Life is Strange: Double Exposure is the latest entry in the Life is Strange series — a direct follow-up to the original game that came out in 2015.
The game expertly showcases the original protagonist, Max, and her personal growth, while introducing a likable cast of new supporting characters. The story starts off incredibly strong, but the pacing feels rushed towards the end and the conclusion may not satisfy some players. Additionally, the gameplay mechanics feel a bit underwhelming.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure plot
Life is Strange: Double Exposure is set 10 years after the original game, with Max Caulfield returning as a photographer for Caledon University.
Due to the events of the previous game, Caulfield no longer uses her time-rewinding powers. However, after her friend Safi is mysteriously murdered by a gunshot, she develops new powers that allow her to switch between timelines. Max alternates between her original timeline and another where Safi was never shot and utilizes clues from both to find out who killed Safi.
It’s an incredibly strong foundation and the mystery surrounding Safi’s death is a real page-turner up until the last few chapters, which felt rushed and the ending was a bit unsatisfying. Without spoiling anything, the first three chapters kept my attention, but when all of the details started coming together, I couldn’t help but feel like the idea of Safi’s death was a sort of bait and switch.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure characters
Life is Strange: Double Exposure’s cast is quite small, which lets other supporting characters get their time to shine.
For example, Max can see both versions of Safi’s best friend, Moses, when switching between the two timelines and how he reacts to certain events. This allows players to experience different facets and emotions of these characters, creating fully realized personalities.
Max shows strong character growth, too, learning from her actions 10 years ago during the events of the original game. She wants to avoid a repeat of what happened before when her own selfish motives led to innocent people getting hurt. This is demonstrated throughout the game with her words and actions.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure mechanics
Shifting between timelines sounds like a really interesting gameplay mechanic on paper, but it feels underutilized in Life is Strange: Double Exposure.
In the game, Max shifts timelines to complete simple tasks, like entering a room that’s locked in one reality but open in another. It doesn’t really get too much deeper than that. There was one scene where Max had to save a person from falling into a frozen lake as it was cracking, so she shifted the crumbling bed of ice with the other timeline’s undisturbed one.
It was a very cool implementation of Max’s new powers, but those possibilities were only shown through cutscenes and not actual gameplay. I feel like the developers could’ve come up with some more different ideas to incorporate Max’s powers with gameplay.
Throughout the game, you’ll be presented with different choices and dialogue options on how to proceed. Some are more impactful than others. For example, Max finds out a character is planning on filing a restraining order on Safi, and she has the option to tell Safi about it. Whether the player chooses to tell Safi about it has ramifications during later chapters. This adds significant replayability to each playthrough, allowing you to experience different outcomes.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure graphics
The graphics in Double Exposure are great, especially its art direction.
It has a cartoon-ish look that avoids looking juvenile, and the facial expressions are the best the series has seen thus far. It’s vibrant with colors, and the contrast between the two timelines reflects the mood of each one. In the one where Safi is still alive, there’s a warm yellow hue to it, while the one where she's dead has a somber blue coloration. It’s a simple yet effective technique that can affect the mood.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure music and audio
The music and audio in Double Exposure is good, but it wasn’t something that I paid particular attention to throughout the game. However, the game uses some licensed music from real-world artists like Tessa Rose Jackson & Feel for songs like “Wake,” “Illusion,” and “So This Is Lonely,” which stand out in the soundtrack.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure difficulty
Double Exposure is a narrative adventure game, so it doesn’t have any difficulty options.
However, there are plenty of good accessibility options, such as softening the white bloom that occurs when shifting timeline, making the gameplay experience smoother.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure performance
Life is Strange: Double Exposure performed well on Xbox Series X. There were no hard crashes nor performance issues — and load times were reasonable. However, there were some issues with textures popping in when cutscenes were loading in, making for some weird visual glitches.
Is Life is Strange: Double Exposure worth it?
Life is Strange: Double Exposure is a worthy follow-up for those who enjoyed Max’s original adventure. Without giving away spoilers, the game hints at future sequels, which occasionally undermines its story potential. This focus detracts from Double Exposure’s impact, leading to a somewhat underwhelming ending.
However, Max’s personal growth felt satisfying and the cast is likable. While the gameplay mechanics involving Max’s time powers could’ve been more fleshed out, the story was enough to keep my attention until the end. At $50, Life is Strange: Double Exposure is worth it for die-hard Life is Strange fans, but casual players can wait for a discount.
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Topics Gaming
