References (Before the Storm)

Before the Storm

This article lists references to pop culture and different media that can be found in Life is Strange: Before the Storm. Like in Life is Strange, the creators included a lot of references throughout the game, which likely reflect personal favorite books, movies or series, and inspirations for the game of the developers at Deck Nine Games. Interestingly a lot of references for media that was already referenced in Life is Strange can be found in the game. The following is a list of those references arranged according to the episodes they appear in.

General[]

Before the Storm continues to use themes and inspirations from the series Twin Peaks.

Twin Peaks[]

Several references to the tv series Twin Peaks, which heavily inspired the original Life is Strange game, can be found in Before the Storm.

The Old Mill itself and the forest fire that occurs at the end of the first episode are likely references to the Packard Sawmill from Twin Peaks which is sabotaged in a fire.
Firewalk, the band that plays at the punk club, likely is a reference to the movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, the prequel to the original Twin Peaks series.
There is a symbol on the train's walls which closely resembles the insignia from the petroglyph on the wall of Owl Cave in Twin Peaks.
"The Raven is to be respected, never trusted. Its grinning face betrays its trickster spirit." can be found written on the placard for the totem. This line and the symbol of the raven itself seem to be a callback to the phrase "The Owls are not what they seem" and the similar prevalence of owls in Twin Peaks.
Fire is frequently associated with Rachel Amber throughout the first episode. In the second dream sequence, she is seen literally on fire. The phrase "Fire walk with me" was associated with Laura Palmer from Twin Peaks, who Rachel Amber is based on.
Eliot Hampden bears a slight resemblance to Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks.
The obscure hints of what's to come provided by William in Chloe's dreams is also similar to the hints given to Dale Cooper by The Giant during visions in Twin Peaks, in this case both Rachel Amber's self-destructive mindset and the forest fire she causes by burning a photo of her past self.
In Episode 3, Rachel's birth mother is forcibly injected with heroin, possibly referencing the same thing happening to Audrey Horne in season two of Twin Peaks

William Shakespeare[]

Several references to Shakespeare can be seen throughout the game. For instance, the game's constant motif of lying and concealing the truth in exchange for happiness resembles Sonnet 138 where two lovers lie to each other to flatter themselves.
Shakespeare is speculated to have been homosexual, and there are many theories about Shakespeare subtly revealing his sexuality through his plays and sonnets. It could be argued that Shakespeare hinted at his identity including his sexuality through his play similarly to Rachel's performance of The Tempest.
The Tempest (TBC)

Characters[]

In a playthrough with Eurogamer, Zak Garriss said that the name of the dog Delia at the punk club is a reference to the Johnny Cash song called "Delia's Gone". The opening verse of the song is "Delia; Oh, Delia; Delia all my life; If I hadn't have shot poor Delia; I'd have had her for my wife; Delia's gone; One more round; Delia's gone".

Episode One - "Awake"[]

Old Mill[]

The Old Mill itself and the forest fire that occurs at the end of the episode are likely references to the Packard Sawmill from Twin Peaks which is sabotaged in a fire.
Firewalk, the band that plays at the punk club, likely is a reference to the movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, the prequel to the original Twin Peaks series.

One of the optional graffiti that Chloe Price can write on Frank Bowers's RV which is standing in front of the punk club says, "Definitely absolutely not a meth lab". This is a reference to the television series Breaking Bad in which drug dealer Walter White and his accomplice Jesse cook Crystal Meth in an RV.
In front of the punk club, the license plates of several parked cars are references to popular movies.

The license plates of the motor bikes in front of the punk club are references to the members of The A-Team.

During the Backtalk with the club's bouncer, Chloe can say, "Oh hey, Bowser called. He wants his jewelry back." Bowser is the main antagonist of Nintendo's Mario franchise.
The t-shirt vendor's car's license plate might be a reference to the American rock band Locksley. It could also be a reference to the hometown of Robin Hood.

Chloe's House[]

When Chloe tears down the unicorn poster in her room and writes the "Genius" graffiti, she says, "Ask Steve Jobs."
- The quote written, "Genius is 1% perspiration, 99% LSD," is a play on the quote from Thomas Edison, "Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration."
- When looking at the same graffiti, Chloe remarks, "Adapt or die", which is a quote from the 2011 American sports film Moneyball.
Chloe has the option to write on her periodic table poster. She can choose to write "MJ 420". MJ refers to "Mary Jane" which is a nickname for Marijuana. 420 is a code word for smoking pot, believed to have originated from the USA in the early 1970s.
Looking at the pirate towel in the house's bathroom, Chloe calls it "Captain Bluebeard's preferred towel", a reference to the well-known pirate Blackbeard, who is also featured as a character in Pirates of the Carribean, and the French fairy-tale character Bluebeard.
An Arcadia Bay Gazette article that can be found on the table in the Price house's living room features a photo of Principal Wells holding a cup. This is a reference to a meme originating from the 1999 American comedy film Office Space.

David's license plate reads "JZY-WALZ" - The Outlaw Josey Wales.

Blackwell Campus[]

While sitting on the crate on the stage and contemplating about last night, Chloe compares Rachel saving her to Batman.
In the main campus, there is a poster on the pool entrance about drug awareness. If you look closely, the figure in the background is extremely reminiscent to the then WWF's (now WWE) Hollywood Hulk Hogan. Hulk Hogan was an 80's/90's wrestling entertainment icon.
Steph and Mikey are playing a tabletop game that highly resembles Dungeons and Dragons.
Chloe receives a copy of Blade Runner: Director's Cut from Steph.
Samantha Myers is reading the book Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.

Drama Lab[]

When looking at the laptop in the drama lab, Chloe says, "To internet, or not to internet...", referencing the famous line from William Shakespeare's Hamlet, "To be, or not to be: that is the question."
Other famous lines from Shakespeare's plays can be seen on the walls of the Drama Lab, such as: "All the world's a stage" and "We know what we are, but know not what we may be".

Train[]

When Chloe is looking for a crate to sit and Chloe observes a cargo box that can be found at the corner of the train, she says, "I feel pretty confident there's going to be a dead body in here," possibly referencing the Hitman series. In Hitman, a notorious, recurring theme is the ability to hide bodies most notably in cargo boxes. The series was originally published by Eidos Interactive back in 2000 but as of 2009 was purchased by Square Enix.

On one of the crates, Chloe can find the book Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.
There is a symbol on the train's walls which closely resembles the insignia from the petroglyph on the wall of Owl Cave in Twin Peaks.
On the train's walls, there are several quotes:
- "I see humans but no humanity" is a famous quote by Jason Danohue.
- "Everybody is somebody but no one wants to be themselves" is a reference to the song "Who Cares?" by Gnarls Barkley.
- "All my idols are dead!" might be a reference to the song "All My Idols Are Dead" by Killola.
- "Sorrow will have an end!" might be a reference to 1929 song "Trouble Will Soon Be Over" by Blind Willie Johnson.
When Chloe tells Rachel that she loves science, she says that she thinks that "Neil deGrasse Tyson is the shit". Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist, author, and science communicator.
When Chloe tells Rachel that she broke her hand, she says that she punched her classmate for stealing her "Yoo-hoo". Yoo-hoo is an American brand that primarily produces chocolate-flavored drinks.
When Chloe claims that being a Leo was Rachel's lie in the Two Truths and a Lie game, Rachel will say, "Hear me roar." "Hear me roar" is the Lannisters' motto in the series Game of Thrones.

Overlook[]

When Chloe and Rachel find the viewfinder at Overlook Park to be broken and they don't have any change to use the other one, Chloe says, "I'm sure I can MacGyver us something," referencing the 1985–1992 American action-adventure television series. In the original Life is Strange Max also made this comparison by calling herself MaxGyver.
The designer of the Northwest Valor statue at the Overlook is called "Dwight Mueller"; this could be a reference to a character from The Fast and the Furious.
When Chloe fixes the viewfinder, she says "Prescott Power - Activate!" referencing the Wonder Twins.
"The Raven is to be respected, never trusted. Its grinning face betrays its trickster spirit." can be found written on the placard for the totem. This line and the symbol of the raven itself seem to be a callback to the phrase "The Owls are not what they seem" and the similar prevalence of owls in Twin Peaks.
After mimicking the "Grill Dad" during the viewfinder game, Chloe asks if her comments were too dark. Rachel responds that they were "perfect dark", referencing the 2000 first-person shooter video game Perfect Dark.

Dream Sequences[]

Fire is frequently associated with Rachel Amber throughout this episode. In this particular scene, she is seen literally on fire. The phrase "Fire walk with me" was associated with Laura Palmer from Twin Peaks, who Rachel Amber is based on.
The obscure hints of what's to come provided by William in these visions is also similar to the hints given to Dale Cooper by The Giant during visions in Twin Peaks, in this case both Rachel Amber's self-destructive mindset and the forest fire she causes by burning a photo of her past self.

Chloe's Journal[]

On page 2, Chloe calls David "The Mustache Monster From Planet Dipshit", a reference to...
On page 3, several references to the science fiction movie Blade Runner can be found. She mentions main characters Pris and Deckard and concludes the letter with "Chloe the Electric Sheep", which is a reference to the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? which the movie is based on.

Episode Two - "Brave New World"[]

Parking Lot[]

At the parking lot, the license plates are references to media, fictional characters and people.^[2]

THELMA and LOUISE - Thelma and Louise
HOLDEN-C - Holden Caulfield from Catcher in the Rye
T-SAWYER - Tom Sawyer
KATNISS - Katniss from The Hunger Games
JIM-STRK - Jim Stark from Rebel Without a Cause
LD-BYRON - Lord Byron (Mr. Keaton's car)
MUAD-DIB - Muad'Dib, an alias of Paul Atreides, the protagonist of Frank Herbert's Dune (Skip's car)
A-HAM - Alexander Hamilton (Principal Wells's car)
Nikola-T - Nikola Tesla
BRKBD - Breaking Bad
JZY-WALZ - The Outlaw Josey Wales

Chris Floyd commented the following on a Reddit post with a list of references, also indirectly implying that the references are correct by stating "I bet someone out there will figure out the two unsolved plates in the OP’s list. One is historical, and one is a fictional character...".

"There is a very broad theme connecting all of the new license plates in BTS (the ones referring to people/characters). I’m curious if the fans will eventually figure it out. As the guy mainly responsible for the concept and for choosing the references (with lots of brainstorming from the team), I have to admit that it turned out more obscure than I intended it to be. Maybe with the hint that there is a common thread between them, someone might work it out. Additional hint: Chloe also fits the theme."

— Chris Floyd (Co-Game Director)

^[3]

Junkyard[]

The license plate of the truck Chloe fixes reads "ANBONNY", which is a reference to the female pirate Ann Bonny who was romantically involved fellow female pirate Mary Read. [insert image]
When in the car with Chloe, Rachel may say, "Because life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." This is a line from Shakespeare's play Macbeth.
Rachel may also say, "From what I've tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire." These are lines from the poem "Fire and Ice" by Robert Frost.

Boys Dorms[]

There is a poster for the 80s horror movie The Dorm That Dripped Blood on Warren's door.

(TBC)

Campus Backstage[]

The name of Victoria's muscle relaxers, "Soma", is a reference to the drug of the same name in the novel Brave New World.
- The manufacturer, Xulhey, is an anagram of the author's last name, Huxley.^[4]
- "Brave New World" is also the title of Episode 2.

Amber House[]

The Metamorphoses by Ovid can be found in the living room.
(TBC)

Chloe's Letters[]

Chloe signs her first letter with "Chloe, the Exit Wounder", which is a reference to the 2001 American action film Exit Wounds. The movie is about an urban police detective notorious for pushing the limits of the law in his quest for justice. It is also a reference to a medical term "exit wound", left by a bullet or similar object leaving a body.
Chloe signs her second letter with "Chloe, Bane of Facists [sic]", which is a reference to The Dark Night Rises.
Chloe signs her fifth letter with "Chloe, The Peacemaker", which might be a reference to the 1997 American action-political thriller film The Peacemaker.

Episode Three - "Hell Is Empty"[]

Rachel's Room[]

Rachel's bulletin board includes quotes from English authors Douglas Adams and Mary Wollstonecraft, Australian poet Henry Kendall, and British actress Audrey Hepburn.
- Also posted to the bulletin board are posters for the musical Kiss Me, Kate and the play The Glass Menagerie.
On top of Rachel's wall-mounted needlepoint canvas is a sticky note depicting a quote from Italian politician Niccolò Machiavelli.
The bottom-middle of Rachel's recessed shelves contains a collection of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.

(TBC)

Bonus Episode - "Farewell"[]

Bedroom[]

(TBC)

Attic[]

Max mentions Chloe had a gold fish called Calico Jack.^[5]

Backyard[]

(TBC)

Price House - Downstairs[]

Billy The Squid is a squid toy that was found inside the time capsule that had been buried by Chloe and Max when they were little kids. Billy The Squid may be a reference to a notorious Old West gunfighter, Billy the Kid.

References[]

[1] Screenshot from GamersName's Hitman Absolution gameplay video (1:12:28)

[2] Reddit post by /u/takichandler

[3] Reddit post by Chris Floyd

[4] Life Is Strange: Before the Storm Tropes

[5] Reddit post by /u/ChloesPetRat

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