GamerEscape

Nearly a decade ago I played a little game called Life is Strange, and it stuck with me in a way that few games do. With its relatable characters, tense narrative, and a central mechanic that was wish fulfillment in all the best ways, the original Life is Strange ticked all the boxes for an absolutely memorable journey. Sadly I haven’t played the two interim games, but in a way that’s absolutely fine as this is the first game to return to a prior protagonist, putting Max back in the driver’s seat. So it was with high hopes that I checked out the latest entry in the series, Life is Strange: Double Exposure.

Life is Strange: Double Exposure was developed by Deck Nine Games, and published by Square Enix. It released October 29th, 2024 for Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, with a Switch version in development. The Steam version was played for this review.

If I Could Turn Back Time…

We join Max Caulfield several years after the events of the first game, having moved on from everything that happened in Arcadia Bay both mentally and physically, now lecturing at Caledon University on the other side of the country. She hasn’t been attempting to rewind time and is mostly looking forward to finally living a normal life… when her new best friend Safi is found shot dead.

Her old powers over time have atrophied with disuse, but a new power springs forth in its stead: The ability to switch between two different timelines, her original one where Safi died and another one where she did not. Fearing that whatever killed the original Safi would strike again, Max goes on a mission to figure out who killed her, to prevent it in one timeline and bring closure to another.

Right away, I will say the power feels less tied to the genre than the first game, but if I’m being completely honest that’s a high bar to clear. Rewinding time to try a different choice feels like something most players do in adventure games anyway with saves. It felt like a nod to that player experience and I doubt any other kind of power would have come close… but if they had just gone with rewind again I’m sure it would have felt tired and uninventive.

Instead, we have the power interacting with the narrative in a different way. As the game goes on you get to see all the little ways this event snowballs, keeping track of two divergent storylines concurrently and using information from one to dig out more information from the other. It’s less about trying to undo our mistakes, and more about trying to sate our curiosity. To figure out how things could have gone differently.

As with the previous games, player choice is an important part of the experience and after each chapter you’re given a breakdown of the major and minor choices you made over the course of it, nudging you to give it another go and see how things could go otherwise. Many of these choices have significant effects down the line as well, impacting how others see you and the eventual fates of certain characters. Even when the stakes aren’t so dire, it’s nice whenever a scene pops up that you know only happened because of something you did earlier.

I also really have to praise the characters here. I’m tempted to call them realistic, but I’m sure every college person I’ve known would die of embarrassment if they were ever as eager to wear their heart on their sleeve as this cast. They’re quite relatable however, and no matter what was going on I always found myself smiling at the little interactions between them, whether it’s engaging in some dorky pastime or consoling each other over a loss.

Speaking of which, I really appreciate all the little storylines that are going on alongside the main one, across both timelines. There’s a bunch of NPCs you can chat to and listen in on, all with their own problems going on. It’s a little touch that helps the world feel that much more alive, and a little reward for players who go out of their way to explore and poke their noses into things.

A Tale of Two Tales

In a lot of ways Life is Strange: Double Exposure follows the format of modern adventure games: Walk around, talk to people, acquire items and information, and use them to progress relatively simple puzzles and progress the plot. The main thing that sets it apart is Max’s power to swap between two timelines.

Sometimes this is fairly straightforward. A piece of evidence might not exist in one timeline, or one version of a character might not be willing to talk to you or be otherwise unavailable. Other times you’re shifting between for more spatial puzzles, to get past barriers or behind closed doors, or even using Max’s ability to just “peek” into the other world as a way to see what folks are doing when you’re not around.

By far my favorite use for the power isn’t something that will help you, however. Quite the opposite in fact. As the game goes on and things diverge, you’ll find two versions of a character have drastically different experiences or opinions of you. When talking to people, the game is more than willing to toss curveballs your way where you have the option to ask them about something that never happened to them. So if you want to get through this without looking like a total weirdo you as the player will need to pay attention to which timeline you were in when things happened, something that can be easier said than done when you’re shifting quite often.

All the Small Things

There’s plenty to love about the art direction in Life is Strange: Double Exposure. There’s some great cinematography during the cutscenes, and the characters have a distinctive style despite sticking to a fairly realistic approach. The art even lends itself to the gameplay as well, with an emphasis on warmer colors in the world where Safi is alive and cooler colors in the world where Safi is dead.

There’s also a light emphasis on the soundtrack, which has a very “indie punk band” feel to it most of the time. In spite of the murder mystery going on, a big part of what makes Life is Strange (both this one and the original) so memorable is the vibe it gives. Frequently you’re given moments where you’re encouraged to just sit back, relax, and chill to a song for a bit, moments that go a long way towards setting up the cozy atmosphere the characters want to get back to, or time to process all that’s happened.

If I had one complaint however, it would be a bit of polish still needed. Scene transitions are a bit jarring and there are usually still objects visibly loading in. It’s a little thing, but it did take me out of the game and interrupt the vibes the game was otherwise going for.

Welcome Back

In a way, Life is Strange: Double Exposure felt like returning home. While it doesn’t quite overshadow the original, it delivers more of what made the series so special in the first place while having its own identity.

Nostalgia can be a tricky line to walk. On the one hand there’s plenty of people who liked Max’s story from the first game and will be drawn back, but there’s also a risk of winding up like a few other series that are just remaking the same game over and over. I feel Deck Nine Games have successfully pulled off that tightrope trick, and have left the series in a place where it can only grow and thrive. I look forward to the next adventure.

~Final Score: 9/10~

Review copy provided by Square Enix for Steam. Screenshots provided by reviewer. Featured image provided by Square Enix.