Developer: Deck Nine
Publisher: Square Enix Holdings
Release date: October 19, 2017
Available on: PC, PS4 (reviewed), Xbox One
WARNING: Contains spoilers from Episode 1- Awake.
The second episode of Deck Nine’s prequel Life is Strange: Before the Storm, titled “Brave New World,” begins the following morning after the end of the first episode “Awake”. The fire accidentally started by Rachel and Chloe has grown in size, and while authorities suspect arson, neither of them find themselves in trouble for that. At least, not yet. They do find themselves in trouble for skipping school, however, resulting in Chloe being suspended and Rachel not being allowed to perform in the school’s production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
A lot of the episode feels like filler material, though it does fill in some blanks for Life is Strange. We see where Chloe gets her truck and how things came about to be set up in the junkyard shack. Chloe further irritates David, gets contacted by Frank, and finds herself in a situation that could have long reaching consequences. Chloe also finds herself put upon to perform, creating a sequence that begins awkwardly yet actually plays out nicely. We learn more about the mysterious woman the girls spied Rachel’s father with in the park. While the episode felt a bit uneven, as with “Awake” the ending of “Brave New World” elevated things, leaving us with a nice cliffhanger until the release of the third episode, “Hell is Empty”.
As with the first episode, the voice acting is inconsistent. Ashly Burch is sorely missed as the voice of Chloe. Rhianna DeVries sounds at times like she’s haphazardly reading Chloe’s lines from a piece of paper rather than acting. The rest of the cast isn’t much better. That’s not to say they don’t deliver in a few scenes, but the inconsistency is off-putting.
It doesn’t help that this episode seemed to have a bunch of filler, both involving fetch quests. The task from Frank introduces a little element of danger, but how it will all factor in remains to be seen.
The highlight, aside from the great reveal at the ending, turns out to be the school play. As before, the soundtrack by Daughter is terrific, with the songs beautifully complimenting the mood in the scenes where they’re used. It still feels uncertain how they’re going to generate enough suspense for episode three. We know how things tragically play out. It’s going to be interesting to see how Deck Nine tackles that fact, as they need to deliver properly to have the emotional impact necessary. The Backtalk feature really feels like a waste, as it’s near impossible to fail. Also, Chloe’s dream sequences seem lacking when compared to Max’s visions in the first game.
It at least is staying consistent and proving solid enough to keep my interest. I can only hope Deck Nine has been saving the best for last.
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