SUMMARY: 4.0/5.0
Welcome to the rollercoaster of emotions that you would expect from the finale of Life is Strange: Before the Storm. In case you were craving a few hours of whiplash between heartbreak, turmoil, anxiety, adrenaline, affection, and heartbreak again, Deck Nine has your back.
"When you meet someone who changes everything, you just know."
Mechanics
The game starts with an abstract viewfinder sequence as you listen to Rachel's father justify his decisions and explain the family's secrets. This sequence is a little clumsy, particularly in transitioning from memory to memory, but on the bright side it's much more interesting than staring at James Amber's face throughout his monologue about why Rachel shouldn't be mad at him. Otherwise, this episode is a little light on mechanics-- there's another mundane series of tasks and some investigative gameplay similar to Max and Chloe's detective work in the original Life is Strange, though not as intense, and fortunately, the backtalk challenges seem less obvious than in previous episodes. The majority of this episode is navigating conversations, rather than environmental puzzles or - thank goodness - more collecting bottles. However, depending on your choices, you may have the opportunity to reprise your role as a certain elf barbarian!
Narrative
This is the final episode of Before the Storm, and the previous episode left plenty of unanswered questions to be resolved. This episode continues to explore the budding relationship between Chloe and Rachel, but also Rachel's relationships with her family, and Chloe's avoidance of Joyce and David. You'll also get more dream sequences that illustrate how well - or poorly - Chloe is processing her father's death. The episode ends with a montage that's supposed to "fill in the gaps" between Chloe and Rachel's first few days together and the events immediately before the original game, but there are still some unanswered questions and plot holes left unattended. This conclusion felt rushed and much more linear than the previous episodes, but the story was still enjoyable and contained sufficient variety to keep my interest enough that I played the game in two sittings (and it would have been one if it weren't for baking Christmas cookies).
character development
Despite all the turmoil, family drama, stalkers, and drug dealers, this game is about people - just what you would expect from a Life is Strange game. You may not like certain characters, even Rachel, but you can't deny their impact on Chloe's growth as a person. She remarks that having someone need you gives you strength you didn't know you had. Chloe's relationship with Rachel, though arguably reckless at times, is important-- it gives Chloe something to grab on to, which she desperately needs, and it's good for Rachel, who needs something real in her life. More and more as the game goes on, it's clear that Chloe is real. It seems as though Rachel is experiencing real issues for the first time, and Chloe is a valuable friend given her life experiences up to that point. Even in this period of a few days, you see significant growth in Chloe's character, and to a more limited extent, in Rachel's.
"I don't want to be an actor. I just want to be myself."
conclusion
This game isn't really about choice. It features the same mechanic as Life is Strange, but even though you can't rewind and redo the choices you make, they don't seem to carry as much weight as they did in the first game. This game is all about Chloe's discovery that she has the strength to be there for the people in her life. It's also about Rachel's personality and Chloe's inability to really know anything about her, and the subsequent realization that Chloe doesn't want to be like Rachel, even if she wants Rachel to be part of her life. The experience of this game was incredibly rewarding and well-executed, especially considering it was developed by a new team. Regardless of it's pacing and occasional plot holes, I'd still highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoyed the original Life is Strange, If only to make you feel even worse about how you treated some of the cast.
