Life Is Strange Before the Storm: dad dead. so what

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Life Is Strange Before the Storm: dad dead. so what

rio: Mar 20, 2008

The voice acting was lame but I still enjoyed it. There was an enjoyable experience if you could suspend your disbelief after hearing them read their lines for the first time into the microphone sounding like they had never seen them before.

I am very much looking forward to episode free but I�m afraid that they are going to leave a ton of open ends and ten sloppily try to address them in a montage at the end of the game.

I�m really curious what is going to happen in the extra content at the end with Max. I am imagining that it will be just scenes of her looking at her phone every time Chloe texts and putting it back down without replying while continuing doing whatever it was that she was doing while an indy rock song plays in the background.

# ¿ Nov 16, 2017 15:03

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# ¿ May 14, 2024 04:23

rio: Mar 20, 2008

I won�t mind if they are scenes set to music as long as they actually finish both of them and not leave one seemingly rushed, short and ineffective compared to the other one. I still can�t see the bae ending as legitimate since the bay ending was so much better done and actually seemed finished.

# ¿ Nov 30, 2017 05:34

rio: Mar 20, 2008

I kind of wondered if there is even going to be a choice at the end that has any consequence whatsoever. We know what happens to everyone that matters - I am curious to see how they do it and also hope that it is done well. At the end of Ep. 2 I was really surprised it ended there since there was just so much they didn�t get into and to fit that all into the last episode is going to be pretty heroic if they can do it well.

# ¿ Nov 30, 2017 06:06

rio: Mar 20, 2008

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.

# ¿ Dec 7, 2017 00:32

rio: Mar 20, 2008

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.

# ¿ Dec 7, 2017 00:49

rio: Mar 20, 2008

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.

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.

Maybe a drug dealing sim with a dog happiness gauge mini game. I�d play it.

# ¿ Dec 8, 2017 00:58

rio: Mar 20, 2008

I just found and bought it on the App Store and came to post that too. I wasn�t really planning on another playthrough but I wanted to support them with a purchase. So now it looks like I am going to do a playthrough. I wonder if they edited anything - the App Store is pretty restrictive and having scenes with drug use, suicide, torture etc. seems like poo poo they�d restrict.

# ¿ Dec 17, 2017 00:23

rio: Mar 20, 2008

Anyone who has finished it, how long is this episode? The same length as the other two? I will probably play it in one burst tonight but I�m wondering how much time to carve out.

# ¿ Dec 19, 2017 22:06

rio: Mar 20, 2008

Larryb posted:

Roughly about two or three hours or so. Also strangely enough the final choice only really seems to affect one scene, the rest of the ending plays out about the same regardless (though I believe it is altered slightly depending on your choices throughout the game).

Cool, thanks for the info. I�m look my forward to playing it but it�ll be sad not having more episodes to look forward to and have the only thing left with these characters being the Max prologue. I am still excited to see what happens with LiS2 though. I hope they have a neat mechanic in it like 1 had the time rewinding. I have enjoyed Before the Storm a lot but that rewind mechanic was a cool idea and backtalk felt tacked in rather than an integral part of the gameplay and story like rewinding was.

# ¿ Dec 19, 2017 22:28

rio: Mar 20, 2008

I chose to tell Rachel the truth. I actually did struggle with it because as a dad I can relate with trying to protect your daughter but Rachel deserved to know about her mom and I don�t think Chloe would have hid the truth from Rachel.

I do feel like I made some wrong choices along the way because the absence of any explanation of what what happened during the confrontation scene didn�t make any sense. I grabbed the knife but didn�t use it, offered to give Damon the money and got the poo poo beaten out of me, Sera was drugged and tied up and then all of the sudden Chloe was unharmed and talking to Sera at the table. What the heck happened, is it supposed to be mysterious or did I make wrong choices to not have it explained? I laughed at Frank pouring one out for his one time homie and I guess Frank killed Damon and then cut Sera loose? It just felt weird to leave that open ended.

I also am not a big fan of just getting the bracelet being the only thing that would make Sera want to meet with Rachel. That is such a small choice and I didn�t choose it for canon reasons (since Frank had it I didn�t think that Chloe would have had it to begin with) and if that is the one thing that enabled the scene where Sera would meet Rachel then that really sucks. I mean 8% of people in the statistics got Rachael to see her mother - that is bad and seems like they should have designed it differently.

Regarding Eliot, I am torn because my heart was pumping in that scene but it also felt like too little too late since they didn�t put much time into him earlier. It was a well done scene but I think that they should have built up to it a little more in earlier episodes.

I can think of several things I would do different if I were to play through again, which I probably won�t. Just choosing what I think Chloe would have done ended up screwing me in terms of getting a �happy ending� in some ways. (Nathan at the end after not telling him to accept that girl�s affection was a small thing but a downer, although probably appropriate). When Chloe drives up at the end and kisses her hand and flips off Wells I cracked up and the ending was pretty satisfying either way.

Also gently caress whoever decided to put that bit in after the credits

# ¿ Dec 20, 2017 04:20

rio: Mar 20, 2008

I think that final ending would have been really cool if it was done without us having played the original series yet. Mysterious, threatening but not a blatant �you are going to feel bad now� moment that wa really heavy handed while the ending up to that point was subtly bittersweet.

Edit: also heavy handed since that wouldn�t have even been possible (no phone signal there)

# ¿ Dec 20, 2017 05:04

rio: Mar 20, 2008

I have one more question about the stats at the end. I did the tabletop game in the hospital but it says I didn�t AND that 0% of people did it. Are they talking about something else or is that bugged?

# ¿ Dec 20, 2017 05:10

rio: Mar 20, 2008

Paul Zuvella posted:

Aaaaaand credits. It wrapped up a little better, but there are just so many things in this episode that are head scratching.

How does frank get away with murdering a person under active investigation by the DA?

How does Chloe break into the DAs house and burn evidence without going to jail

How do Rachel's parents not know their house has been broken into when they are at the hospital at the end of the game?

Why is Rachel Amber's family not shamed and forced to sell their giant mansion after their family is shamed for the DA being a corrupt piece of poo poo that literally tried to murder someone

How does Sera not die after being injected with a huge dose of Heroin after being clean for a year?

The Elliot stuff just seemed completely boggled from beginning to end in all 3 episodes, to be honest.

The game just tried to set way too many things up in the first 3 episodes and like I guess it technically resolved them all but none of them feel particularly well wrapped up. I get Heroin sucks and addiction is rough but are we really supposed to buy that Sera goes right from completely abandoning her year long quest to meeting her daughter after one go?

Also seeming to be completely sober while sitting at the table after somehow being freed from her restraints

I enjoyed it but I think that is because of the merits of the original game and not because this was particularly good by itself. Or perhaps it was good but the original game was so good that this did not seem to meet up to my expectations.

# ¿ Dec 20, 2017 06:48

rio: Mar 20, 2008

Macaluso posted:

gently caress me, this last (I assume it's the last choice) is way loving harder than choosing Chloe or Arcadia Bay. Like gently caress.

On one hand you have "protecting her from the truth" which I guess is sort of better for her in the long run? Rachel's family is absolutely gonna get torn apart if I tell her the truth here, and Rachel's actual real birth mom wants it to be that way. On the other hand though, Rachel already feels like she's been living a lie her whole life and on top of that, she basically has to act and wear a mask all the time, at least she feels that way. If you gave HER these two choices she'd choose to know the truth in a heartbeat because A) she doesn't want lies anymore and B) she trusts Chloe to be totally real with her. But then again, Rachel is going to basically explode in anger and it's gonna be bad for everyone and gaahhhhh

I'm just sitting here at the pause screen going back and forth trying to figure out which is the best option here cause gently caress man

Take solace in knowing that there is one ending and your choice has no real impact

Edit:

Paul Zuvella posted:

WAIT YOU CAN PLAY D&D AGAIN WHAT THE gently caress. I TALKED TO STEPH AND SHE SAID ONE THROWAWAY LINE AND THAT WAS IT

You have to have the younger brother with a broken arm rather than the older brother with the broken leg to be able to play D&D. Sucks because it was one of the highlights of the episode - not quite as cool as the game in Ep. 1 but still highly enjoyable and has some bit too subtle foreshadowing to the original game.

Nameless Pete posted:

Quoting this from the Reddit for those upset about the lack of a certain resolution:

If true, I'm a little pissed.

Uh, wow that�s a terrible game design decision. So it is basically a backtalk scene that is not actually a backtalk scene. But I guess that makes sense since they were presenting backtalk originally as the mechanic to replace rewind and then had it not have any use the way they implemented it, leaving out what would have been the most important backtalk scenes of the game and giving you control of the outcome there rather than have it as a variable hidden in the game that we have no idea about.

rio fucked around with this message at 07:42 on Dec 20, 2017

# ¿ Dec 20, 2017 07:37

rio: Mar 20, 2008

Larryb posted:

As an aside, I noticed that the conversation with Nightmare Max actually changes depending on how you play the game. During my recent playthrough I didn't do any of the optional conversations where Max can use her powers to make herself look smarter/more caring by regurgitating information she gained by talking to them previously (with the exception of Courtney if only to make getting into the Vortex Club later a little easier) so as a result the Nightmare didn't grill me about trying to be popular.

But conversely, I let David kill Jefferson and didn't help anyone during the storm section so she (rightly) more or less called me a murderer instead. I'm now kind of curious how the conversation goes if you didn't do anything worthy of her getting on your case about.

Letting David kill Jefferson should be canon.

# ¿ Jan 7, 2018 05:03

rio: Mar 20, 2008

That was a brutal ending. I mean I expected something like that but they really love to twist the knife.

I think the next game should be a Chloe slice of life/dating sim, perhaps giving her superpowers. After all of the poo poo she�s been through she deserves some fluffy non consequential stuff in her life.

rio fucked around with this message at 06:41 on Mar 6, 2018

# ¿ Mar 6, 2018 06:39

rio: Mar 20, 2008

Larryb posted:

Nice, so this must be in the "fixed" timeline then. Considering that she already knew Max was moving, it's likely that Chloe just wrote off that whole speech of hers earlier about never abandoning her as nervousness on Max's part.

A couple other things I found:

- If you don't look at the Jawbreaker in Chloe's room her drawing at the end will be of Max getting a tattoo instead.

-The message on the answering machine is only there if you talked to Chloe about Blackwell (you might have to read the email between her parents and Principle Wells too, I'm not sure). Oddly enough, the woman who voiced Marisa's mother on the machine is not listed in the end credits (unless it was just Burch or Telle pulling double-duty).

-It's possible to lock yourself out of getting the final photo with Chloe (not sure what causes this, it might have something to do with not taking a photo together with her at the beginning).

As much as I like Chloe, her story has been pretty well told at this point (since you could argue that she's just as if not more important than Max is in the first game). I think if they ever come back to Arcadia Bay they should give somebody else a turn in the spotlight for a change. Chloe could still be a side character if need be, just not the main focus.

I looked at the jawbreaker - twice in fact, when looking for trash and when looking for the map, and got the picture of max getting Chloe�s initials tattooed on her. I didn�t realize there was an alternate picture. What was it? There must have been some other variable other than the jawbreaker

# ¿ Mar 6, 2018 07:12

rio: Mar 20, 2008

WhiskeyWhiskers posted:

Did you lick it? It's a picture of Max licking the jawbreaker with something like, 'this jawbreaker's going to last forever' and Chloe says something to the effect of, 'just like our friendship.'

No, how did you get the option to lick it? Both times I looked at it the text was the same, about how Max thought it was weird that she would keep it or something like that.

# ¿ Mar 6, 2018 07:47

rio: Mar 20, 2008

WhiskeyWhiskers posted:

There should have been an option to trash it, at which point you lick it.

Oh that�s weird. I didn�t have the trash option either time I looked at it.

# ¿ Mar 6, 2018 08:03

rio: Mar 20, 2008

exquisite tea posted:

I think all segments of the fanbase that actively hate any of the three principle leads from the series are weird and I question their understanding of the game as a whole. I don�t know if any superfans truly hate Chloe though, that mostly comes from people who just don�t connect with LiS at all.

Yeah, they did a good job humanizing all of them and not making any of them unrealistically perfect. I can certainly not like some of the things they did but I definitely can�t hate any of them.

# ¿ Mar 6, 2018 15:24

rio: Mar 20, 2008

I think Nathan did it. It makes sense that if that was his first time he would have hosed up the dosage and gave her too much my accident. He was being manipulated by Jefferson so he is ultimately responsible but I have no problem believing that she died to Nathan�s fuckup.

# ¿ Mar 7, 2018 04:09

rio: Mar 20, 2008

I think they put Max and Chloe in different clothes so that we wouldn�t know what day it was in Farewell. A lot of people were expecting a happy romp through memory lane like what it started as and thought to themselves that it couldn�t possibly have been *that* day because the clothing was different. It was a pretty smart way to twist the knife I thought and catch us off guard.

# ¿ Mar 18, 2018 04:03

rio: Mar 20, 2008

I find it very interesting that he specifically didn�t want the camera flashes or the context of anything happening to Rachel during the phone scene. I think I wouldn�t have minded it as much if that was how it was and I wonder how it got in the ending if he didn�t want it there. Were there higher ups who made the decision? Something that other devs just snuck in (which sounds possible from what he said but seems strange)?

It wasn�t what they did that was the issue for me - if this came out before the original LiS then it could have been a cool, ambiguous way to lead someone into the original series. But knowing what was happening and having it in such a way that everyone is imagining exactly what is happening just didn�t serve a point other than to be a cheap emotion getter. Everyone played LiS who is playing this prequel and saw what happened to Max - we all know about the dark room and what happens there. That wasn�t part of this prequel and felt tacked on in a tacky (sorry) way, whereas just the phone ringing would have given the effect it seemed like they wanted without being gross, exploitative and still relevant to the game we just played. Also, more to imagine without it being fed to us (like, �see, she�s getting tortured right now and this is the last thing you�ll remember from this game and you have no choice of how to interpret it�)

# ¿ Apr 10, 2018 14:17

rio: Mar 20, 2008

I finally played through Captain Spirit in anticipation and triggered the ending way too early. I didn�t know anything about it except Hawt Dawg Man so even though it was an obvious trigger in retrospect I didn�t know it was coming. Oh well, I�ll play it again before LiS2 comes out since choices carry over. It definitely got me excited for the game because the storytelling is just great. I was going to play it with my daughter, who is 6 because it looked fun but I�m glad I decided to check it out first since it isn�t the innocent romp it seemed like it would be.

# ¿ Sep 9, 2018 06:34

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# ¿ May 14, 2024 04:23

rio: Mar 20, 2008

Is a dad who makes their daughter leave their best friend right after her father�s funeral really that great though?

# ¿ Sep 21, 2018 03:44

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Life Is Strange Before the Storm: dad dead. so what