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LoseHound posted:I think the existence of BtS makes LiS more interesting. In addition to changing the way I see the ending, the game brings out more of Rachel's character. In the original, Max and Rachel were likened to a photographer and model, and BtS completes that. Max avoids attention, but loves to snoop and watch. Rachel loves attention and is capable of playing whatever role she needs to get what she wants. Their concern for their own comfort is what makes them hurt Chloe. Max abandons Chloe when it becomes to uncomfortable to keep in contact. Rachel is better at showing she cares, but still manipulates and lies to Chloe. Max fails to act, and Rachel fails to stop herself from doing so. It's interesting that you bring up the whole acting angle here. I was reading an interview with one of the BtS writers and they mentioned how performance was a theme that kept resurfacing in the script. How acting can both conceal honest emotion, or convey some greater emotional truth. When Rachel is talking about her dad in Chloe's truck, you can tell that she's also thinking about herself.
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Dec 6, 2017 18:45
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Well, that's a major shift in tone from the previous episodes. Looking forward to seeing how this plays out. So, Damon is clearly our villian for this game, Rachel presumably gets mixed up with him somehow (possibly in order to get closer to her mom), and Chloe winds up going after her (which, if she left with Damon willingly would actually be a good excuse to have a Backtalk with Rachel). Larryb fucked around with this message at 19:29 on Dec 6, 2017 |
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Dec 6, 2017 19:18
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Larryb posted:If Chloe is the storm personified then Rachel is fire personified (wild, uncontrollable, and wants everything for itself). Rachel is an actress, both on and off the stage, changing her persona at will to fit into her current situation but if something doesn't go her way the mask drops and she lashes out like a wild animal. You know what? I doubt the writers could have put that any better!
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Dec 6, 2017 19:21
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The 20th means I'm either injecting this episode directly into my veins in one night, or taking my PS4 to my sister's place for Christmas ... Either way I am hype!!!!
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Dec 6, 2017 19:36
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This episode is looking hella bleak. I can't wait!
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Dec 6, 2017 19:38
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exquisite tea posted:It's interesting that you bring up the whole acting angle here. I was reading an interview with one of the BtS writers and they mentioned how performance was a theme that kept resurfacing in the script. How acting can both conceal honest emotion, or convey some greater emotional truth. When Rachel is talking about her dad in Chloe's truck, you can tell that she's also thinking about herself. I was actually thinking something similar about Max when writing that. One thing that stuck out to me in the first game was that people were constantly skeptical of her intentions. Max is such a nonentity of a person that when she does butt in, people think she's just being a nosy gossip instead of earnestly concerned. Rachel meanwhile is so good at pretending that she's worried about where the mask ends and she begins. It's hard to tell how much Rachel truly cares about Chloe as she is vs. the cool badass escape she imagines Chloe to be. figures this stupid hipster game would be all about authenticity
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Dec 6, 2017 19:50
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This is why I really like that scene on the mountain where you can flat ask Rachel "Are you being sincere or just screwing with me" and she's like "Ahahaha anyway let's get drunk"
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Dec 6, 2017 19:53
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LoseHound posted:I was actually thinking something similar about Max when writing that. One thing that stuck out to me in the first game was that people were constantly skeptical of her intentions. Max is such a nonentity of a person that when she does butt in, people think she's just being a nosy gossip instead of earnestly concerned. Rachel meanwhile is so good at pretending that she's worried about where the mask ends and she begins. It's hard to tell how much Rachel truly cares about Chloe as she is vs. the cool badass escape she imagines Chloe to be. In a metaphorical sense, Rachel is darkness concealed by light (She puts on different masks to conceal her own insecurities but has been doing it for so long it's hard to turn it off. Her true self only seems to emerge when she's angry or upset about something), Max is light slowly consumed by darkness (she tries to be a good person but still occasionally uses her power for questionable means at times and starts losing more and more of herself as her obsession with keeping Chloe safe takes over her life) and Chloe belongs to neither (she falls some dark places at times and it seems like the universe is literally out to get her but she also has enough willpower to bring herself back before she goes too far, especially when she finally realizes what her behavior is doing to Max). This is another reason why the "Greater Beauty" line could be referring to Chloe herself. She is ultimately the true hero of Life is Strange and the one that manages to break the chains of her past in the end, saving Max and Rachel's soul in the process (or, if Max chooses to sacrifice the town, now has the maturity to help her friend cope with the aftermath). Of course, if you believe that the timeline keeps going after Max jumps ship (as evidenced by the fact that when Max jumps through the photo of them as kids she's in her dorm, but when she returns after restoring the timeline she's in Chloe's room) that means that there was still a Chloe and Max left at the lighthouse after the latter's consciousness jumped back through the butterfly photo. Therefore in that timeline they technically didn't end up saving anyone, but it was a good try none the less. So in a sense you could say that both endings are canon, they just happen in different timelines. Larryb fucked around with this message at 21:18 on Dec 6, 2017 |
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Dec 6, 2017 20:10
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By the way, what's the name of the song that played during the Episode 3 trailer? Speaking of which, said trailer is up on the YouTube channel as well now: https://youtube.com/watch?v=gfewLG1bcE0 Larryb fucked around with this message at 00:28 on Dec 7, 2017 |
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Dec 7, 2017 00:21
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I like seeing Frank looking out for Chloe in this trailer. He has been an interesting character and I’m glad that he has some shot to do in this game - I rewound many times trying not to hurt him or his dog in LiS and I’m glad I did. I feel like now that we know who the big bad guy is that it is a little one dimensional. Jefferson was too but at least he wasn’t known to be that until late in the game. There doesn’t seem to be much subtlety in the main antagonist and I think it could have been interesting to have some nuance to whoever that character might be. Jefferson was interesting because of the twist and going back to replay was cool to see all of his actions through a different lens but unless there is a big twist, Damon just seems very stereotypical and has no real dimension to him compared to any of the other characters.
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Dec 7, 2017 00:32
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His friendship with Frank seems to imply he was a much nicer dude before, if still a dealer. I wonder if we'll get more info about their relationship or what in ep 3.
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Dec 7, 2017 00:35
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Larryb posted:By the way, what's the name of the song that played during the Episode 3 trailer? It's a slightly remixed version of one of the songs from the soundtrack album, 'Music From Before The Storm', by Daughter. I believe it's a song called 'All I Wanted'.
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Dec 7, 2017 00:38
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esperterra posted:His friendship with Frank seems to imply he was a much nicer dude before, if still a dealer. I wonder if we'll get more info about their relationship or what in ep 3. I forgot about that - Frank did mention something like that when talking to Chloe in the van, I think. Hopefully some more back story will flesh out his character in this episode.
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Dec 7, 2017 00:49
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rio posted:I forgot about that - Frank did mention something like that when talking to Chloe in the van, I think. Hopefully some more back story will flesh out his character in this episode. Yeah, the game basically needs to establish an entire character arc for both Damon and Sera in the span of one episode. Fortunately since the two of them are obviously linked that probably won't be quite as hard as it would be otherwise. Still though, that means we don't really have time for much filler in this episode so I just hope they'll be able to pull off a decent finale to all this (and to be fair, the recent trailer does look promising). It also seems like Rachel's going to get mixed up with Damon in some capacity, though its unclear from the trailer whether she gets kidnapped or goes with him willingly (though I'm going to assume the latter for now), I'm guessing this is how she winds up meeting Frank as well. Chloe also seems to be returning to the burned down mill for some reason (either that or it's the Prescott barn from the first game). Unless he's working for Damon or something I'm beginning to think the whole Eliot thing might turn out to be a non-issue, mostly because it doesn't really look like we'd have time to deal with that with everything else going on (plus I don't think there's any reason for Chloe to go back to Blackwell at this point). Larryb fucked around with this message at 01:35 on Dec 7, 2017 |
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Dec 7, 2017 01:12
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Based on the trailers I'm pretty sure that Rachel is going to get hurt by Damon at the junkyard. You see a streak of blood across Frank's RV later in the scene and Damon's knife appears to be bloody in a flash cut with Rachel's back to the camera. This later with scenes of Chloe frantically racing along the highway and Rachel's family at the hospital. Sera is so conspicuously absent from the trailer and hasn't even been given a speaking line yet that I have to start wondering if she's even going to appear in this thing at all, or if she'll be a mystery and disappear forever.
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Dec 7, 2017 02:14
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Poor Eliot. Such an ineffective psycho his victim just kind of goes away and does something else with her time
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Dec 7, 2017 02:17
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exquisite tea posted:Sera is so conspicuously absent from the trailer and hasn't even been given a speaking line yet that I have to start wondering if she's even going to appear in this thing at all, or if she'll be a mystery and disappear forever. Or they just don't want to spoil everything right off the bat. Besides, it'd be stupid for them to spend the whole game building her up only for there not to be any payoff in the end (unless it turns out this whole project has just been a stealth tie-in to LiS 2 and a few characters from BtS will be resurfacing in that game, but I doubt it). Good call on the Rachel thing though, didn't notice that at first and it would explain the hospital scene later on. I wonder if there's going to be a teaser for the bonus episode at the end of this (or, far less likely, one for Life is Strange 2)? Larryb fucked around with this message at 03:12 on Dec 7, 2017 |
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Dec 7, 2017 02:22
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exquisite tea posted:
I wonder if her tie-in is the syringe, and that's her connection to Damon, too. I wonder if she's been extorting money from Rachel's dad to pay for her habit. It would make sense that he's about to go down on some kind of corruption, and that would explain how Rachel could disappear in season 1 without it raising much of a commotion in the town.
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Dec 7, 2017 03:53
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Vienna Circlejerk posted:I wonder if her tie-in is the syringe, and that's her connection to Damon, too. I wonder if she's been extorting money from Rachel's dad to pay for her habit. It would make sense that he's about to go down on some kind of corruption, and that would explain how Rachel could disappear in season 1 without it raising much of a commotion in the town. Chloe does find a stash of money in (I think) Rachel's house during the trailer so you might be on to something there. It did strike me as strange that the daughter of the DA could suddenly disappear without a trace and not only was there not much of an investigation into the matter but, according to Chloe, Rachel's parents were in denial about the whole thing, so James no longer being the DA at the time would make more sense then. I doubt anybody's going to be making it out of this episode unscathed. Larryb fucked around with this message at 06:02 on Dec 7, 2017 |
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Dec 7, 2017 04:01
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So who else is going to finish BTS, then wait for Farewell to come out before replaying LIS? Edit: I've only played through LiS once. I wanted to give myself time to process it before going through again. Then I saw BTS was out so I started following it. Going back for a second play through is going to be a different and more informed experience. It'll be interesting to see how my views change. Canemacar fucked around with this message at 16:41 on Dec 7, 2017 |
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Dec 7, 2017 16:34
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Canemacar posted:So who else is going to finish BTS, then wait for Farewell to come out before replaying LIS? Once everything is out I'm planning on replaying the series in chronological order starting with Farewell (with the added restriction for BtS that Chloe can only wear the clothes she has on in each episode's respective trailer). It will be interesting to see how much the feel of the original game changes when you go into it already having knowledge of the prequel.
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Dec 7, 2017 16:56
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Canemacar posted:So who else is going to finish BTS, then wait for Farewell to come out before replaying LIS? Deck Nine hasn’t straight up rewritten much from the original season but I think certain characters and events would look very different playing the games chronologically. In LiS I just thought of Frank as some random scumbag dealer who got mixed up with Rachel because of drugs, not a lowlife with a heart of gold how BtS spins it. It would probably seem even more enormously hosed up than usual to have Chloe kill him in LiS, so enormously hosed up that it’s almost begging you to choose that resolution.
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Dec 7, 2017 18:30
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exquisite tea posted:Deck Nine hasn’t straight up rewritten much from the original season but I think certain characters and events would look very different playing the games chronologically. In LiS I just thought of Frank as some random scumbag dealer who got mixed up with Rachel because of drugs, not a lowlife with a heart of gold how BtS spins it. It would probably seem even more enormously hosed up than usual to have Chloe kill him in LiS, so enormously hosed up that it’s almost begging you to choose that resolution. To be fair, they did establish that he had redeeming qualities from caring for Pompidou & Rachel (and Pupidou is just  ). Even Chloe feels it's hosed up that she killed him.I feel like part of the reason he's such an rear end in season 1 is because Rachel left, just like Chloe. When their interests aren't in opposition, they actually get along pretty well.
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Dec 7, 2017 18:43
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I'm still surprised that killing Frank didn't cause the game to force you to rewind. But yeah, when money isn't involved the two of them are actually sort of friends (he saves Chloe's rear end at least twice in BtS and she feels like utter poo poo if she winds up killing him in LiS) and we do see some hints about his better qualities in the first game as well, particularly in the last two episodes. Personally I kind of like Frank and actually think he's complex enough to have his own game if they wanted to. As far as I can remember so far there are only two slight plot holes in BtS: the fact that Blackwell was a finishing school for seniors in the original but got retconned into a 4 year private high school and according to her file in the first game Chloe was originally kicked out of Blackwell for graffitiing the parking lot. Otherwise the two games line up with each other pretty well. Larryb fucked around with this message at 19:11 on Dec 7, 2017 |
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Dec 7, 2017 19:00
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Season 1 was kind of ambiguous or inconsistent about Blackwell, though. When you’re going through the hallway during the nightmare as Rachel and look on the map to find her room, it’s clearly last year’s map (Max isn’t on it) but some of the same students are on it (including Victoria). If you listen to the radio long enough in the junkyard in BtS 2, there’s a segment about Blackwell developing a new arts program (they even mention Mark Jefferson as potential faculty), so maybe the retcon is that Blackwell is a 4 year school with a special 1 year senior arts program.
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Dec 7, 2017 19:25
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Vienna Circlejerk posted:Season 1 was kind of ambiguous or inconsistent about Blackwell, though. When you’re going through the hallway during the nightmare as Rachel and look on the map to find her room, it’s clearly last year’s map (Max isn’t on it) but some of the same students are on it (including Victoria). True, that one is pretty easy to reconcile all things considered. Also, with all the familiar faces popping up in BtS I'm kind of surprised that Kate wasn't one of them. Chloe mentions in Episode 1 of the original that she knew her and it might have been interesting to see how the two of them would interact with each other (plus it would have been nice to see how she was before Nathan and Victoria turned her life into a living hell).
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Dec 7, 2017 19:42
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Canemacar posted:So who else is going to finish BTS, then wait for Farewell to come out before replaying LIS? I'm definitely considering it. I might actually rebuy Season 1 on PS4 the next time it goes on sale if only because I don't feel like sorting out my janky Steam controller situation.
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Dec 7, 2017 23:34
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This is shaping up to be a pretty good month, the Weird Autumn edition of Night in the Woods drops next week with the main game for Before the Storm finishing up the following one. While I understand it a little better now the last episode of the original game is kind of a clusterfuck in some ways, hopefully Deck Nine will do better at wrapping up this one (it's looking promising so far given the recent trailer at least). I'm still hoping that they wind up giving Nintendo consoles some love regarding this series as of Life is Strange 2 (complete with Switch ports of the previous two games), unless there's some particular reason it's been exclusive to Microsoft and Sony so far I don't think the system would have any trouble handling them (the Wii U might not have worked that well though). I am a little curious as to what Dontnod has planned as it's pretty much certain the sequel will feature a new cast and setting with little if any connection to the previous game (hell, for all we know season 2 could be set in a completely different time period). Hopefully they'll be able to make lightning strike twice and the new cast will be just as entertaining as the Arcadia Bay crew (this is probably also going to be the real test to see if DontNod just got lucky with the first one or if this series has enough staying power to be turned into a franchise). If we do ever return to the Bay though I hope it's with a different focus character. I like Chloe and all but we now pretty much know more about her than we do nearly everyone else in town (including Max herself), give somebody else a turn in the spotlight for a change. Larryb fucked around with this message at 20:17 on Dec 8, 2017 |
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Dec 8, 2017 00:37
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Larryb posted:I'm still surprised that killing Frank didn't cause the game to force you to rewind. But yeah, when money isn't involved the two of them are actually sort of friends (he saves Chloe's rear end at least twice in BtS and she feels like utter poo poo if she winds up killing him in LiS) and we do see some hints about his better qualities in the first game as well, particularly in the last two episodes. Personally I kind of like Frank and actually think he's complex enough to have his own game if they wanted to. Maybe a drug dealing sim with a dog happiness gauge mini game. I’d play it.
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Dec 8, 2017 00:58
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Watching the trailer again I noticed there is actually one shot of Sera (during the "How far would you go to uncover the truth" segment) and one scene with Eliot (Chloe in a room with him throwing a trophy out a window), so I guess there is going to be something going on there after all. I'm gonna guess the scene in the junkyard happens fairly early on, putting Rachel out of commission for a bit resulting in a majority of the game becoming Chloe Price Vs. The World as she tries to uncover the truth on her own, which could be interesting. Also, what do you think the odds are of us getting our first look at LiS 2 during E3? Larryb fucked around with this message at 16:14 on Dec 9, 2017 |
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Dec 9, 2017 01:26
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If DONTNOD can release their vampire game early next year and it sells well, I'd guess they would feel safe teasing LIS2 at E3. If the vampire game sells poorly after release, they probably will try to promote it rather than LIS2.
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Dec 12, 2017 00:20
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Arctic Bunny posted:If DONTNOD can release their vampire game early next year and it sells well, I'd guess they would feel safe teasing LIS2 at E3. If the vampire game sells poorly after release, they probably will try to promote it rather than LIS2. Fair, though since development already started last year you'd think we'd at least get something fairly soon. It will be interesting to see how this turns out as it's sounding like it'll pretty much be a complete departure from the original. Though if DontNod can somehow make lightning strike twice with the new cast then we've probably got another franchise on our hands here (not to mention the fact that there's also a live action web series in the works as well). I still wouldn't mind seeing a few more side games based around the Arcadia Bay crew though. But as much as I like the character, Chloe's arguably had two whole games to tell her story now. Give somebody else a turn for a change (unless you wanted to go back even further in time and cover the first week she met Max or do a direct sequel following Sacrifice the Bay that is). Like I said, Frank could possibly work and maybe Victoria as well if you fleshed her out a little more. I don't think Max is interesting enough to carry a game by herself and playing as Rachel might ruin the mystery behind her a bit (plus I'm not sure if she's that likable a character to serve as a main protagonist) and, unless you set it in a short time period, we already know what happens to her in the end. Larryb fucked around with this message at 16:07 on Dec 12, 2017 |
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Dec 12, 2017 00:32
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Back on topic I'm curious if we're going to get some kind of resolution to the whole raven thing, even if it's just a subtle hint. While the doe is strongly hinted to be Rachel leading Max out of the storm/towards finding her body I honestly have no idea what the raven wants at this point. At first it seems to be pushing Chloe into finding Rachel but then in the 3rd dream it suddenly seems to be warning her away, even becoming vaguely threatening towards the end (on a side note, what it says about fire is actually sort of relevant to the second dream, Chloe is so mesmerized by the burning Rachel she's completely oblivious to the truck barrelling towards the car). There also seem to be a few hints that, like the butterfly, the raven might not actually be a spirit. It's also kind of wierd that Chloe never actually mentions it, whenever she talks about her dreams in the journal it's always in reference to her dad and nothing else. A few other details I didn't catch the first time playing: - In Episode 1 during the second dream "William" suddenly turns into David for a split second after Chloe says he isn't real. - When she's tagging the bathroom at the start of Episode 2 we never actually see Chloe draw the giant raven in the center, it just sort of appears there when she's done. - After a dream sequence, what's written on Chloe's hand will change (I've noticed "This is your hand" and "Nevermore" so far). - During the third dream, "William" will not acknowledge you until you start roasting a marshmallow. If you try to speak to him beforehand the raven will just caw and motion towards the fire Larryb fucked around with this message at 16:18 on Dec 12, 2017 |
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Dec 12, 2017 16:14
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When they first announced Before the Storm with all the raven imagery I guessed that it would be heavily associated with prophecy, and that seems to be the role it's played in the first two episodes. The raven leads Chloe to the tree where Rachel is standing and anticipates the wildfire. It predicts that Chloe will appear in the Tempest, and speaks about the potential "greater beauty yet to come" with Max. So the way I think the whole raven subplot will wrap up is that it will show Chloe some ominous vision of the future, either of Rachel's death or her own. But the vision will be ambiguous or not fully understood somehow, and Chloe will not trust it. That's my guess anyway.
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Dec 12, 2017 16:41
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Makes sense, though I still think it's possible that the "greater beauty" could actually be Chloe herself. Max was the catalyst for the change but it was ultimately Chloe that helped pull them both back from the brink in the end (though granted it is still Max that makes the final call). Like with Rachel, we've seen hints in both games that Chloe's punk persona is also just a mask in some aspects. The real Chloe Price is a good-hearted though deeply insecure person who is desperate for attention/love. Which is why it's easy for her to get strung along when she finds someone she thinks she can trust. Going by the Rachel's revenge theory, Chloe then either convinces Max to go back and sacrifice her, stopping the storm and pacifying Rachel's spirit or, like Ariel in the play, she fulfills her duty to her "master" and is at last granted her freedom (albeit at a high cost). Unlike with Rachel and the doe I don't think Willam actually is the raven so much as it's just using his form as a convenient mouthpiece to ensure that Chloe will listen. I've noticed that the dreams are getting darker and progressively more involved as the game goes on, while it's probably not likely we'll get something on the level of the Nightmare from the first game I do think the final dream is going to be a bit more significant (I have a feeling I know when it's going to take place as well, there's a shot in the trailer of Chloe laying unconscious on a wood floor). A straight up vision of the future like you said could work, it might also actually cause Chloe to finally push back a bit. A Backtalk with Ravendad could potentially be interesting as well as a good way of throwing the choices you made throughout the game back in your face. Larryb fucked around with this message at 19:18 on Dec 12, 2017 |
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Dec 12, 2017 18:01
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if Vampyr is even half as good as it already looks, whoo buddy
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Dec 12, 2017 18:10
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Apparently some review sites have gotten early access to the first 30 minutes of Episode 3, link here. I personally will not be watching, as much as I instinctually want to spoil myself! But it's there for anybody else who's curious.
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Dec 13, 2017 15:45
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Man, between star wars and this, the internet is a dangerous place for spoilers these days.
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Dec 13, 2017 16:48
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I can't believe that Rachel finds out her real mom is a Sith Lord and Chloe astrally projects herself across the entire universe after smoking a dankass blunt.
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Dec 13, 2017 16:50
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exquisite tea posted:Apparently some review sites have gotten early access to the first 30 minutes of Episode 3, link here. For some reason the image of Chloe sitting in her Ariel costume while William looks like he's pretending to drive is hilarious to me. Watched the dream sequence out of curiosity, it's interesting but I'm gonna guess there's going to be at least one more before the episode is finished (I hope so anyway). Chloe is much more talkative here than any of the other dreams though, flat out telling "William" that this isn't real and it's all probably based on her own fears (we also get a few more hints that the raven is probably not literally William). She also states that she doesn't want to be an actor, she wants to be herself, which is honestly a lot more introspection than I was expecting from this prequel. But yeah, based on what we've seen so far Episode 3 is looking really good. Assuming it doesn't trip at the finish line it might even wind up being better than Polarized in some aspects. Larryb fucked around with this message at 18:41 on Dec 13, 2017 |
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Dec 13, 2017 17:00
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