2015's Life is Strange might be one of my favorite point-and-click, choice-based adventure games that rose above much better reviewed (and even better selling) titles of the same genre (Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, All TellTale Games) simply by being different where it counted. Before LiS, I felt contempt for the genre merely because, due to vague displays and obnoxious timed responses, most of my characters tended to come off as unintentional assholes (Lee talking to Clementine with no indication of the inflexion of the conversation is an example) forcing me into the unwanted situation of potentially playing through a game with unskippable cutscenes and overlong dialogue sequences for a second time just to find out what I missed with the other option (note to developers: these games NEVER warrant a second playthrough). But LiS was different merely because of its most gimmicky mechanic: the time reversal ability. With this ability, I was now able to merely rewind when I didn't like the outcome and, barring an endgame decision, could easily reverse tactics. This gave LiS an edge over more conventional and (arguably) better games. I no longer worried what Max would say because rewinding and going Plan B was just as feasible and option. And while, in the end, the mechanic really meant nothing to the overarching narrative (the game would end on a binary choice regardless) the gameplay was backed up with a story told from the heart. Regardless of how you felt about mousy Max Caulfield or the seemingly incomprehensible anger of Chloe Price, you rooted for these characters because they felt more human in their emotions. These weren't superheroes trying to save the world or hardened survivors barreling toward some awesome, action-filled climax. This was a story of loss made bearable by the chance to rectify past mistakes. Regardless of your A or B decision in the end, you spent a week with someone important to you and, much like the ending to The Leftovers, you're level of success was dictated not by your actions but by your ability to just fucking BE THERE ("You're Here" might be the best explanation ever uttered on any show ever). Now, with 2017 nearing its end and the adventure genre kind of floundering, Square Enix has decided to continue a story that never really warranted a continuation. As of Life is Strange Before the Storm Episode 1: the same soul minus the only mechanic that made it unique from the rest of the dreg.
Let me be honest: I actually love Episode 1: Awake despite its total lack of replayability. Chloe Price is back (and very much alive) and her burgeoning relationship with Rachel Amber (also very much alive) keeps the story interesting and endearing enough even for the collector-crazy gamers who search every square inch of each map. Regardless of what you play these types of games for (mostly achievements/trophies) there is a soul here that makes you want to genuinely learn this story despite already knowing its tragic conclusion. Rachel Amber, often barely more than a plot-pushing point in the first game, is a well fleshed-out character with a compelling story (she carries a veneer of a perfect life while wallowing in the more tragic aspects of it) and, despite being an obviously bad influence on Chloe, you will root for her because it actually feels like these two need each other at the moment. Chloe, the angry punk chick who had terrible dialog and serious abandonment issues in the first game, comes off as a young woman veering toward the breaking point; her relationship with her mother is falling apart, her school life is hell and her reputation as a bad girl seems to have become her very character to everyone who knows her. When these two finally meet, the sense that they become one (due to being opposites with small connective tissue to keep them together) becomes more believable the longer they share scenes together. That's hard to write around. It's usually impossible to write believably.
As for bad, the Backtalk mechanic is a poor replacement for Max's Rewind and it shows in just how little it is actually utilized (three times in a three hour period). I'm aware that this mechanic is necessary in order for it to play as something different like its predecessor, but the idea that, every hour or so, a seemingly random event happens with a bunch of multiple choice nonsense just kind of boggles the mind. If your going to make this without the mystical side, that's fine. Backtalk is not the way to make this work properly.
Whatever. It's still the first Episode 1 of an adventure story that I've willingly played all the way through since the original and I'm still invested in the characters enough to want to see what happens next. Sure, lack of Max hurts a little, but its believable considering she would still be hiding in dark corners in Seattle at this point so, no worries. I've played far worse sequels in my life and none of those made me cheer at the end. Pick your heartbreak.
My score: 8/10.
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