Life is Strange: Double Exposure review: out of focus

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In retrospect, Life is Strange: Double Exposure seems for illustration an almost intolerable sequel for developer Deck Nine to create. Even if that’s not nan case, it’s difficult to reason that nan 1 we received is simply a success.

Who is Max Caufield? That depends connected nan decisions you made playing nan first episodic supernatural escapade game. Don’t Nod’s 2013 occurrence pinch nan original Life is Strange was a lightning bolt, an episodic coming-of-age communicative driven by nan affectional impulses of some nan subordinate and Max acting arsenic one. Returning to Arcadia Bay and gathering your mislaid friend culminating successful a determination to prevention her life and destruct your hometown aliases let her to dice to prevention it, commits nan first crippled to a contained but forceful and affectional arc astir nan morality of controlling nan fates of others.

In Life is Strange: Double Exposure, Max is nary longer nan teen we erstwhile knew. She’s an adult, a photographer-in-residence, and a coach astatine Caledon University successful Vermont. She has a caller life. She can’t usage her rewind powers anymore to move backmost time, but she’s seemingly settled successful a caller location and has 2 adjacent friends successful nan geeky astronomer Moses and Safi, a writer and undergraduate.

One night, aft watching a meteor ablution connected nan snowy observatory rooftop, Safi leaves to return a telephone telephone only to beryllium changeable dormant successful nan nighttime by a enigma assailant. Shocked by trauma, Max discovers a caller expertise to move betwixt a timeline wherever she lives and 1 wherever she dies, and uses this expertise to effort and understand her death, who killed her, and possibly moreover prevention her.

Scars of nan Past

Make nary mistake, my disappointment pinch Life is Strange: Double Exposure doesn’t travel from a disdain for nan determination not to bring backmost fan-favorite Chloe, Max’s romanticist liking from nan first game. While location has been immoderate contention complete this decision, arsenic she fails to make an quality sloppy of whether you fto her unrecorded aliases dice successful nan first game, this is not what holds things backmost narratively.

The overhanging unreality of Arcadia Bay, and nan gulf betwixt nan authorities of reality wherever Chloe lives and dies, are truthful monolithic that attempting to show a communicative that fails to perpetrate to making 1 ending canon (or perchance both) results successful a crippled that seems incapable to move beyond history to research who Max is today. Max claims that she has moved on, but nan crippled inherently can’t. The consequence hamstrings nan communicative from processing successful definite directions astatine consequence of contradicting either ending while stopping it from really having thing absorbing to opportunity by nan clip credits roll.

The consequence is simply a large disconnect betwixt Max and nan player. You whitethorn retrieve nan events of nan first game, and they whitethorn power nan measurement you enactment here, but nan communicative can't admit them. The nonaccomplishment of your friend and emotion interest, aliases nan nonaccomplishment of an full town, are awesome events that should specify Max but are wholly absent speech from a fewer easter eggs.

Narrative aside, location are besides immoderate problems pinch nan mechanics this clip around. Rather than a rewind expertise for illustration successful nan original game, Max discovers an improvement of her powers that allows her to jump betwixt 2 timelines; her own, and different wherever Safi is still alive. What could beryllium a instrumentality to play pinch nan morals of jumping betwixt some to manipulate dual versions of these characters alternatively feels for illustration annoying busywork.

In nan moment-to-moment action, nan powerfulness is amazingly limited. You can’t move timelines astatine will, nor merge your experiences and knowledge from each timeline into gameplay without nan crippled prompting you first. This intends you’re near moving backwards and forwards to find nan spot to jump, and are near pinch small logic to moreover deliberation astir utilizing nan powerfulness without being prompted first unless you want to activity retired collectible photos. It’s exhausting alternatively than interesting.

Compared to really overmuch clip recreation was an progressive portion of nan narrative, nan timeline-shifting powers simply dilute nan characters we interact with. We hardly get to cognize immoderate of them earlier nan awesome inciting incident and nan resulting timeline divided creates 2 versions of each characteristic which prevents america from getting to cognize them deeply. Amanda is positioned arsenic a emotion interest, but nan interactions pinch this simultaneously disinterested and intrigued agrarian lesbian successful differing timelines near maine incapable to understand who she was, aliases moreover attraction astir learning more.

No matter really disinterested I acted successful some timelines, Vinh besides would not extremity acting flirtatiously and I soon wanted to record a restraining order. Conversations and relationships betwixt characters are a awesome measurement down from nan past Deck Nine installment, Life is Strange True Colors.

What is it each for?

Safi’s decease and nan enigma down that should tie you successful but we hardly cognize Safi earlier her death. I spent aggregate episodes efficaciously trying to prevention a woman that I knew thing about. Even erstwhile you do study much astir her past done our investigation and different events, overmuch of her past remains obscured successful a measurement that leaves her emotion for illustration much of a crippled instrumentality than a existent friend. Major communicative decisions I made involving her characteristic felt acold and meaningless.

It’s difficult not to spot this arsenic a missed opportunity. The franchise has continued Max’s communicative before, albeit successful comic form. It moreover integrates aggregate timelines and shifting powers. While this comic originates continuing nan communicative from nan position of 1 ending (the demolition of Arcadia Bay), it besides uses aggregate timelines to its advantage, and successful doing truthful creates a canon wherever some endings tin exist.

By embracing nan difficult decision, alternatively than trying to debar it, it’s imaginable to much profoundly introspect connected Max arsenic a characteristic successful a measurement that not only keeps you invested, but moreover makes you reconsider what was genuinely nan correct point to do.

Does this mean that nan crippled should person simply remade nan comics? No! But it shows that committing to nan intolerable prime of nan past alternatively than trying to skirt astir it allows you to research these characters successful nan extent they deserve.

Life is Strange: Double Exposure is trapped by continuity. The past makes america who we are, but we are not defined by it. It’s a shame that developer Deck Nine didn't get nan memo.

Should I play Life is Strange: Double Exposure?

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Accessibility 

Life is Strange: Double Exposure offers extended accessibility settings and contented warnings for transphobia, mentions of suicide, blood, large noises, and more. Accessibility includes evident things for illustration subtitles, but besides a camera assist, nan expertise to skip immoderate gameplay, longer prime times, reduced motion, elemental powerfulness effects to debar flashing lights, and alternate controls for thing that needs aggregate fastener presses.

How I reviewed Life is Strange: Double Exposure

I played Life is Strange: Double Exposure connected a motorboat exemplary PS5 utilizing a DualSense Wireless Controller and an ASUS VG27AQL1A gaming monitor. For audio, I utilized a wireless headphone adapter and played nan crippled utilizing Apple AirPods Max. It took conscionable awkward of 10 hours to complete nan 5 episodes and scope nan ending.

First reviewed October 2024.