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Life Is Strange: Before the Storm
Developers

	Deck Nine
macOS (OS X)	Feral Interactive^[1]
Linux	Feral Interactive^[1]
Publishers
	Square Enix
Engines
	Unity 5^{[Note 1]}
Release dates
Windows	August 31, 2017
macOS (OS X)	September 13, 2018^[1]
Linux	September 13, 2018^[1]
Reception
Metacritic	77
OpenCritic	80
IGDB	77
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, DLC
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer
Perspectives	Cinematic camera
Genres	Adventure, Puzzle
Themes	Supernatural, North America
Series	Life Is Strange

Life Is Strange
Life Is Strange	2015
Life Is Strange: Before the Storm	2017
The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit	2018
Life Is Strange 2	2018
Life Is Strange: True Colors	2021
Life Is Strange Remastered	2022
Life Is Strange: Before the Storm Remastered	2022

Contents 1 Availability 1.1 DLC and expansion packs 2 Essential improvements 2.1 Disable intro videos, chromatic aberration, and depth of field 3 Game data 3.1 Configuration file(s) location 3.2 Save game data location 3.3 Save game cloud syncing 4 Video 4.1 Widescreen resolution 4.2 Anti-aliasing (AA) 4.3 High frame rate 4.4 Chromatic aberration 4.5 Depth of field 5 Input 6 Audio 6.1 Localizations 7 VR support 8 Issues unresolved 8.1 Stuttering 9 Other information 9.1 API 9.2 Middleware 10 System requirements 11 Notes 12 References

General information

Known issues and workarounds

GOG.com Community Discussions for game series

GOG.com Support Page

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		Limited Edition (includes Deluxe Edition).
Developer website		Deluxe Edition
Publisher website

GOG.com		Deluxe Edition also available.
Green Man Gaming		Deluxe Edition also available.
Humble Store		Deluxe Edition also available.
Mac App Store
Steam

All Linux versions require Steam DRM.^[3]

Denuvo Anti-Tamper DRM has been removed.^[4]^[5]

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Deluxe Upgrade
Classic Chloe Outfit Pack
Japanese Language Pack	Only available in Japan.

Essential improvements

Disable intro videos, chromatic aberration, and depth of field

Instructions^[6]
Use modded .dll file. The manual procedure may also work.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Square Enix\Life is Strange: Before the Storm\ %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Square Enix\Life is Strange_ Before the Storm\Saves\<user-id>\Preferences\PrefData.Save
macOS (OS X)
Linux

It's unknown whether this game follows the XDG Base Directory Specification on Linux. Please fill in this information.

Config file is encrypted.

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Square Enix\Life is Strange_ Before the Storm\Saves\<user-id>\SLOT_`##`\*.Save
macOS (OS X)
Linux	$HOME/.config/unity3d/Feral Interactive/Life is Strange Before the Storm/Saves/<user-id>/SLOT_`##`/*.Save

Save files are encrypted. See LiS-BtS-Savegame-viewer.

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
GOG Galaxy
Steam Cloud

Video

In-game video settings

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution		See Widescreen resolution if game won't change to another resolution in-game.
Multi-monitor		See the WSGF topic.
Ultra-widescreen		See the WSGF topic.
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)		Check here
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed		By default. Use `-window-mode exclusive` command line argument for exclusive fullscreen.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Anti-aliasing (AA)		Visible jaggies and no temporal AA. See Anti-aliasing (AA).
Vertical sync (Vsync)		Frame lock only (none/30fps/60fps.) See High frame rate.
60 FPS and 120+ FPS
High dynamic range display (HDR)		See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

The game engine may allow for manual configuration of the game via its variables. See the Unity page for more details.

Widescreen resolution

16:10 resolution without black bars
See Removing black bars from 16:10 screens.

Force resolution / Fix DSR and VSR
Run the Windows `Registry Editor` ('regedit') Navigate to `HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Square Enix\Life is Strange: Before the Storm\` Double-click `Screenmanager Resolution Width_h182942802` >> Change 'Base' to "Decimal" >> Change 'Value Data' to `##` (ex. "3840" for 4K) >> Click 'OK' Double-click `Screenmanager Resolution Height_h2627697771` >> Change 'Base' to "Decimal" >> Change 'Value Data' to `##` (ex. "2160" for 4K) >> Click 'OK' Close the Registry Editor window. Changes were saved as they were made. Open Steam >> Library tab Right-click 'Life is Strange: Before the Storm' >> Properties Click 'Set Launch Options' >> Add "-window-mode exclusive -screen-width `##` -screen-height `##`" (ex. "3840" and "2160" for 4K) >> OK Run the game. See important notes below. Notes Forces the game to run full-screen at the desired resolution. Fixes DSR/VSR (Dynamic Super Resolution / Virtual Super Resolution.) Before using a DSR/VSR resolution, ensure you have it enabled in your video card's control panel. Screen_tearing_fix. Screen tearing may need to be fixed when forcing resolution, even when the FPS counter shows a proper value. Game reverts to the maximum current desktop resolution if not forced per above steps. While higher resolutions are selectable in-game and appear to apply, the resolution will not change (note that overlays like FPS counters and the Steam overlay will remain the same size.) Re-visiting the in-game video settings will show the selected resolution reverted to the current desktop resolution.

Force resolution / Fix DSR and VSR

Run the Windows Registry Editor ('regedit')
Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Square Enix\Life is Strange: Before the Storm\
Double-click Screenmanager Resolution Width_h182942802 >> Change 'Base' to "Decimal" >> Change 'Value Data' to ## (ex. "3840" for 4K) >> Click 'OK'
Double-click Screenmanager Resolution Height_h2627697771 >> Change 'Base' to "Decimal" >> Change 'Value Data' to ## (ex. "2160" for 4K) >> Click 'OK'
Close the Registry Editor window. Changes were saved as they were made.
Open Steam >> Library tab
Right-click 'Life is Strange: Before the Storm' >> Properties
Click 'Set Launch Options' >> Add "-window-mode exclusive -screen-width ## -screen-height ##" (ex. "3840" and "2160" for 4K) >> OK
Run the game. See important notes below.

Notes

Forces the game to run full-screen at the desired resolution.

Fixes DSR/VSR (Dynamic Super Resolution / Virtual Super Resolution.)

Before using a DSR/VSR resolution, ensure you have it enabled in your video card's control panel.

Screen_tearing_fix. Screen tearing may need to be fixed when forcing resolution, even when the FPS counter shows a proper value.

Game reverts to the maximum current desktop resolution if not forced per above steps. While higher resolutions are selectable in-game and appear to apply, the resolution will not change (note that overlays like FPS counters and the Steam overlay will remain the same size.) Re-visiting the in-game video settings will show the selected resolution reverted to the current desktop resolution.

Anti-aliasing (AA)

Use SMAA with ReShade^[7]
Install the ReShade post-processing injector: Download ReShade Run the downloaded file >> Click 'Select game...' >> Browse to <path-to-game> Select DirectX 10+ Agree to download standard effects. Ensure `SMAA` and any other desired plugins are selected. For sharpening at monitor resolution, "LumaSharpen" is recommended. For sharpening DSR/VSR resolutions, "AdaptiveSharpen" is recommended to survive downsampling. The "FXAA" plugin will likely not improve things when combined with SMAA and in-game anti-aliasing; however, it will allow more control. Enable SMAA: Run the game. Press the Home key to toggle the ReShade menu. Enable `SMAA` by clicking the chekbox. Click the Performance Mode checkbox to toggle the ability to modify plugin settings. Turn back on when done modifying settings to improve performance. Change in-game settings: Video Settings >> Set 'Anti-Aliasing' to `Medium` to complement SMAA. Higher settings will increase blur and reduce game performance. Lower settings will result in noticeable aliasing even with SMAA, but raise game performance. Notes VSR/DSR is recommended to address lack of temporal anti-aliasing. Higher in-game anti-aliasing settings contribute significant blur. Jagged edges even using the in-game "Hella High" anti-aliasing setting. No temporal anti-aliasing.

Use SMAA with ReShade^[7]

Install the ReShade post-processing injector:

Download ReShade
Run the downloaded file >> Click 'Select game...' >> Browse to <path-to-game>
Select DirectX 10+
Agree to download standard effects.
Ensure SMAA and any other desired plugins are selected.

For sharpening at monitor resolution, "LumaSharpen" is recommended.

For sharpening DSR/VSR resolutions, "AdaptiveSharpen" is recommended to survive downsampling.

The "FXAA" plugin will likely not improve things when combined with SMAA and in-game anti-aliasing; however, it will allow more control.

Enable SMAA:

Run the game.
Press the Home key to toggle the ReShade menu.
Enable SMAA by clicking the chekbox.
Click the Performance Mode checkbox to toggle the ability to modify plugin settings. Turn back on when done modifying settings to improve performance.

Change in-game settings:

Video Settings >> Set 'Anti-Aliasing' to Medium to complement SMAA.

Higher settings will increase blur and reduce game performance.

Lower settings will result in noticeable aliasing even with SMAA, but raise game performance.

Notes

VSR/DSR is recommended to address lack of temporal anti-aliasing.

Higher in-game anti-aliasing settings contribute significant blur.

Jagged edges even using the in-game "Hella High" anti-aliasing setting.

No temporal anti-aliasing.

High frame rate

Higher frame rate / Screen tearing fix (V-Sync)
Change in-game Settings >> Video >> `Frame Rate Limit` option to OFF. (See Notes below.) Set `V-Sync` from your graphics card control panel for this game to ON. Run the game with `-window-mode exclusive` command line argument for locking FPS at monitor refresh rate. Notes Game may perform much smoother with both `V-Sync` ON and the in-game Settings >> Video >> `Frame Rate Limit` option set to 60. Recommended for those who want more FPS, but also V-Sync/G-Sync option to work. Fixes screen tearing that may appear when >60fps or when the in-game Frame Rate Limit is set to 60/30.

Higher frame rate / Screen tearing fix (V-Sync)

Change in-game Settings >> Video >> Frame Rate Limit option to OFF. (See Notes below.)
Set V-Sync from your graphics card control panel for this game to ON.
Run the game with -window-mode exclusive command line argument for locking FPS at monitor refresh rate.

Notes

Game may perform much smoother with both V-Sync ON and the in-game Settings >> Video >> Frame Rate Limit option set to 60.

Recommended for those who want more FPS, but also V-Sync/G-Sync option to work.

Fixes screen tearing that may appear when >60fps or when the in-game Frame Rate Limit is set to 60/30.

Chromatic aberration

Disable chromatic aberration^[6]
Use modded .dll file. The manual procedure may also work.

Depth of field

Disable depth of field^[6]
Use modded .dll file. The manual procedure may also work.

Input

In-game input settings

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping		Cannot bind mouse buttons to movement actions.
Mouse acceleration		Enabled by default.
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support		If controller is not working, try the fixes listed here.
Full controller support
Controller remapping		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration

DualShock 4 controllers
DualShock button prompts		DualShock prompts appear when using a DualShock controller, despite the game only supporting XInput.
Light bar support
Connection modes	unknown

Tracked motion controllers		Tobii Eye Tracking support
Button/gesture prompts

Generic/other controllers		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Additional information
Button prompts
Controller hotplugging		Some buttons don't work after hotplugging.
Haptic feedback
Simultaneous controller+KB/M		Rapidly changes button prompts.^[8]

Audio

In-game audio settings

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls		Music, Voices, SFX.
Surround sound		5.1. Speaker number and type not selectable (uses system default.)
Subtitles		Adjustable size. Overlay toggle.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Simplified Chinese
French
German
Hungarian				Fan translation. Available to download.
Indonesian				Fan translation by IGTC Team, download.
Italian
Japanese				Steam DLC available from Japan; Released on June 7, 2018.^[9]
Korean				Fan translation by Teamhipsterkanarias ("Farewell").
Polish				Fan translation by GPP community.
Brazilian Portuguese
Russian				Fan translation by Tolma4 Team (Subtitles), PG Team (Subtitles) and ElikaStudio (Audio and Textures).
Spanish
Latin American Spanish

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
Nvidia 3D Vision		See Helix Mod: Life is Strange: Before the Storm.
vorpX		G3D, Z3D Officially supported game, see official vorpx game list.

Devices
Tobii Eye Tracking		Supports: Extended View - Only Head Tracking, Head Pose Mirroring, Interaction at Gaze.

Issues unresolved

Stuttering

Enable 60 FPS cap from the video setting menu^{[citation needed]}

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	11
OpenGL		macOS/Linux only
Metal support

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)
Linux

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	Criware
Cutscenes	Criware

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	7
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i3-2100 3.1 GHz AMD Phenom X4 945 3.0 GHz
System memory (RAM)	3 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	14 GB
Video card (GPU)	AMD Radeon R7 250 Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 DirectX 11 compatible

A 64-bit operating system is required.

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	10.13.5	10.13.6
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i5 2.0 GHz
System memory (RAM)	8 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	28 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GT 650M AMD Radeon R9 M290 Intel Iris 5100 1 GB of VRAM

This game is not currently supported on volumes formatted as Case-sensitive.

A 64-bit operating system is required.

Linux
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	Ubuntu 18.04
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i3-4130T 2.9 GHz	Intel Core i7-4770 3.4 GHz
System memory (RAM)	4 GB	8 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	28 GB
Video card (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GTX 670 AMD Radeon R9 270 2 GB of VRAM	Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 AMD Radeon RX 470 4 GB of VRAM

AMD GPUs require Mesa driver 18.1.6, Nvidia cards require driver 396.54 or better.

Intel GPUs are not supported at time of release.

A 64-bit operating system is required.

Notes

↑ Unity engine build: 5.5.3p1^[2]

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 On September 13th, Life is Strange: Before the Storm arrives on macOS and Linux - last accessed on 2018-09-05
↑ Verified by User:Vetle on 2017-08-31
↑ LIFE IS STRANGE : BEFORE THE STORM EULA - last accessed on 2017-09-04
↑ Life is Strange: Before the Storm episode two is out now, without its Denuvo protection | PCGamesN
↑ THEY REMOVED DENUVO!! :: Life is Strange: Before the Storm General Discussions - last accessed on May 2023
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 ^6.2 Ratchet302: Game Tweaking - Life is Strange Before the Storm
↑ ReShade
↑ Streamable - free video publishing - last accessed on 2017-09-03
↑ Square Enix's Japanese game site - last accessed on May 2023