How the writing in Before the Storm cleverly blinds the player from its story

The Life is Strange series has always been jam packed with small details and motifs throughout its games that contribute to creating a world and narrative much larger than what may first be perceived. Its prequel, Before the Storm, is no exception to this rule. With improved writing, new graphics, and a beautifully composed original soundtrack by the British indie folk band, Daughter, the game crafts a unique experience played to the familiar tune of the original.

Before the Storm takes you through the journey of Chloe Price, the supporting character in the first season, and what she gets up to during events that previously were only mentioned. Although the game presents you with the whole drug dealers, criminal activity, and action spiel, there is a large focus that is placed on the relationship between the two main characters, much like in the original.

The game is interesting as it finally gives us the chance to see the character that is Rachel Amber. In Life is Strange, she is confined to just being that girl on the missing posters you stumble across during a playthrough that you only ever check once because let’s be honest they’re placed everywhere. She's just a face, purely defined by the comments of other characters, from throwaway lines to those that get overshadowed by the focus on this bigger mystery. All we are given is that she’s this beautiful angel that everyone either loves or hates.

In Before the Storm, for the first time, we get to see for ourselves who she really is.

There was something to how the relationship between the two is presented. It felt like a story about young love, two teens against the world. And to a certain extent, it is very much that. There was something about their small cute interactions that made you smile as you watched them find an escape in each other. It was pure, just a couple of girls from different backgrounds banding together with the joint goal of escaping their current lives. Or so, that's what we’re meant to believe. When you sit back and look at the evidence, everything from the game’s heavy handed symbolism down to the character’s actions, it becomes an obvious story about toxic relationships.

The Evidence

The Fire

Let’s start with the most obvious piece of symbolism: the fire. It does not take a genius to notice the connection between Rachel and the fire. Not only does Rachel’s emotions literally lead to a devastating forest fire that is brought up time and time again throughout the story and also in the game’s menu screen, but there is a whole dream sequence that Chloe experiences that shows Rachel literally on fire. This, grouped up with quotes that state “You’re so drawn to [the fire], you don’t even realise the danger” or the fact that fire is said to blind with its beauty, makes it pretty easy to believe that Rachel is not what she’s made out to be. Not to mention short one liners, such as “You never know where a deadly spark will come from”, that honestly could not make it any more obvious for us.

There’s a constant mention of the idea of beauty and the way it blinds. Everything from stars, to fire, to Rachel herself.

I mean, “You know she’s fake, yet you can’t take your eyes off of her. Who else do I know who fits the description?” And in case you couldn’t put two and two together, Chloe goes on to answer her own question. Surprise, surprise, it’s Rachel.

The Actors

Another heavily used piece of symbolism is the idea of life being a stage where we are the actors. It is such a common literary theme that is was almost so painfully obvious I had to get up and take a break from the game. Rachel is a literal actor and in episode two, she ends up dragging Chloe to become one as well. This scene is probably one of my favourites. It’s so well written and everything about it was beautiful. The scene depicts Chloe and Rachel performing the play The Tempest, a Shakespearean romance. And although I would love to go about it’s parallels to the plot of Before the Storm, it’s relevance here ends at a shallow “hey, look they’re literally actors on a stage”. There is however, multiple callbacks and mentions to the scene and Rachel’s acting skills through each episode. One of which I found particularly interesting. At the beginning of their relationship, Chloe starts to learn who Rachel is to which she comments, “So far what I’ve learned about you is that you’re into acting, lying, and playing games”, which is delivered in a way that it feels as to be taken seriously rather than as an off handed joke.]

Later, there’s a scene in episode two where the pair are cooling down from the heaviness of their situation and Rachel starts to open up saying, “Do you think there's a point when you've been acting so much that you don't even have your own personality anymore? You're just whatever you think other people want you to be?”, which is taken, not only by the player, but by Chloe herself to be about Rachel until it's revealed to be referring to Rachel’s dad. I mean at this point they’re just shouting at us about Rachel’s true nature.

Rachel’s Actions

As much as I’d hate to quote frankly the most annoying character in the game, Eliot, he does have some truth to the words he speaks. In our last confrontation with the character in episode three, he ends up cornering Chloe in order to make her hear him out on what he has to say. He begins to go off about every little problem Chloe’s relationship with Rachel has gotten her into. She gets into a fight, ends up getting expelled/suspended, and even commits a series of crimes.

He even uses keywords such as “manipulate” and “fake” in reference to Rachel’s actions.

And the worst part is, it’s all true.

Rachel is a poor influence. From the second time our pair meets, Rachel tells Chloe to join her on a freighthopping expedition in a scene pulled out of the sixties, and then asking her to jump off the train. I mean, Chloe, have you not been taught anything? If a friend tells you to jump off a bridge would you? Apparently so.

And to make matters worse, it’s revealed that Rachel didn’t suggest to skip school together because she wanted to spend some quality bonding time together. No, it was so when things inevitably went south, she’d have a shoulder to cry on, or more accurately, completely ditch as she throws her temper tantrum.

Sure. Her emotions are fair. A lot of people would be hurt to find out that their father is an unfaithful scumbag, but it really doesn’t justify her actions.

This is only one case of many.

How about when Rachel forces Chloe into a situation she clearly is uncomfortable in. An action that even Eliot brings up, perhaps a little hypocritical of him but true nonetheless.

Or maybe the most insane example where Rachel asks Chloe to put herself in danger just to find Rachel’s birth mother. This leads into a series of events where Chloe breaks into the District Attorney’s house and office, meddles with criminal evidence (all without doing as much as cleaning up after herself or preventing herself from leaving fingerprints around the place), destroying said evidence, stealing money from the DA and then chasing after hardened criminals and drug dealers. All at the ripe ol’ age of sixteen. Good going, Chloe.

And you can’t even argue that Rachel couldn’t see the danger of pursuing her birth mother considering she had just been stabbed by the criminal associated with her. Even Eliot mentions how it could have easily been Chloe in that situation.

Rachel knew that Chloe would follow her to the ends of the Earth and would be willing to do anything to please her. And what does she do with this? Completely disregard Chloe’s safety for her own benefit of course. What a great friend/partner!

Conclusion

But if all that evidence didn’t convince you, take it from Chloe herself:

“And sometimes, when we're incredibly desperate and lonely, we choose the absolute wrong kind of people to let into our hearts.''

Although, in the context of the scene Chloe is talking about her mother’s new lover, in a game where not a line of code or dialogue is wasted, it seems pretty intentional that this line also applies to the relationship between Chloe and Rachel.

So what do we take from all of this? Is Rachel secretly this evil being with the sole purpose of adding to the pain Chloe already experiences? No, of course not. But she’s no angel either.

I think the base problem here is their need or dependence on each other as an escape. This is something that is mentioned time and time again by various different characters. However, from what we see and what we learn from the main game series, they undoubtedly have an unhealthy relationship.

But in saying that, they’re young and they’re dumb. They’re bound to make mistakes. They’re just two kids trying to figure out their place in the world. There isn’t any shame in seeing them as sweet or cute because frankly, they kinda are.

The writing of Before the Storm is genius. Even as I write this, even as I went through the game the second time looking through a new lens, I still saw their relationship as wholesome, almost as something to be pursued after. I can’t even count the times I forgot Rachel’s wrongdoings when she does something slightly nice. And that’s what makes it brilliant. In the end, through these characters and the message the game tries so hard to push, it still manages to make us blind to the consequences it shines a light on, only further proving its point.

Before the Storm is beautiful. Its writing, its music, its everything. And if it has taught us anything, it’s that beauty blinds.