Life is Strange: Before the Storm

I was pleasantly surprised by this game. It's clearly inferior to Life is Strange, but in my eyes, it's more than just extended lore for unsatiated fans.
Yes, the ending feels rushed, some dialogues sound forced, and the new “back talk” mechanic is clunky and unrewarding.
But I was drawn in by how the game explores intimacy. Everyone violates others' private spaces — bedrooms, personal files, or deep secrets. Chloe Price, our protagonist, is a prime victim. She is methodically stripped of every personal landmark. Yet as players, we do the same to other characters — whether to satisfy curiosity or progress the story. Exploration becomes intrusion; our actions, interference.
Meanwhile, we constantly feel watched. Messages urge us to reveal our location and activities. We're threatened with exposure on social media. Everywhere, signals insist our presence is unwelcome. As a primitive reaction, we mark our presence with graffiti — not to show off, but to preserve a sense of self.
In that light, the story unfolds as a quest for personal space and authenticity, where every other character seems to have already failed. Every other character except Rachel, our freshly met accomplice and, if you want to, lover. I found their relationship convincing, supported by strong voice acting. I liked how the game lets intimacy grow between them in impersonal spaces, charged with collective memory: a national park, a junkyard, or an improvised scene from Shakespeare's The Tempest. The gentle pacing, graphics, and music are on par with Life is Strange and truly shine here.
If you've played the original story, you know these moments merely stall the impending tragedy. The game doesn't explain how Rachel disappears, but it does give insight into why. In her painful quest, Chloe comes to question her most personal space: her imagination, haunted by the idealized dead dad. As much as it hurts, it makes her stronger. Rachel, on the other hand, has been protected from intrusion for too long. She's easy prey for a voyeuristic maniac.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm isn’t as groundbreaking as its predecessor, but it is a refinement of those ideas. Chloe and Rachel’s relationship is heartwarming, and a solid core for the rest to wrap itself around. Excellent character writing makes up for the moments when the overarching story drags, or when it gets too ham-fisted. That’s really the lesson, here: Write good characters, and the stakes can be as small as you’d like. Before the Storm maybe doesn’t take this to heart enough, with its more melodramatic plot beats actually detracting from the parts I enjoyed—and yet I’m inclined to forgive those sins, because the moments where it does stumble on some seemingly universal truth? They shine bright.
8/10

it has become tradition to ruin my life by playing life is strange games every summer

Before the Storm is divisive within the community mostly thanks to the LiS1 purists but if we ignore that loud and relatively small part of the fandom we can actually discuss how what's on offer here is a wonderful prequel that offers players deeper insight to both Chloe and the major events that setup the first game - everything in here was clearly crafted by fans of DONT NOD's original game and it's all made with care and respect, without spoiling anything BtS offers us a solid gaming experience itself and a lot of subtext and lore that improve the first game as well, Before the Storm is easily my second favorite game in the series behind the original.

I played this game years ago, and I just replayed it recently... and wow. That’s the only word that keeps echoing in my head. This game is beautifully written. It is such an emotionally rich experience that adds so much weight and depth to the original Life is Strange in ways I didn’t think were possible originally.

If you loved the original game, this one is essential. It brings new life to familiar faces and sheds light on characters you thought you already understood. Chloe Price becomes more than just the rebellious best friend because now you actually feel her pain, her longing, her confusion, and everything through her eyes. And Rachel Amber? She’s no longer just a name whispered through the halls of Blackwell. This game makes her real. Vivid, charismatic, broken, bright. You understand why people were drawn to her, why her absence mattered so much in the first game. She is not just a plot device anymore, she’s an actual person you grow to love. And Nathan... oh, Nathan. I won’t spoil a thing, but replaying this made me see everything in a different light. His portrayal here adds so much nuance to who he is and how he got there. It’s subtle, it’s heartbreaking, and it honestly made me feel things I didn’t expect.

Now, the writing is poetic without trying too hard, the soundtrack is perfect (as usual); raw, indie, moody, and unforgettable. And the visuals, while stylized, are deeply atmospheric. Every scene OOZES emotion. Every line of dialogue feels like it means something. This game hurts in all the right ways. And somehow, through all the chaos and aching emotion, there’s this quiet beauty that sticks with you long after the credits roll.

I can’t recommend this game enough. Whether you’re returning to Arcadia Bay or visiting it for the first time, this story WILL wrap around your heart and stay there for many, MANY years. Play it. You won’t regret it.

I was skeptical that an LiS game without the supernatural element would work, but this is a fantastic character-driven story

SPOILERS
the best life is strange game.
I think one of the best decisions was to reveal the arc of rachel amber's character. this game answers the questions about rachel and chloe that came up during the lis.
the game has only 3 episodes and 1 dlc but it still became my fav. it's was very interesting to watch the relationships between chloe and rachel, how the truth rachel's family is releaved, how rachel reveals her superpowers.
i love the life is strange games for their soundtracks and this part didn't pass everyone by. the songs Daughter fit perfectly into the atmosphere of this game just like all the other tracks.
i advise u to play this game if u want to immerse yourself in the story about rachel and chloe ( and little max ) . spoiler it's worth it.
if u find mistakes in my grammar - never mind