I apologize for the rambling post, feel free to skip to my spoiler-tagged comments in the next post if you want actual plot discussion! This first bit is just me wondering aloud why I liked Ep2 so much. I won't directly spoil anything from the episode until the tagged bit near the end but I still wouldn't recommend that people read it until they've played Ep2, just in case. I don't want a big block of spoiler tags.
Nanis23 posted...
Hmmmm liked the first episode a lot more, this one was kinda boring tbh?
I actually spent most of my day at work yesterday thinking about the episode and browsing the internet to see what other people thought about it. There were the usual complaints (anyone who hated Chloe in LiS will likely not change their mind after playing BtS, for example) but thinking it was kind of boring was a relatively common sentiment even among those who liked the first BtS episode. There were also a lot of people who loved it just as much as I did, though, and that got me wondering. My theory is that it might come down to what people enjoy most about these games. I loved every moment of BtS Ep2, but when I thought back on it there was no big moment I could point to in order to justify
why
I loved it.
Life is Strange had a lot of mystery (what's up with the tornado/time powers, where's Rachel, what happened to Kate, etc) and those were what hooked me initially. However, the aspect that makes it my favorite story ever is the characterization. I think that might be why I hate Episode Five so much, sections like the Gallery add literally nothing to anyone's character and they're so unrelentingly boring on replays. Meanwhile, the section in Ep3 where Max and Chloe chat in the pool feels magical every time because there's so much going on in everything they say and even the subtle ways that Chloe glances at Max...
Anyway, my point is that BtS doesn't have as much mystery as LiS did, largely because it's a prequel so it kind of can't, we know where these characters are going to end up. The only thing it seeks to answer is what kind of person Rachel is and the friendship between her and Chloe, both heavy characterization aspects, which I love. Ep1 ended with a potential big reveal and it had other 'big' moments scattered throughout, but Ep2
didn't delve too much into any of them
. I guess I'm the kind of person who appreciates stuff from Ep2 like
the play, or walking down the street afterwards with Rachel
.
I might just be overthinking this and I'm completely wrong, but it was interesting to consider.