What I WISH might be explored in this game is Max unpacking trauma after the fact and reckoning with the reality that something she faced before that ended in a heck of a lot of pain is happening again, just in a different flavour. The first game felt like a story of someone being afraid and out of place and how having the option to NOT be awkward, to KNOW the answers, to FIX the problems, to SAVE the girl, that’s something we would all jump at. And it kind of was like “weigh the pros and cons, nothing is for free so what are you willing to pay?” So if Max has gone through that, what is her answer to that question? (Depends on what the player chose, but the price was high-ignore that unintentional pun 🫣-and that’s got to wreck a person.) Now, years later, another friend dies and she again has the choice, would she choose the same thing, choose to use her powers even though surely she knows now there’s a cost? I just worry that Max will have an older voice and face but not really be post-LIS Max. Just “oh, another mystery for Max to solve!”

I feel like Max seeing Safi shot actually brought the trauma of seeing that happen to Chloe back and that is what re-awoke her powers. In this case it's less about who it was and more about the flood of memories. Trauma like that can send you right back to when it first happened. So it might have been her friend Safi but I am almost certain Max was thinking about what happened to Chloe. The game play kind of made it look like she had been repressing those memories/feelings and they started slipping and I strongly believe after an event like that she wouldn't be able to repress it anymore. I am kind of wondering if part of this game is supposed to be a way to help Max heal from that experience. Like she isn't dealing with her trauma she is just running away from it and now she is forced to work on it. I kinda remember something like that happening in True Colors with Alex going into her past.

D9 are definitely keeping something regarding Chloe under wraps. It makes a lot of sense as to why Max keeps a picture of Chloe in her wallet if she was sacrificed. But if you sacrificed Arcadia Bay, there is definitely a bigger reason as to why Max keeps that photo, so I feel like should that scene where Max is looking at the picture of Chloe still be relevant if you disclose that she’s still alive, and that you were “high school sweethearts”, she’s definitely going to be still somewhat relevant to Max. In the trailer, it shows a brief conversation Max has with Safi in what I assume is the alternative timeline, telling Safi about the two timelines, but in one, she’s dead. So maybe in that conversation, Max will disclose to Safi about Arcadia Bay & Chloe (based on your choices) and her old rewind power. Deck Nine have some boots to fill for sure, they’ve got their work cut out for them to make this all make sense. Great video as always! :)

Yes I am very sad about Max and Chloe not staying together, which is why I am writing a fanfic about Max getting to say goodbye to Chloe and her friends at Blackwell before moving on.

My biggest fear if Decknine writing Max and Chloe splitting up if you saved Chloe. That would make me so disgusted and I wouldn't even be able to consider the game cannon.

Yeah, we're gonna get screwed. Again.

10:36 In the option to Sacrifice Arcadia Bay, Max takes another photo - The same photo from Lis2 with the green-haired Chloe. It was noticed on reddit. This will 100% change the conversation between Max and Safi in the cafe. In fact, I really hope that Max left Chloe only temporarily to, for example, get a special degree at Caledonian University or something like that :) Pricefield Forever, Max, Chloe, Rachel, Alex, Steph and Safi onelove 💙🦋🌀 💚🦋🌀

Chloe not being in the game isn't the end of the world for me, this story is about Max and her new ability to travel between universes. I'm a little disappointed that people start criticising it already just because one character isn't in it - she doesn't have to be and maybe doesn't even belong there, except if they ended up staying together but who knows how long they stayed together for in the storm ending. I'm just happy to see Max again and i will be ok with a little easter egg be it a photo of the two together or a phone call with Ashly Burch returning. I was a little hesitant after the hype cleared about the new murder mystery which we know from the first one already but to be honest, i can't think of another plot the game could revolve around and i think it has been like this in the comics too where they must have taken the inspiration from. While the hype cooled down i am just looking towards the story, music, environment and not making it dependant on one character. But hey, i am just one grain in a sea of sand here i can understand if people are disappointed.

Keep in the mind that you can’t always get everything you want in a sequel. Plus we don’t know the entire context of the story yet. Who knows? Maybe we’ll only see Chloe in a photo? Maybe in a phone call? Maybe in person? We’ll have to wait and see…

There is a scene that we see in other gameplay clips where max is talking to a reporter. She said she had been in the town for 6 months. The fact that you have to explain to safi who Chloe is 6 months after becoming friends with her means Chloe hasn't been around for 6 months. That talk with safi is how you can pick what happened in lis1 so goes does your new friend no know who your girlfriend is half a year into knowing each other

Something else to consider, even watching Chloe hey shot was what activated her powers, Max didn't know that she was seeing Chloe get shot. She doesn't find out till after her flight with Nathan in the parking lot that the blue haired girl is Chloe. So i didn't think her using her powers to save safi minimizes her relationship with Chloe.

two things i always praise decknine for would be their character writing and then their way to make emotional connections to characters and their stories. you're right, they're terrible with antagonists unlike don'tnod, but they shine with writing protagonists like alex chen, and her relationship to haven springs. i cried so hard playing her story because i connected to her on a personal level. i cried for chloe in farewell dlc watching as everyone she loved drifted away, one way or another. cried for Rachel realizing she never even got to her twenties before she died, and how haunting it was to have chloe try to call her again and again when she was in the dark room. and since the narrative director is felice kuan who wrote both bts and tc, i trust her more than anyone to focus the most on max's trauma and finally shine a light on her because everything was about chloe up to this point. from the comics, to bts and dlc, hell even max's character revolved around chloe, and we don't know much about her past, what her home even looked like. i chose bae too but i love max as a character more than anything. she's complex and i'm so glad decknine finally decided to focus on her. i suppose double exposure means she'll have to face the same traumas again before she can get on the path of healing. i wish that for her. i really do.

there actually is a romance option for max that they confirmed in the reveal livestream lol, the girl she says the iconic “shakabrah” line to is supposed to be that option.

Everytime I quick glance at Stop Me oh channel name, especially after I just woke up I always unconsciously read it as Step on me.

I think they are going to leave a post credit scene at the end of this game where max returns to arcadia bay and then uses her new power to switch between two timelines in which one chloe is alive and in the other arcadia bay is whole

Chloe getting shot DIDN'T trigger her powers. Max went to the bathroom where Chloe was shot because she had a vision of the tornado. The vision came BEFORE Chloe was shot. Max host doesn't like her friends getting killed in front of her.

Didn't want to watch your previous video in full because I didn't want to spoil myself the gameplay. I'm glad to hear that Max feels like Max and that Safi is loveable, those were my biggest concerns. It's cool to see you back to Life is Strange content. Looking forward to your videos on it , as well as Lost Records

The explanation for Max’s powers manifesting 8:14 is rather simple really but this is all my interpretation. It’s a trauma response. Although she hadn’t been using her powers in a long time on this time line, the powers are still activated the same. The first she manifested her powers with Chloe’s death in the bathroom was a trauma response. After a traumatic event, one that represents a threat to personal safety, the brain and body are transformed. The threat evokes a physical and emotional reaction in the person experiencing the event, which activates our Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)-also known as fight or flight, a necessary and important survival response. Her powers activate during trauma and alerts the body to react and go into survival mode. Which is why we also see her abilities changing like when she was able to freeze time instead of rewind when attempting to save Kate from self deletion. That is also another traumatic event so her powers manifest and change as a result. Death may be an unresolved trauma for her and seeing another friend be killed is triggering that ultimate not only manifests her abilities but expands upon them with each new traumatic experiences because her body is reacting the same from each event.

I'll remain cautiously optimistic. I was also a bit worried when they announced that it will be a standalone game (I still think it would've been better if they simply introduced a new protagonost, but well, we have to work with what we have), especially since Chloe was clearly absent from the trailer. I am happy that they started throwing little hints that Chloe might appear in some form because no matter the final choice, she was/is a very important person in Max’s life and there’s no way that Max would’ve forgotten about her just like that. Also, I hope they manage to capture at least a bit of magic from the first title. I have just replayed the first game (currently replaying BTS), and I realised how much I missed Arcadia Bay. In the first Life is Strange, the town felt almost like it was its own character with they way we interacted with it and how it reacted to our actions. There were some many wild elements/references to supernatural, like the Native American folklore, spirit animals, nature "fighting back," Samuel’s 6th sense (or 3rd eye, I guess), wind symbolism, Nathan’s knowledge about the storm (I know it was cut, but they included it in the episode trailer, so it must’ve been somehow important at some point). They tried something similar with BTS with the raven/fire symbolism, but personally, it didn’t feel the same. I’m just sad that with every game, the supernatural is getting more pushed aside. Anyway, sorry for the rant! I just hope they’ll do something about this aspect (I think they might be trying to link Max and owls, perhaps that’s her new spirit animal?) in their newest game!

The only way we don't get a cameo from Chloe is if Ashly decided she didn't want to return to the franchise for whatever reason. I'm glad it's a stand alone game because like you were saying they would have had to make two different games. But I guess we really have to wait till October to find out what's actually going to happen. I'm cautiously excited.

oh right... Max grew into a beauty... how dare she... right? ... So it's true... You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. i mean... wtf. Ola what was even point?

In a choice based game like LiS they're are two major failures the producers can make. The first is to make someone feel as of their chooses are irrelevant the other is to make it so that once voice is not worth making. To reduce Chloe's existence on Mex's life to a mention or at best cameo is to commit both faulures. As a player what is the point on saving Chloe is deck nine is going to marginilize her? My previous choices literally don't member and you're may as well just save the city

Love is a curious thing. I’m sure there will be a great reason behind the split or loss (any way) which drives Max to worry about Safi. Chloe was quite toxic towards max and probably a good person to continue in adulthood with her. Not all love lives forever. Life is strange

It’s funny that you talk about respect the decision related to keeping Chloe’s choice. I picked keeping Arcadia bay but I don’t think I would see nothing but a reference of the town again. That’s also kind of unfair I guess

Can’t wait, it’s my most anticipated game now for this year

As you were talking about it, it just occurred to me that when Max's powers first developed, she didn't actually know it was Chloe she was saving at all - as far as she knew, it was just a random girl getting shot. So with that in mind, I suppose it wouldn't be too much of an issue if it happened again with Safi.

Love you your amazing

Im so unsure about this game after hearing how badly deck nine has treated its developers then, this game being max using her powers to save/solve the murder of her friends seems like a rehash of the first game, like what story is there to tell here? The first game was such a personal experience for everyone no matter the choice you made, i just dont see a way they can do this game without pissing off most of the fan base, for me without the partner in crime/time with you its just not my max 🤷‍♀️

I love that you make LIS videos again ^_^ As for the game... I like Deck Nine, they are good at creating a warm atmosphere as we could see. I love Before the Storm very much precisely for that. But some things concern me: we may lack depth and action of the original Life is strange which Dontnod created and what we love this game for. And I don't understand why they took rewind powers from Max and replaced it with a different mechanic... No I mean it's cool to explore new, but why do we have to get rid of the old and beloved... Rewind powers is literally Max, it's Life is strange. Why not to improve her already existing powers like it has been done in comic books... Well... we'll see what it would be like. For the moment it is a questionable choice.

'All hope abandon, ye who enter Deck Nine games' (c)

i think they will miss the mark hard on this one and honestly i hope im wrong cause im such a fan of the first 2 games i hope they dont ruin this im praying

I hope we have something about Rachel. She alongside Sean and others are my favorite characters.

Man I hope this game lives up to expectations.

I am just so happy she is back and now she is real time master. I hope that this does not undo my choice of saving the bay because I do like the fact that Chloe got the ending I think she was meant to have, and I made peace with this already. It would be nice to have some Easter egg, and maybe if there is a way to save her in another timeline or something I’d be happy but I really just want Max to be moved on now. I do think it’s important the Chloe fans get something they are happy with too, but I’d personally really like to see Max meet a nice guy if I’m honest. 😂

Hopefully us as fans can tell Deck Nine, that we want Chloe black, we want Max and Chloe. We know Deck Nina wants are money, and they listen to us for a sequel for the first LIS game. That we waited for so long for a sequel and now we got sequel, that's not what I expected for a sequel. But hopefully they can listen to us again and make another game with Max and Chloe, not just Max. Since Max can travel both timelines, what if there was a timeline where Chloe and the Town where are okay. To justify both endings, l think it would be cool if Max can see the future as well, since her powers keep evolving or bring back rewind.

Fans have spotted a ring on Max's finger in some scenes that looks just like Joyce's engagement ring from Before the Storm - that was meant to be Chloe's to give to someone ;) I don't think Max and Chloe broke up at all thankfully. Just long distance for Max's job but engaged or married

There are two realities, one with Safi dead and one with her alive… do you think that in one reality we chose Bae and in the other we chose Bay? And the game will bump us back and forth between both, and in the end we get to choose which one we go forward with.

I love the comic books, even though I sacrificed Chloe

They wrote themselves into a corner between endings.

If Chloe does come back, I hope Ashly Burch reprises her role.

Please gods of the tornado just let this turn out to be a good game, I beg of the 🙏

Chloe murderer xD Edit: i know it would be far fetched, but it would be so funny to me, that the timelines max is shifting between are actually the two timelines from the first game. And chloe murders safi in the timeline, where shes alive. and somehow that screws with the quantum physics or something so max basically has to fix it even tho shes in the other timeline, where she sacrificed chloe. would also kinda be an hilarious revenge from chloe for max bec she let her die lol. well its very far fetched, but as long as the game is not out, i can dream, okay?? 😂

I hate to say this but we don't know if they could even Get Ashly Burch and if they couldn't really this shouldn't of stopped them since they do have their own Chloe yes it be weird but at this point I take weird over Nothing.

For me, the Max saves gf with super powers pt. 2, is not the way I'd want D9 to take the saga. I hope there's more to it than that, but I'm weary of game developers that tend to want to throw huge cataclysmic events into a game only to force players to ignore the consequences of how the authorities/aka grown ups, just seem to be included as background fodder. I disliked LiS2 a bunch, but at least the game creators had them actively involved; as they should have been. The Steph DLC did, in a subtle way, address the destruction of Arcadia Bay, via the skype game between Steph and Mikey. If this episode is based on the 'Chloe was saved/not saved' solution, then such should be part of the Double Exposure story. Just gonna have to wait and see.

There was a reason Dontnod said Max's story is over, and they moved on when they made LiS 2. It was actually a rule of theirs that these games be standalones, (especially with a choice based ending like that) so Deck Nine going back to Max feels both like a cash grab, and a slap in the face of Dontnod's wishes. This is to be expected from developers who are basically super-fans first, storytellers second. No matter what they did, from Before the Storm to True Colors, they always wanted to get their hands on Max, so I can't shake that this new one will feel like fan fic

I'm slightly concerned because I don't think True Colors was good. The characters were very generic, the story was lackluster and the endings held no weight. By episode 3, I was like "Alright, what is this?" I hope they put way more effort into this game, the story, the characters.

Max did everything for chloe she sacrificed San Francisco she sacrificed Arcadia bay she said "I will never leave u chloe never" but if they went with spliting up I will never ever play Life is strange and will only spread hatred about it

Sisce i have heart the new i cant believe that this is actually ACTUALLY Max's story again 😍 it has been almost one week and sometimes i still think this is Max or not 😅 Anyway, I wanted to write that we gave up the whole town for cloe, so they must be together or we must see cloe in this game. 😅 But i believe there will be paralel universe in the game and we will see both end. No matter what, i believe we will see cloe, or will know what happened there... otherwise they know that we would kill them 🫣 I'm a bit in between right now. Could be good or bad, the game. I'm happy for all this new story and game but I don't have high hopes to be honest 🥲