Life Is Strange: Double Exposure – Review

The concept of narrative-driven adventure games, although niche as a genre, remains familiar and enticing, especially for players looking for a more cinematic gaming experience. Functioning more as interactive movies, these are titles where actual gameplay takes a backseat in favour of compelling storytelling and, more often than not, requires making difficult choices that lead to major consequences, skewing the story down a particular route.

So what happens when time travel is thrown into the mix, offering the ability to rewind and rechoose every major decision to see how each pans out? Although it might seem rather counterintuitive, this was exactly what made 2015’s Life Is Strange so compelling to begin with, providing a more accessible experience compared to its peers in the genre, while also delivering an enthralling narrative revolving around protagonist Maxine “Max” Caufield in what at first seems like a typical high-school drama, only to spiral into a dark murder-mystery filled with twists and shocking revelations.

9 years on, and following 2 mainline releases each with its separate characters and storylines, publisher Square Enix returns alongside developer Deck Nine to finally bring the series back to where it all began, with Life Is Strange: Double Exposure, a direct sequel to the original title and continuation to Max’s journey.

Set 10 years after the original game, Max has moved on following the tragic events in Arcadia Bay, travelling the world and hopping from place to place, finally settling down in Lakepoint, Vermont, working as a photographer-in-residence at the local Caledon University. Shaken by the events from her past, she swore never to use her time-rewinding abilities again, and as a result, has seemingly lost them at the start of the game. 

All that was about to change though, as during one fateful evening, while hanging out with two of her closest colleagues and friends, Safiya “Safi” Llewellyn-Fayyad and Moses Murphy, Safi gets gunned down in the dead of the night and left out in the snow, only to be discovered by her two friends after. Stricken with equal parts grief and guilt over not being able to rewind time and save Safi, Max inadvertently discovers that she can shift between two timelines, the one she’s currently in, and one where Safi is still alive, but in imminent danger. Utilising her new abilities, she must unravel the mystery to find out who killed Safi, and whether there’s something more sinister afoot at Caledon.

From the get-go, the series’ leap to Unreal Engine 5 clearly benefitted the title when it comes to enhancing its storytelling, as Life Is Strange: Double Exposure features some of the most intricate facial animations seen in a video game, with characters realistically portraying subtle expressions to effectively convey the emotions felt. Eyes are a standout here by far, with intricate detailing, especially during close-up shots, that leads to many a tear-jerking moment.

In a genre like this, voice acting can make or break a game, and thankfully, the title shines with its vocal performances, with actress Hannah Telle returning to voice Max and joined by leading cast Olivia AbiAssi (Safi) and Blu Allen (Moses). Every interaction between the characters is well-voiced, and from the most emotionally intense scenes to the light-hearted ones, everything feels natural and rarely cringe-worthy, unless the game was purposely trying to do so. One laughable exception is the cat that Max takes in mid-way through the game (yes, you can pet it), which hilariously sounds like a person trying to mimic what a cat should sound like, and failing spectacularly.

Having strong voice acting also supplements the game’s excellent writing, which should come as no surprise considering the pedigree of the series as a whole. Every character has layers and are not necessarily what they first appear to be, and the game eloquently conveys this through its conversations. 

Take Vinh for example, the game’s proverbial “bad boy” character, who at first seems like the stereotypical jerk with an ego. Max can choose to flirt with him, and in doing so will slowly uncover his more vulnerable side, getting a better understanding of the circumstances which led him to be the way he is, with the aforementioned subtle facial expressions conveying exactly the moment where his teasing nature evolves into genuine attraction. Sure, he’s no Warren, but the fact that the game can make players feel for even the most unlikable characters is something that should be applauded.

When it comes to the game’s overall plot, here’s when things unfortunately take a stumble. To be fair, the title starts strong, with its first 3 chapters effectively reeling players into its engaging mystery, with mind-blowing plot twists at the end of each (no spoilers!). It’s during the final 2 chapters that the game falters, presenting a confusing finale that feels like it’s clearly trying to present a “wow” moment similar to that of the original Life Is Strange but missing the mark, culminating in a lacklustre ending that feels like a shame considering its build-up.

Of course, comparing the title to the frankly matchless twist ending of the original game might be too much of an ask, but it doesn’t help that the game presents the same problems the first game had too, that being the illusion of choice. 

Throughout the game, players can make a variety of choices, both minor and major, that are listed at the end of each chapter, making it seem that all their choices will somehow surmount to something larger at the end, and that’s sadly not the case. The game features only two endings, similar to the first, but both come nowhere close to the impactfulness of its predecessor, and the game ends up feeling like a bunch of exciting plot twists that ultimately lead to nothing.

This letdown is largely in part due to the removal of what made Life Is Strange so unique to begin with, that being its time rewind mechanics, as Max can no longer rewind and change the outcomes of her decisions, losing a major part of the title’s charm. In its place, the game offers 3 new abilities: Shift, where Max can travel in between 2 timelines, one where Safi is murdered and another where she’s still alive, Pulse, where she can see into both timelines simultaneously, and Entangle, where certain objects can be brought from one timeline to another.

The game largely revolves around the use of Shift, with players having to manage both the characters and items in each timeline to solve puzzles to progress the story. Narratively, Shift also allows players to witness the impact of Safi’s death on the Caledon community through environmental details, such as cheery Chrismas decorations spread across the world in the timeline where Safi is alive, which are absent in the other due to the cancellation of festivities following her death.

Apart from presenting the unique tonal shift, players will spend most of their time using this ability to warp from one timeline to another, talking to their respective iterations of each character to learn vital plot-progressing information. It’s a simple formula that unfortunately does get a little stale by the game’s first half, but since this is a title that prioritises story over gameplay, what’s on offer here is adequate just to keep things going.

Another big part of the puzzle-solving experience is identifying which characters and items are in each timeline at any given time, which is where Pulse comes into play, allowing players to keep track of where certain characters are in both timelines which is essential to track their movements during key points of the story, such as avoiding detection during a certain stealth sequence.

Finally, Max can use Entangle to swap places of objects between timelines, an interesting prospect for sure, and while the concept certainly seems intriguing, with an interesting idea of objects magically shifting forms in front of unknowing bystanders’ eyes, it ends up being a huge waste of potential, as Max only uses this power twice in the game, and both during scripted cutscenes. 

This disappointment also extends to the use of Pulse, as the previously mentioned stealth section was the only one in the game, and it feels like the developers really squandered the prospects of using these new powers for more engaging and exciting puzzle sections, instead choosing to play it safe. Thankfully, the game does allude to a potential sequel, so here’s hoping that Max will get more opportunities to use her new powers more creatively in the next title.

In the end, Life Is Strange: Double Exposure does fall short of being the triumphant return to Max’s story it so hoped to be. Despite having top-notch animations afforded by the shift in the graphical engine, coupled with excellent vocal performances across the board, the title ultimately fails to stick its landing with its disappointing ending and gameplay systems that felt like it could have been so much more.

Kevin Low

Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.