It didn't resonate with me as much as the original, though I think that's mostly down to my relating more with Max than Chloe. I actually think a lot is improved from the first game; Deck Nine better "gets" what makes this universe work compared to DON'T NOD, from the little character moments (oh my gosh everything with Steph is great) to the big emotional set pieces (even if "The Tempest" is a bit on-the-nose). Yes, Backtalk is obviously a far less compelling mechanic than Rewind, but it's a fine alternative. Sort of fun to look at it from a series perspective: you have all these main characters with larger-than-life abilities that act as extensions of their personalities, then you have some lesbian punk drop-out whose superpower is that she gets mad sometimes.

I will admit, I don't entirely see Chloe and Rachel's relationship, at least in the scope of this game. Chloe, I get - she so needs ANYONE to relate to her, I could see her falling hard for the first person to reciprocate those feelings (we see a lot of that desperation's aged into hostility by the time of LiS1). I don't quite get what Rachel sees in Chloe, or at least what'd have them go from relative strangers to deeeeeep lovers only partway into the game. I think everything else would've worked just fine for me if I'd played Before the Storm first, but I would've had to take as given that Chloe and Rachel end up together. But maybe I'm just missing some nuance.

Runaway funniest character between the first two games: prequel Victoria. Could not get enough of her in this game.