YMMV / Life Is Strange: Before the Storm

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Rachel Amber, particularly due to her enigmatic nature. Why did she genuinely want to leave the town this bad and what led her make those mistakes in future? Did she become a drug addict like her mom at the end, hence why she made those mistakes?
  • Is the friendship/relationship between Rachel and Chloe real, or is Rachel just using her? Going by Before the Storm alone it's hard to tell, but the revelations about Rachel and Frank from the first game call it into question. Is Rachel just looking for somebody, anybody, who can help her run away from her problems?
  • Lots of players are also inferring that Rachel has some superpowers. It's hinted with the forest scene and throughout Episode 2 that Rachel has some sort of empathic link with fire — the forest fire that she started is mentioned to be burning more fiercely than could be expected, which echoes the anger and emotional turmoil Rachel is going through, and when having dinner with her parents the candles on the table noticeably start burning higher when she starts getting angry. Dream William also implicitly compares Rachel to the forest fire, which would make it a case of Personality Powers. When she is stabbed in episode 3 and taken to the hospital, two of the firefighters in that hospital mention that the fire immediately went out right around the same time. Samuel's interpretation about Rachel Amber, that he is seeing her as "a dragon made of diamonds" also leaves more room to the interpretation.
  • Is Joyce an Extreme Doormat who is constantly, miserably caught between her new love and her daughter bickering back and forth, which is made even more complex when Both Sides Have a Point, or is she an enabler of the abuse of her daughter by a man she just started dating and is already throwing his weight around? She has just as much scenes of her taking Chloe's side, especially if she stays on a relatively straight path, as she does remaining complacent and idle as David inches into very toxic, abusive territory. It's pretty clear that she doesn't seem entirely okay with either person's standing, but she can occasionally be seen as being way too lenient with David's more uncalled for actions when she should be completely shutting it down, considering he is not legally Chloe's stepfather yet, and even so, some of his actions are completely inexcusable, especially by the time of the original.
  • The game itself makes it an open question whether James Amber is just a seedy politician or a Knight Templar Parent. Damon thinks he's the former but Sera thinks he's the latter.
  • It also raises the question of how justified James is in keeping Sera and Rachel estranged. On one hand, Sera was an unfit parent who used drugs irresponsibly while looking after a baby and James is right to say that Sera shouldn't be forgiven that quickly for doing something so dangerous. On the other hand, the fact that Sera had been trying so hard to redeem herself and reconnect with Rachel should have afforded her some clemency from James. Is James right to be so protective of Rachel?
  • Also related to James, his facial expression in the "Truth" ending after Chloe tells Rachel about his involvement with Damon Merrick. Is he simply embarrassed that he's been exposed, or does he actually feel guilty about what he did to Sera?
• Aluminum Christmas Trees: When playing two truths and a lie, one of the lies involves Chloe claiming she had her "Yoo-Hoo" stolen by a classmate. This is an actual product (a chocolate flavoured soda which vaguely resembles a milkshake), but not well known outside the United States, which lead a lot of non-American players to assume it's a fake product along the lines of the Hawt Dawg Man.
• Angst Aversion
  • Given what happens to Rachel and (potentially) Chloe in Life is Strange, some players found it difficult to emotionally invest in them during the events of Before the Storm.
  • Any attempts to get an at least decent relationship with David in Before the Storm are all pretty much moot considering he and Chloe will have a very poor relationship regardless in the future.
• Angst? What Angst?:
  • Rachel accidentally sets off a forest fire at the end of episode 1 that keeps rampaging in the background for the entirety of episode 2, yet Rachel and especially Chloe don't seem to mind this at all, with the latter even commenting on finding the fire some aesthetically pleasing thing. Slightly avoided in the third episode, where Chloe is noticably off-put by the destruction to the forest it caused. However, since she's in the middle of her attempt to save Sera she doesn't have long to dwell on it.
  • If Victoria drinks drugged tea in episode 2, she will faint in the middle of the group she's standing in with barely anyone reacting, instead they discuss who will take her place now that she's unconscious, as she's lying passed out with open eyes right beside them.
• Annoying Video Game Helper: Ironically, Chloe herself for some players. Like what was done in the previous game with Max, Chloe will occasionally narrate to herself what she has to do or what the next objective is when the player is taking a while to get from point a to b. What's annoying about it is that when you have Chloe inspecting objects or people the aforementioned dialogue will either cut out or be played over the dialogue you're trying to hear. This wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that there are several objects in the game that she can only inspect once. And unlike Max, she can't rewind time for an opportunity to re-hear what was spoken over. This is especially bad if you're trying to listen to the conversation about Nathan behind the door in the hospital during the third episode.
• Base-Breaking Character:
  • Chloe. While she was already a divisive character from Life Is Strange, her role as the protagonist seems to have split the fanbase's opinion on her even further. While some would argue that Chloe makes for a more interesting protagonist than Max due to the story being more centered around her, her abrasive and conniving personality still being played out even if the player tries to play Chloe as a nicer person has turned off a number of players from wanting to play as Chloe.
  • Rachel. Though many fans enjoy getting to know Rachel and feel her portrayal goes a long ways towards explaining why Chloe was so devoted to her, others find it hard to root for her due to The Reveal in Life is Strange where the player finds out she lied to Chloe and hid her relationship with Frank from her. This makes many of Rachel and Chloe's heartwarming moments Harsher in Hindsight, especially if the player romanced Rachel. It also doesn't help that, depending on interpretation, Rachel can come across as manipulative of Chloe's emotions despite knowing what Chloe is also dealing with, which some fans feel off-putting.
  • Joyce. Some feel like she is a woman going through a lot of pain moving on from her late husband's death, and that the bickering between Chloe and David is very unfair to her, as she clearly just wants a happy home again. Others aren't so sympathetic, the reason being that she seemingly enables a lot of David's abusive behavior towards her daughter with almost no intervention. The only time she seems to take Chloe's side is if she doesn't have anything incriminating on her, like money she can steal from a T-shirt vendor or some weed she can buy from Frank. If Chloe has either of those things, she's rightfully disappointed, but still plays along with David's abrasiveness. Whether this is her genuinely having abusive intent or just her being an Extreme Doormat with Conflicting Loyalty depends on who you ask.
  • David. He was definitely a divisive character in the original game, and that's no different here. Being a prequel, David hasn't done any of the really awful things he does later in life yet, but he still has his moments where a player could either sympathize with Chloe's seething hatred towards him, or see him as a Designated Villain. First off, he calls Chloe "girly" as a sort of pet name and wonders aloud why women "always take forever to get ready". He then tells Chloe that she enjoyed too much of a "vacation from a father figure", as if making light of William's death. Finally, if Chloe thanks him for a ride to school (keep in mind that this is the only "nice" dialogue option with David that has no hint of sarcasm or hesitance), he takes it as her acting sarcastic anyway. In the next episode, he forces Chloe to empty her pockets in suspicion that she's been up to illegal activities, even if she doesn't have anything incriminating on her person. In the final episode, he can hesitantly muster up the courage to apologize to Chloe, attempting to relate to her pain of losing William (and by extension, Max) by telling her the tale of his deceased army buddy. Many see all of these things as evidence that Chloe's vitriol for David is well-founded, but there are those that point out that Chloe does act backhanded enough for David to understandably be wary of her praise, the fact that Chloe does engage in illegal activities even if she hasn't stolen money or bought weed, and David was genuinely trying to relate to Chloe's pain, even if initially he was afraid to speak up. As always, your opinion on David is entirely yours.
  • Max. This game provides extra context as to why Chloe was so pissed with her three years later. Max only initiates conversation once and replies only occasionally while is Chloe desperately trying to get her former best friend to say something, anything, to make her feel less alone. This helps Chloe seem less Unintentionally Unsympathetic with the way she came down so hard on Max in the original game, but there's a sizable portion of the fanbase that feels like this gives Max some very harsh Cerebus Retcon, as it feels less like an shy anxiety sufferer having a hard time finding the right thing to say and more like a shitty so-called "friend" completely ignoring someone who genuinely loves her, and with whom she shares a deep past with.
  • The Caulfields in general are now viewed in a (more) unflattering light, thanks to "Farewell." Apart from Max's actions, we now have Ryan and Vanessa, Max's parents, forcing Max to leave Chloe and Joyce straight from William's funeral. This was seen as such a Moral Event Horizon and some seething Cerebus Retcon that a fair share of fans hate Max's parents or even the entire Caulfield clan thanks to it. There are, of course, fans who see this as a very unnecessary demonization of characters that did absolutely no wrong prior, as Max's parents were pretty clear-cut Good Parents who only left Arcadia Bay due to Ryan's new job.
• Broken Base:
  • The texts sent between Chloe and Max during the few years they spent apart. Life is Strange implies that while Max was at fault for not keeping contact, Chloe didn't exactly go out of her way to talk to her either. However, in Before the Storm, we see Chloe sending several texts to Max, which only get half-assed replies half the time, and no response at all the rest. Some players feel this makes Chloe's anger look more justified, while others think it might unintentionally be a bad look for Max, making her appear apathetic and negligent.
  • Chloe and David's relationship. While their relationship was contentious enough in Life is Strange, the fact that David is Chloe's mom's boyfriend instead of her stepfather has drawn fresh debate. While Chloe snipes at David and shuts down his efforts to bond with her, some argue that David doesn't give Chloe much reason to respect him when he pressures Chloe to accept a new father figure and assumes the worst of her (even if the player chooses the 'nicer' options involving David), which makes her actions in the original game easier to sympathize with. Others argue that Chloe's abrasiveness about David is more unfair to Joyce, especially when it's clear Joyce is struggling to find some happiness and move on from William's death.
  • Rachel (potentially) drugging Victoria to keep her role in the play was seen as either a hilarious bout of Laser-Guided Karma, or a jarringly selfish act from a character we are supposed to sympathize with. Kate's experience with Nathan and Jefferson back in the first game also added fuel to the debate. And that Victoria will try drugging Rachel if Chloe takes the blame with Wells blurs the lines even further.
  • The inclusion of The Stinger at the end of episode 3. While Rachel's fate is a Foregone Conclusion, part of the fanbase felt the ending was mean-spirited. Other parts of the fanbase felt it was only appropriate to end the prequel where the original game began: Rachel's disappearance.
• Complete Monster: Damon Merrick is a feared, psychopathic crime boss within Arcadia Bay, known for operating dog fighting and drug rings, and is tied to multiple assaults and even murder. Damon is introduced hunting down and beating down Drew North for money he owes him and either shatters his knee, ruining his football career, which he taunts him about; or breaks the arm of Drew's little brother Mikey if he is paid his money. Confronting Chloe and Rachel while they look for Rachel's mother, Sera, Damon threatens them, stabbing Rachel upon getting into an altercation with her, landing her in the hospital. Discovered to have abducted Sera for Rachel's District Attorney father, James, Damon has been promised evidence against him would be destroyed, as well as a cash payment and the name of an informant he intends to kill. Planning to force Sera back into drug addiction to make her relapse, Damon tries to kill both Chloe and Frank, his best friend, when they try to stop him.
• Contested Sequel: The prequel is made by a different development studio, centres the game on a character as base-breaking as she is beloved, replacing the entire voice cast (albeit because of the voice actors' strike), only having three episodes and removes the time travel mechanics, which was a significant element in the first game. It was a given the game would be controversial among the fandom. The dominant complaint is that the game is an unnecessary addition to the story and a shameless case of Pandering to the Base, focusing on a character whose story arc was already concluded simply because of her popularity without featuring the mystery and life-or-death stakes that made the original game compelling to them. Other fans praise it for the same reasons, with some finding it improved upon the original in many ways.
• Critical Dissonance: Much like the late episodes of the original game, Before the Storm has been well received by critics, but once again faces very different opinions from some fans of the series who find it an unworthy followup that strays too far from the main gameplay and story mechanics of the original.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Steph has been getting a lot of love for having a crush on Rachel, for being an incredible Dungeons & Dragons DM, and for selling pirated DVDs to her fellow students on the sly. Her cute design and friendly- if snarky- nature only add to her appeal. Deck Nine appear to have been aware of her popularity with the fandom, as she's set to return as an Ascended Extra and potential Love Interest for the protagonist of Life Is Strange: True Colors. She's even Promoted to Playable in the DLC!
  • Samantha has quite a few fans for not only being sweet and softly spoken, but for being one of the few Blackwell students on Nathan's side. Her cute design makes her stand out from the other female teenagers, and remind some fans of Max from the original game.
  • Skip Matthews has his own fanbase due his nicer attitude towards Chloe and other Blackwell students compared to his future replacement David and the songs of his band Pisshead received a positive reception, with some fans even wanting more music from the band in future instalaments.
• Even Better Sequel: Or prequel, as it were. A number of fans have enjoyed the game even more than the original due to the toned-down Totally Radical dialogue and greater focus on character study over murder-mystery.
• Fan-Disliked Explanation: As seen over on the WMG page for the game, Word of God has it that hints towards Rachel having elemental powers are a deliberate Red Herring, and the events giving that impression are all massive coincidences. Needless to say, most fans of the series have elected to ignore that in favour of continuing to speculate. This is so prevalent that the ambiguity has even re-ascended into canon somewhat, going so far as to have Rachel's potential powers teased even more heavily when she returns in the tie-in comics.
• Fanon Discontinuity: Not overly prevalent, but there are some Life Is Strange fans who don't regard the game as canon because it was developed by Deck Nine rather than DONTNOD. ^note Even though it was handed over to another dev team mainly due to time constraints, since DONTNOD were already working on Life Is Strange 2; and was very much done with their blessing and using all the same assets. The voice actors were changed because of a VO union strike during development, not because of the studio change; and Chloe's original VA Ashly Burch took a significant role in developing her character's backstory in this game. This opinion seems especially prevalent among some Pricefield (Max/Chloe) shippers who disliked the game's focus on and confirmation of Amberprice (Chloe/Rachel) as a canonically romantic relationship. Otherwise, the extensive lore breaks (see the main page's Continuity Snarl entry) and/or perceived unnecessary retcons are enough to make some fans completely disregard this game as canon.
• Genius Bonus: Pirate fan Chloe's license plate, ANBONNY, references the real-life female pirate Ann Bonney. Her childhood cat was named Calico Jack, referencing both its breed and the real-life pirate Calico Jack Rackham. Though almost all calico cats are actually female.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • Any time that Rachel expresses her desire to leave Arcadia Bay behind, because it's done nothing but drag her down. Not only does Rachel never get to follow her dream, she's murdered and buried in the place that she despises so much.
  • One of the graffiti options in the junkyard is "burial ground". In season 1 the junkyard is where Rachel ends up being buried.
  • Rachel's near death in episode 3. Chloe's desperation and fear of losing her, followed by her relief when Rachel wakes up and Rachel's reassurances that she's not going anywhere easily, hits hard with The Stinger.
  • The bonus episode, "Farewell," is full of these:
    • The Price family's plans for the future, including Joyce considering going back to school and William's plans to surprise Chloe with a family trip.
    • Chloe's excitement for Blackwell and its teachers, as well as the fact she once scored high grades, especially in contrast to her later hatred of 'Blackhell'.
    • Max and Chloe's statements that they'll always be together and that they'll stay in contact with Max promising in her final message to Chloe that they'll write and talk and it'll be as though she never left, when it's established they'll lose touch with each other over the years.
• Heartwarming in Hindsight:
  • When the game first came out it could be difficult to play due the foregone conclusions regarding Rachel causing many cases of Harsher in Hindsight which in-turn lead to many fans of the main game to pull an Angst Aversion. The main game's sequel comic alleviated this quite a bit by revealing several universes where Rachel lived. The main setting for the post-issue 4 entries even has Max meeting and befriending one of these Rachel's, who's happily in LA and dating Chloe, and even becomes the happy couple's roommate. As a result, it is much easier to play through the game and appreciate Rachel and Chloe's relationship, as you can now simply ignore The Stinger featuring Rachel in the Dark Room and instead choose to intemperate the game as being the timeline where Chloe and Rachel made it out of Arcadia Bay.
  • Chloe can suggest to Rachel that they run away to New York. While, obviously, this tragically never came to fruition, Life Is Strange 2 reveals that Chloe did in fact make it to New York with Max, depending on the ending you chose in the original game.
  • Any attempt by Chloe and/or David to be compassionate to one another becomes this after Life Is Strange 2 reveals that if Chloe is still alive, after leaving Arcadia Bay with Max, she reaches back out to David and reconciles with him, becoming very close to the point of visiting and saying "I love you" to each other.
• Ho Yay: A drugged Victoria says of Rachel that "her face is so blurry... and pretty..."
• I Knew It!:
  • A lot of people correctly guessed that there was going to be a confrontation with Eliot, revealing his Yandere obsession to Chloe in Episode 3.
  • Some people also correctly guessed that Sera is Rachel's mother, based on their similar appearance.
• It's Short, So It Sucks!: It's only three episodes long compared to the original series' five episodes. To make up for this, the episodes are longer.
• It's the Same, So It Sucks: There are complaints that David's Character Development in this game is the exact same character arc he went through in the original game, which on top of not making much sense considering this game's nature as a prequel, just feels like a rehash.
• Jerkass Woobie: In tune with the series' commitment to exploring both the good and the bad in people, almost everyone in this game is appropriately to some extent a Jerkass and to someone extent a Woobie. However, some still manage to stand out.
  • Chloe. Despite her attitude and potential for unkind behavior, the reminders of how she used to be and how badly she's coping with school, mourning William, David and Joyce's relationship, and Max's estrangement makes her breakdowns heartbreaking. It's little wonder she turns out the way she does in the original.
  • David. He's clearly trying to be a good boyfriend to Joyce and a good ersatz father figure to Chloe. He's just doing such a horrible job of it, constantly saying horribly offensive things seemingly without being aware of it. You feel sorry for him while at the same time sympathising with Chloe wanting to beat him to death with a tire iron.
  • Nathan. He's a Rich Bastard who's already developing the disturbing tastes that are going to put him on Jefferson's radar and make him an accessory to kidnapping and murder. He's also an unhappy kid who's being bullied for his father's actions. Even Chloe admits in her journal that you have to feel sorry for him in theory, but also that it's hard to keep hold of that feeling when actually interacting with him.
  • Rachel. She's irritable, manipulative, impulsive, and almost seems to be written in a way that implies that Chloe behaves the way she does in the original game because she's imitating Rachel's own behavior. One might wonder how Chloe regarded her as her "angel" after seeing how she acts.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • "Smash-Smash-Smash-Smash" option.
  • Chloe's adorkable statement of 'Nice Rachel we're having' when she's trying to make small talk about the weather with Rachel is quickly picking up steam.
  • "Lesbian Simulator: The game" ^ExplanationWith time powers being absent from the story, both fans and detractors have questioned how Life is Strange is a fitting name at all and find the former a better fit, given how "playing a lesbian relationship" seem to be the main point of the story. This moniker is somewhat inaccurate, as both Rachel and Chloe are technically bisexual, although they still can't have any romantic relationships in the game but to each other.
  • 'You are about to dip' ^ExplanationChloe is given an option to graffiti the inside of her car, where she can write down what is meant to be 'you are about to die', but the way she writes the last letter makes it appear as a 'p' instead of an 'e'. This has elicited some humorous responses from several Lets Players.
• Moral Event Horizon:
  • Damon crosses the line when he either beats ill boy Mikey so bad that it breaks his arm or crippling Drew just for the sake of forcing money out of his client.
  • James Amber crosses it by hiring the aforementioned Damon Merrick to kidnap and drug Sera Gearhardt, all to prevent Rachel from seeing her birth mother.
• Narm:
  • The "Backtalk" feature is either this or Narm Charm, depending on whether you find Chloe's "arguments" in them to be painful or charming. For starters, the player is expected to believe that a character Chloe is arguing with will abruptly pause to allow her a chance to speak back at them in a moment of awkward silence. ^note Although, those pauses are Acceptable Breaks from Reality, as from a gameplay perspective, it would be really annoying or confusing (or both) if it worked like arguing in real life.
  • David's claim that Chloe has spent "enough of a vacation from a father figure" is a tough pill to swallow, not just because it's an absolutely disgusting and insensitive thing to say to someone still mourning the loss of their father, but also because it comes across as a desperate attempt to give Chloe more of a reason to hate David when at times it felt like she brought David's antagonism on herself. It can be excused as David just choosing his words poorly, but considering the more in-character moments of Jerkass he has in this game, one can't help but think this line could've been avoided entirely, considering how important family is to him.
  • Give Damon the money in episode 2, and Mikey will try to stop Chloe. Damon slaps him—there's a very quiet "smack", Mikey lets out an absolutely pathetic scream, and somehow injures his arm in the process. The implication is probably supposed to be that he has some sort of brittle bone condition, but still.
  • A lot of the voice acting can come off as this, particularly the stilted delivery's of William's lines whenever Chloe dreams about him. Many also find the way Rhianna DeVries tries so hard to sound exactly like Ashly Burch to make her acting for Chloe often sound awkward and forced (though she's seen as improving as the episodes go on). Rose Amber, though, is generally found to sound emotionless, if not zombie-like, especially in episode 3. Meanwhile, Kylie Brown's generally uncharismatic performance as Rachel Amber can make it difficult to take the character seriously, though she does have her moments.
  • The animation is vastly improved from the first game, but there are some times where it can be a bit too good. Characters can't seem to stand still and sway around a lot, often repeating exaggerated gestures and movements, which can come across as a bit goofy.
  • There are no timers to the "choose between two answers" parts, which can often result in this as not deciding on an option will just leave long and awkward silences.
  • In episode 3, Chloe has another dream where she sees her dad on the stage of the play before he gets hit by a truck. It's a sad scene... until the dream version of Victoria from the audience suddenly shouts "Booo!" at the grieving Chloe, which makes it hard not to let out a laugh instead.
  • Rachel's stabbing results in her almost instantly passing out from blood loss, lying weakly in the hospital for at least a day, and being surrounded by friends and family acting uncertain that she'll pull through—all from a single cut to her upper arm that didn't even damage the brachial artery.
• Narm Charm:
  • The "backtalk" mechanic, which allows Chloe to verbally spar with other characters with cheeky Chloe-isms to get what she wants. The lines are exactly as awkward and silly as what you'd expect spontaneous comebacks invented by a teenager to be, and this is reflected realistically in the reactions of her "opponents", who tend to relent more out of exasperation or amusement than genuine defeat. It especially works when she's talking back to other teenagers (like Drew), who get caught off-guard and lack the authority that would allow them to otherwise one-up her. The mechanic has led to a running joke among fans that Chloe's "superpower" is backtalk instead of time travel.
  • "Hella" as the maximum setting in the menu options, as a nod to the original game's love for the word.
  • Depending on who you ask, the potential to have Rachel and Chloe fall utterly in love after just a few days together is this. Largely due to them both being highly emotional, not to mention impulsive, teenage girls who are genuinely trying to help each other with their problems.
• Obvious Beta: Life is Strange: Remastered Collection has been widely criticized for being prone to bugs and having graphical, lightning and even frame issues among other things:
  • The game "subtitles", more often than not, appear as a line of code calling the name of the subtitles file instead of the actual subtitle content.
  • The lightning glitches a lot and is rather inconsistent , with objects looking different and sometimes being hard to spot.
  • In addition, character models suffers bizarre changes for no given reason, or items float in the air.
  • Framerates issues abound, with Playstation 4 and Xbox performance in particular dipping as low as 15 fps.
• Player Punch: The game ends on a seemingly happy note, with a montage of Chloe and Rachel having fun together, set to an upbeat soundtrack. The Stinger, however, ends with a shot of Rachel's phone showing the date of her disappearance from the original game, with 17 missed calls from Chloe. Even worse, the phone is clearly in the Dark Room, and players can hear someone taking pictures in the background.
  • Seeing Pompidou as a puppy can be one for players who accidentally got him killed in the first game.
• Portmanteau Couple Name:
  • Amberprice: Chloe x Rachel
  • Myerscott: Nathan x Samantha
  • Amberich: Rachel x Steph
• Salvaged Story
  • For players that found Chloe's personality in the original game off-putting, they are given a choice on how they shape Chloe's personality. While Chloe still has her Jerkass moments without player input, they can give her more Pet the Dog moments.
  • Similarly, some people felt Chloe came off as Unintentionally Unsympathetic and Wangsty with her issues. In the original game, it was implied that Chloe didn't make much of an effort in staying in touch with Max. Here, it shows that Chloe tried to stay in touch with Max, only for her to eventually stop replying to her messages. Another point of contention was her relationship with David, with some feeling that his strictness towards her was self-inflicted. Here, it shows David igniting some arguments between him and Chloe and acting like he's entitled to her respect when he did nothing to earn it.
  • The bonus episode "Farewell" not only having Max included in the game but the revelation that both Ashly Burch and Hannah Telle will perform a Role Reprise as their beloved characters have won over a lot of fans after all the complaints about the game.
  • The choice-dependent ending. A major point of contention among fans of the original is the stark difference in quality between its endings; many critics accused the devs of copping out at the end with a transparent decision that strongly pushed you in the "right" direction, and punished you with a "bad" ending if you chose differently. Unlike the original, both of Chloe's options at the climax have clear merits and drawbacks, a comparable emotional payoff, and neither is presented as more right than the other.
  • Minor case but some of the cringe-worthy dialogue present in the first episode either got changed and/or edited with the release of the latter two episodes. Noticeable is the "social media haters" line being taken from Chloe and given to Elliot, seemingly to emphasize how uncool he is.
• The Scrappy: Max's parents became a pair of Scrappies after the bonus episode "Farewell" revealed that they forced Max to leave Chloe for Seattle in the middle of William's funeral.
• Ship Mates: Amberprice (Chloe/Rachel) typically gets shipped along side Chasefield (Max/Victoria) or Marshfield (Max/Kate).
• Ships That Pass in the Night: There's a very small following on Tumblr that puts Sera and Rose together, seeing them as two women wronged by James Amber who deserve much better.
• Ship-to-Ship Combat: Chloe/Rachel and Chloe/Max, particularly due to the latter being a popular pairing from the original game and the former's status having a Foregone Conclusion. Some sections of Chloe/Rachel argue that Chloe has more chemistry with Rachel and that their relationship is more overt, while others resent or even dismiss the fact Chloe/Rachel clicked instantly while Chloe/Max took time to solidify something romantic. Others prefer to take a third option, or argue they're not mutually exclusive...
• Squick: Eliot's pushiness in regards to his relationship with Chloe was a big one for some players. In addition to his open distaste and jealousy of Rachel, depending on the player's choices, in episode 2, he'll hug Chloe extremely close for so long (and tight) that she clearly feels uncomfortable, making it feel like he wants to get closer with Chloe rather than actually comfort her. His creepy poetry, Samuel's words about him, and The Reveal of his true nature in episode 3 showed his true intentions and that he was obsessed with Chloe all along.
• Strangled by the Red String: Depending on the player's choices, Chloe and Rachel can fall in love within two days of meeting each other. This is compounded by the fact they plan to run away together, regardless of whether the player romances Rachel or not. Although some have noted the rushed feel makes sense since they're both highly impulsive and emotional teenagers.
• Special Effects Failure:
  • The lighting of the cutscenes compared to the actual game is pretty off. Many of the cutscenes are bathed in beautiful, lush sunlight, but the gameplay's lighting is a bit dim, or even dark, but overall just nowhere near as dynamic and expressive as the cutscenes, which leads to jarring cuts.
  • The scene in which Rachel gets stabbed is accompanied by "Burn It Down" by Daughter playing in the background, making for a very intense moment, but the music cuts off as Chloe drives off and a loading screen pops up, only to start back up rather awkwardly as Chloe rushes into the hospital with Rachel.
• They Changed It, So It Sucks: The game's biggest criticism among its detractors is that it is a different genre than Life Is Strange with no central mystery, no supernatural powers, and no explicit paranormal elements, instead feeling like a character study of Chloe and Rachel. Critics of this change argue that the story is remarkably low-stakes compared to the original game - which dealt with both an impending natural disaster and a serial kidnapper.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
  • Mr. Jefferson never makes a formal appearance in the game and is only treated as The Ghost in a post-credits scene. Some fans were upset that we were never shown his first encounter with Rachel despite his huge influence over her.
  • Samantha is treated a vague substitute for Chloe's best friend Max and has a possible romantic interest in Nathan, but she barely interacts with Chloe and ends up getting Demoted to Extra in the finale, where she has less than two scenes with Nathan.
  • Sera, Rachel's estranged mother gets her whole backstory told by an Unreliable Narrator and the player never truly gets to know her or her struggle all that well before she (potentially) departs the story forever. She's a mysterious character that frequently pops up all throughout the game and by the end of it she remains just as mysterious as when we first saw her.
  • Sean Prescott, the Greater-Scope Villain of the original game, finally makes a physical appearance in the story where we see his abusive relationship with his son, but Chloe interacts with him once then he quickly returns to being the same offscreen threat he was back on the first title. Many were hoping that he'd be the main antagonist over all the other villains.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • Whether Rachel has supernatural points or not. Though it's implied she has some ability as the forest fire instantly goes out when Rachel is stabbed, among other things, it's never directly touched on. The deer that was implied to be Rachel's spirit in the first game never shows up, either.
  • A lot of players feel this game would have been much better if it had been from Rachel's POV rather than Chloe's.
• Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: The fates of Chloe, Rachel, and many of the returning characters that awaits them three years later may cause many players to feel like their actions don't ultimately matter.
• Underused Game Mechanic: The backtalk mechanic was built up through the game to replace the time rewind mechanic but it was largely dropped in episode 3. As such, many players were disappointed they couldn't use backtalk to contribute to the final confrontation with Damon or even with Sera to convince her to see Rachel. Instead, the final backtalk is used on Eliot before the climax even begins.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: While many fans agree that finding out that your father is apparently cheating on your mother is certainly a very difficult realization, many of the same fans feel Rachel taking out her negative feelings on Chloe in the junkyard was unfair and unnecessarily mean. Lightened for most when she makes a tearful apology to Chloe and explains herself.
  • If you go for the interpretation that James is a Knight Templar Parent chances are you won't feel bad for him at all during the "Truth" ending, due to him having Sera kidnapped and forced to relapse, potentially putting her life at risk by setting her back on the path of serious drug addiction. Having his daughter hate him for essentially having a hired thug torture her mother (who he had been up until recently been keeping her a secret from Rachel) is more than deserved in the eyes of many.
  • Sera, depending on your view. While James did take his attempt to keep Rachel safe way too far, he did have a point about Sera attempting to come back after years of taking his bribe to stay away. Her letters do show that she made an effort in the more recent times, however that won't change the minds of some.
• Wangst: Some fans found Rachel's anger at her father's infidelity and her subsequent mistreatment of Chloe to be overblown and unsympathetic, especially when contrasted to Chloe's own palpable turmoil over her father's death.
  • Chloe's breakdown near the end of Episode 1 can come across as this to some, due to how abrupt and overblown the scene plays out right after her falling out with Rachel. It doesn't help that they barely knew each other at this point.
• The Woobie: Joyce. Not only is she trying to move on from William's death but she's also struggling with finances and raising Chloe. All she wants is for Chloe and David and her to be able to forward together but Chloe and David's incompatibilities constantly puts her in a tug-a-war between them.