Life is Strange: Before the Storm Ep 3 Review

Every choice you ever make leads to another choice. Except in Life is Strange: Before the Storm, Episode 3, where the prequel to Life is Strange concludes. Playing as a young Chloe Price, enamored with the complicated Rachael Amber; you continue to deal with mature theme after mature theme; in a world that is as dreamy, ephemeral and as fleeting as youth.

This is what makes the final episode of Before the Storm so powerful. It punctuates all that came before it tightly, and doesn't waste anytime progressing the narrative.

Pushing against ''challenging'' plot lines, Before the Storm somehow manages to touch on so many demographics and aspects of contemporary American society, from struggling single mothers, angst riddled, adolescent youths, veterans of recent conflicts struggling to find a place in life; people with money being highly influential even though their ideas aren't necessarily great, and the flirtations of youth with sexual discovery, alcohol, drugs, and other vices.

Without the supernatural game play elements and time travelling abilities of the original Life is Strange title, Before the Storm paints a coming of age tale across the faces of Chloe Price and Rachael Amber, where quoting Shakespeare, the game noting the fact that the "World's a Stage", before the bitterness of youth cynically responds, "and everyone in it is fake, and just acting."

You don't play Before the Storm for flashy visuals, twitchy moments of satisfaction. You play it to become immersed in an almost voyeuristic manner to the everyday thoughts and whims of teenage life.

Family drama, medical drama, personal drama, and tension abound throughout the game. Playing, I found myself mirroring Chloe, not wanting to go downstairs, for fear of speaking to a disappointed mother on mother's day. Wanting to hit Elliot, the kid that has a crush on Chloe, because how dare he move in on Rachael Amber's turf.

The final episode of Before the Storm takes all that came before and provides an excellent experience that I'm recommending everyone play. With any story where its easy to become attached to characters, you'll feel that a heap is still left to explore, but the incredible thing is - this tale is like a good book, the characters are changed by their experiences, and their lives continue, without you.

There's a strong sense of loss in that, and Life is Strange: Before the Storm delivers it eloquently.