1 person found this review helpful
Recommended
0.0 hrs last two weeks / 11.1 hrs on record (9.8 hrs at review time)
Posted: 3 Jan, 2018 @ 8:56pm
Updated: 3 Jan, 2018 @ 9:05pm

Please be aware that my review will contain a lot of spoilers!!
Also, be aware that I made this review based on my first playthrough, so I don't know if other choices would influence that much in the game's ending.

Note: I'm not a native english speaker :3

Ok, I'll start from the end. This last ep (third) starts so great and full of emotions, but then it looks like it was really rushed.
This game won't make any sense if you didn't have played the first LiS and you will not understand a lot of references.

I got a little disapointed with this last ep. It shows that almost none of your choices actually matters to the plot and that the side characters development was very weak.

Story:

The story revolves in telling the story of Rachel. That's it. The world circles around Rachel. You also know how David got into Chloe's life but other than that is all about Rachel. Don't get me wrong, the story is really good. But if you're going to show a lot of characters that had a big impact in the first game, you should at least put some effort in showing what they were like. After playing the whole game I've noticed that almost none of my choices, other than the main super important decisions, mattered to the story. Talking to other characters, watering the plant with soda, picking clothes, choosing the colour of the truck's inside lightbulb, talking ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ to others, defying the principle... All of these choices doesn't have a big impact in the development of the story. You could skip talking to all NPCs and you'll still get the same result for the big choices. But talking about the good stuff. The drama that this story build is incredible and you'll get really happy and really sad (in a good way). You create a bond with Rachel and she literally turns your life upside down. The problem is that you spend most of your time creating this bond and chasing after what Rachel wants and in the end the final objective (finding Sera) is super rushed and underwhelming. You find her after 20 minutes (in the third episode after you promisse to Rachel to find Sera) and in just more 20 minutes she is gone leaving you with a moral choice. It is hard to see such a strong and well developed plot being wasted in 40 minutes.

6/10

Main Characters:

Chloe is insecure after the death of her father and is trying to get her life togheter. She is sweet and kind but also have a rebel punk personality. She's kinda a Tsundere character (which I love). I think this game should tell more about her, but she isn't much to be tell about, so not telling a lot about her story is ok and makes the game more focused in the objective. All scenes with her dad are soooo tense and good. This kind of epiphany in her dreams are awesome. It makes you think over your decisions without influencing you to do something. It makes you question your own self. And makes you want to know more about him.

Rachel has this kinda rich and perfect kid feeling. But she has a big and dramatic story. She is manipulative and have a big ego, like she can do whatever she wants because she'll never get in trouble (which I hate). The whole plot of the game resolves around her and it is not a bad thing. Her story really is dramatic and intriguing. But somethings that she does feel so SO exaggerated (like putting the forest on fire just because she saw her dad kissing another girl, confronting a super dangerous drug dealer, getting stabed). Also the game forces you to see her as a BIG, powerful and dangerous girl (horoscope in her bedroom, being the main actress in the school play, etc). And it feels exaggerated because it's not even a little necessary to create the drama that the game creates.

8/9

Side Characters:

This is such a disapointment for me. A lot of good side characters have almost no presence in the game. You could finish the game without interacting with any of them. They seem like to be in the game just for nostalgic purpouses and never actually get developed in the main story. Also the scene with Elliot could be easily removed since is such a unecessary drama. I've ignored the guy the whole game... I even forgot that he existed until that scene. But again, as fast as he shows up, he goes out. The Prescot family tries to have a big impact but unfortunately it is not well developed.

4/10

Gameplay:

Just like the first game but with some improvements with the exploring mechanic. You have the objective in the palm of your hands (literally) and it is really easy to access. It is more intuitive and easy play. Just some movement glitches and sometimes Chloe gets kinda grabbed in some corners. But most of the time it is flawless. Since Chloe doesn't have the power to go back in time, they added a feature where Chloe can "rap battle" to get what she wants. It is nice, but they feel more like bad choices than good choices (with some exceptions) and because of that, I mostly avoided using this feature. Also there aren't many occasions where you use this mechanic later in the game.

9/10

World:

It is small... really small. I guess it is because in the first game you could get kinda lost easily, but you had that sensation that you could go anywhere you want. The world doesn't have much to explore and it feels kinda pointless to do so. They offer some complement to the story, but that's it. You don't have that eager to explore every bit of the world and it makes it feel too much linear. The graffiti is kinda lame... it's not like the photographs that Max takes. Which makes sense since Chloe is not an artist like Max. But maybe she could have a spray can and do some more cool and artistic stuff. It would still fit Chloe's personality.

7/10

Art:

This game's art is beautiful. It is one of the selling points of the game. This painted world is what makes you feel that the game isn't that deep and then you get hit with this incredible and dramatic story full of drugs, danger, emotions and deep moral baring. I just wish it had more light and shadow work and more lightning effects (Ambient Occlusion, Indirect light and more God Rays), like, more contrast between environments to create this really dramatic and emotional scene.

9/10

Graphics:

It is simple yet stunning. It could have just a little more love to the animations, but it is the way the game was meant to be played.

10/10

Soundtrack:

Perfect! Every tune hits you as hard as the story. Every moment have its perfect song fit right into the scene.

Platinum 10/10

Overall:

A generous 7/10 but it could be an easy 6/10 or even a 5/10 with a more critic analysis.

I love the LiS series and despise all the good ratings in every aspect besides story and side characters, you have to understand that this is a story driven game... so story and characters matters the most. Unfortunately for LiS BtS it is one of its big flaws. If this game had at least one more episode (not the bonus) it could be better for developing more the side characters and by consequence making the story better. I don't mind that much in exaggerating Rachel's personality and character, but the ending choice is just... poor and rushed. Like, all you went through to find Sera didn't matter that much since depending on your choice she doesn't even get to meet her.
So... I really recommend this game despise my "low" score. It really gets into your heart and moral actions. And you MUST have had played the first game before this one to better understand what it is happening and to understand the appearances of all characters and the importance they have in the story (maybe this is why their development was so weak). It worth every penny.
Not as good as the first one but definitely a good game.
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