Life is Strange: Double Exposure
I’ll start this review by sharing every gameplay related note I made for Life is Strange: Double Exposure:
“Puzzles are pretty simplistic; a go here and swap worlds type of deal.”
That should illustrate immediately how fully Deck Nine has made this fourth entry a narrative-first experience. Focus is reserved for story and character, in particular the returning protagonist Maxine Caulfield, who reclaims her lead status here in spectacular form.
The “swap worlds deal” I mentioned there refers to the evolution of Maxine’s powers. Her old ability to rewind time has atrophied and disappeared since the first Life is Strange (which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary). In its place spawns a new power whereby Max can bifurcate her reality into “dead” and “living” variants whose context is tied to a murder-mystery reuniting players with Max’s favourite hobby of invading other people’s privacy.
It’s another poignant tale exploring the themes of rebellion, mental wellbeing, and friendship against the odds. Max’s newfound abilities are introduced in an emotionally relevant way, but in gameplay terms, this split world feature is really just a snazzy way of changing the screen filters every so often. The idea is less exciting than Max’s “rewind” power ever was, and it’s absolutely nothing that The Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver wasn’t already doing (and doing better) more than fifteen years ago.
Players who instinctually reach for the shoulder buttons on their gamepad are greeted by Maxine’s internal monologue. “Rewind hasn’t worked in years”, she says, “But still… old habits die hard.” This is the real strength of Life is Strange: Double Exposure — Maxine herself. She’s older and wiser, while still feeling every bit the stoic protagonist she was the last time we saw her. Even though this fourth entry requires no knowledge of other games in the series, players who are familiar with Max’s story will feel as if no time has passed at all — the character is that comfortable to play as at this point.
The woman keeps a strong presence among her new friends, Moses Murphy and Safiya Llewellyn-Fayyad — the latter being a particularly wild and attractive character in the Chloe Price mould. The scenes featuring Max and Safi together is where the adventure is at its most emotionally resonant and exciting, even if the wider story beats feel similar in tone to the first Life is Strange. Although, one thing that really benefits this fourth outing is the character animation that sets a new high standard for the series. Characters look and behave in an incredibly realistic manner, even if they continue to speak like they’re in a Don’t Nod video game!
The art design of Life is Strange: Double Exposure is likewise good, but my visuals did look fuzzy before I made several changes in the curiously stacked graphics menu. I also witnessed a few glitches including a locked briefcase that looked open, a ladder no-clipping through a ceiling, and at least two instances of characters standing in a “T” pose during a scene transition.
These games are primarily about style though, and thanks to the ever-likeable Maxine, the story progresses at a nice pace. “Time to go be normal”, she says in one of her delightfully maudlin asides. “Mercury must be in retrograde”, she quips in another. (This continues to highlight what a wonderful nerd Max is when said planet was indeed in retrograde at the time of this game’s release!)
The writers don’t neglect to mention Max’s history either. This new tale continues to explore the trauma she left behind in Arcadia Bay, but neither does it linger on that topic for too long. While the story follows a clearly recognisable formula, the focus on new characters works, and the dilemmas where players make branching decisions are still loaded with compromise and conflict.
Things get real spicy by the end of the game’s third chapter, though it’s fair to say this is where the plot hits a peak the finale isn’t able to live up to. The ending is also not as conclusive as some players are going to hope for, but a few genuinely intriguing twists hint at big things coming for the series, and that is an exciting prospect in of itself.
Compared to the middling effort that was Life is Strange: True Colors, Life is Strange: Double Exposure is a return to form of sorts. Even though this instalment resembles a “table-setter” by the end, it is both simultaneously a fine sequel and a superb introduction if you’ve never played this series before.
The future of the franchise from here is perhaps best summed up by one of the game’s own side characters, who at one point remarks, “I hope you’re prepared for what happens next.”
Life is Strange: Double Exposure on Steam »
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