I'd continue but then that kid holding me at gunpoint went back, she'll be back this weekend so I can finally finish this.
But FUCK, what a gut punch after how Before the Storm ended. I went with mostly good options and told Rachel about her true mother, which destroyed her view of her dad.
So THIS is how her story ends? Damn, I hope it doesn't get more depressing. (Clueless.)
Also I'm pretty sure Jefferson is the bad guy, the bunker has photos of women in creepy positions, Jefferson is already a proven creep with how he basically tried to egg Kate to suicide, and HE"S THE PHOTOGRAPHY TEACHER.
That girl even told me to remember what he said way back in the first episode. And I remembered he bragged he could take good photos that captured expressions in the dark. BASTARD!
I HAVE TO WARN VICTORIA! I"M ON GOOD TERMS WITH HER. But I have to wait till the weekend.
"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"
"Damn, I hope it doesn't get more depressing." I'd like to tell you it doesn't. But I'd be lying.
While finding Rachel's body is probably the most depressing moment of Episode 4, episode 5 is outright vicious. That one is all about Don't Nod hating you and wanting you to never feel happy again.
I hope you enjoy it!
X-Men X-Pert, my blog where I talk about X-Men comics.
Yeah, Alt-Chloe asking to be euthanized is a very strong contender for the most depressing moment of Episode 4. It's a tough call between which of those two is more depressing. With the euthanasia, at least there's the knowledge of it not being "our" Chloe, and the knowledge that we'll be returning to the main timeline. With Rachel, the only thing that potentially softens the blow is if you already expected her to be dead, but even then, seeing Chloe's heart break is really tough to watch.
And, of course, the end of Episode 4 is exceptionally hard, though the pure shock of it actually ends up distracting slightly from the sadness of it.
Regardless, Episode 5 is just plain cruel. It's great.
X-Men X-Pert, my blog where I talk about X-Men comics.I remember thinking over and over that Rachel was somehow going to be connected to Max's time-traveling and that there would be some grander time travel supervillain plot
But, nope. She's just plain dead. Turns out a missing teenage girl with shady connections to the main drug dealer in a sleepy little town is more than likely six feet under.
Once I stopped feeling sad I laughed at how my brain went to every fantastical corner before assuming the Surprisingly Realistic Outcome.
Edited by FOFD on Jan 30th 2025 at 12:54:41 PM
For the LP I did, I made a lot of bad decisions. I was harsh with David, though I feel he brought it on himself with his comment about Chloe getting a "vacation" from a father figure. After the play, I chose to ask Rachel for her bracelet, rather than for a kiss, as I really liked Ashley Burch's headcanon that Chloe never acted on her love for Rachel, it just felt like it added a layer of tragedy to the whole thing. (Besides, who doesn't like a Useless Lesbian? "When she says she loves me and wants to have a lot of lesbian sex with me, she probably means it platonically, right?")
I deliberately failed to convince Rachel's mom to meet her, and chose to keep the truth from Rachel. For the final choice, about telling Rachel the truth or lying, I do think either choice can make sense in canon. Told her the truth? Her relationship with her family is ruined, and she holds a certain subconscious resentment towards Chloe as a result, and that creates a rift that grows until she starts looking for other ways out of town without Chloe. Kept the secret? Chloe's sense of guilt puts up a wall between them that grows until Rachel starts looking for ways out of town without her.
The Life Is Strange games are very much tragedies, so I leaned into that with Before the Storm, as best I could.
X-Men X-Pert, my blog where I talk about X-Men comics.
I agree with David, especially given how Chloe openly disrespects her mom and walks all over her in her own house. Someone had to be there lay down the law, so to speak, and Joyce clearly wasn't up to the job.
Edited by MiinU on Jan 30th 2025 at 8:56:23 AM
Okay finished ep 4, FINALLY.
Key points:
- So I let Warren beat the shit out of Nathan for some glorious payback. Warren however felt bad about it, but Max seemed vaguely turned on by his violent side, so I'll see how this goes. He was drunk though.
- Brooke and Max were on good terms despite me getting to Warren first, and I managed to save Alyssa this episode. Solid work.
- I managed to warn Victoria about Nathan, we actually had a heart to heart and I think we're friends. Even opened up about how she feels that she has to be ruthless to succeed and that she thinks Max is the coolest. You know, if Victoria was a romance option, I'd totally choose her to join in on the time travel shenanigans.
- WAIT WAS I SUPPOSED TO ACTUALLY ENTER THE EVERYDAY HEROES CONTEST?! FUCK. The kid kept telling me entering is mandatory so I didn't actually bother to talk to the teacher to submit the photos I took.
- And to NO ONE's SURPRISE, Jefferson is the bad guy. Fuck that creep and his Paul looking ass, I knew there was something off the moment I heard his damn condescending voice. I also noticed that the text messages that Nathan got from someone he seemed to take orders from didn't match how he interacted with his dad so that ruled him out.
Regarding point 1: Yes, she got turned on. You'll see what I mean during episode 5.
Regarding point 3: I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but... you shouldn't have done that.
Edited by MiinU on Feb 3rd 2025 at 12:11:27 PM
I'd say I hope Warren would save Max from Jefferson, but somehow I doubt that's how things are going to go.
As for Victoria, okay it MIGHT be a bad thing to do BUT it's what I feel Max would do based on the context. Like I said, I really relate to Max and we have similar reactions to the point the child forcing me to play this game at gun point is making fun of me for being such a nerd.
BAH! Proud of it! But yeah, I feel like Max would totally warn Victoria at this point given what she knows about Nathan.
As for Chloe, FUCK, she's dead. But we can undo it right? I've built up such a rapport with her since I started with her as the MC back in before the storm, she's like that obnoxious punk daughter you can't help but love.
But I guess I'm so different from the target audience that I genuinely expected Max and Chloe to end up in a confrontation of some kind instead of expecting Jefferson to end things like that. I dunno, I'm so used to thing like Bruce and John going sideways that felt like something similar would happen here.
"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"
I don't wanna spoil episode 5 for you, so I'll refrain from anything specific to it.
As for Chloe, I just couldn't feel the same attachment to her that the majority of the LiS fanbase does. She just really rubbed me the wrong way. As I've said in earlier posts, I get what DON'TNOD was going for with her character, I just don't feel it was done well, or in a believable manner. Nor did I get Max's attachment to her. When they were kids? Sure. But as Chloe is now? I honestly couldn't see it.
It'd be different if was something like Richie Cunnigham's admiration of Arthur Fonzarelli. In their case, the appeal was obvious: Richie was the nerdy kid in awe of the coolest guy in the neighborhood, whereas Fonzie was impressed by Richie's book smarts and became his big brother figure. But with Max and Chloe we've got a wallflower and a wannabe teen rebel.
That said, I wouldn't wish death on Chloe, but she's not the sorta person I can picture Max associating with. Kate, Dana, Brooke, and Warren are more her crowd.
Edited by MiinU on Feb 3rd 2025 at 5:11:22 AM
I think that a lot of Max's attachment to Chloe comes from her childhood attachment: it's carried over.
Now, that doesn't necessarily make for a lasting relationship at an older age—but then, the game takes place over a rather short span of time, for the most part. As a result, there may simply not be time for them to discover that they've grown apart.
But there's also the chance that they won't part—that they'll still be drawn to each other as they are during the game. Shy, gentle Max may like, even admire tough, outspoken Chloe, while Chloe might appreciate having someone respond to her in Max's manner.
My Games and Asset PacksFor the record, it's not possible to enter the contest. Max tore up her entry photo at the start of the game.
X-Men X-Pert, my blog where I talk about X-Men comics.![]()
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I got confused because my guest told me it was mandatory to enter, and then Paul Jefferson kept complaint I didn't give anything.
Maybe I dodged a bullet. Unlike Chloe.
It’s like when that science teacher lady kept complaining to me about not signing her petition.
"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"![]()
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Right, but Red hasn't reached that part. The point is that there's no choice on whether or not to enter, it's not something where the player has an option to submit a photo. Red hasn't missed anything with it.
Edited by Tiamatty on Feb 5th 2025 at 9:05:51 AM
X-Men X-Pert, my blog where I talk about X-Men comics.I sacrificed Chloe. I was SO close to letting Arcadia bay drown, but Chloe begged Max, and so I honored her last wish for his time.
And she died at her lowest point. This feels like a nasty joke the universe played giving Max time powers.
At least Chloe told me that everything that happened still mattered even if the game didn’t technically happen.
Fuck, what a delightful tragedy.
"The Black Rage makes us strong, because we must resist its temptations every day of our lives or be forever damned!"

Ah, there it is.
Edited by FOFD on Jan 29th 2025 at 3:27:42 PM