Life is Strange: Double Exposure Review — Lens Flare

After almost 10 years, the Life is Strange series is returning to its roots. Max Caulfield, with her time travel abilities, is finally back, though she’s grown up a lot since we last caught up with her. Life is Strange: Double Exposure sees her trying to embrace her new life, years after losing Chloe. This isn’t a direct sequel by Deck Nine, the studio now leading development on the continuing series IP, but it does feel like one in a lot of ways. Many still look back on the first game fondly. Its portrayal of fledgling queer representation really found its audience at the right time. Since then, the series has flourished with players, but it’s definitely not forgotten where it all began. Max’s return sees the series coming full circle in a way, yet I feel like we never quite get the full picture.

As with many franchises these days, the push in all directions has seen the games take on an anthology-style approach with new characters and stories being told in each. Since the first game, we’ve had a prequel, a shorter demo, a sequel and a spin-off – that’s a pretty impressive feat for the series. Yet, it shows the recognition the first game earned for its character development, game mechanics and emotional depth. The first game’s unwavering portrayal of heavy topics such as bullying, abuse, drugs, suicide, and sexual assault saw players rally around the character’s experiences in the game. The developers showed real nuance in how Max was able to navigate these experiences then without sensationalising them.

Life is Strange: Double Exposure sees Max finally returning as a protagonist. It’s pretty exciting catching up with her,  given how long it’s been since the first game. She’s now an artist in residence at the fancy Caledon University, which is the main setting of the game. Taking place in Lakeport, Vermont – I couldn’t help but feel the setting pulling me in. Much of it is picturesque and perfect, dripping in that CW show sheen. Nothing bad could happen here, or could it? Had it? Max has been on the road since the first game, though she’s still not quite over her past. Luckily, she’s fallen in with a found family in Safi, Moses, and Amanda, amongst a cast of staff and students on campus. It feels like Max is finally letting her walls down. Life seems pretty perfect – right up until Safi, her closest friend in this new place, is murdered.

The death is a shocking pull of the rug in the game’s first episode, leading to Max using her powers again to try and save Safi. It’s not that simple, though. Her rewind ability has changed, and the death of Safi has triggered something else. The timeline has split at Safi’s death, leading to two divergent realities that span the game’s story. One sees Safi alive yet still in danger, while in the other, Safi is dead. It’s a cutting difference that leaves Max reeling. Not only has she lost her best friend, but she’s also developed a power that allows her to jump timelines. Max realises the new ability can help her find Safi’s killer, but it comes at a cost. It’s an interesting exploration of the sliding doors phenomenon that the game broadly approaches with the usual series gusto.

Like the other games in the series, the ability becomes a focus for how players navigate the plot. Max’s sleuthing relies heavily on how she engages with each reality. As a game mechanic, Max’s new power allows players to see each reality side by side and even jump between them at shift points in game areas. Players can either pulse an area, allowing for a glimpse across realities or move to the other reality entirely via the shift points. The visual in these instances sees Max pulling herself into the other timeline. It’s definitely not the time-rewinding power of the first game you might remember. I did appreciate the function of the power against the narrative, though I felt it was a bit tedious to use.

In the first game, her rewind ability was playful, allowing you to find an ideal solution.  Double Exposure adds to the stakes with the removal of that instant backout. While this works largely for the game, it does mean you feel like you’re switching timelines a lot for small bumps in progression. The points that allow Max to switch realities while functional feel dated as well, and it’s never quite understood why these shift points spawn in the locations they do. As an added bonus, these shift points, when revealed, also emit a humming sound that is quite off-putting to hear, even from a distance when players pulse. The game does want players to explore and compare the realities, yet even as Max learns to rely on her power, it did feel like we were being held back. 

I did love that if you touched the left trigger while playing on PS5, the game would react to the input as though Max were trying to use her rewind ability. Throughout my time with the game, it was something I accidentally did quite a bit, and it felt like a great wink to the first game. Max even remarks on the input at times. Playing as Max again after so long does feel familiar in so many ways from her earnest curiosity as she monologues about the world around her.

From the ground up, Double Exposure has a lot going for it. Even before focusing on Max, the game does feel like it’s a Life Is Strange entry with how it approaches the characters and themes – yet the pacing in the latter episodes becomes quite uneven, sacrificing clarity for resounding story moments that float in the game’s plot. While the game doesn’t go as full bore on the dead girl narrative as we’ve been accustomed to, it does feel like Safi’s development in the other timeline stalls out till much later in the game despite her still being alive over there. In the moments when we do meet Safi after the timelines diverge, it feels like we never see Max fully appreciate her being alive there. One would expect her to do more to keep Safi safe, even warning her no matter how crazy it might sound. This does feel rushed in ways, and I would’ve liked to have been able to build that connection with Safi more amongst the other characters as well.

Much of Max’s time during the game is spent uncovering Safi’s secrets, yet as she sleuths around the characters, it feels like we lose sight of Safi’s significance. I did even feel echoes of True Colors, the previous instalment in the series, with how it approaches loss with this instant search for answers that sacrifices that player connection in favour of hunting the truth. It feels hard to mourn a character as a player when we don’t yet feel connected to them. Safi’s death feels even less significant to the player because we are seeing Max figuring out how to save her across the timelines.

In ways, it could be likened to a do-over for the original game, yet in the later episodes, we do see glimpses of how Max has grown. I did feel like this game could have done more to show Max’s struggle between her past and losing another person she’s close to in this game. Even simple details like players choosing if Chloe died or not aren’t really given the energy they deserve. Max even has a text conversation with Joyce on her phone that feels brushed off. I do wonder what playing this game would feel like for someone unfamiliar with the series. While they shouldn’t dwell on the past, bringing Max back does require nuance, given what players went through with her in the first game.

Double Exposure, in a lot of ways, feels like it’s trying to do too much across both timelines in such a short amount of time. The episode structure, while consistent on paper, feels unfocused because there’s just so much to cram into the episodes from both timelines. Each episode ends on a final reveal, with the build-up to that climax not having room to be fully realised across the timelines. Max’s new ability has so much potential for storytelling and engagement, yet with only five episodes, it feels a bit cramped. I do wonder if the plot would benefit from more runway to build out our connection with Safi while also allowing us to understand her relationships with others outside of Max. Even having more time to see the new power, including Max’s ability to alter the timelines, feels necessary.

It was nice to return to the familiar with Max, but I do feel like the development of her character in the time since we last caught up with her was lacking. While the game does refer to the events of Arcadia Bay, including what she’s been up to since, it’s not quite the focus or effort she deserved. It does lead me to wonder if this is a fault of Double Exposure or sign of the closure we lack after the first game. One could even go as far as to question if Max Caulfield’s return to the series needed to return to the dead girl formula or if there are other realisations in the game that could’ve been her focus instead. 

Other elements feel at home in the game, though. Max does have some romantic interests in the game, amongst some other interesting moments with the game’s characters. It did feel like the game had more ground for these new characters to cover, yet across the episodes, we got glimpses of the romance between Amanda or Vinh. Max is still the bisexual we know and love. I also really appreciate how the game navigates the other characters’ relationships in the game. Moses, another close friend of Safi, is still afforded some tended moments across the timelines. Unlike Max, he can’t visit Safi on that timeline. There’s still that sentimentality in the game, even if it gets a bit rushed.

Lucas and Gwen, professors at the university, both carry their own stories in the game. Max’s interactions with them reveal that they are both entangled with Safi. One comparison is drawn to the teacher at Blackwell Academy, which is a fitting remark. Both characters end up being investigated by Max with the help of the powers. Not only do we learn each of them arent quite as noble as they seem, it does also lead to some realisations about Safi that further twist the plot at Caledron. In ways, Double Exposure nails the mess of motives and intentions, yet it still could be given more room to breathe.

One shining feature I did love throughout the game was the camera mechanics and the Polaroid collectables around the university. Finding the unique snapshot locations and even double exposing the photo at the same time gives the game a new lease on Max’s passion. If anything, the double exposing mechanic is underutilised till later in the game, though, sadly. Weird, given that this is the name of the game, though, in the final episode, this does become integral to the plot in a way I didn’t quite expect.

I also have to note the game’s DLC content. Players are able to access up to 25 extra outfits, which is frankly insane. On top of that, there’s a playable DLC that centres on Max finding a cat at her door, which is locked behind the purchase of the Ultimate Edition or the upgrade. While I didn’t play through this section of the game, I can’t help but feel like this is missing the mark of the past games. True Colours and Before The Storm both used the DLC as a chance to expand upon the base game and add to the game’s story. Safi definitely could’ve been further developed in this or even Max’s time before she moved to Caledron University.

It also wouldn’t be a Life is Strange game if there wasn’t a soundtrack to match the emotional beats of the game. In Double Exposure, this is definitely one of the game’s strongest elements. Illusion wraps up the first episode perfectly while teasing what the rest of the game has in store. So This Is Lonely, and of course, September is also up there. Both hit that mark for the series and feel like they deserve recognition amongst some of its other bangers. One can’t play these games without building that emotional connection to the soundtrack, and rightly so.

While I won’t share the ending, it does feel unique in how it captures the characters and the wider messaging of the series. Through each entry, we’ve met a person with some form of ability, yet where does that lead us next? Double Exposure refuses not to ask this question, and in doing so, it feels like it’s signalling what we can expect to see next overtly. I think, after a game with Max trying to save another friend, this trivialises aspects more than I think it intends. There is already a lot going on in the game across the two timelines, Max’s past and then this final note leaves an insincere feeling. It feels like more time should’ve been spent understanding the ramifications of not only what happened to Safi but also what her being alive means in the wider game universe.

Life is Strange: Double Exposure feels like a brisk new step for the franchise that stumbles through no lack of trying. Max comes with her own baggage, yet Safi proves to also have a lot more story to tell so it’s a tricky balance. This is definitely a Life is Strange game at its core, though the formula might be starting to show in this entry. It does feel like, while the series does have the energy and respect to tackle complex issues and portray significant diversity across its cast of characters, it might be time to renegotiate the formula. The games have earned respect among fans, but it does feel like Double Exposure could’ve done more to build on Max’s character while also properly introducing Safi so players feel along for the ride of the game’s next chapter.