Oh goody, a prequel. Nothing more exciting than following boring characters before there was any kind of mystery or mysterious powers! I hope the prequel takes place in the timeline where Zoe was crippled, because it's the only time where her character wasn't completely awful and unsympathetic (also I laughed my ass off when it happened, despite having predicted it). Or if it was a sequel, it should focus on the party everyone held after she got shot because nobody would miss her. In case you haven't caught it yet, I hate Zoe.
Also, the other characters where ranged from not too interesting to almost as awful, and Max & Zoe's friendship was completely forced and unbelievable, and game's story was overall H-E-L-L-A stupid.
In other words, I guess I am not too excited, hehe. E;R will tell you in more detail.
Her name is Chloe.
Ooops, shows how much appreciation I have for her character, hehe. Well, I got the rhyme down!
Aw man, I am actually of the complete opposite opinion. xD For me, Life is Strange is probably one of the most dramatic and, perhaps, emotional games I've had the pleasure of playing.
I guess what I would say to not liking Chloe, and feeling that the friendship was forced, is perhaps that it must be looked at from a certain perspective.
I'm going to get into super-duper spoilers, but since this is a prequel thread I assume that's okay.You have to consider that, in a certain way, Chloe's character
isn't supposed to be friendly and likable. She's abrasive, straightforward, kind of an asshole, mostly to everyone except for Max, though she's also this way towards Max too. But you have to consider
why she acts that way:
1. Max up and left her, and never spoke to her for years and years. They might have been young, but Max was her best friend. What really is sort of the source of that anger though is...
2. Chloe's Dad dying in the accident. Even if Max would've never spoke to her, Chloe may have just moved on if it wouldn't have been for her Dad dying. She loved her Dad to pieces, and on top of her Dad leaving, so did Max; Chloe lost two people who were dear to her in a short amount of time. I imagine her Mom wasn't around much trying to pay the bills at the diner. Chloe must have felt terribly abandoned and distraught on both accounts, as one really reinforced the other. Again, on top of this:
3. Her Dad being replaced by what's-his-name-I-can't-remember. Chloe's hardheadedness, and her new Dad's, were not a good match. It made for a sort of toxic family environment. Especially because Chloe failed to understand that, despite Her new Dad's hardheadedness, he was truly wanting the best for her, and (I believe) for him to be accepted into the family. Keep in mind this is a veteran trying to re-adjust to civilian life, a guy who definitely saw his fair share of things, and is probably suffering his own trauma. The game didn't go into it much, but I thought it was a nice nod at the struggles that former military men and women go through as they try to reintegrate into society.
4. Rachel. Rachel Rachel Rachel. Another person who abandoned her, a person she truly loved, just like Max and her original Dad. If she was abrasive before, I imagine this added to the hurt, as it was another person who seemingly up-and-abandoned her. In a certain sense, we could also see why this contributed to her anger with Max, because (depending upon how you play the game) Rachel was sort of a replacement for Max... or, was Max a replacement for Rachel?
That's what I liked about the relationship between Max and Chloe; on the contrary, I didn't feel that it was forced in the same way. While they are partners in crime throughout the game, a few small choices sort of let the player determine the relationship between these two. I chose not to write Max's name on the wall in the junkyard; nor did I have Max kiss Chloe. In the same way, she never kicked it off Warner (I think that was his name?). Sure, these choices were brief, but they allowed me to create the story a bit myself. 'My' Max struggled to understand her and Chloe's relationship in the game; was Max just a Rachel replacement?
Could she replace Rachel? Or was Rachel a replacement for Max? I used these choices to create a version of the story in which 'my' Max never fell in love with Chloe, not in a romantic sense. Rather, Max's journey was about rediscovering an old friendship, and realizing that while she could rebuild an old bond, she couldn't replace the one Chloe shared with Rachel. In the end, 'my' Max chose to not save Chloe; for her, the meaning of the journey wasn't just preventing it's central tragedy/the murders, but also being given the chance to make amends with Chloe and rediscover the bond they once shared.
So again, on the contrary, for me it didn't feel too forced, because I felt that 1. their partnership is just sort of a given to a certain extent, and 2. these small choices allowed me enough agency to determine what kind of bond it was that Max and Chloe shared, as well as how Max felt about others, and what the journey meant for her.
I really liked Kate's character, but I did feel that after she got better in the hospital, her part just kinda got swept under the rug... which was sad. Kate was one of my favorite characters, and her chapter was the most powerful one in my opinion, I would have liked to see a little more of her in later chapters, it just felt too cut off.
But I'll also say this; Chris (DashV on here) felt differently than I did on some parts, as well. I didn't find chapters 4/5 to necessarily be all that moving, but due to his experience with being a father and having a kid of his own, I think He was able to relate more with some of it's content, and therefore it was more powerful for him.
Of course, I have no problem with us disagreeing!
But I hope these words may give you something to mull over. One thing I enjoy about games like persona is how you can hate a character, but over time learn to like them, and understand them. I feel like Life is Strange is similar in that regard of allowing your perceptions of characters to change, at least slightly.
For me, the game's shortcomings were...
1. Chapter 2 being so strong, and the following chapters not keeping up that tense, suspenseful feeling. Kind of like getting to the best part of a roller-coaster early, then the rest being kinda tame in comparison.
2. The Kate issue.
3. Not being given an option to hug Chloe before/after making the final decision. THAT WAS NOT FAIR I WANTED TO HUG HER LOTS.
4. Once it instituted the whole butterfly-effect thing, I felt like it lost a bit of it's originality, since it reminded me of the movie. It wasn't bad for the game, it just made it feel a little less original to me.
So yeah, it holds a special place for me as a very dramatic, moody, emotional game, but I do feel that it fell a bit short of it's true potential.
As for a sequel? I dunno, I like one-offs. I mean, who doesn't love Kill-La-Kill? But a new season wouldn't be good; it's better to let some things die with dignity. But hey, the prequel could be grand, so I guess we'll have to see.