Review ‘Life is strange: double exposure’

Life is strange: double exposure is the latest entry in the Life is strange series — it is a direct sequel to the original game released 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 pace 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 storyline

Life is strange: double exposure Set 10 years after the original game, Max Caulfield returns as a photographer for Caledon University.

Credit: Deck Nine

Due to the events of the previous game, Caulfield no longer uses her powers to rewind time. However, after her friend Safi is mysteriously killed by a gunshot, she develops new powers that allow her to switch between timelines. Max alternates between her original timeline and another in which Safi was never shot and uses clues from both to figure out who killed Safi.

It’s an incredibly strong foundation and the mystery surrounding Safi’s death is a real page turner until the last few chapters, which felt rushed and the ending was a little unsatisfying. Without spoiling anything, the first three chapters held my attention, but as all the details came together, I couldn’t help but feel like the idea of ​​Safi’s death was some kind of bait and switch.

Life is strange: double exposure characters

Life is strange: double exposureThe film’s cast is quite small, giving other supporting characters their time to shine.

Credit: Deck Nine

For example, Max can see both versions of Safi’s best friend, Moses, when he switches 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 also shows strong character growth and learns 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

Switching between timelines sounds like a very interesting gameplay mechanic on paper, but feels underutilized on the inside Life is strange: double exposure.

Credit: Deck Nine

In the game, Max shifts timelines to complete simple tasks, such as entering a room that is locked in one reality but open in another. It doesn’t really go much deeper than that. There was a scene where Max had to save someone who fell into a frozen lake while it was cracking, so she moved the crumbling ice bed with the one from the other timeline.

It was a very cool implementation of Max’s new powers, but those abilities were only shown through cutscenes and not through actual gameplay. I feel like the developers could have come up with some more different ideas to integrate Max’s powers into the gameplay.

Throughout the game you will be presented with various choices and dialogue options on how to proceed. Some have more impact than others. For example, Max finds out that a character plans to file a restraining order against Safi, and she has the opportunity to tell Safi about it. Whether the player chooses to tell Safi about it will affect later chapters. This adds significant replayability to each playthrough, allowing you to experience different outcomes.

Life is strange: double exposure images

The graphics inside Life is strange: double exposure are great, especially the art direction.

Credit: Deck Nine

It has a cartoonish look that doesn’t look juvenile, and the facial expressions are the best the series has seen yet. It is vibrant with colors and the contrast between the two timelines reflects the mood of each timeline. In the one where Safi is still alive, it has a warm yellow hue, while the one where she is dead has a somber blue color. It is a simple but effective technique that can influence mood.

Life is strange: double exposure music and sound

The music and audio in Life is strange: double exposure is good, but it wasn’t something I paid particular attention to during the game. However, the game uses some licensed music from real 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

Life is strange: double exposure is a narrative adventure game, so there are no difficulty levels.

Credit: Deck Nine

However, there are plenty of good accessibility options, such as softening the white bloom that occurs when shifting the timeline, making the gameplay experience smoother.

Life is strange: double exposure performance

Life is Strange: Double Exposure performed well on Xbox Series However, there were some issues with textures coming in during cutscene loading, which caused some strange visual issues.

Is Life is strange: double exposure worth it?

Life is strange: double exposure is a worthy sequel for those who enjoyed Max’s original adventure. Without giving away any spoilers, the game hints at future sequels, which occasionally undermines the story potential. This focus is distracting Double exposure‘s impact, leading to a somewhat disappointing ending.

However, Max’s personal growth felt satisfying and the cast is likable. While the gameplay mechanics with Max’s time powers could have been more fleshed out, the story was enough to keep my attention until the end. For $50, Life is strange: double exposure is worth it for die-hard Life is strange fans, but casual players can wait for a discount.