In just a few days Life is Strange: Before the Storm will be releasing. The anticipation within the community has never been higher. With a new development studio taking the reins for the next instalment, can they live up to the hype, or will they cause disappointment across the board?

New Studio: Deck Nine

Deck Nine are the development team behind the prequel. The creative director of the studio used to be part of the development studio Idol Minds. He recently changed the name of the studio due to a change in genre. Mark Lyons over watched the porting of multiple Ratchet and Clank games as well as Cool Boarders; a game focused on snowboarding for PlayStation 1. Life is Strange: Before the Storm will be the first game with the new Branding.

Before the Storm takes place before the events of Life is Strange, before Rachel disappeared. The game follows Chloe and Rachel’s experiences when a family secret within Rachel’s family gets out.

Players will not be able to interact with the original protagonist; Max Caulfield, as she was studying in Seattle while the events of Before the Storm took place. If players buy the deluxe edition, they will be able to have a short duration with her in a bonus episode. The additional episode will include content based around Chloe and Max while they were much younger. A connection to episode 4 perhaps?

Players wont be allowed to play as Max Caulfield [Source: www.wikipedia.com]

Ashley Burch

A controversial decision made by Chloe’s original voice actress Ashley Burch to not take part in the development because of strike action due to voice actors not receiving enough credit for the huge part they have within games development. Ashley a brilliant talent and one of the few well-known voice actors within the games industry. One of her notorious acts was Tiny Tina in the Borderlands franchise among other games.

The story focus of the game and the relatable characters could make this decision a hard-hitter for the quality of the game and the impact it has on the audience. Rhianna Devries only has two other releases to her name, a short film and a movie that is still in the

post-production phase of its release schedule. With a game with such high regard within the gaming community, choosing an actress with such little experience could be a spell for disaster, or an unexpected surprise.

Life is Strange 2

Dontnod Entertainment have begun the development of Life is Strange 2 which will return with new characters to the series. Details have been limited although there will be no characters within the original game appearing anywhere within the title. Dontnod have also teamed up with Bandai Namco for a new IP to be released in the future, this is to be announced in 2018. Dontnod have also released Remember Me in the past, a fighting game that holds its own. It does have its flaws though.

Currently there is no release date for Life is Strange 2. Concept art of their new IP was recently showcased along with the partnership announcement. Expect the game to be available in 2018 or later.

Advertisements