Life Is Strange: Double Exposure is a worthy return to Max’s story

Life is Strange: Double Exposure is not your typical crime game. Instead of being a half-baked “choose your own adventure,” Double jeopardy is an intuitive and largely player-driven psychological drama that rewrites the dialogue between an artist and an audience, inviting its own audience to examine the meaning of self-acceptance.

Developed by Deck Nine, Double jeopardy is a direct sequel to 2015 Life is strangeand is similar to the studio’s previous work True colors And Before the stormit’s a serialized crime thriller that eventually turns into a “what the hell is going on?” Set 10 years after the tragedies of Arcadia Bay, Oregon, the film follows Max Caulfield – who was also the protagonist of the 2015 game and whose life has since moved to Lakeport, Vermont, where she works as a new photographer. Residency at Caledon University. Max is still Max – she’s still terribly awkward at flirting, has a knack for sneaking into people’s rooms, and thinks The Return of the living dead is a zombie apocalypse masterpiece – but she hasn’t used her time-rewind powers in nearly a decade because, in her words, they’ve only caused her “more trouble and more heartache.” That is, until her new best friend for life, Safiya Llewellyn-Fayyad, is murdered at a campus lookout and Max discovers that her ability to reverse reality has evolved into being able to rip open a subdivision of the astral plane and jump between two alternating timelines .

Max may not be able to reverse her own decisions, but her new powers allow her to live with them and explore the resulting consequences. Mechanically, Max can now use an ability called “Pulse” to view timelines from her current world, and her new Shift ability to create a metaphysical portal that allows her to traverse the two realities at set locations throughout Caledon . She can also use another ability called Entanglement to intertwine objects between the two timelines. All three abilities allow her to explore different scenarios, puzzles, secrets, zen moments, and dialogue options that are not tied to a single narrative. Double jeopardy still stays true to the Life Is Strange series’ popular hallmark of making decisions big and small change the environment and interpersonal relationships – like accepting a joint from a co-worker or changing the grade on a student’s paper – but the browsing of Reality also allows players to delve into real-life anecdotes about who Max has become.

A late 20-year-old who still has compassion for everyone, Max leaves behind the introverted mannerisms that characterized her as an 18-year-old, but she is still traumatized by the losses at Arcadia Bay, which has made her a recluse whenever she is remembers Chloe Price and other aspects of her life that have become a “was.” Max still struggles to process loss, grief, and all the other complicated emotions that make her feel like a small dot that doesn’t fit into the RGB of the world around her, but her new powers give her that Opportunity to process what is different Overcome phases of grief and take full responsibility for your own decisions.

It’s difficult to discuss their storyline without jumping into spoilers, but Deck Nine’s penchant for world-building is still top-notch. Double jeopardyThe visuals of Lakeport are an absolute delight as they combine the color palette of Haven Springs and the cinematography of Lakeport Before the storm to create a midwinter landscape composed of equal parts Donnie Darko, Teen WolfAnd The girl who jumped through time. What emerges is an environment that’s less about subtlety and more about stoned garden gnomes, LGBTQ bowling leagues, Krampus parties, true crime podcasts, and havens like the Snapping Turtle—a campus bar with whiskey and elaborate murals , which are characterized by identity and multiculturalism and are reminiscent of the works of visual artists such as Ola Volo, Tristan Eaton and Mariell Guzman. And then there is the music – like before Life is strange The episode revitalized the cozy tragedy genre with songs by Bonobo, Daughter and Angus & Julia Stone. Double jeopardy muses on intimacy with NewDad, Chloe Moriondo, Tessa Rose Jackson and a Feel For Music jukebox full of in-house tunes, exploring varying degrees of “indie sleaze” across different timelines.

The voice and the script are the strengths of the sequel. Hannah Telle reprises her role as Max and is joined by an excellent supporting cast, including Safi (Olivia AbiAssi), Moses (Blu Allen), Amanda (Samantha Bowling), Diamond (Ilasiea Gray) and Gwen (Rachel Crowl). contributes to this Double jeopardyThese are raw but bittersweet moments and support group fan fiction that don’t involve a true crime. The restraint of the narrative supports more honest discussions about loneliness, emotional risks, the cost of relationships, etc the ghost of the stairsand while there’s certainly room for more, these themes are supported by the player’s ability to reveal more context and clues by responding to text messages and keeping tabs on friends via an in-game social media platform called Crosstalk. Unlike the first one Life is strangeMax can also use her analog instant camera, a Polaroid Now Generation 2 i-Type, to take in-game “snapshots” of spontaneous moments around Caledon. It is an addition that could have used more features such as filters, flashes and adjustable aperture ranges and shutter speeds for even more immersion, but its camera has a double exposure function that is useful for creating two different experiences across the game’s five chapters is crucial.

There are very few situations Double jeopardy it feels disjointed, with the only noticeable dazzles being the pacing and reluctance to go deep in the most Lynchian way possible. Playtime clocks in at barely over 12 hours – unless you opt for a completely different second playthrough – and while Deck Nine’s designers have created a game that respects the ending you thought was canon in the original Don’t Nod is the perpetual Thread of Loose When an episode ends across two parallel timelines, it can feel like a dream sequence you never signed up for. Double jeopardy shouldn’t be seen as an injustice to Max’s narrative, especially when relationships and romantic interests are determined more than ever by player choice, but it’s hard to ignore the details that could have contributed to its abstract narrative. Or at least pushed the pendulum in a direction that was in the style of House of Leaves And The new uncanny.

Double jeopardy is still a beautiful and brilliantly written thriller that deserves attention. It doesn’t do anything groundbreaking, but it’s a new episode in the series Life is strange The series explores Max Caulfield’s separation from Arcadia Bay, her struggle with the past, and how she slowly comes to a greater level of self-acceptance – despite a complicated history in which death always finds a way back to her. It may not be the sequel to Max and Chloe Forever that many fans (understandably) wanted, but it’s a compelling adventure that highlights how mistakes can shape a character – whether as motivation to break old habits or to dream about the future.

Life is Strange: Double Exposure was released on October 29th on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series X. The game was tested on PlayStation 5 using a pre-download code provided by Deck Nine Games. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These have no influence on the editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. More information about Polygon’s ethics policy can be found here.