splitting this into its own thread

just played Episode 1, GUD STUFF. I already know I'm gonna want to replay the original season after this is over

Spoiler

+

the new voice actor for Chloe felt weird at first but I got used to it pretty quickly I'm curious how they're gonna handle the ending, since it seems likely that it'll ultimately end right when Rachel gets abducted. Doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of room for variability there besides their last interaction MAJOR CHOICES: - You attacked. Running away after Rachel stepped in for me would've been fucked - You were kind to Joyce. I mean obviously. She's not the problem here - You defended Nathan. This one felt weird cuz obviously we know what's gonna happen either way (: But I had to TRY! - You told Rachel you are just friends. This kinda stems from my biggest complaint with this episode - all of this shit happens within like two days. So the relationship between Rachel and Chloe feels like it moves WAY too fast, especially cuz they made it seem like when they met at the concert they'd never really talked before. So I told her let's WAIT AND SEE (even tho I know what's gonna happen next, I tried to stay in Chloe's present mindset) MINOR CHOICES: - You didn't take the money - You didn't purchase pot from Frank - You read Joyce's self-help book - You put the photo of William on the dresser - You didn't slip money into Joyce's purse - You told Eliot you would go to the play with him - You didn't listen to Skip's demo - You finished the table top game with Steph and Mikey <-- was my favorite 'side interaction' easily - You sabotaged Victoria's homework - You told Rachel you believe in love - You shared earbuds with Rachel (lol 99% picked this) - You jumped out of the train

I bought it today! I'm going to jump on and play it later!

I played this this morning because I couldn't sleep. GOOD. Similar choices/opinions to Boc's. I'll probably post more in depth later, but right now:

Spoiler	+
The fire foreshadowing was really strong throughout the entire episode so I was definitely expecting one, but I didn't expect it this episode! I was planning to make a post on here asking for bets on what was burning to the ground. I thought the episode was right about to end and I was like "yup something's burning down, but I was VERY surprised it was this episode. RACHEL AMBER IS AN ARSON.

Also I love "view the objective" and the fact that Chloe's shit talking is a game mechanic

Honestly I didn't use view the objective once and there's still apparently a bunch I missed walking around

Also I didn't realize before I played that a different company (US-based) took over for this game, which makes so much sense now. The dialogue is feeling a LOT more natural in this game

Spoiler	+
tho it was pretty awkward when they just had Rachel list off every single choice you made in the episode Telltale-style. But that's a little different I loved that they gave an origin of why Chloe used 'hella' in the first game so much, she picked it up from Rachel. Actually gives an emotional connection to it rather than it just being cringey

Boc @ 6/9/2017 20:01

Honestly I didn't use view the objective once and there's still apparently a bunch I missed walking around

I was curious about what the objective screen would even look like so I tried it. It's very silly

Spoiler	+
Chloe just writes whatever her goal is on her palm in sharpie

Boc @ 6/9/2017 20:07

Also I didn't realize before I played that a different company (US-based) took over for this game, which makes so much sense now. The dialogue is feeling a LOT more natural in this game Spoiler + tho it was pretty awkward when they just had Rachel list off every single choice you made in the episode Telltale-style. But that's a little different I loved that they gave an origin of why Chloe used 'hella' in the first game so much, she picked it up from Rachel. Actually gives an emotional connection to it rather than it just being cringey

Spoiler	+
I realized she picked up hella from Rachel because of that alternate timeline where her dad lived, but I'm glad this game makes it official

Just picked up. Very very good. I didn't watch any trailers or read anything about this game prior to release and the only thing I knew about it was that it was a prequel and Chloe was in it. That's it. I actually thought we were playing as Rachel Amber in this one, not Chloe. So that was a nice surprise as I was a little disappointed over my previous theory.

Spoiler

+

Major - I attacked. Rachel came to save us, guy was distracted, why run? - I was mean to Joyce. I played extremely conservative as Max but in this one I plan to be a lot more aggressive. It's Chloe. She's bitchy. And it's only right to play that way (: - I defended Nathan. I like how I say all that before and then do this. I dunno. I kind of wanted to be a douche to both, not necessarily just Drew. Knowing what Nathan does in the original makes me want to have nothing to do with him in the future though. - I told Rachel we were just friends. Agreed with Boc. We spent a fucking afternoon together. I know they obviously end up together in the end so why awkwardly rush that now? Meh. MINOR CHOICE - Took the money. Again, it's something Chloe would totally do. Remember when she was going to take the money from Wells' drawer in the original? In that scenario, I as Max told her not to. Now, fuck that rules! - Purchased pot from Frank with the money I got. Figured this was the objective and that keeping it would lead to me getting caught or some shit. - I read Joyce's self help book because I wanted to explore everything I possibly could. - I put the photo of William on the dresser. - I didn't slip the money into Joyce's purse as I used it to buy weed (: - I told Eliot I would go to the play with him. Regretted it immediately. Ugh. Don't really like this man. - Told Skip I liked his demo. It was genuinely decent. - Finished the table top game. This was... fun! I really, really enjoyed this segment even if it was a little long. - Sabotaged Victoria's homework. This was actually really funny and the text conversation after was hilarious. Fuck Victoria. - Told Rachel falling in love was stupid. - Shared earbuds with Rachel. - Jumped out of the train. As I mentioned before, playing as a more outgoing and rebellious person makes playing this game a completely different experience over awkward and shy Max, which freshens the game up a lot. With Max I played by the rules and tried to be nice to everyone. As Chloe I have stolen, lied and bitched people out. Also, huge plus that there's no time traveling/warping. I was really worried that a common game theory of Rachel Amber being a time manipulator like Max would be true here, thus why I thought Rachel Amber was the playable character originally. It served it's purpose in the original game, but it also takes away a lot of pressure during important moments that you could simply rewind if unhappy with. Already can't wait for Episode 2. Bummer that there's only three this season but that episode definitely seemed a lot longer than a usual LiS episode... or was it just me? The ending was great. Rachel's emotional scream and the BIG FIRE that was foreshadowed all episode finally coming out.

it took me a little over 2 hours which is about average for a LIS episode for me

Spoiler	+
though I feel like I missed slightly more this episode than I usually do. I kinda just explore the areas at random and if I happen to hit the objective before I cover everything I usually just go ahead with it. So I didn't find the money at all and I'm not even sure who this Skip character is

Episode 2 is out.

Soooo fucking good. God do I love this series.

Decisions

+

MAJOR DECISIONS - Took the blame. Easy decision. Not just based off previous knowledge that Chloe is expelled from Blackwell anyway (kind of the one shitty thing about prequels in this genre) but I really saw no reason at all for Rachel to throw away everything and get kicked off a play she cared about when Chloe had nothing to lose anyway. - Emptied my pockets. Didn't realize I was carrying a bag of weed (: I probably wouldn't have if I knew Chloe would just run away after this scene. - I gave Darren the money. This was TOUGH! I was very nervous during this scene. I thought for sure someone was dying if I didn't open that door and stop what was going on. I regretted at first when poor Mikey broke his arm but I do think I made the right decision ultimately, Drew is even being nice to me in text messages after the fact. - Asked Rachel for her bracelet. MINOR DECISIONS - I didn't talk to Eliot about the play. I avoided the subject entirely as I knew he was going to ask. Eliot sucks and his journal was fucking creepy. - Agreed to start over with David, even though I knew it wasn't going to do much good. - Put the singing man on the dashboard, of course! Why wouldn't you? - Didn't pay off debt to Frank... I thought I did? I'm confused by this one. - Didn't tell Steph that Rachel was single, really no reason to lead her on. - Didn't return Drew's money to him. I don't think this was possible with the major decision I chose. I'm assuming this is from not opening the door and if so, I definitely would have. - Didn't give Samantha advice. Must have missed this one. I'm assuming this was after the Nathan/Mr. Prescott scene, where I just walked away and didn't continue talking to her. Meh. - Tricked Victoria before the play. I love that this has such a low percentage right now. I love fucking with Victoria. Her drugged out scene accusing Rachel of drugs was hilarious. - Told Rachel we should go to New York. OBVS! - Rachel attacked James at the dinner over me. I stayed calm exactly like Rachel asked. I was tempted to do the backtalk prompt when it popped up, but held my ground. Thought for SURE the episode would end with the house on fire, especially when Rachel was staring at that candle during the big fight. The Drew/Mikey character development was great. I feel so, so bad for both of them and want to help them out so much. Can't believe the next episode is the end.

It's time. Running commentary

Spoiler

+

- I am so excited - Like the callback (call..forward?) to the train - Twin Peaks easter eggs!!! The band is called Fire Walk which is a huge thing throughout TP and they're playing at a mill which is another location from the show. I remember reading LIS was majorly influenced by TP which made sense after I finished watching - Glad the license plate gag is back. I spy Tyler Durden among others. Also more Breaking Bad RV jokes - So graffiti tagging is the new photograph collectible thing. Kul, glad there's at least an option each time - Plenty of things to interact with and observe so far so that's great - This new comeback system is kinda goofy, only because they're try hard teenage comebacks. But that was just he intro one so hopefully they improve - A new voice actress is a bummer but it hasn't bothered me much surprisingly - oooo hi Frank - 100% sending this car down the ramp. I'm gonna play Chloe like the trouble making teen she should be at this point - Buying weed from Frank and stealing this money for the same reason. Probably gonna get in big trouble for it or something but it fits the character - Blade Runner references in her notes to Max were very timely - The design of this mill is great. Lots of little things on the walls to read and look at too - There's our girl Rachel Amber. I guess I already know her a bit? - Frank saves the day!!! - Sporting my new Fire Walk shirt ofc - Reference to my favorite Matrix quote. "Not like this...not like this." - The texts to Max that she ignored make me rly sad - The wine stain!!! - Did David's voice actor change too? It's been awhile - Comeback challenge with David was already better than the first - Ew country music - Back to Blackwell. I better not see that little shit Warren - Skip's my current favorite new character - Are these nerds playing Sheriff of Nodingham - More Blade Runner!! - That was the longest side thing ever but it was p neat. I just spent like 20 minutes in the school courtyard doing everything when I could've just walked right through it and into the school. The side things really help make this game/Telltale games, gotta explore everything possible - I'm prepared for a massive fire to threaten the town just like the storm - "Uhh..hella? Who says that?" I loved that - I had no comments during the entire park segment with Rachel but it was good until she started acting a fool for some reaon - The junkyard returns! - Rachel's trippin' - Callback to the bottles we had to collect - Oh shit it's Dad's car. That's sad. Adds a good emotional weight to the end(?) of the episode - FIIIIIIIIIRE!!!!! That was expected but the actual moment she kicked it over and the tree went up quickly was unexpected. I wish I had the option to tell her not to burn the picture of her dad, I feel like Chloe would've done that. Obviously dads are a big theme here but pictures are huge too, and Chloe spent a good chunk of time talking about photos of her dad and wanting to display them back up. Wish I got to tell Rachel she should keep onto that - Another cool callback to the original, all the characters watching the fire in a montage and that's it yay. Long episode, took me 3 hours because I explored everything Choices: MAJOR CHOICES: - Ran away. I figured I'd just run by them and escape with Rachel and that's exactly what happened - Kind to Joyce ofc - Defended Nathan. idk why - Told Rachel we were just friends. EXACT same rationale as some of you mentioned. It sorta reminds me of rushing shit with Warren in the first and again with whatever her name was in Tales from Borderlands. I don't like rushing it like that, it didn't seem very genuine at the time MINOR CHOICES: - You took the money - You bought pot from Frank - You read Joyce's self-help book - You put the photo of William on the dresser - You didn't slip money into Joyce's purse - You told Eliot you would go to the play with him - You listened to Skip's demo - You finished the table top game with Steph and Mikey - You sabotaged Victoria's homework - You told Rachel you believe in love - You shared earbuds with Rachel - You jumped out of the train Great shit. Musically I gelled with the indie vibe from Max more than the grungy punk vibe from Chloe. I was worried that music would be consistent after that opening scene but it returned to form pretty quickly so that was good. The music is a huge part of this game for me and this one didn't quite reach the height of LIS ep one but it was still solid. This definitely made me feel sadder for Chloe and DEFINITELY made me glad I did what I did in the LIS finale (saved Chloe). After her breaking down to Rachel and the junkyard about how she fucks up her friendships and is all alone, it would've felt awful if I knew I could've saved her as Max down the road but just let her die instead. You monsters!!! But also this made Max really seem like a dick. Seeing Max ignore Chloe from Chloe's perspective. I assume you guys read their texts and the journal entries to Max? It was pretty sad, like months without a text back

EP 2: VERY GOOD

Spoiler

+

The entire play section was great. Chloe was so awkward. It was incredible. MAJOR: -You took the blame for Rachel: Chloe absolutely would have taken the blame, and it felt silly to sit back and let her and ruin the play. And even if I think it's silly for someone to throw away their education for someone to have like 1 night of an extra circular it felt like the right thing to do. The CHLOE thing to do. -Emptied my pockets! I HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE, MOM AND STEP-DOUCHE. That's mainly because I like the idea of Chloe being fairly conservative in her weed-buying/rulebreaking/thieving/criminalling for herself, but the second someone else asks her to do or say something, good or bad, she's all over it. So she never stole any money to buy weed or stole drugs or anything else like that that could have screwed me here. Chloe's mom was very much on Chloe's side after that and it was a grerat moment being able to show David that he was out of line with the invasion of privacy. I hope he liked seeing the photo of the cat. -Gave Damon the money. OFC! I know dragging Mikey into the open wasn't the best, but I was seriously worried Damon was going to break Drew's legs or worse. Short term, they could have used the money (but i was gonna take it anyway) but long term, Drew's football career is their way out. Drew getting hurt would have been worse. Plus, Chloe's a run in and try to kick ass type in my playthrough. It fit! -PROMISE ME INK, RACHEL. I'm not fully on board with Rachel. She feels very much like a girl who's going through problems and is just kind of latching onto Chloe to get away from a situation she can't emotionally handle. So PERSONALLY, tattoo made sense. Asking her to make a permanent commitment so she'll consider her dedication to this commitment. Plus I got to tag Rachel Amber, and isn't that the ultimate graffiti? I also feel like that was the most Chloe-as-I'm-playing-her option. A kiss is too romantic and the bracelet is asking her to give up something which I don't think this Chloe would do. PLUS I think Rachel had a tattoo in canon, too, didn't she? And Frank ended up with the bracelet. MINOR: -I didn't talk to Eliot about the play. I didn't talk to Elliot at all. I must have missed him, but also I hate him. He makes Warren look really good. (Also apparently their rooms are next to each other. How many bad faith discussions about the friendzone do you think they've had together?) -Agreed to start over with David. Then he immediately started hounding on me! I was actually mad I couldn't yell at him more at the end of that scene. When I thought she was going home with them after the stable household comment I was getting mad. I was glad she left. - I put the singing man on the truck! He's a good man. I also used the gold mat, the pirate flag, the Christmas light, and the tag about dying. I assume most of those could be swapped out. (What do you swap the light for?) -Didn't tell Steph Rachel was single. Rachel clearly into Chloe even if I've tried to get her to slow it down, so I told her its complicated. It's cruel to let her think she's available. -Didn't return Drew's money to him. I really sympathize with them and thats what I assumed was going on with them, but Damon's a scary guy and Drew's not safe keeping the money unless they used it to run, and the can't. -Told Samantha to give Nathan space. That's been a theme for Chloe lately. Rachel needs space with her dad issues, Chloe needs space from her mom, Nathan lashes out earlier from being given direct help... its a very Chloe choice IMO. BUT... the way she worded the advice... even though I don't remember exactly how she said it, it sounded like a bad interpretation of "give him space." - Confronted Victoria before the play. It was fun! Chloe and Rachel good cop bad copped her and got her to drink the tea. Then she passed out with perfect timing. 10/10 - Told Rachel we'd go to New York! I think LA was the canon option, but the Rachel/her dad stuff seemed a little different, too, and LA's where she's been, and she's clearly fantasizing about somewhere NEW. And road trip is Chloe and Max's thing (that was also originally Chloe and Rachel's thing but nevermind) - I attacked James and I don't regret it. It was great watching the district attorney lose it over a brat like Chloe backtalking him. I'm pretty committed to doing all the backtalks even if I don't feel like its the best choice but that one was really fun. These episodes are so long. I had a lot of thoughts throughout but I've lost track of a lot of them. I was surprised the Amber household didn't go up in smoke. Nice restraint, Rachel.