3. Life Is Strange: Before the Storm
Best Life Is Strange Games, Ranked
Trust me when I say trying to decide the ranking for this was one of the toughest things I’ve done all year, but after many a conversation with my fellow Twinfinite staffers, this is where we landed.
Life Is Strange: Before the Storm is fan-service at its finest (to quote The Verge). Having established Chloe Price as a hardened bad-ass in the original game, Before the Storm introduced us to a completely different Chloe. One that’d partake in a school play at the last second just to make someone else happy. Are we talking about the same Chloe? Yes, yes we are.
Before the Storm followed Chloe and Rachel Amber’s relationship from its small beginnings right to the tragic, heartbreaking ending that sees Rachel meet her untimely end. They uncover the true identity of Rachel’s mother and find out her dad’s a bit of an asshole. But they’ve got each other, and ultimately to them, that’s all that matters.
Heck, Before the Storm even has some of the strongest ‘major decisions’ of the series, and as a prequel with Chloe’s backtalk ability in-place of the supernatural powers we’ve seen elsewhere in the series — that’s fitting for her typical teenage qualities– there’s more of a need for the narrative to carry the experience without a strong ‘gimmick’ to rely on.
Before the Storm achieves this and then some, with one of the strongest narratives in the series to date, ensuring it remains interesting and engaging throughout. Especially when you factor in the fact you already know how this tragic love tale ends. The fact that it’s as gripping as it is throughout its three episodes just shows the strength in its writing.
It also has some of the best moments in the series, such as the aforementioned play scene, the DND session you can actually partake in, and just some touching moments of Chloe and Rachel goofing around and falling in love.
