Life is Strange has always been known for deep character development and stories. The series’ latest entry, Life is Strange: Double Exposure, is another example of that strength. In a 60-minute PAX West demo, protagonist Max Caufield’s latest adventure hooked me in with the high stakes and tension in between testing her new universe-hopping abilities.
Double Exposure is a direct sequel to the original Life is Strange, where Max also stars as a teenage protagonist. Now, Max is a college-aged photography student at Caledon University. What originally seems like an average college experience turns into something sinister when she finds her close friend, Safi, dead in the snow. While the premise is a hook in and of itself, Max’s new Shift power, puzzle solving, and branching scenarios with difficult choices also sell Double Exposure as an emotional, interactive story.
Double Exposure makes sure to not solidify any of the endings in the original Life is Strange as canon, but the part where Max swears off using her Rewind power is the same. When she tries to use them again to solve Safi’s murder, she finds that they’ve evolved into a new “Shift” power that can transport her between two parallel universes, including one where Safi is still alive. The demo opens when Moses, Max and Safi’s mutual friend, is being questioned by detectives because he took Safi’s camera from the crime scene on an impulse. To save him from suspicion, Max decides to use her shift power to retrieve Safi’s camera.
That’s when I first started playing with her shifting power. In Double Exposure, a few specks of light highlight potential rips in time that Max could use to jump between timelines. I questioned the other Moses about potential hiding places before jumping back to shuffle through his office supplies. During my playthrough, I also admittedly used the feature to hide from prying detectives when they eventually entered Moses’ office. This game of cat and mouse added to the tension of the situation and taught me more about Max’s relationship with her friends, in addition to her friends themselves.
Like other Life is Strange titles, Double Exposure also supports branching narratives. At the end of the demo, Max needs to make a decision on what to tell the detective investigating her friend Safi’s case. A monochrome filter and heart-pumping music took over the screen as I pored over the two choices. After I made my choice, the color flowed back into the scene with an ominous message that I’d just made an impact on the narrative.
Double Exposure seems like a thrilling sequel that faithfully ages Max up from her younger years. It feels right at home in the Life is Strange series as a coming-of-age story with a supernatural twist and hints at a gut-wrenching story to come. I didn’t get to see Safi this time around, but I bet she’ll also be a big contributing factor to the potential drama.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure will be released for PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on October 29.
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