3/5 ★ – WoahItsFlug's review of Life is Strange: Before the Storm.

There's some solid stuff but this game isn't nearly as good as I remember it being. I understand they didn't have a choice to not recast, but the voice acting here is a pretty noticeable downgrade from the first, as is the writing. LiS has always had spotty dialogue but it feels much less self aware in this game and just feels awkward. I love Chloe and Rachel's relationship but I think this was the wrong story to tell. It should've taken place closer to the first game and shown how Rachel got entangled with Frank, Jefferson and Nathan. Instead we got a convoluted story sbout Rachel's mother that doesn't ever get a satisfying conclusion. That said, though, I still love the characters, and I do like the added context to Chloe's relationship with her mother and David, and there are some standout segments that are great, like the school play, the dinner scene, and the first junkyard scene at the end of episode 1.