So episode 2 released today and I was just wondering if anyone else has gotten the chance to play it yet. I marked spoilers just in case but I won't spoil anything big in this post. Just wanted to say I was completely blown away by some of the story beats and character moments in this episode. Honestly I might be enjoying this more than the original LiS. Probably because I was more like Chloe than Max as a teen, getting into all sorts of mischief. But the quality of this series so far is beyond anything I was expecting from a prequel that is made by a different team from the original.

What do you guys think?

Not out on Steam yet, few hours I think.

I'm probably gonna save that one for the weekend, don't wanna rush through it tonight.

I really liked the first episode of this season. I was never that concerned about its quality to begin with, but yeah, I'm still surprised how good it turned out. Quality wise it's definitely a step up from the first one, both in the writing and the voice acting. Plus I'm glad they felt confident enough this time to make it mostly just a teen drama, not also a murder mistery and supernatural disaster game. Though it definitely could not exist like that without the first game, so I'd still hesitate to call it outright "better".

[YO, SPOILERS IN THE SPOILER THREAD]

I really enjoyed this episode. I like most of the interactions between Chloe and Rachel, and it feels like those scenes have doubled, since Rachel was introduced kind of late last episode. I thought some of the nods to the original series have been pretty well done so far, like Chloe putting the truck together and setting things up in that shack in the junkyard. A big standout for me was the The Tempest. Like the table top game in episode one, that ended up being a nice, funny, and clever scene. A part of the reason why I like those scenes is it feels like acting. Like the close up one the figures for the table top game, and having to walk around the stage. That type of interaction just seems to work really well with an adventure game where you are making decisions.

I might write a blog post depending on how Before the Storm turns out, but this game is also really bumming me out. I can't remember where people generally sided on the ending of Life is Strange, whether people choose to save Chloe, but I ended up not saving her. Playing Before the Storm feels like it is constantly reinforcing how tragic Chloe's story is. You have those nightmares and other reminders about how her dad died, there's stuff like browsing Chloe's text messages and seeing how Max stops responding after a while, there's her interactions with Joyce and David, and episode one in particular was Chloe acting out and trying to act tough based on her situation. I think pretty much every scene between Chloe and Rachel is really good, but even then I'm thinking about how Rachel is going to die. Like if Before the Storm ends with Rachel going missing, that's probably going to be really depressing! I'd have to see how things end with episode three and that bonus episode, but I'm starting to rethink the decision I made at the end of Life is Strange.

The only hang up I have with this episode is the reveal that Sera is Rachel's real mother. The way it ended, it feels like the developers wanted a twist to have a twist. I assume this will be a huge focal point in episode three, and I'm curious how this thread develops, but, as @l1ghtn1n said earlier, it felt kinda "gotcha" in the moment.

Overall, I liked this episode and am still pleasantly surprised how Before the Storm is turning out. (Not that I thought this was going to be mediocre; I'm just glad the Life is Strange name continues to be good under a different studio)

Out of curiosity, did anybody let Rachel cover to Chloe? Like does the opening scene always end with Chloe getting expelled from Blackwell?

It's really good. Those little moments between Amber and Chloe fucking nail it and the play managed to both be wildly dumb and really touching all at once, and I kinda love it. I know we're still a couple of months out from GOTY discussions, but this is seriously up there for me.

Indeed. I hope episode three comes out before the end of the year. Half of it is because of arbitrary GOTY stuff, half of it is because I don't want to wait too long for the finale.

I too enjoyed just about the whole episode, but found the "twist" at the end kind of out of left field and a weird note to end on. Especially because that dinner scene was good and I thought it was building up to something more. I hope they go the original LiS route and go big and bold for the final episode.

A really good episode, I enjoyed it a lot. It captures some of the original feel and the world.

I just want to add on to my comment to say I agree with this 100%. The scenes with Rachel and Chloe are by far the best, and stick with me long after I finish the episode.

I saw the twist coming. Not the whole time mind you, just from about the midpoint or so of the episode and saw the fact that Sera is at the play as confirmation before the official reveal. Also I know they had no way to predict this, but the timing of this release with the wildfires is a little eerie.

@tds418: Oops, Rachel and Chloe is what I meant. Just finished another adventure game with an Amber as the main protagonist and I keep calling Rachel by her last name because of it.

Marathoned the second episode in one sitting. Loved it. I didn’t see the “twist” coming but liked it nonetheless . Will be a long month-or-so wait until the third. Also loved my choice to tell that fascist pig David off and have Chloe reach into her pocket and pull out the middle finger.

I was pretty blown away by parts of this episode. As with all LiS stuff, there's definitely some dialogue weirdness and cringe-worthy lines but some of the story bits in this game go places that I've never seen other games go. I thought the scene in Drew's room, the Tempest sequence and the scene afterwards with Chloe and Rachel in the street were all extremely well-done. The relationship between Chloe and Rachel gets all the little things right in a way that 99% of games would fall completely on their face if they tried to pull something like this off. The twist at the end didn't get much of a reaction out of me. It felt a little cheap but I enjoyed all the stuff before it so much that I didn't really care.

This was to my relief the least emotional LIS episode, taking into account the episodes of the original game. It was mostly just a fun ride from beginning to end. I botched the play the first time lol you can just sit on the crate and everyone will start whispering saying 'what's going on'.

I decided to keep the money thinking I could give it to Frank but the opportunity to do that never came up again. I guess you had to give it to Damon.

The end twist surprised me but then I realised that they do actually look like each other.

The play was definitely a highlight for me in that episode as well. Not as good as the tabletop game in ep1, but really neat.

Still not sure what to make of the backtalk feature. After the initial akward one with the bouncer I thought it worked alright in the first episode, but the one in episode two with Rachels father felt very stitched together and akward again. Also, with all the fanservice going on, it almost feels like trolling that they decided to include a Warren clone that is even more annoying and matters even less for the story overall.

I gave the money to Damon in the dorm. So does Mikey not get hurt and is Steph at the stage play if you stay hidden in that scene? Also, I take it that the final scene at the amber table always escalates, whether you backtalk or not?

^I stayed in the room, and I believe Mikey gets hurt worse if you do Mikey does not get hurt (got the names confused). Steph still goes with him to the hospital though. My logic was I would give the money to Frank later, because I didn't know if Damon would honor giving me a cut, but that opportunity never arose. So I guess they now just think Chloe ran off with the whole grand.

The talk at the table always escalates. I didn't backtalk because I wanted to play it cool so we could get through dinner and run off...but Rachel just explodes at her Dad instead.

Loved this episode and sad there's only going to be one more (and the bonus episode) after this. The play was SO GOOD and the kiss? I died. Love these kids. But every time I finish one of these I get genuinely depressed because I remember how LiS ends and, man... why did Dontnod have to do that? I could deal with Rachel dying, but Chloe or Arcadia Bay is just a cruel choice. I'm trying to focus on the good times in these episodes. But yeah, it gets me, in a way that very few other pieces of media do. In terms of temperament I was more of a Max as a teen, but in terms of my give-no-fucks approach to everything I was much more Chloe. And I'm pretty much a lifelong depression-haver, so I relate on many levels.

I'm really curious to see how the story wraps up in only one more episode, given that we only just learned who Sera is. But yeah man I'd happily play another 21 episodes with Chloe as the protagonist, she's one of my favorite protags of all time now.

Not sure if it's recency bias but feels like I enjoyed this episode the most out of all of them... The play going off script was fantastic, felt Chloes reaction mirrored that of the player perfectly, cool moment.

Starting to hope they somehow retcon the events of the original, kind of heartbreaking knowing what's in store...

Anyone have a link for the remixed main menu theme?

Loved the second episode. It's haunting,beautiful, and the characters are great. The street scene after the play was especially beautiful and nostalgic for some reason, as if I remembered something like that from my own life. I think I like this more than the original LiS.

I also think I've enjoyed this game more than any other this year. Guess that makes it my GoTY, in a year full of amazing releases. That's probably just my subjective tastes and what I enjoy in a game rather than how "good" the game is objectively... but yeah. Love this.

@tds418: Always felt that Mikey and Drew should switch names lol. It suited them better

@milkman: Totally. I was pretty convinced by the feelings rising between Rachel and Chloe. I was pleasantly surprised by that.

@silversunzer0 said:

I'm now fully convinced that Rachel doesn't die, and instead just runs away with her mother. I've got a feeling this Sera is going to be quite smart - she might try and plant animal remains or whatever at the junkyard and fake Rachel's death after Nathan drugs her.

I suppose it's all wishful thinking though.

This game takes place 3 years before the original, so I don't think Rachel's going to die in the next episode. She probably won't even meet Jefferson yet.