtrack continue to create cinematic moments that mask the technical limitations. It’s only during exploration sequences, which typically involve roaming around a limited area and puzzle-solving, that you might notice some rough looking character models, textures and simple objects in the environment. The voice acting remains a high point in this series and I’ve come to accept and enjoy Rhianna DeVries as Chloe. I did, however, notice that dialogue can sound incredibly stilted in a few scenes. These were moments in which the characters are meant to sound nervous or awkward, deliberately stammering, but it just came out as unnatural.



Before the Storm continues to tell it’s own fascinating story and delve deeper into many of the secondary characters we only encounter briefly during Life is Strange. Even though fans already know the fate of many of these characters, the slow-burn narrative that creeps towards inevitable tragedy makes for a captivating adventure that can shift from uplifting to soul-crushing in the blink of an eye. Short of a disastrous last episode, these prequel episodes should be considered an essential starting point for anyone who is yet to play Life is Strange.