Life is Strange: Before the Storm - Episode 1: Awake Reviews
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.
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.
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
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.
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'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.
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.
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 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
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.
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
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Deck Nine has shown an extraordinary understanding of a delicate formula. For fans, it's a return journey to one of the most vivid, joyous settings in gaming. For them, and for everyone else, it's a brave effort which, at times, surpasses the original.
Overall, Before the Storm starts on a great note with its writing, characters and soundtrack. It took me 4 hours to complete Episode 1, which is a good sign given the fact that some people had a problem with the game only being 3 episodes long. For newcomers, I strongly suggest that you play the original Life is Strange before playing this one as you might not catch the importance and significance of certain characters as quickly as previous players will. I cannot wait for the rest of the episodes to be released and I am definitely interested to see what happens next.
The good doesn’t stop there. The new entry into the series wouldn’t be anything without a legitimate sense of place. Luckily, the game’s soundtrack provides that, and so much more.