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Life is Strange: Before the Storm - Why I Don't Want To Meet Rachel Amber
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- Опубліковано 10 сер 2017
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Nuance is such a fun technique because it's so seldom used or at least used well. I just see her very existence in this game the way it is being utilized as undoing a lot of the nuance that was used well in the original game.
Okay. So holy shit y'all. Few things.
1) First and foremost: I am not trying to tell you to not play the game or to not enjoy the game. That is not the purpose of videos like these. I am not trying to make anybody feel wrong for being eager in anticipation for Life is Strange: Before the Storm or feel wrong for enjoying the game when it comes out. I am not even necessarily saying that the contents of this video are detailing why I won't enjoy the game or why I think it will be bad because *I don't know*.
The purpose of this was to highlight what I felt to be a dissonance in the tone of nuance between the original game and what we have seen so far of BtS.
2) It is for this reason that I find comments like "Then don't play the game" infuriating and flippant, because I didn't get through to you the way I intended to. That may be on me, and I want to do better in the future. I would prefer that your thoughts toward what I had to say not be perceived as a negative opinion. Or even that you find "criticism" and "negativity" to have the same connotation. So when you say "Then don't play the game" I see arms crossed and a refusal to have a conversation about a topic that I find very interesting. Interesting enough to spend hours and hours in writing and rewriting a script, articulating a point, recording a voice over (one of my least favorite things to do), and compiling footage of an 8+ hour game to support my points and render and upload. "Don't play the game" is not a solution to a problem anybody here is having regarding Life is Strange: Before the Storm.
3) I don't believe anything is above criticism. Yes, even that favorite story of your's- the one that you hold near and dear to your heart. There is no perfect story, and that's okay. Criticism to me has always been a show of respect to a work. It means that the language of the medium has been internalized and taken to its logical extremities. It means that somebody has thought about one facet of your story *a lot*.
4) *I LIKE LIFE IS STRANGE* I don't know how many times I have to keep defending this point but I like the game. I like the characters. I like the story. At my heart I'm a story teller and so I am thoroughly impressed by the game's ability to spin a narrative. It does a beautiful job of "show not tell" when necessary and has, for the most part, just the right amount of exposition. Teenage dialogue is cringe, but hey it usually is. That wasn't a deal breaker for me. So why do I take such a negative tone? I don't! People have been wrongly taught that negativity is congruent with criticism and it is not always the case. I made this video because Life is Strange is one of my favorite games. Film language and script writing and storytelling are really fascinating to me and I like exploring them. That is what these are for. To spread the love of the subject.
5) Lastly, for when we inevitably disagree. I always attempt to match the tone of a comment. This is because there is no inflection in your text. There is no calmness or vinegar I can hear. There is only text staring directly at me. So I will say if you are going to say something condescending, flippant, arrogant, etc. I will respond (because I like to) in the very same tone. I'm pretty accepting of nearly every tone of comment, just be prepared to back it up.
Hey, I was thinking...I love this video and I love Life is Strange. I am also excited to play Before the Storm. I'm sorry you got so much negativity, because even as a huge fan who is excited for the prequel...I agree with you. Even if I didn't I wouldn't crap all over your well thought out ideas. And you wrote this huge comment no one responded to...so I thought I would just reply and say...thanks.
Rachel was a huge mystery and taking that away is a disservice to her character. Between that and Chloe having a new voice actress...I'm a bit worried about Before the Storm. I'm still gonna play it! Luckily, this is NOT a full game. Three episodes. A bonus fourth one where you can play as Max for one last time if you buy the deluxe version. And it will still be fun. I mean, anything will be better than collecting those BOTTLES in the original game. ;)
I wanted a prequel more than a sequel, honestly...at least at first. I've been pitching that idea since the game finished. I wanted to see Chloe reacting to Max leaving, her dad dying, and Rachel going missing...I wanted to see how she became who she is now. I wanted it to end with her walking into the bathroom and being shot, only to see Max step out and use her rewind powers. I wanted this because I thought it would be cool to end where the first game began. I'm hoping we will still see that. That is honestly what I want out of a prequel...a story about Chloe and her being shot at the end of it. Whether she eventually dies for good or stays alive is good is up to what you chose in the original game. But now that I've seen trailer footage and have seen Rachel...I agree with you. It takes away the cool mysteriousness of her character. I hope the creators of Before the Storm are careful with Rachel's character.
I think Life is Strange succeeds as a game beyond Telltale Games honestly, AND I LOVE TELLTALE. I hope they stick to their story telling skills and cute art style.
well that's a huge reply!
I agree, I love Life is Strange and I'm excited for Before the Storm, since it's in relation to the original game and I too find it saddening when people's minds are so one-tracked that they prefer to spew harsh, simple answers that miss the point, than to discuss that actual idea. I remember a few weeks ago, I was talking about a multitude of issues in a game mode for a game I like, issues that many people have and one person said to me, "then don't play it" and I too was infuriated and I said something along the lines of, "that's not a solution, nor was it the point. Sure it has flaws, but that doesn't mean I dislike it and if it has flaws in my eyes, then it is bound to have flaws to others too, but we won't not play it, it's just good to discuss and aknowledge those flaws, while still appreciating the game."
If what you said is true and we dont want to meet Rachel Amber? Then Explain Why? The only reason i see And its a very Hypocritical one unless you love to sleep around and cheat on people and ruin their lives is Because Rachel Saw Her dad Cheating On Her Mom With another Woman And She Took Her Anger out on Chloe Kind of Like How Chloe took her anger out on her mom and Everyone around her But eventually in a Life Or Death Situation She Apologized Just Like How Rachel Apologize to Chloe. I for one Love Rachel and 2 Completely Understand the ending of Episode one
Some times in life its better to Express your anger and deal with it than keep it bottled up.
This game hits home to me because the message is "Dont take your friendship for granted other wise one day your friends could be gone"
"If what you said is true and we dont want to meet Rachel Amber? Then Explain Why?"
I did. The video is 9 minutes and 50 seconds and you can hit the play button.
"unless you love to sleep around and cheat on people and ruin their lives "
Please rephrase your grievance without visiting my intentions and appearing to attack the character of anybody who disagrees with you? This is very rude, and I don't think you intended it to be that way.
In your comment you go on to explain (I think? It was quite hard to read) that the reasons you want to meet her are strictly story related. The game was not released when I made this video, so I didn't talk about the plot of the game. Because I couldn't. I spoke as strictly as I could to writing tropes and tendencies. If this is something you don't want to speak to then we have no common ground in discussion.
Glad you enjoyed the game, have fun!
One thing I loved about LIS was being able to have your own idea of who Rachel was. Everyone had their own idea. It added a sense of mystery. Exactly like Laura Palmer.
Comments like these are a huge relief. I thought a lot of people, mostly the crowd that ships Chloe and Rachel, would despise this sort of thing. I appreciate you homie.
PS. I got curious about your name and found your work and- Holy shit, those are amazing. You should be proud!
Pacifist Run oh my god!! Thank you so so much!! That means a lot to me!
Anytime my dawg, keep it up. You have a talent.
Killer Ryno a lot of LIS was based on twin peaks, the original devs loved that show. Plus there's the band firewalk which plays at the mill. :)
There's something meaningful about only experiencing Rachel secondhand, because a lot of times in life, you will only ever know people though other's memories of them, and not your own. It could be a family member who died before you were born, a teacher who retired before you went to that school, or a friend of a friend who moved away before you even knew they existed. I actually had a similar experience to Max when a former student of my college went missing a few months ago. His disappearance had an impact on all my friends who knew his, and I felt it through them even though I had, and, as I know now, never will meet him. Knowing someone only through reputation is, however sad it may be, a part of life.
I get you homie. You get me homie.
Pacifist Run Thanks homie ❤️
is he still missing?
Ken Bryan Urata No. It turned out he jumped off a bridge, and it took 4 weeks of extensive searching to find his body. This is another reason Rachel's disappearance hits home for me, all that time and effort was spent to find someone who died the day they went missing, and while you hopes of them being still alive are gone, you do have some closure at least.
omg... condolences! Why did he jump though? Was he depressed? That must've been for everybody...
rachel just spreads her love to everyone then break everyone's heart when she's done with them.
i dont think she does that on purpose, she just does that, wich is wrong, but i also think that shes just like her mother
I think she has bpd. Or something similar. It sucks but i don't think cloe loved her i think at forst anyway. I think she fell in love. But Rachel knew this i cant even finish the game ciz i hate her.
LIS Before the Storm is just fanservice, let's face it
Yeah...It ruined the intrigue around Rachel. Before, she was mysterious, she could have been anyone. But now she's just...Basic.
Well, I do not realy agree, what fans wanted was a sequel.... that they never got. This like was getting stale bread when what you wanted was a fresh loaf!
justin kelly honestly... pretty much. Although playing from chloe’s perspective was fun. I liked stealing and doing things I’d never do irl. 💀 But yeah, the whole amber price ship didn’t really start until this game came out.
It's changed my life completely
Who thinks Rachel was the deer guiding max in the first game?
Destiny Denz not me
Destiny Denz That was Max's spirit animal. If you talk to Samuel he'll explain that to you in the game. It's also why you see Max wearing a shirt with a doe on it. Btw the blue butterfly is Chloe's spirit animal and the squirrels are Samuels.
I do because why would the doe stop appearing after Max and Chloe found Rachel's body? Unless the Doe is Max in an alternate timeline trying to show her past self the truth.
And the raven?
nothe raven is her spirit animal
I think Amber was better off as an ideal, as something so ethereal and untouchable. Someone everybody knew and yet they all had different opinions. Let's hope she lives up for the hype.
You seem worried that the Rachel we get is going to be a disappointment because the Rachel we've built up in our minds is so amazing. And you're right. The image of Rachel we have is a hyper-idealized post-mortem image of her. This is what the new game is going to play off of exactly. The Rachel we get in this game will be flawed and screwed up and not at all like the Rachel that we have heard so much about. And that's the point. (I hope) I can't think of a better direction to go with a narrative.
That's what I was thinking. Even by now the first ep is released, I really hope they play off of that idea, like she's not all as perfect as everyone thought. And in the first game, I think that's one of the things they got right, was portraying a very interesting character without ever meeting her.
I
Am I the only person who didn't really care about Rachel in the first game?
I mean she was really interesting but she didn't really seem like someone I'd like.
samee
@@user-et7iz4dr1n ikr in the original she was a cheater bts just made it even worse
I think she ws fake no ome liked her
@@Anime_kitten I like her
Yeah I didn't like her in LIS because of the cheating and manipulation she did to Chloe and I just hated her in BTS she didn't even seem to care about Chloe at all only what she could get out of Chloe
I feel like LIS: Before the Storm doesn't have much of the same effect as the first game. In LIS, one of the first things you'd think if you heard the name, would be time travel. From the pre-release footage, I feel like you can't get a feel of the main focus. What direction are they going in? Is there more to it? I can say I am slightly interested, but I don't know what the main focus will be since there is 1. No Max, which might mean no time travel.
2. We already know what's going to happen to Rachel, what's the point?
Idk though. We'll have to see when more episodes are released.
It's just to tell Chloe's backstory and to give more insight on Rachel Amber. We know where the story goes but we don't know what lead to it. Instead of making up theories people that wanted to know about Chloe and Rachel's relationship will finally see what their friendship was like.
Eri [Tentacles] First and foremost is experience why Chloe feels the way she does about Rachel, I think in BtS we will see a more sad Chloe compared to how she's angry in LiS. In the end I think after playing BtS you'll be more connected the Chloe and I'll be interested to see if any major choices play statistic change in favour for Chloe in LiS. The finding Rachel's body scene is already so heart wrenching.
The motivation for a romantic interest is not as important to the source material as the fact that it happened. I think this is a point a lot of people miss. All you need to care about a relationship is to care about one character in the relationship. The game did a pretty good job of making you sympathize with Chloe (even if you didn't like her). Expanding on the relationship itself isn't really harmful, but is ultimately pointless.
And what are you basing the more "sad" Chloe on? Like she's sad in both games, anger is just how sadness typically manifests itself. At the beginning of the game at the Firewalk concert she is the exact same Chloe as the one in the original life is strange- so I don't really see an opportunity for an arc.
"We know where the story goes but we don't know what lead to it."
But this isn't important for story telling. Do we need to go back and see her relationship with William to fully understand the story? Do we need to go back and see everyday of her life leading up to Life is Strange? Where does the line get drawn between what is necessary and what is just fluff.
The issue with all of this is that Dontnod didn't know they were getting a prequel- so they wrote the original game in a way that wouldn't leave plot threads as pivotal as Chloe's background to much question. Because of that there isn't a whole whole lot to explore here as far as Chloe's character goes.
Pacifist Run In BtS Chloe will be sixteen and have lost her father and friend - she's haunted by her father's death as shown by the crash in the trailer. These will draw up sadness, as in crying, whatever, depression even as Chloe implies in LiS. Being traumatised in this way doesn't make you angry, it makes you sad. We will see Rachel lift Chloe up(and vice-versa as I assume Chloe will help Rachel deal with the family secret). Compare Chloe's emotional "outburst" in BtS junkyard when Rachel is angry and then compare to Chloe in LiS when she's angry in the car in episode 3. They're essentially about the same thing, Chloe being abandoned. Thing is in BtS Chloe is hopeful, she says Rachel can be and is her friend(or more) meanwhile she dismisses any attempt of comfort Max gives and blames her, Rachel and William for her problems. I do think we will see an angry angsty Chloe in BtS. I think if sixteen year old Chloe found out Rachel was going out with Frank behind her back she wouldn't be furious but sad. That's just personal belief though.
I think the final straw for Chloe going from a depressive state when dealing with hard ship to a rage, was Rachel disappearing. I highly doubt Chloe will get to the point in BtS where has an emotional outburst and blames William.
I liked the fact that we never met Rachel; it was interesting to see how people remembered her and made me think about how I will be remembered when I die. She was more of this spiritual figure in the game that gave characters motivations and gave the game motion. I don't want to see her a way differently than that
She’s still such a mystery...
I never considered bad writing to be an option to retain some of that mystique. She's now just boring unfortunately.
Pacifist Run I agree the “screenplay” to this game could’ve been way better. It’s just my opinion of course. I’m super obsessed with characters like Rachel Amber who hold an air of mystery. In “mystery”, I define that for her character specifically as 1). Was she really a trustworthy person to the people around her? And 2). How broken was she really?. Obviously she met her match with Jefferson. It’s just a game, but psychologically they’re are a lot of people like her in the human world. It’s fascinatingly Strange.
To be honest, I was sick of Chloe talking about Rachel. I didn't care about her at all. I wasn't even the biggest fan of Chloe, because I think that Chloe has a toxic personality and she didn't care much about Max's feelings. Still, it was a great idea to to engage us in finding this mysterious gone girl, it's just that the way Chloe was portraying her as if she was a god (yes, I know that Chloe was probably in love with Rachel) made me indifferent to the outcome of of their 'investigation'
YES! chloe, to me, was a bit of a control freak and literally used max to find the friend she actually cared about. she was the kind of friend parents warn you about because all she did was pressure max into breaking into school, helping her steal people's things, and trying to SHOOT people!
yesss I feel the same
strawberry bob yeah, that gun was her favourite toy ;) ugh, that's why we had to keep looking for those darn bottles
To be fair Max was the shittyy friend. Ghosting her when Chloe needed her the emost ad then suddenly acting "Y u so mean chloe" "bitch my dad died and you never gave a fuck about me"
Rofitschka it may be, but on the other hand, I wouldn't consider 'leaving someone' moving to Seattle with your parents. I don't remember the details, but Max was definetly too young to be living on her own, so although it wasn't good to leave while Chloe was having a hard time, Max didn't really have a choice
Life Is Strange should be an anthology series. Chloe's story is done and we all know how she ends up, so there's really no point in even making this prequel.
Tanner Andersen Yeah that'd be cool but I'm gonna miss some characters like Max, Kate and especially Victoria cuz for some reason I love bitchy characters XD.
Except, you know, learning about Rachel and the, what, 5 years (1/4th of her life) where she lost her dad and best friend, David moved in, she got into drugs and debt, and she met the person who saved her from the traumatic events she was reliving. Yeah, no point at all in making this game... -__-
"fluff" is the word you are looking for
TheGoldenSnake yeah no point. We don't need to see her struggle with drug abuse and fuckin depression n shit because we seen the aftermath
I would play 1 thousand prequels of this game. It's the same thing by saying your past means nothing because you already know the present.
I found it interestig that in the beginning that you said "II'd really love to meet that person", because that is the opposite of how I felt.
When playing LiS and hearing all the characters' claims about how "thiier bond with Rachel was special", how "only they truly knew her", how "they were who she truly loved"... it seemed to me like the person Rachel truly loved was Rachel.
She'd adjust and befriend anyone to her own benefit. She seemed fake. Sure, maybe she didn't hurt anyone too much, but her dishonesty made me dislike her.
I try to look at Rachel with information that people give about her in the game and information you discover about her in the game. And as Samuel says, Rachel Amber is like a pile: negative and positive. We know that she became involved with Mark, Frank and Chloe. And we know she was ambitious. I feel she used both, Frank and Chloe to get out of town and follow her dream. I don't judge her because I don't really know who she was, but I'm very curious about who Rachel Amber really was. I don't imagine her an angel or a devil. I really think Before the storm will show a distorted image of her to not ruin how people see her.
"Rachel is like a pile" is my favorite thing ever. I know you meant to type "Battery" because that's what the quote actually is but holy fuck. "Rachel is a pile". Please somebody get that trending.
It's good to see that someone thinks like me haha
This girl is very intelligent, I like her
Isabella Francine
You mean that Rachel is like a battery; both positive and negative?
Samuel said that she was _“the positive and negative ends of battery.”_
I don't know why Rachel has to be perfect. Me and my sister don't get along but if she went missing tomorrow I would definetively describe her more favorably because I am worried she is gone for good and I want to glorify the memory of her. When people grieve they do try to remember all the good things about a person rather than the bad, this is excactly why I am curious to see what Rachel actually was like. I don't know her, not really.
I always found Rachel extremely interesting in my mind, I used to see her as a mass manipulator who tried to protect Chloe but not loving her in the same way Chloe did, as a friend or more. I will be disappointed if she is some whiny teenage girl.
This may be just a weird thought but I read in one of the comments below that Rachel might end up having the same power as Max in BTS but still was unable to prevent her own death, but maybe Rachel somehow knew about the future and let herself be killed in order for Chloe and Max to find each other again
I dunno if this makes any sense but hey
Emma Schneider That would be interesting, also I have a theory that the transparent doe you see in LIS WAS actually Rachel Amber, trying to lead Max to her murderer
I think that if she could rewind time she just wasnt as fortunate as Max. Jefferson was so close to giving Max an overdose as Nathan did to Rachel. Max couldnt rewind when she was drugged and if Rachel had powers, she couldnt either.
That's a very good point, Rachel also mentions in a note to Frank that she was having a "weird week" so the idea of her having a power isn't all that crazy, she just obviously never told Chloe since Chloe had no idea about "powers" lol or if she told Chloe she rewound time or whatever her power was to make her forget? Lol
Hopefully we will get some answers in Before the Storm soon😜
Yep I hope so too, I'm actually looking forward to it, despite the problems it will probably have lol
Excited as I am for this prequel, I'm inclined to agree with you, especially being the film theory snob that I am. Experiencing Rachel second hand added to the entire theme and tone of the story of Life is Strange, and gave the whole thing an underlying sense of mystery, even when Max was so much as just hanging out in Chloe's room and spotted a flyer of Rachel Amber. Ever present and ever mysterious, with everyone's own perceptions of her. It was an especially strong revelation using the junkyard, the place where her and Chloe spent their time with a little monument to it in the form of their little hut, as not only Rachel's burial spot, but also where they reveal who is actually the killer and kidnapper. Rachel also adds a foil for Max, as she is everything Max is not. Rachel was (According to all of the secondhand accounts) the popular, pretty girl that was even too cool for the cool kids, who was there for Chloe when Max shut her out for 5 years. Max is the loner hipster dweeb that no one really notices that comes back and now has someone to live up to.
All i want to know is why the hell would rachel want to leave arcadia bay so bad? When she graduates she could go anywhere. Why rush? She was really with frank but to me it felt like she wanted him to take her away. Why? Chloe said she was my every thing and frank said that was the problem. I want them to respect this. Please dont make it have anything to do with time travel or the storm.
It's such an interesting question! I hope it will be clarified in the game (and I believe there won't be any time travel or supernatural stuff, or any mention of the storm other than maybe a few hints at the original game but nothing really big).
I kind of agree with the video, but I also think they could make it super interesting by hinting at the fact that Rachel could be the opposite of what everyone thinks of her. Obviously we have no idea who Rachel really loved, Chloe? Frank? Jefferson? No one? but it seems to me like she actively tried to use as many people as possible to get away from Arcadia bay, for unknown reasons (we know nothing about her parents either, or where she comes from). Like she was truely desperate. Plus in the game when we first reunite with Chloe in her bedroom and come across the picture of Rachel (the "She was my angel" moment), she says that Rachel told her she had met someone who changed her life (probably Jefferson) and poof, she disappeared. Maybe she ended up thinking that the Chloe situation wouldn't lead anywhere (they had no money and the Frank situation wasn't much better), and as a result she tried to use Jefferson to get away but it was the wrong person to try to manipulate. But the main question is "why" and sometimes if we get a little bit more info, it unravels new questions and the mystery thickens. I hope something like that will happen!
I mean these are just theories. My point of view on everything is that if the developpers manage to answer a few more questions without ruining the whole Rachel myth it would be just as good :)! (and sorry for my broken english)
Sarafan Dumah maybe we will find out in the game because its called a prequel right?
Maybe she got too involved with Mark or Nathan and couldn't really tell the truth? Idk.
no premonitions. No "someting bad is gonna happen". Nothing like that.
Didn't like almost everyone wanted to leave Arcadia Bay and Max was the only one that actually did for a while.
Rachel was a huge mystery and taking that away is a disservice to her character. Between that and Chloe having a new voice actress...I'm a bit worried about Before the Storm. I'm still gonna play it! Luckily, this is NOT a full game. Three episodes. A bonus fourth one where you can play as Max for one last time if you buy the deluxe version. And it will still be fun. I mean, anything will be better than collecting those BOTTLES in the original game. ;)
I wanted a prequel more than a sequel, honestly...at least at first. I've been pitching that idea since the game finished. I wanted to see Chloe reacting to Max leaving, her dad dying, and Rachel going missing...I wanted to see how she became who she is now. I wanted it to end with her walking into the bathroom and being shot, only to see Max step out and use her rewind powers. I wanted this because I thought it would be cool to end where the first game began. I'm hoping we will still see that. That is honestly what I want out of a prequel...a story about Chloe and her being shot at the end of it. Whether she eventually dies for good or stays alive for good is up to what you choose in the original game. But now that I've seen trailer footage and have seen Rachel...I agree with you. It takes away the cool mysteriousness of her character. I hope the creators of Before the Storm are careful with Rachel's character.
I think Life is Strange succeeds as a game beyond Telltale Games honestly, AND I LOVE TELLTALE. I hope they stick to their story telling skills and cute art style.
What I want to understand is why did max separate herself so much to Chloe. I mean I get it she was busy and she had to start a new life in a new place but in life is strange max seems so thoughtful and I think she regrets not being there for Chloe .... so I just want to know who she was when she wasn't there for Chloe. Everyone has their reasons but I was just puzzled
She said in her diary that it was because to her cutting all content off was less sad for her than texting and writing to her.
I 100% agree with this!! in Life is Strange, the game leads you to think that Rachel is a god like entity that could do no wrong in the beginning. But then after playing Before the Storm, i did not like Rachel at all. I felt she was manipulative and just not good in the least. William even tried warning chloe about her, that she's fire. And the whole relationships thing, i could never figure out who she actually loved in the end. Chloe? Frank? Jefferson? ... Nathan?? Idk i really did not like her :/
I mean, it's clear that she cared about Chloe, the extent is allowed to be ambiguous. The issue is the most important moments of the relationship (friendship or otherwise) were ones that they glossed over. If they were going to do that then they should have just ignored the "meeting Rachel" scene altogether. It was pointless to have in there. The game should have started with Rachel and Chloe already being friends, because this means I'm not expected to believe anything unbelievable.
The fact that somebody breaks their loner streak after a tragic loss for somebody is only believable if you give me a reason to believe it. They didn't though, they just faded to black and let you assume that Rachel and Chloe really bonded that night.
Leaving Rachel a mystery was definitely a deliberate choice by DONTNOD, but I hope fleshing out the relationship between Chloe and Rachel three years before the main fame won't change that. I hope the game focuses on Chloe and how she became who she is today!
I think the creator's best bet at a successful sequel/prequel would have been in creating all new characters or maybe a family member of Max's who shares the same power. I think the worst thing they did was negligently throw the characters we once loved into an unnecessary narrative. To me it was a bit lazy because the original story's main appeal was the questions that the ability of time travel brings, not why Chloe and Amber were so close. It reminds me of when teen show creators start coming up with show arcs focused on appealing to fan's obsession over "ships".
I think that's why many people say that Before the Storm isn't canon.
Dontnod never wanted Rachel to be a manifistated character in a game.
This story didn't need to be told. That's why I'm not gonna play the game period. Life is Strange was pretty good at leaving just the right amount of information behind in its backstories. We had exactly the right amount of information about this void period with Chloe and Rachel.
This is just extra info that more often than not just diminishes the quality of the original story.
I want this game to have like, a crap ton of plot twists that actually make sense
The reason I didn’t want to meet Rachel is because I didn’t want to end up liking her and then getting “she dead” feels. But yeah I did also worry that she wouldn’t live up to the legend built about her. However, I did end up liking her and I did get the “she dead” feels. I also ended up feeling way more connected to the Rachel spirit Doe when I replayed LIS after BtS
This is also the reason why in the show Gravity Falls revealing who the author was and having him come back in to the town didn't work. We as viewers found out about him with Dipper and the others, and that information alone held him up as this amazing mysterious guy, which he didn't end up being.
I feel you in a sense, except...the creators of Gravity Falls revealed that the shows original PITCH was the relationship between Stan and the writer of the journals. It was always in the cards.
With LiS...thuis prequel wasn't intended. DontNod didn't seem to want it to exist or else they would've done it themselves.
an alien the thing is we knew literally nothing about the author, so there is no real problem here. We didn't knew who he was, in contrary of Rachel, where we already have an idea
The game won't be about Rachel though it's about Chloe
sharkiegames I don't why
sharkiegames but obviously she will be the center. Juts like Chloe was for max's story
both
Maybe it's because I'm an asshole, but I never wanted to meet this chick. She seemed like just a minor element in the first game to play off of Max's curiosities and insecurities in relating to others around her. I only cared about Max, and Rachel just seemed more like a motivation for Max rather than something I truly cared about seeing for myself as a player. Also, I'm probably judging too quickly, but I feel like Rachel is going to be like a Chloe 2.0 that'll annoy the hell out of me.
BrainDeadBastard Meh you're kinda right but Rachael is incredibly likable
BUT HEY!! From what I understand, this isn't made by the same people, and the origin all developers are working on an entirely new life is strange, what I'm hoping is that it's new characters with a new original delimma and story line as powerful and rich as max and Chloe, or masterfully find a way to continue the original, I may be wrong, I didn't research it but I have seen it in a few places, I'm hoping it's true
They are making a new game, yes. New cast that has nothing to do with the original game except in spirit. That is their plan.
Regardless, BtS is canonical so it still matters how it's handled.
Pacifist Run awesome! Glad they are going to have a new cast, but as you said, it matters on how it's handled
Just watching the trailers make me think "I miss Max..."
Your voice is really easy to listen to and your ideas a great.
I believe the story is more about how Chloe changed between the times Max was with her. Because we see what she was like in the flashback photo episode, and how she was in present. Couldn't care less about Rachel Amber, but I am curious as to how Chloe became herself.
Chloe seems to be the same Chloe we know at the Firewalk show. It doesn't seem to leave room for much of an arc tbh
Idk. I'm always optimistic for some Character Development. And DontnoD is supporting of the game so who knows, it might actually be good. Can't say much til it's out anyways.
Am I the only one who never grew attached to Rachel? I mean I love chloe but Rachel was just that person that drew ours and chloes attention to whats going on in Acadia bay. A part of me always knew she was dead so I really don't care about meeting Rachel. What I can about is wanting to know why chloe becomes what she does by the time max comes back cause there were times when Chloe was acting terrible but I could tell there was a reason for it but not what that reason was.
Omg same!
Next video :Why I changed my mind about Rachel Amber
Still feel the same way. Oops.
k is here I actually like Rachel.
I really, really loved Rachel in BtS and my version of Chloe completely fell for her from the start.
That doesn't mean this dude didn't raise very valid points though.
yet another amazing video, youre doing great cx
I always look for your name on these =p, Thank you!
Pacifist Run awe! well ill make sure to comment more.
Prequels are generally a terrible idea anyway. Narratively speaking they make little to no sense, given that there's almost always just a single vital story in a character.
I definitely think they're trickier to pull off. Because you have to be much more careful about not causing a contradiction with the original source material. It's not hard for a detail here or there to be missed or to create implications that make the original less coherent.
Sequels don't really have to worry about that too much; unless they accidentally retcon something.
I personally don't feel like I did form a mental version of Rachel, in my mind she always remained completely enigmatic. I feel like all I have is a name and that she was "awesome" but I don't have any mental version of what made her awesome. Because of this I want to know what's in store in BTS
Did you explore the game though? People tell you why she's awesome dude. Ask Evan, ask Logan, ask whoever sketches you, ask Joyce, like literally everybody has something to say about her beyond "She was cool".
Totally respect your opinion.
But after playing episode one of Before the storm, I gotta say this is the story I never knew I needed
That's fine my dude! After playing it I have the opposite opinion but you are more than welcome to like the game! I never wanted to take that experience away from people. Glad you enjoyed it!
I never really liked Rachel amber she made Chloe even more of a punk in my opinion
I agree completely. Usually I would be all for humanizing characters who seem a little too unreal (which is what Rachel's appearance in BtS will do), but in the case of Rachel's character, it was a real strength that contributed to the plot. I can't help but think that some of the scenes in LiS involving Rachel will suffer from it and lose a bit of impact (especially if she turns out to be an unlikable character, which she seems to be from what's released, although I'm sure they'll develop her a lot more).
The scene where Chloe was sobbing over Rachel's grave with Max hugging her, as the doe (aka Rachel probably) watched them from a distance comes to mind. That scene had so much impact on me... it was haunting. I'd hate for Rachel's appearance to damage the weight of a scene like that.
I agree, I'm not too excited about seeing Rachel in the game. I didn't like how much Chloe (and everyone else) talked about Rachel all the time in LIS, and how Max really desperately wanted to somehow be a part of their friendship (like when she wrote "Max was here" above "Chloe was here" and "Rachel was here"). I feel like we weren't revealed what kind of person she was, other than that pretty much everyone liked her, but we were expected to like her too. I can't feel anything for a character who I don't know, so Rachel became a bit annoying in the first game. And without time travel and Max it will have a totally different feel...
I don't know how I feel about this
I thought that Rachel's ambiguity was a significant weakness of LIS. I never got the feeling that she mattered beyond being a generic crime victim who served as a device to move the plot forward. Rachel although dead is a central character but we never really learn much about her. Why the one giant earring? It's a significant detail in her pictures. What was her relationship with Chloe? How did they meet? What did they do together? What was her feelings for Chloe? The LIS story just feels incomplete because the writers never developed Rachel. She does not feel "real".
If you don't see someone do you assume that they're not real?
I didn't really care for Chloe in the first game and the second game definitely didn't help.
Mmmh I wonder why.🙄
I hate chloe max and rachel :/
Why?
Wall of text, a non-positive and therefore unpopular opinion on several beloved characters, possible spoilers ahead.
In my opinion, the best about Before the Storm is how it gives us an opportunity to spend more time with Chloe when she's having a tough time. With her family, not Rachel.
Otherwise, BtS is doing LiS a disservice. As stated in this video, in LiS, Rachel's strong point was the mystery around her, not only about her disappearance but also her personality. It's always a good thing if you kinda care, if only by proxy, about a character you never see or hear in a story.
In BsT, I find her not very likable. In her own, more subtle, way, she's as manipulative and pushy with Chloe like Chloe is with Max. Also, I don't really see a great bond between two misunderstood souls. Rachel and Chloe bring the worst out of each other. Not because one or both of them a bad persons, it's just unfortunate timing. I blame their relationship for Chloe not working out her family situation in the best way she could. Her mother and David make mistakes, but neither means at any point to make things bad. They and Chloe have one thing in common: They see themselves confronted with a conflict-loaded situation while carrying emotional baggage from the past. Mistakes happen, apologies are made from all sides, and it's a crucial time that sets the tone for the new family constellation. It could have worked out with some effort from all sides.
But it's Rachel who enables the selfish aspect of Chloe's rebellious personality, instead of "we can work out something" it's "it's us against them!" at a time that couldn't be worse for Chloe.
And in all this, Rachel hardly seems to care about Chloe. It's all about Rachel, her awesomeness, her own family drama, her dreams, her rebellion, and how Chloe can help her. Chloe's drama is for her a leverage to get Chloe understand and help her.
Yes, she doesn't force her, and she's too wrapped up in her own sadness and anger to care about the problem's of others, this happens, she's half a kid, and I don't blame her (much) or see her as a bad person because of this. It's just another reason why I find it difficult to fully embrace her as the lovable person Chloe later calls her angel when Rachel was a catalyst to many of Chloe's future problems. It's not really about "this person is bad, or this!", but the circumstances. With all this, I know find it difficult to return to LiS and enjoy the mystery and build up of her character.
Talking about returning to LiS, another character who's now completely ruined for me is Max. After thinking about LiS a bit more than ten minutes, I realized she's not such a great person at all. She's aloof, she has this "I'm not like other girls"-attitude, is prejudiced, and rather mournful for someone whose only real problem is that her parents are doing well enough to have enabled her hobby in a way it could become her profession, gave her a loving home, but aren't rich.
We witness her seeing aspects of the other students around her she not only didn't know before but hadn't even thought of. Here's the problem - if she had only one moment of self-reflection, one moment she realized "Oh, maybe I'm the bitch here, I'm the one who never cared, that's not cool", it would have been character development. Instead, she's more like:"Oh, Miss Rich Bitch has actual feelings, Miss Cheerleader can actually be nice, who'd have thought."
Then she's also been a shitty friend to a person she actually liked, Chloe. In LiS, it sounds like the two friends maybe only talked once or twice a year, and Max didn't really initiate contact, or maybe preferred doing something with new friends during holidays. But in BtS, we see she's downright cruel and willfully ignores Chloe who tries, again and again, to keep the contact alive. Yes, I say willfully, otherwise, I'd expect a more sincere, wordier, guilty apology from her in LiS, and not just some "Yeah, I know, could have done better or at least contacted you in all the weeks I'm back, but I'm here know, ain't I?".
So yeah, while BtS wasn't a bad, uninteresting game in itself, it ruined two important characters for me and therefore, the replay value of Life is Strange.
We can be friends
The only characters I want to meet are:
3- Max.
2- Warren.
1- Kate.
Yeah I feel like Rachel was so hyped up as being this amazing, beautiful person in the first game that it's going to be impossible to meet expectations and it's going to end up dissapointing players. I liked the air of mystery around her and I wish they would've kept it.
True. I don't give a shit about Rachel because i ship Max and Chloe. And everytime Chloe started to talk about Rachel, i would say " Fuck this shit! Stop using Max and her power to find your dead girlfriend!! "
I was ok keeping Rachel ambiguous, and I'm one of those people that wants clear cut answers. It didn't feel like a pressing issue because the story wasn't about her, she was just a thread to a larger story and once we reached the end of her thread, her story became less of a focal point.
Rachel's mystery lives on in BtS. She somehow still remains very one-dimensional, which is why I find it hard to care about her as much as I did for Max and especially Chloe.
I had the luxury of playing BTS before the original LIS. I feel the Rachels character matched her personality pretty evenly after playing both games.
Personally felt they always sold her as this fierce fire-ey person which also does match her astro signs.
However, had I played it from the release order, I can see myself being extra critical of her looking for anything that did not match up to my preconceived imaginings of her.
I agree with you. Rachel was someone we were never really meant to meet. It is nice to add to a narrative but a character like Rachel is someone who should remain as an image that everyone sees differently.
For me the main reason not wanting to meet Rachel…
trying not to get attached, failing, falling and knowing she ends up buried in the same yard.
But, I regret nothing and feel so special remembering the good memories.
I hate this, I can't believe they are doing it. This is like all those Hollywood trying to make prequels to iconic characters or horror characters. I don't want to know about Jason's uncle or Michael Myers first date! ugh!
Then don't play/watch..?
Meltedcupcake sorry I don't just drink the koolaid blindly
That isn't an answer to critique though?
TheHmongol honestly its called a prequel u dont have to play it. And what we are gonna found out powerful chloe and rachael bond is. Its just a little prequel until LiS II comes out
explene burn the guy in the video already said it best. Rachel is a character that you over time, create your own image of her through the details. And then when you play the prequel only to realize it was nothing as you imagine it. In doing this, you ruined the perception of your own thoughts of Rachel youve created. Anyways I'm not gonna buy or play it. I'll wait for lis 2.
Okay, I need to get this off my chest.
I don't like life is strange, now I understand that for many people that isnt really anything new, they've heard it all before, 'chloes a bitch', 'max is a blank slate', 'the time travel doesnt make sense' etc. And yeah i basically agree with those statements but what really got me disliking the game was the way it handled max and chloes relationship, the whole way through chloe treated max like shit, sure, fine, whatever but the game goes on to glorify their relationship despite the fact that its abusive, heck the game even points out how messed up their dynamic is in the diner with ulternate max in ep 5 and STILL has the balls to try and make out like what they had was remotely good in the final scene with the kiss, or the ending where they end up together.
The funny thing is that there are times in the game where you can choose to fight back most noteably in the car ride, where you can basically call chloe out on her shit and she responds with 'and make all this my fault, fuck that' yeah cause fuck taking responsibility for yourself, I mean so long as you've had shit thrown at you through life it totally means you can treat others like shit right?
This honestly wouldnt bother me so much if the core demegraphic for this game wasnt teenagers, cause I've seen first hand where the line of logic 'I can do whatever i want to other people because i have i have expirienced X' goes, it leads to abuse victims suffering in silence because they believe that their abuser has it worse and therefore can abuse them all they like.
Chloe thoughout the whole thing throws a hissy fit if you dont do what she wants, she throws a fit at, but not limited to: you not taking the fall for the weed, picking up the phone to your obviously suicidal friend Kate, siding with david because you dont want to ruin her mother's marriage, having a massive meltdown in the car at you where she blames literally everyone but herself etc. There are plenty of other times im forgetting about but i played the game a good while ago and those are one that painfully stick in my mind. Adn everytime you refuse to do something she emotionally manipilates you 'wasnt like you abandoned me or anything' 'my dad died' 'rachel might be dead' I digress.
*sigh* I just dont understand why they want these two together they're both awful people, seperately and make an awful example of a healthy relationship together.
this video was good though i see what you mean about characters like rachel honestly the mystery was the only thing the game had going for me and boy was that a dead end too.
Ducker Z It's been a couple years since I've watched a playthrough of this game and I don't even know how I never realized their relationship was abusive. My memories about the game are fuzzy but I do remember getting irked over Chloe's childish behavior. I definitely think the game was hyped up cuz it's a gay romance and you rarely see that in video games so people got excited over that, me included. But yeah this is honestly making me question why people thought their relationship was okay. PLUS THE ENDING like I gave up watching the final part cuz I felt like the choice was stupidly obvious which was basically: are you gonna save a whole town of people or a selfish brat?
Interesting. You think Max is a awful person? I easily see it for Chloe but I have a harder time seeing it for Max.
J̵̄a̱c͟r̶ā͞d̵ every realtionship max forms in the game is a direct result of her time travel powers, the only exceptions to this rule are kate (sort of) warren and chloe (though you could argue that thats also a result of time travel seeing how you save chloe from dying in ep 1). To me this screams volumes about max she makes bitchy judgements about everyone but at least they've actually made friends on their own merit, if i remember rightly in ep 1 when shit is being thrown at kate and before you learn about your time travel powers you cant talk to kate, the reason why you cant talk to kate is because max couldnt give a shit about others pain unless it directly effects her, you also horrifically manipulate people all throughout the time line, you can convince one of victorias lackies to open up to you by using information that youve learned not by trying to get to know her but by rewinding that conversation over and over again. You can snoop constantly on others and their private lives and never have to face the concequences, like dana and her pregnancy.
This is horrible, friendship is built on the effort of two people who care and put in the time to understand and most importantly *make mistakes* Max can not make these mistakes and learn from them because she can just rewrite her life immediately after making a decision, and therefore she can never grow as a person.
This is the most poisonus wish fufillment character ever, she gets to be friends with everything and everyone without actaully having to drag out the friendships for months on end because honestly...who has time for that in their teen life where everything revolves around them, thats effort.
Perhaps this isnt exactly the fault of max after all we are the ones controlling her, and shes developed in the way most fitting for the type of story shes in, but if we are Max, if the developers gave max options that the character max would pick, then in the context of the story max is an awful person.
Sorry, that got really meta.
Max was also friends with Dana prior to the start of the game and most people in-game found Max to be likeable, at the very least.
I don't really see why making mistakes and having to live with them has anything to do with growing as a person. Making the mistakes and learning from them is what matters. And I think an argument could be made that Max reversing time after making mistakes is the most moral decision because it leads to the best possible outcome with the least amount of harm; including to the person that were originally wronged. Max has to live with the emotional baggage of messing up thoroughly but the victim is spared.
Max is certainly judgemental. This is because they weren't willing to interact with other people, probably because of how messy relationships can get. Max got to learn how wrong they had been for judging others because that consequence had been removed. And perhaps the audience is meant to see that so they can learn that lesson.
I also think you're overlooking how empathetic Max is. When they're able to get past their prejudices they're very good at putting themselves in other people's shoes. I think that's part of why Max puts up with Chloe, because they can empathize with all the pressure they're going through (Self-inflicted or not.)
Max starts looking out for Kate before the roof scene ever happens. They show compassion towards Joyce for marrying David and tries to understand where Joyce is coming from.
To be honest the reason why I didnt count Dana is because max herself says how nice she is and that she's basically be friends with anyone.
And yeah I do see your point, But having to live with your choices *is* how you learn from them, we can imagine an experience all we like but to fully grasp a situation you have to live it and its ripple effects, in my experience this is basically how humans work. You can understand that something like WW2 is bad and should never happen again but because our generation never lived though it the full impact of the lesson isn't there (thats a really over dramatic example but in todays climate I think that example works) and the further away you get from a second hand experience the less impact it has and that's essentially what the other outcomes are to max second hand experience, because they never really happened she doesn't have to learn from their concequences
It's funny that you mention Kates suicide because I personally think it proves my point more, the game literally has to cheap you out of your time powers in order to let this moment be even remotely impactful cause otherwise as soon as she falls off the building you could just rewind and keep trying over and over as many times as you'd like until you get it right. EVERYBODY LIVES! But it doesn't, and the reason why it doesn't, it can't, is because it actually needs to let Maxes choice mean something for once, it trys to teach max that her time powers are a short cut to actual relationships that mean things, and you know what if that was the growth she expirienced and the lesson taught I would applaud the developers but she constantly makes this same mistake over and over, rather then sitting having conversations and spending time with people she just tries to rewind until life magically fixes itself, cause it's the easiest way out.
I feel like this is what the developers were going for with her character but god it got so poorly communicated the whole way through, I mean I feel like that was the point of the final choice but judging by the analitics only about 50% percent understood the messege.
You know what perhaps I'm not being fair with her character, but what bugs me is that for all intensive purposes I should like max, she kinda weird, shy, artsy she's very different as most female game characters go so why does she leave such a terrible imapct on me? to me she always felt cowardly, incoherant (I mean she cares really deeply abotu chloe but then didnt talk to her before hand for years, why? she literally snoops around all the time but then says 'I didnt mean to snoop' etc.) and just generally out for popularity more then actual relationships, the thing is it's hard to distinguish whether I feel this way about her character because of the story she's in is so horrifically paced and written so it comes across like that or if she's just genuintly an awful character.
I would say I just dont like insert characters in gamng but that's not true because I loved Lee from the walking dead.
*SO WHAT GIVES GOD?*
This is amazing
Great video man, I love the analytical cinematography angle in this video. The spoiler warning reminds me of SuperButterBuns.
love that FILM THEORY
Danke =]
Lela Nesheim uhm... game theory?
She's specifically referring to the film theory referenced in the video
oh, haha!
I think the problem with BTS was ultimately that it focused a little TOO much on Rachel and not on Chloe, who really should have been the focus. The moments that developed Chloe and furthered her character were the best by FAR. I enjoyed it much more when Rachel wasn't on screen.
For me, it simply takes the magic and mystery away. I enjoy both games, but I don’t necessarily treat Before The Storm as canonical. No sequel (or prequel) ever beats the original.
I'm already excited for this game, I like LIS but there's something bothering me about this... In the first game (episode 1), Max found a pic of Chloe and Rachel Amber, Chloe started talking about her and she mentioned that she was 14 and Rachel was her best friend. In this game both are 16 and from what I've seen so far with the gameplay videos and trailers, it sounded like this is the first time that Chloe has either seen Rachel or talk to her. Anyone noticed this?
My best guess is, that we may have a completely (or at least mostly) different team developing the prequel. It's things like this or the more generic graphics or maybe even the narrativ, but the game somehow doesn't have the same atmosphere as the first game and it also doesn't seem as challenging. The guys writing LIS Before the Storm probably overlooked some details from the first parts script.
My issue with Before The Storm is that it'll be very hard to care about the story and the decisions made within it when the player already knows that both of those girls are destined to die violent and tragic deaths (yeah, I know there's one LiS ending where Chloe survives. But the one where she dies is clearly the one with the most narrative weight). How are we supposed to get invested in Rachel & Chloe's relationship (platonic or otherwise) when we already KNOW there's no future for either of them?
And, from a gameplay perspective, losing the time travel mechanic takes away the one cool gimmick that made the original game a unique experience instead of just another TellTale clone. I LOVED being able to use the rewind to check out all the dialogue options and solve puzzles in Life is Strange. So being unable to do so in a prequel is a bummer.
And I can't help wondering if Before the Storm intends to pull a Metal Gear Solid 2 and switch the main character on us midway through the game. I have a theory that Rachel might end up being the playable character for about half of BtS. This would have to be the case because, in order to fit in with the original game, Chloe HAS to remain ignorant of all the mysteries that were left in the air in LiS (ie the influence of the Prescott family, the mystery surrounding Rachel's family, how Rachel managed to fit in with every group and how/when she hooked up with Frank, all the shit with Jefferson, why David got so involved to the point of terrorizing the school and making himself look like a suspect, how Rachel's kidnapping/murder went down, etc).
I think they might pull some crazy twist out of their ass like giving Rachel Time Lord powers like Max had in the original game. Only, unlike Max, Rachel wont be able to use her powers to prevent her own death for whatever contrived reason.
IMO, this would be disappointing because it would both ruin the mystery of Rachel's character and destroy the impact that finding Rachel's body had in LiS. That scene in the original is BRUTAL because a lot of players assumed that some crazy twist would reveal Rachel to be alive and/or using supernatural voodoo to communicate with Max so she can be found. But the truth was that, despite how awesome she was, Rachel was still just a teenage girl like every other girl at that school. And her intelligence and popularity didn't prevent her from becoming a victim. The impact of that scene will be retroactively tainted by following Rachel around, listening to her whine about what a bitch Victoria is while Chloe awkwardly flirts with her, and/or discovering that she has some weird supernatural ability all along.
I get your point. Those are some very understandable worries there. Working in prequels of beloved works of fiction usually has the problem of having to add to a world that was either so defined or not defined enough that you risk messing with the tone, ideas or strategies that make us love the OG work.
I like to think that LIS: Before the Storm wont be a story about Rachel Amber, but a story about Chloe becoming the woman Max meets after so long; a story in which Rachel happens to be in. To me, it will be a matter of focus, because having Rachel alive, but seeing from Chloe's perspective might not be too enriching to know who Rachel really is, leaving her, and us, wondering who Rachel is anyway, specially if the focus of this prequel is learning who Chloe really is. I mean, Rachel died full of secrets, and we find out with Max that the idea Chloe had of Rachel was very different from the idea people in Arcadia had. There is no reason we will see the whole picture in this game either.
All in all, Before the Storm is walking on a very thin line. The same thin line many prequels, sequels and spin-offs are on nowadays. They will either work with the same narrative restrictions they worked before, i.e. a one perspective story where the main character doesnt know it all and sets out on a way of learning, making Chloe the center of the story and thus leaving room for mistery and ambuguity OR they'll give us a 3 episode exposition about who Chloe is and why, noo questions asked.
Anyway, love your video. I hope to watch more of this kinda of work. :)
i fully agree with you on this. rachel is so much more interesting when left to the imagination of the player.
Rachel, I associate a lot with Laura Palmer from Twin Peaks. I liked how we didn't really know her but just knew her vicariously through the town who loved her so much. In reality, Laura was kind of a shitshow, and she was horrible to Bobby, she was a coke addict, and she was just a sad person who put on a good mask for everybody. The twin peaks film really tore that mask off and smashed it to the ground and showed the viewers who fell in love with the character who she really was and I feel like this game is gonna do that with Rachel and that's what I love about it. We are gonna see who Rachel really was and I personally love that we are gonna get a different side to her. It won't ruin the game for me like how the movie fire walk with me didn't ruin twin peaks.
Your analysis videos are really, really great. Very insightful, and entertaining. Keep up the awesome work, cause you're doing great!
I don't understand at all who she is or how she acts, and if you think you do, you're making it up. And that's a bad thing, imo. You can't feel as much for an idea as a person. I liked Max and Chloe because I knew them. I want to like Rachel too, as a person, not a stereotype.
I've never believed Rachel was perfect, or that mystery is beautiful. It's beautiful to see a sunset, and know what a star is. The truth doesn't take anything away, it adds.
Have you ever seen Pulp Fiction? Remember the brief case? What was in the brief case? You don't know. That's because it remained undefined. But everybody panned over it like it was the most important thing in the world. Same with Series of Unfortunate Events if you'd read that- Olaf's troupe is looking for something called the Sugar Bowl. What is it? We don't know. What does it do for him? We don't know.
Life is Strange would not be the first story to leave a shroud unlifted if they didn't expand upon Rachel Amber.
You can't seriously argue that every mystery is better left solved. Especially in Life is Strange which- hey look at that! It fits the bill for the mystery genre pretty darn well!
I'm not advocating against truth, please do not put words in my mouth. I'm advocating against retcon. They didn't have a character for Rachel Amber already written- so you can't argue that it's truth. Everything that I mentioned about her in this video was immediately extractable from the original game. I didn't make it up. If anything "making it up" is the piece of licensed fanfiction that is going to be released in a few days.
P.S. Flowery though your language may be, the truth does not always add. If DeckNine had made the decision to make Rachel Amber a cock juggling clown on a unicycle I think people would agree that they liked Rachel better as a mystery. Though hyperbolic, what I mean is that some things *are* better left unexplained. Or at the very least they are fine left unexplained. If I am surprised and the character is done really well then great. That's not what I'm anticipating based on what I've seen though. If the character is done poorly will you still say it's better because at least she's been explained? Because nothing has been left to your imagination?
I haven''t seen those things, but Rachel is a person, not a thing. For me in a game, or fiction, caring about an important character improves the story, and caring requires knowing them to some extent. I care about Chloe, but it would be nice to know who she's talking about. It would make it easier to empathise with Chloe, when Rachel is a person rather than an idea (imo).
I'm not sure there are mysteries best left unsolved.
I didn't mean to imply you were against truth. I'm not totally sure what retcon means, but as long as Rachel is consistent with how she seems in LiS, I don't see the problem.
I'm not sure what it would mean for the character to be done poorly. I know it's possible, but I have little expectations for what Rachel is like, apart from being confident. I agree if she's done poorly that would be bad, but that's true of anything. I disagree with the idea that showing Rachel is bad, regardless of how she's portrayed.
I guess for me, almost anything is better than the empty concept I have of her right now. Maybe I'll be wrong, but I'd rather take the risk.
But that's my opinion, and I don't mean you any offence :)
coolbanana165 I agree. Mysteries are fine and dandy, but I actually want to CARE about Rachel passing. I only felt bad for Chloe in LIS as I never knew Rachel so couldn't get that upset for her. It's one thing to have an unsolved mystery or plot point to leave the viewer guessing, but this has more to do with characterization then ruining a mystery. Having played the first part of the first chapter, it seems to be delving not just into Rachel, but how everything around Chloe changed her to how she is now. I see no problem in giving a dead girl a character and humanizing her. It makes her more than just a plot point to find. It makes her a real person. In real life, you can't just hold onto a perception of someone when that's not who they really are, and I think to think that way of Rachel is kind of insulting to the character. This was a person who had her own identity. It should be able to be seen beyond the perception of other people. I for one look forward to seeing what kind of person she was like.
3:30 - trigger warning
•stabbing
•blood
•shrill screams
•A L A D Y
Rachel Amber is Laura Palmer. And if you EVER watched Twin Peaks which is referenced all the way through Life is Strange. Knowing who "Killed Laura Palmer" is the whole premise. Look at the movie "Fire walk with me" which is about Laura Palmer before she died. It was like one long nod/wink to the fans, but did poorly at box office.
It’s weird realizing your choices in BTS won’t matter cause Rachel will end up dead & Chloe still would be the same person she was when Max shows up
No, the appeal is we get to see Chloe again but there's nothing wrong with prequels. Fire Walk with Me is an incredible film, and a prequel.
I stated that I don't think there is anything wrong with prequels in the video? The appeal in the trailer was largely based on Rachel Amber though. Look at the way it's edited, you always leave a reveal trailer off on a high note, and the last significant shot is of Rachel Amber. I don't think anybody can make the argument that a game with just Chloe would do as well as a game that includes (and therefore hurts) the biggest unknown in LiS
I'm starting to feel like the weird one, was I the only one who gave zero shits about Chloe?
Aww. I'm sure we would be great friends.
Y’all keep missing the point. Even in LiS, if you communicated with everyone or just the right people then you would’ve noticed that Rachel Amber isn’t perfect. She has several faces and everyone had different opinions of her. And then we find out that she was in a relationship with Frank and then Jefferson, and she was what, 18-19?? For someone who’s loved/respected by literally everyone, you wouldn’t have expected her to fuck a drug dealer or her teacher. And for some reason that we don’t know, the homeless lady noticed that Rachel always looked so troubled. Why? We don’t know.
And then we got BtS Rachel Amber when she was about 16. She was at the start of her height of popularity. Everyone loved her too. Then we saw she was just as fucked up as Chloe, if not more. She confessed to not wanting to become like her father which Chloe thought she was talking about herself, and she already was on her way to becoming exactly like her father.
Rachel Amber is perfect but also broken. She’s the Fire that you can admire from a distance, but can burn you if you get too close. Exactly what William said in Chloe’s dreams.
I mean, I'm pretty stoked. I wanna see why she was so special to Chloe aside from little details and Chloe's grieving over her.
I felt like Rachel was just using Chloe throughout the whole game and that really brought me to hating Rachel. When she got stabbed by Damon Chloe took her to the hospital and when Chloe went to go see rachel, Rachel asked her to go look for her real mom. Now I think Rachel is a selfish, spoiled, brat who only thinks for herself and if Chloe doesn't do what she wants Rachel gets mad. And if I can remember correctly after the play Rachel said something about wanting to leave that very night and when Chloe was thinking about it Rachel had said something about Chloe not being able to refuse her. I'm not trying to change your opinion about Rachel, but I just wanted to let you know about all her flaws before wanting to consider her a good or sum
"and if Chloe doesn't do what she wants Rachel gets mad"
Does this happen?
Also this thinkpiece was before the game came out. It was more advocating for why I think expanding on the character and the setting does damage to the source material. As far as I'm concerned after playing the game- I'm right.
don't know about you guys but the both games made me cry. i rarely find games like these.
Noo dude I've already got an attachment to Rachel in the new game which makes her death soo much sadder when you go back and play episode 4 of the first game. It helps me better understand Chloe' s grief and ambition from the whole entire first game...it make it so much better.
I haven't played the game yet, and I've seen some gameplay.... But when they announced the backstory of Rachel, I did have the same moments of.... "please don't touch her" we are supposed to be Max, We may have never known Rachel, but we created something that others thought of and that scene when they find her dead, was truly heartbreaking.
My main reason for not wanting to meet her? That I'll like her, I mean, we all know what's coming for her, it's like busting out the heart break befor the game has even been released :P
I cared about Rachel, but here's the thing: I cared for what she represented. I cared about my own interpretation based on secondhand experience and about, as you said it yourself, the image of Rachel Ember that was pieced together by everyone. I want to know more about her, but in tidbits from other characters, not directly. “Rachel Amber's Absence is Rachel Amber's Character” is a brilliant, on point, summary.
I think it was unwise of them to make game about Rachel and Chloe. Feels like a cheap selling trick to me, but mostly - it strips us away from everything that made Rachel, well, Rachel. Our own interpretations and expectations... that is something this game is never going to live up to. The only thing it leaves room to now is the disappointment. Not to say everyone will be disappointed, but I already feel like Rachel is not as likable as before. And too similar to Chloe.
Also what is up with making a prequel about two dead characters? But I digress. Good video, it is refreshing to see that others feel the same or at least similar enough!
"theyre either gay or really good friends." yes.
you're a freakin' genius!
things won't be the same after this, that's for sure.
Just finished BTS. As a fan of this series I would have whole heartedly agreed with you if I had seen this video prior to the release of the prequel. I would have been so worried that they would effectively destroy the mystery of RA and wouldn't be able to live up to her legacy left in season 1.
Now that BTS is over I can confidently say Rachel is in my mind almost 24/7. They utterly succeeded not only in Rachel's character, but also Rachel and Chloe's relationship! I was 100% fascinated by Rachel just as Chloe was.
When I was intereacting with Rachel, it wasn't just Chloe but it was me as the player as well! Rachel was mysterious, beautiful, intoxicating, wonderous, and complicated all at the same time.
BTS blew me away and has completely enriched season 1 in its entirety. In one hand, I feel Rachel and Chloe were meant to be so much more than Chloe and Max. Yet at the same time, Rachel was a free spirit that couldn't be tied down and she also had a thing for other people. She was locked into being perfect by everyone around her and she hated it. So much so that she seemed out individuals that could add something different to her life.
Deck 9 did the improbable... they took Rachel Amber from 90 on my facsination scale all the way to 150!!! I went from loving the LiS series to ADORING it!!!
There's been talk of a BTS season 2 to fill in more of the gap between the seasons. On one hand I don't want to have all mystery explained. On the other hand Rachel's mark is SO powerful that I NEED more of her than just 3 episodes.
Only and that ONLY if they can 100% pull of the magic that they did with her in BTS will I accept more.
Let me rephrase that: I went from really enjoying the series to absolutely adoring it.
When the LE of the first season came out I considered buying it but decided against it since I felt I didn't need it. I had bought the game digitally and it was good but I didn't feel the need to buy the LE release.
After BTS I have just now bought the LE of the first season in eBay, and have bought the vinyl edition of BTS.
I was (and am) seriously enamored with Rachel now and even if I 100% don't understand your personal take on her, it's all good.
I personally walked away from BTS with a Rachel addiction I fully didn't expect to have. The game touched my soul on a level I again didn't expect.
I've played many games in my life and few have touched my soul as much as this series have. It's just so few and far between that when a game comes along that jumps out of the confines of what video games are expected to be that it makes me ponder the game for days or even weeks afterwards.
I liked Rachel in the first game. Her disappearing wasn’t just something. She did feel alive. Everyone had something to say about her. There were objects about her. Chloe’s mom and step dad had something to say about her. She did feel real in my opinion
10,000,000,000% agree. But not a percentage more.
So many people have argued that Rachel wasn't a character in the first game that I think it's put grey in my hair and taken years off my life. The fact that something intangible can be made tangible by a consensus of feelings is something that people have fought me tooth and nail on and I don't think it's a particularly deep concept.
Holy hell, now that you make your case, what I realize is that Rachel Amber is the Rhaegar Targaryen of Life is Strange.
A very powerful and overwhelmingly positive character in the past, with more shady and ambigous details of her ersonality and story slowly surfacing, but all in all, good or bad, even gone, has a strong presence in the story and her heritage and lasting impact can be felt everywhere, especially in the lives and memories of all the other characters who you meet and are actually still alive.
A very good comparison my dude!
The thing is that if rachel in this game is not like i imagined her i would be very disappointed....and thats why i dont wanna meet her.
I agree before the storm feels more of fan service, however as a fan of it that makes me excited to play it and to experience more of this world and story that I adore. I feel like it may have many errors but hopefully will still be enjoyable.
i think before the storm was fan service and not that many people would’ve been sad if it didn’t come out but i do think it’s an amazing game for a prequel, like usually there’s something odd about prequels and it doesn’t feel like it’s from the original series but this i think gives a more in-depth look to chloes life with her stepfather and everyone in the games. Rachel’s story i think was slightly more meaningful but i do think her character is mostly fitting into the descriptions of what the game portrayed her as, not the fans.
I think you worded my thoughts better than me.
I dunno. Maybe it's just me, but I didn't care about Rachel at all during the main game. I acknowledged that she was there, and that she was important to my Chloe, but I didn't care about her character. I wasn't amazingly interested in her at all.
EDIT: Lol, you brought that up later on in the video.
i would pay €30 for a dlc that gives the option to save everyone 😢
This is sort of what happened with Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks (LOTS OF SPOILERS AHEAD)
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I liked her as a character and I liked seeing her alive in Fire Walk With Me (mostly because I feel like Lynch greatly managed to avoid to give her any of the Mary Sue-ish characteristics anyone in town was sure she had, she's kind of a fucked up person actually, and for all the right reasons)
But the reason her presence was much stronger and impactful in the original series was her LACK of actual, physical presence. Laura is a mistery, a tragedy, something to resolve. You don't care that she's dead, you care about the pain she left behind and the reason she died; watching the first episodes you keep asking myself "If she was such a good person, then why was she killed?", then you're led into thinking she did something stupid and got in trouble with the wrong people and in the end you find out that while she certainly DID stupid stuff, she was also nice and probably would have survived if it wasn't for, you know, supernatural reasons/Leland getting her.
I feel like that's GREAT writing, and this stuff all happens while Laura is dead and we (mostly) don't see her interacting with anyone. While playing LIS I got all sorts of Laura's vibes from Rachel, and I think she might have been an inspiration for her character (wouldn't be the first time the authors quoted Twin Peaks in the game). So while I'm excited for the game, I don't know if I'm gonna like Rachel unless they pull a FWWM level of writing...thanks for putting my exact thoughts in this video.
I've played Life Is Strange maybe 1-1/2 years ago. I decided to play BtS a week ago and i'm glad i didn't look up the story of the original game before that, i couldn't even remember Rachel was dead - well, at least i wasn't exactly sure. I think playing BtS before LiS is a much better experience
Not playing bts is a better experience in my honest opinion :3
Pacifist Run I didn't really think it was bad, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion so hey, it's all good. I understand your point of view. Are you going to do videos about LiS 2? I've heard it's been announced
Not really announced. Like they're for sure making a new one. Different cast, different location. But they've been pretty tight lipped about it
I really don't want to meet Rachel, but I kinda do want to meet Rachel because I want to learn what Rachel and Chloe's relationship was like and so I can actually care about her whenever I replay the first game and can break down even harder at episode 4
With the first two episodes out now, I can say that meeting her is very well done. So far you never actually see how she acts around other people, and so she still has that mysterious element to her. You only see her from Chole's point of view, and through her strong connection with her, which is the same way you learn of her in the first game.