Life is Strange: Before the Storm - Episode 1: Awake Reviews
Life is Strange: Before the Storm is a great start for the series and I'm very, very curious where it will go from here.
Yes it has some serious pacing issues and the long conversations where you don’t seem to be doing much can grate. But the gameplay is solid, with some interesting extras and it still looks very pretty indeed.
Overall, Episode 1 is a great introduction to Before the Storm. It offers what you expect from the series as well as adding in some new ideas. The way Deck Nine have been able to take the concept of the first game and apply them to a totally different character has been great.
The writing so far is every bit as corny as an independent film crossed with a CW drama is, and it’s this writing style that has made the series so endearing, so it’s hard to not be excited to see what new developer Deck Nine has store for the next couple episodes.
The first episode of Life is Strange: Before the Storm doesn't contain a lot of exciting events or game-changing decisions, but it seems like a good start for a story filled with tense and touching moments. It sets up the spotlight on Chloe and her relationship with Rachel as well as it offering a tutorial of sorts for the new power Backtalk which helps our heroin talk other characters into doing whatever she wants.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
The first episode of Life is Strange: Before the Storm is a continuist and respectful graphic adventure with the original game. A good start for the story of Chloe and Rachel who still has a lot to offer. It's time to go back to Arcade Bay!
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Life is Strange: Before the Storm's first episode is heavy on atmosphere and emotion, but light on narrative or gameplay. It will appeal to those who loved the heart-wrenching drama of the first game, but could have a hard time attracting any new fans.
Life Is Strange: Before the Storm follows the path of what became the first title in 2015. Deck Nine has done the work of developing a graphic adventure to meet the expectations of fans but with the virtues and shortcomings of the previous title. Anyway is an ingenious proposal of mechanics that the most edicated fans will love.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Since the game deals more with character development and how they cope rather than temporal philosophy, it may or maybe not divide its audience. Even though this is a prequel, I felt that this game should be played after the original for the way it is presented, think of it as bonus content rather than a standalone game.
Life is Strange: Before the Storm shows a lot of promise in its first few hours despite the same weaknesses in its script as the original Life is Strange series.
Life is Strange: Before the Storm's first episode can feel like a drag in the beginning, with a weak main mechanic and slow pacing, but it all pays off in the end and manages to become a flawed, but captivating experience.
An entertaining origin story that raises some questions I would love to see answered while also telling the tale of Chloe's origin story.
Deck Nine’s take on the cult hit episodic series delivers a more grounded experience without losing the compelling drama and hard-hitting emotion
Life is Strange: Before the Storm Episode 1 fails to live up to the promise of the original. While providing a great soundtrack, updated visuals, and better animations it struggles to realise just what made Life is Strange special.
Life is Strange Before the Storm feels like a true prequel to the original game, even though we don't have time travel abilities this time around. While character developments are interesting, this first chapter is unclear whether the journey will be better than the destination considering we already know how their fates will end.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Much like Dontnod succeeded despite their inexperience, Deck Nine has managed to pull off a fantastic start to their own addition to the Life is Strange universe and Chloe’s tale.
My experience with Life is Strange: Before the Storm was a good one, but nothing spectacular as far as story-telling games go. It convinces with the beautifully written dialogues and voice acting, but beyond that follows a generic story with little surprises (so far). At $5.99 you can’t go wrong. Expect between 2-4 hours of playtime with multiple choices for added replay value.
Episode One: Awake of Before the Storm is a surprisingly promising entry for the short three-episode series. There's the right amount of callbacks to the series that made so many fans fall in love with Chloe and Max in the first place. While I still wish the dialogue wasn't as teenager cringe-y in a not-realistic way, there's far more of it this time around that plain isn't. Hell, even Chloe's eventual over-usage of "hella" is explained in a tongue-in-cheek nod to the future. For everyone who was worried about Before the Storm's authenticity under the reigns of a new developer: don't be.
Before the Storm is an eagerly awaited second album, but it's one we're going to have to pay attention to before we can see what it really is.
I've got plenty of minor quibbles, but this is still an impressively solid start to a product that has an awfully special predecessor to live up to. I'm just hoping that this doesn't end up feeling like a prequel that nobody really needed.
