should I play this first?

[FluxZ]

should I play this before I play the original, considering it is a presequel?

[Kramskyy]

Do you wanna play ?

[charly4711]

If you consider playing both, my recommendation would be to play LiS first (and possibly again afterwards)

[Vali]

Even though it's a prequel, you should definitely play LIS first. After that, you can go for BtS. Otherwise you wipl miss so many links and connections.

[Solid Gamer]

original first

[Vali]

Originally posted by Hoyvin:

Originally posted by Vali:

Even though it's a prequel, you should definitely play LIS first. After that, you can go for BtS. Otherwise you wipl miss so many links and connections.

i disagree. i think it doesnt matter which game you play first. you will still get the links and connections because they flow so well between the two games.

IF you play BtS first, you will find it boring and long and slow.

LIS jumps into the story instantly.

And BtS refers to LIS. Not reversed.

[BloodySin]

Originally posted by Hoyvin:

i played bts first. didnt find it boring, long or slow. only reason i played lis1 already was because of having to wait for episode 3 of bts. (wanted to wait until after release but didnt have the discipline) i like bts over lis1. the references and links still work both ways. doesnt matter which game is referencing the other one. they are referenced so good that you understand the reference.

Referencing isn't everything, though. Life is Strange was made as a stand-alone, so it wasn't created based on something else, while Before the Storm was. You might get all the references no matter which one you play first, but you hardly will have the emotional background and investment you get from Life is Strange if you start with Before the Storm. Before the Storm is just better when you already have that baggage.

[Vali]

Not at all... Donť forget this:

[Spoiler. don't read, if you haven't played]

In original LIS in episode 4 you found out Rachel is Dead. And with this... you then must play whole Bts... when you see hre in friendship with Chloe. Thats really emotional. Important part of playing this. And she is not the oly one. Don'!t forget Nathan, David, Frank, Franks dog.... all goes just one way. If you play BtS first, its impossible having clue.

[End of spoiler]

It's just impossible to feel it like we did, if you played it reversed. Don't say it is. You experienced just 80% of all emotions, that developers planned to evoke in us.

[Vali]

Now seriously. Don't listen Hoyvin please :D He don't know what he missed, when he played it reversed. I'm not mad at him. It's not his fault. But he just can't understand what it would be like... playing it linearly (following developers intentions). And he will never be able to understand.

[BloodySin]

Originally posted by Hoyvin:

to each their own i suppose. i had the same amount of emotional background/investment imo as anyone else. i also dont think you need any extra baggage do be engaged regardless of what game gets played first. using your terms, in my own experience, lis1 is just better with the beggage i got from playing bts first.

That's simply false. You can't have the same emotional background and investment when you aren't aware of what happens to Rachel, of what happens to Chloe and other things. If you tell me you had emotional background and investment regarding even just those two characters from a blank slate, I'll just call you a liar.

[Vali]

Someone got triggered af.

Seriously. it IS difference. I can't imagine I would blame David, love Max or sympathysed with Chloe or Frank if I played it reversed.

Just stop yelling and admit you played it in wrong order. There don't have to be any article. Its obvious. LIS is first game, BtS is second game. Just look at release date. This is not fockin Star Wars series when order 4-5-6-1-2-3 or 1-2-3-4-5-6 doesn't matter. Here it do really matter. This game is 100% based on emotions. And you spoiled them to yourself. You just had less "WTF" feelings and more "Ah, that's how it is" feelings.

[Johann Gambolputty]

IMO the original done a better job at setting up the universe since it's longer and more detailed. You'll get improvement in immersion from the referrenced from the original as well.

I haven't touch the original again after I completed it about a year and a half ago, and have forgotten a lot of things. I have gone through the two epsodes of the prequel, give the original another run, and I would say, I wish I had rerun the original before I play the prequel for the first time.

[||X|L||VI|I||]

play the original LIS first.
it's designed for players who already playe the first game.
you wont feel much impact and it wont make much sense to you playing BTS before the first game.

[:: tripeX ::]

LiS before BTS, emotional and immersion wise. The mystery around Rachel Amber that builds up in LiS is much more intense and you gain more connection to BTS afterwards. But you should really read all the dialogs about her, alle the letters ingame and listen really close what has become of her after BTS.

Pricefielder out. ;)

[Mazian]

I would vote LiS then BtS.

Since BtS was written based on the characters shown or talked about in LiS-- and because the writers did a great job of backtracking hints from LiS to create a narrative for BtS-- they can be played in either direction.

But with my being a purist, I think playing them in the order of release heightens the feels about Chloe.

If you play LiS, and then go back and play BtS knowing what the future holds, it only heightens the emotional drama of BtS.


Admittedly, I care less about the actual BtS plot than I did about the LiS plot-- and that may be a compelling reason for you to play them in the other order (BtS first). Ultimately, that's your call. I hope you enjoy them both (except for those parts of LiS that simply cannot be enjoyed. Those, I hope you can simply tolerate.)

Specifically:

Ep3-4, polarewind to save William and the AU where Chloe is in a wheel chair-- and of course the patheticly abbreviated Ep5 story conclusion. ♥♥♥♥ you dontnod.

[Riddler]

I would definitely play the first LiS before BtS. It's the way the developers intend to. It's much more emotional, if you already know Chloe (and Rachel) from the first game.

But more important is Chloe's relationship to Max. I don't think you can have the same emotions while reading the letters to Max or any other reference to her, without knowing their story.