Life is Strange: Before the Storm: Complete Guide

A guide to Deck Nine's three-episode prequel starring Chloe Price: how Backtalk works, an episode-by-episode outline, every optional graffiti location for 100% achievements, and what your choices actually change.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the final release (Episodes 1–3 plus the Farewell bonus episode; a separate Remastered Collection followed in February 2022). Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• It's a choice-driven adventure with no rewind. Unlike the first game, Chloe has no time powers — every choice sticks. Save-scumming means replaying a chapter.
• Backtalk is the signature mechanic. In timed arguments, pick the reply that turns the other person's own words against them. Win and Chloe gets her way; lose and the door closes.
• 30 of the 34 achievements are optional graffiti. There are 10 per episode, and every one is missable within its episode. The other four are for finishing episodes.
• Explore every room before advancing. Graffiti spots and extra dialogue hide in corners, drawers and behind objects you have to move first.
• Chloe's outfit is a choice too. You can change her look, and characters react to it.
• Graffiti choices are cosmetic, dialogue choices are not. Relationships with Rachel, Joyce, David and others shift based on what you say.
• Play all three episodes, then Farewell. The bonus episode (in the Deluxe Edition) is a flashback with Max and is best played last.
• Replaying is cheap. Chapter select lets you go back for missed graffiti and alternate choices without replaying the whole episode.

Editions

Edition | What's included

Standard | Episodes 1–3

Deluxe | Episodes 1–3, Farewell bonus episode, three extra outfits, Mixtape Mode (build playlists from the soundtrack)

Life is Strange Remastered Collection (Feb 2022) | Remastered visuals and animation for Life is Strange and Before the Storm; a separate product

Farewell (released March 2018) is set in 2008 with younger Max and Chloe before Max's family moves to Seattle, and features Chloe's original voice actress, Ashly Burch. (In Episodes 1–3 Chloe is voiced by Rhianna DeVries, because of the 2016–17 SAG-AFTRA video game strike.)

Story Setup (no major spoilers)

Three years before the original game, 16-year-old Chloe Price is angry, grieving her father, and clashing with her mom Joyce and Joyce's boyfriend David Madsen. At a punk concert at an abandoned lumber mill she meets Rachel Amber, Blackwell Academy's star student, and the two form an intense friendship that pulls Chloe into Rachel's family secrets. The soundtrack features licensed indie tracks and an original score by Daughter.

Backtalk Explained

Backtalk is a timed dialogue battle. The other person says something; you choose a comeback. A meter shows who's winning.

Rule | How to use it

Use their words against them | The best response usually picks up a specific word or claim they just made

Read carefully, but fast | There's a timer; hesitating counts against you

Wrong answers cost ground | Each weak reply lets them regain the upper hand

Winning isn't always better | Some wins have consequences for how people see Chloe

Backtalk encounters

Every episode has several Backtalks, some required and many optional. The first one you meet is the bouncer at the punk show in the old mill (Episode 1), which works as a tutorial; the big confrontation in Principal Wells' office in Episode 2 is the highest-stakes one, because Joyce and David are in the room and your result shapes what happens to Chloe at Blackwell. Optional Backtalks are easy to walk past — if a character challenges Chloe and a Backtalk prompt appears, it's usually worth taking for the extra dialogue. A full per-episode list is in the Backtalk guide linked under Sources.

Episode Outline

Episode 1: Awake (released August 31, 2017)

Chloe sneaks into a concert at the old mill, where Rachel helps her out of trouble. Next day, they skip Blackwell and ride a freight train to an overlook, where Rachel sees something about her father that shatters her. The day ends at a junkyard with an emotional confrontation and a fire that spreads into a wildfire.

Episode 2: Brave New World (released October 19, 2017)

Consequences at school with Principal Wells, friction at home with Joyce and David, and a debt to the drug dealer Frank Bowers. Chloe finds an old truck at the junkyard worth fixing, and when an actor drops out of Blackwell's production of The Tempest, she ends up on stage opposite Rachel. Afterward, the girls plan to leave Arcadia Bay.

Episode 3: Hell Is Empty (released December 20, 2017)

The truth about Rachel's family comes out, involving her father James Amber and a woman named Sera Gearhardt. Damon Merrick becomes a direct threat. The episode ends on the game's biggest decision: whether Chloe tells Rachel the whole truth about her father or protects her from it.

Optional Graffiti: Full List

Every one is missable. If you miss one, use chapter select. Locations below are from a community 100% guide; the listed trigger is often "move/interact with something first".

Episode 1: Awake

# | Achievement | Where

1 | Recreational Vandalism | Around the parked RV before you enter the mill

2 | I See U Saw | On a saw blade hanging on a wall inside the mill

3 | The Last Unicorn | Chloe's room — tear down the unicorn poster first

4 | Home Unimprovement | David's toolbox, after taking his tools

5 | Rock Idol | Behind the stage on the Blackwell campus (go left)

6 | Dramatis Personae | A Tempest poster in the changing room

7 | Mulligan Stew | On the train — move a crate and examine a wall message

8 | Pioneer Spirit | The statue at the overlook

9 | Face Your Anger | Ice-cream sign at the junkyard — smash things there first to find paint

10 | Lucid Writing | Needs a marker you find stuck in a wine bottle; then tag the spot behind a poster

Episode 2: Brave New World

# | Achievement | Where

1 | Stagehandwriting | A white pickup truck in the parking lot

2 | Radical Piratical | An old boat at the junkyard — prop up a pallet to climb it

3 | Feels on Wheels | Available after fixing the truck and calling Frank

4 | Canon Wall | Inside Chloe's junkyard hideout

5 | Wishlist | Frank's shopping list in his RV kitchen

6 | Friendly Forest Friends | A white door — get Samuel to move away first

7 | Tread Harshly | Walk on wet concrete to leave footprints

8 | Permanent Record | Whiteboard outside Eliot's dorm room — read his poetry first

9 | Vanity Fare | Changing-room mirror after Chloe dresses for the play

10 | Creature Feature | Newspaper article on the fridge — after Mrs. Amber moves away

Episode 3: Hell Is Empty

# | Achievement | Where

1 | American Graffiti | US map in Rachel's room

2 | Extra Credit | Rachel's planner on her desk

3 | Peer Review | Class photo near the globe in Rachel's room

4 | Monthly Masterpiece | A car calendar

5 | Spit Take | A fuel filter while fixing the truck — blow on it first

6 | Venting Machine | Hospital vending machine — hit it three times

7 | Hello Nurse | "Wash Your Hands!" poster near the hospital exit

8 | A Penned Appendage | Sign an injured character's cast (Mikey or Drew)

9 | Drunk Drawer | Left drawer of James Amber's desk

10 | Messed Up | At the old mill — find a knife in a pillar, then move a metal sheet off a wall sign

The rarest one on Steam is "Permanent Record" (under 18% of players), so be thorough in Episode 2's dorms.

Achievement Roadmap

• First playthrough: play blind for the story. Explore every room, and grab whatever graffiti you notice.
• Cleanup: replay the relevant chapter with the tables above. Graffiti achievements unlock the moment you finish the tag, so you can quit once you have it.
• Story achievements: "Awake, Dear Heart", "O, Wonder!", "All the Devils are Here" and "Before the Storm" unlock by finishing episodes.

Choices That Matter

• Relationships: Rachel, Joyce, David, Steph, Mikey, Eliot, Frank and others remember how Chloe treats them, which changes later scenes and dialogue.
• Backtalk outcomes: winning or losing opens or closes routes through scenes.
• The Tempest: how Chloe handles the play affects its scenes.
• The final choice: tell Rachel the truth about her father and Sera, or protect her from it. It changes the final scenes and how the relationship between Rachel and her father is left.

Your choices don't change the fact that this is a prequel — the original game's events still follow.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Advancing too quickly. Many graffiti spots are only available before a scene transition.
• Assuming you can rewind. There's no time power — commit, or replay the chapter.
• Ignoring objects with a "move" prompt. Posters, crates, pallets and characters in the way often hide graffiti.
• Spoiling Episode 3's ending choice. It's the emotional payoff; go in blind.
• Playing Farewell first. It hits harder after the main story.

Advanced Tips

• Backtalk strategy: look for the reply that repeats a specific word or claim from the other person's last line; generic insults usually lose.
• Save discipline: the game autosaves constantly. If you want to test both sides of a big choice, finish the episode first and then use chapter select.
• Outfits: try different outfits in scenes with other characters for extra reactions.
• Mixtape Mode (Deluxe): build playlists from the soundtrack from the main menu.
• Remastered Collection: if you're starting fresh and want both games, the Remastered Collection bundles them with updated visuals.

FAQ

Do I need to play Life is Strange first? No, it's a prequel and works standalone. Many players still prefer playing it after the original for the dramatic irony.

Does Chloe have powers? No. There's no rewind mechanic in Before the Storm.

How long is it? Three episodes of a few hours each, plus the shorter Farewell episode.

Are the graffiti achievements missable? Yes, all 30 are tied to specific moments in their episodes, but chapter select lets you go back.

What's in the Deluxe Edition? Farewell, three extra outfits, and Mixtape Mode.

How many endings are there? The final decision has two main outcomes, and earlier choices change details along the way.

Sources

• Life Is Strange: Before the Storm — Wikipedia
• Life is Strange: Before the Storm global achievements — Steam Community
• 100% achievement guide (English) — Steam Community
• Backtalk guide — Steam Community
• Life is Strange: Before the Storm — Steam store page