By now, you’ve probably heard of the alleged screenshots from a possible Life is Strange game leaking online. The screenshots made it onto a NeoGaf thread, claiming they were posted on developer Deck Nine Games’ website. The images revealed Chloe may be the likely protagonist of the game, which appears to be a prequel story. Check out the screenshots for yourself here. It’s unclear if Deck Nine Games is possibly working on a different Life is Strange inspired game or helping DONTNOD create Life is Strange 2 . Whatever the case, having Chloe as a the protagonist may not be the best route to take in either scenario.
Before we dive into details, let me start by saying I have a love-hate relationship with Chloe. Chloe is definitely a well-written, fleshed out character. You don’t have to like a character for them to be good story-wise. But Chloe’s personality doesn’t make for the best protagonist for a Life is Strange game.
DONTNOD Entertainment created a beautiful story with Life is Strange. You play as Max, a teenager returning to Arcadia Bay who learns not everything is what it seems. The creators let you experience a range of emotion in this game: anger, frustration, happiness, love, nostalgia, sadness.
The biggest reason Chloe won’t make for an interesting narrator in the game is the same thing that makes her so different from Max: she’s too self-involved. Overall, her actions in in Life is Strange are self-serving and her decisions inhabit a moral grey area. Chloe wants to find out what happened to Rachel Amber at all costs. For example, Chloe knows Frank is a dangerous man. She owes him money and knows he’s a pot dealer. And yet, Chloe convinces Max to go along with her to find clues about Rachel in Frank’s RV. Chloe isn’t thinking about Max’s safety; she’s using Max to find out more about Rachel.
Chloe is only capable of seeing what she wants to see, while Max tries to look at things from different perspectives. Life is Strange is a game about choice and consequences; if the choices don’t benefit Chloe, it’s hard to see her doing the right thing. I understand why people love Chloe, but she wasn’t the best friend to Max. At one point during my playthrough, Chloe makes backhanded comments about Max not communicating with her after she left. It made me feel like Chloe was being a bit manipulative.
Again, this doesn’t make Chloe the bad guy in the story. Relationships are complicated, and the Pricefield dynamic is no exception. The best thing about Chloe is her wild personality. Chloe is impulsive and unapologetically herself. She’s full of personality and does things her way. Chloe shows Max there’s more to life than the Arcadia Bay bubble. But her personality makes her an unreliable narrator. I can imagine her internal dialogue would be full of biases. Max arrived to Arcadia Bay with no connections to the character, so it gives the players the chance to make up their own conclusions about the story.
This is not to say I wouldn’t be happy to see Chloe again, especially if Rachel Amber is involved. The idea of a prequel is great for Life is Strange. It would allow players to explore Rachel Amber and Chloe’s relationship. The thought of maybe Rachel Amber being a time traveler like Max also popped up. Maybe Rachel died trying to save Chloe? So many possibilities. In fact, Rachel would make an excellent choice as narrator. The more Chloe looked into Rachel’s disappearance, the more apparent it became she didn’t know her friend as well as she thought. Rachel was also closer to the other parties involved in her disappearance. Finding out how she got involved with Jefferson and Nathan would make for a great story.
Still, Square Enix and DONTNOD have yet to comment on the Life is Strange images on Deck Nine Games’ site. What do you think about Rachel or Chloe being the protagonist in a sequel? Let us know in the comments section below.
