I’m in a rush to finish Life is Strange: Before the Storm before it gets removed from PSN. If I can’t finish it in time, how does this removal process work? Specifically, what happens to episodes 2 and 3, and the potential prologue if I decide to buy it later? Do I need to have finished episode 1 to access the later episodes? I’m not sure how this licensing thing works with episodic content, any insights?
4 Answers
To keep playing Life is Strange: BTS after it’s off PS Plus, you need a license for both the base game and any DLC you want to play. So if you haven’t bought it and finished it by the deadline, you won’t be able to access the episodes unless you purchase the game outright. Make sure you have downloads squared away before it gets removed!
Episodic games require you to download each episode individually. Once the base game is removed from PS Plus, and if you haven’t already downloaded the episodes, they’ll lock on you since your access through the subscription license ends. In other words, make sure you download and ideally finish what you can before removal!
If you’re puzzled about how episodes work, think of it this way: Episode 1 acts like the foundation and the menu system. Each subsequent episode is kinda a DLC but has its own charm. If the game leaves PS Plus, you’ll need to buy it to keep going. And while technically, you can play episodes out of order, it’s designed to be linear for storytelling reasons. Good luck completing it all!
Life is Strange: Before the Storm doesn’t need the original Life is Strange to be played, so no worries there. For BTS, however, you definitely need episode 1 downloaded if you want to continue with episodes 2 and 3 later on. Think of episode 1 as your ticket to experience the whole game. Make sure you wrap up before time runs out!
You can play them separately, but it really ruins the story experience. Better to play in order if you want the full impact of the narrative!