It’s been a while since I last played a Life is Strange game, in fact, the last one was Life is Strange: True Colours on PlayStation 4 when it first released. Now we’re talking about five years ago at this point, and despite being one of my favourite franchises, I’ve somehow only just got around to picking up Life is Strange Double Exposure.
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Life is Strange: Double Exposure
Having been released initially back in June 2024, Double Exposure takes us on a journey with an older Max Caulfield who, since discovering her new supernatural abilities, finds that she can travel to and from two different timelines. This proves to be a crucial skill to have upon investigating the murder case which involves one of her close friends.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure is set in Lakeport, Vermont, where Max has recently relocated and has begun working as an in-residence photographer at Caledon University. Max vowed to never use her time-manipulation powers again after what had happened in her past. However, due to recent events and the new knowledge of her powers, she finds herself being able to switch between two alternate timelines. Now, Max must do everything she can to save her friend before it’s too late!
What happens next? Well, I’ll let the game’s trailer give you a better idea of what is in store for Max!
The Start of a New Adventure
Stepping back into Max’s shoes for the first time in a long time, I was excited yet nervous as to what exactly lay ahead for me. Having played through the original Life is Strange, I was familiar with Max’s story and journey so far.
Before starting Chapter 1, I explored some of the game settings and tweaked a few that needed changing in the graphics and UI. I also checked out the accessibility settings, where I changed an additional couple to help with my gameplay experience. The settings menu overall was easy to navigate and figure out, and you can change your settings easily as you progress throughout the game.
Now with that done, it was time to dive in and explore chapter 1!
Still Life
The game begins with Max and Safi doing some urban exploring in an old abandoned bowling alley. One that has certainly seen much better days. A slow but steady opening that gives you an insight into the game but doesn’t go too much into detail just yet. In fact, just the right amount of detail. Max is now a photographer in residence at Caledon University, and this exploration mission is to help her land the perfect shot for her next project. Even at this early stage of the game, I’m curious to see how her powers could work throughout the story as well as what kind of friendship Max and Safi have.
Before I knew it, Max had landed the perfect shot for what she had in mind, and now we were back in the local bar. Talking, hanging out and needing to make my first big decision in the game. Now without sharing specifically the option I chose and risking spoiling this early moment, I was informed that this action will have consequences. I can already see this trend making a comeback like in previous games for me.
However, during the time in the bar, I noticed how much I relate to Max with some of her dialogue. Lines such as “time to go be normal” are among them, and even just her somewhat awkward and quieter personality felt very familiar to me. Even with Safi and the now recently introduced Moses, it felt like I was seeing my own friendship group from around the same time portrayed through Double Exposure’s story.
What continues to follow the story of three friends watching the night sky and meteors soon takes a sudden turn. Max’s world is turned upside down due to recent events, and she is now trying to navigate a somewhat familiar situation again. The way the scene played out wasn’t entirely how I expected it to do so; however, it fitted in with the way Deck Nine likes to tell the narrative of the story in the Life is Strange games.
As I navigated the next part of the first chapter, I was filled with questions and mixed emotions. Trying to understand how the characters felt, get an idea of the slowly introduced new characters and try to understand how Max must be feeling. I felt anger towards some characters but sadness towards others, which in turn is merely natural based upon the opening stages of the story.
With the first chapter coming to an end, I reflect back on Max talking about rewinding time. This would have been from her days in Arcadia Bay. Now, with what’s happening in Double Exposure, Max seems to now be experiencing a new kind of power, and with that comes even more questions and curiosity as to how that works going forward in the game. How will that work with switching between timelines going forward?
Overall Thoughts So Far
As my introduction back into the Life is Strange world and with Max as the main character, chapter 1 of Double Exposure has been a well-paced and interesting opening to a new story. Although I’m filled with many emotions and questions based on the story so far, I’m both excited and nervous to see how the story continues to unfold.
It has been nice revisiting the Life is Strange universe with Max as well as some of the references to her days in Arcadia Bay. However, if this is your first Life is Strange game, it still explains those references in a way that you’ll understand. I think as well, even if you’ve only played either True Colours or Before the Storm, you’ll be fine with Double Exposure.
I’ll be continuing to chip away at the Life is Strange Double Exposure story, as not only do I want to see how the story develops and ends, but I also want to jump into Life is Strange Reunion at some point too. However, right now the focus is Double Exposure, and while I’ve previously mentioned the story, I want to explore what I can of Lakeport, the Caledon University, see how friendships grow and change and also see how Max as a character continues to develop.
Although this is more of a first impressions post than a full review, overall, I’m enjoying Life is Strange Double Exposure so far. I’ll be sharing more updates on my Life is Strange journey on my social media.
Have you played Life is Strange Double Exposure or any of the games from the franchise? Let me know in the comments below!
