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Life Is Strange: Before The Storm is just one game in the Life Is Strange series that's built on the butterfly effect. Although the first game gave players the ability to rewind time and undo their decisions, ultimately those definitive choices would have resounding effects on the story and interactions between characters down the line. The same is true in Life Is Strange: Before The Storm.
Players no longer have the ability to rewind time in Life Is Strange: Before The Storm, so their choices throughout the game are set in stone from the moment they choose them. Seeing as Life Is Strange: Before The Storm is a prequel, some fates of the characters are pre-destined and completely unaffected by the choices made in-game, but others have fates and relationships that can be altered by the choices players make.
6 Defending Nathan Getting Bullied
One of the first major choices that Chloe is faced with in the first episode of Life Is Strange: Before The Storm, "Awake," is the decision to defend or stay out of the rich boy snob Nathan Prescott being bullied by Drew North. Surprisingly, the player's decision in this matter will alter the one major relationship that Nathan's given in this prequel, his friendship with Samantha Myers. If players choose to take pity on the normally very snobby character and defend him, characters throughout all three episodes of the game will mention the incident and either praise or shame Chloe for defending Nathan.
At the end of the game, choosing to defend Nathan is one part of the two decisions that will allow for a happy ending for the friendship between Nathan and Samantha. If players choose to stay out of the fight, Chloe won't be mentioned as being involved in the incident at all. Choosing to stay out of the fight immediately sets players up to receive the bad ending between Nathan and Samantha.
5 "Something More" Or "A Friendship"
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Chloe and Rachel's relationship is the focal point of Life Is Strange: Before The Storm, as we heard so much about their relationship in the first game yet never saw the two characters interact. Canonically, their relationship is meant to be something more than a friendship, but there's a decision early on in the game that can dictate whether players want this relationship to be platonic or intimate. If players choose to tell Rachel that their relationship is "a friendship," Rachel will become disappointed, saying that she'd thought Chloe had wanted something more than that. Throughout the game, the closeness between the two characters is dictated by an intimacy level, which can be lowered by choosing to call their relationship "a friendship."
If this choice is picked and the intimacy level is low enough, players won't have the choice to kiss Rachel during the neighborhood scene after the two have performed in The Tempest. If players choose to tell Rachel that their relationship is "something more," this will raise the intimacy level between Chloe and Rachel. Picking this option will start rolling the barrel to setting up a romantic relationship between the two throughout the rest of the episodes and so on, with characters hinting at something more going on between the two if this option is chosen. This choice will also make it easier to have the intimacy level high enough to unlock the kiss during the neighborhood scene.
4 Drew's Room
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Although Drew has made some questionable decisions in bullying Nathan during the earlier part of Life Is Strange: Before The Storm, players quickly find out during a mission that sends Chloe snooping through his room to collect money that he owes Damon, a powerful and intimidating drug dealer, that he'd been indirectly angry at Nathan for his father's decision to lay off Drew's dad. Drew had started selling oxy to the jocks at Blackwell Academy in order to make money in order for his family to support themselves.
This backstory puts a massive moral dilemma in Chloe's way when she's forced to decide whether to stay inside the room with Drew's brother, Mikey, in order to protect the money his family needs or step in and give the money to Damon in order to prevent Drew or Mikey from being brutally beaten up. If players choose to give the money back to Damon, both Mikey and Drew will be injured in the wake of Chloe giving the money back to Damon. Although Chloe's relationship with Drew will be strained at first as he protests Chloe's decision to give back the money he and his family needed, by the end of episode three he will have forgiven her, and thanks her for trying to help with Damon. If players choose to stay in the room with Mikey, Drew's knee will be broken by Damon as a threat to him. This choice will lead to more interactions between Chloe and Damon throughout the rest of the game, seeing as he realizes that Chloe was sent to collect the money from Drew.
3 Help Nathan Or Give Him Space
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The other part of the two decisions that will achieve a good ending between Samantha and Nathan is giving her advice on what to do about Nathan after he's cruelly confronted by his father. If players choose to not give Samantha advice, tell her to avoid him, or tell her to give Nathan space, they will receive the ending later on that shows Nathan trying to approach Samantha as she's reading a book underneath a tree. When he approaches, she'll walk away angrily. Nathan will also be unable to deliver his lines during The Tempest if any of these options are chosen.
If players choose to tell Samantha to help him, they will get a good ending between the two. Which shows them both sitting underneath a tree together, reading. If this option is chosen, Nathan will be able to recite his lines with confidence during The Tempest.
2 The Kiss, Bracelet, Or Tattoo
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One of the most important decisions in the game is very cleverly crafted, with many players choosing immediately to have Chloe and Rachel kiss instead of considering the other options. During the neighborhood scene, Rachel will ask Chloe what she needs to do to prove that she's serious about wanting to leave Arcadia Bay with her. The player will be given the option to choose from a kiss, tattoo, and Rachel's bracelet.
Choosing the tattoo is ultimately the most useless decision, as it doesn't increase the pair's intimacy or have the ability to unlock a secret ending, unlike the other two choices. Choosing the kiss will raise Rachel and Chloe's intimacy level, as well as alter the remaining cutscenes in the game to solidify a romantic relationship between the two. Choosing the bracelet, however, has the potential to unlock a separate cutscene at the end of the game. Having Rachel's bracelet during the segment of the game where Chloe is convincing Sera, Rachel's estranged biological mother, to meet her daughter makes unlocking the ending where the two meet much easier.
1 Telling The Truth To Rachel
After learning about what Rachel's dad, James, has done to keep Sera out of his and Rachel's lives, Chloe is presented with the choice of whether to tell Rachel the truth about what her dad has done. With how much Rachel loves and idolizes her dad, it's a tough decision. As telling her the truth about what he's done would shatter that image forever. If players choose not to tell Rachel the truth, the Amber family will remain happily together, protected by Chloe's lie. However, if players choose this option, they will have no chance of getting the ending cutscene where Rachel meets Sera.
If players tell Rachel the truth and have managed to convince Sera to meet her daughter by choosing the correct dialogue options and having chosen the bracelet, they will have unlocked the cutscene that shows Sera and Rachel meeting at the lighthouse. No dialogue between the two happens, but they share a tender, loving hug. Choosing this option also unlocks a cutscene that shows James and Rachel's non-biological mother fighting, with her dad smashing a glass on the floor, angry about the situation.