Life is Strange: Double Exposure Review - A Nostalgic Return That Falls Flat

The newest entry in the Life is Strange series brings a unique twist for fans: the return of Max Caulfield, the protagonist of the original game. Now matured and equipped with a new ability, Max Caulfield returns in Life is Strange: Double Exposure, but her comeback is overshadowed by a story and set of mechanics that struggle to recapture the magic of the original. While fans may enjoy revisiting her world, this sequel fails to evoke the same emotional resonance.

A familiar face, up to her old snooping tricks

This is the first time we get a true sequel for one of the series' many protagonists. Each entry usually features a new protagonist with a unique story set around his/her unique ability. In Life is Strange: Double Exposure, Life is Strange’s Max Caulfield is back and older, yet acts similar to her high school self. At 28, Max retains her wit and humor, but the attempt to craft hipster-like dialogue often falls flat, making her interactions feel forced.

The supporting characters, by contrast, shine brighter. Safi echoes Max’s quirky personality, but her delivery is more polished and engaging. Amanda, a potential love interest, stands out as a competent and caring character, though her role is limited to serving the romantic subplot. Unfortunately, these stronger characters only highlight how underwhelming Max feels by comparison.

Adding to the disconnect is the voice acting, which doesn’t always align with the tone of the dialogue. Max’s lines lack the authenticity that defined her in the first game, leaving some interactions feeling awkward and unconvincing.

This story’s an overexposed negative that failed to materialize

As for the story itself, it starts slow, as the game takes time to introduce players to Max’s life on campus, talking to friends, giving nods to the events of the first game, and even establishing a possible love interest for the playthrough. But as nice as it was to step back into Max’s life, it’s not as impactful as the first game, as the stakes this time around weren’t as relatable or dire. The first Life is Strange, which involved a missing girl, death, high school bullying, and other topics, was heavy, to say the least, and it was presented in a way that would slowly get you invested and itching to see what happens next. Double Exposure, by contrast, grabs your attention but somehow quickly lets go.

Double Exposure’s key story points feature nothing as heavy as the first game, which makes the middle chapters its weakest link. As you slowly pick up the key components to make sense of it all, I was left wondering where it was all going. It was a series of twists and turns that was crafted well enough to build the right amount of excitement and tension, but whenever you hit a corner, the weight of the reveals don’t justify all the build-up. This affected the game’s finale, as I wasn’t in awe of what could happen next, but left unsatisfied with its conclusion. There’s even a point that made me laugh, as the concept (I won’t spoil it) was silly that it took me by surprise.

One standout element, however, is the soundtrack. As with previous entries, the music enhances the emotional beats of the story, perfectly complementing both quiet, reflective moments and the more intense supernatural sequences. It’s good to see Deck Nine haven’t missed the beat here, as the soundtrack helped improve key moments in the game, and it’s soothing to listen to as you explore and learn more about the people in this world.

A nice twist to time manipulation

Now a professor at a college while pursuing her love for photography, Max was unfortunately thrown into a familiar grim situation where she needed to use her abilities once again to solve a tragedy that affected school grounds. Instead of having the ability to rewind time at will, she can travel between two different parallel timelines to figure out the murder of her best friend.

Her abilities are more direct this time around as you can press a button to see a colored silhouette of the other timeline, giving the player a clear view of both timelines in one scene as there will be conversations you can eavesdrop or gain access to restricted areas via the other timeline. Max can bring objects with her as she travels from one to another, so you’ll find yourself grabbing a key from one timeline to access a door in the other. This is mainly the concept of the gameplay and doesn’t really deviate from this. It’s a fun concept as I was zipping from one timeline to another to see the differences between each and see what else I could pick up to get a clearer understanding of the whole narrative. 

Double Exposure plays similarly to previous games as players explore in a third-person over the shoulder perspective as they talk to key characters, pick dialogues that are usually one or the other, and do certain actions to progress the story. There’s always something to interact with as certain objects you can interact with always have the option to examine it, triggering Max’s thoughts about the objects or person in front of her being narrated to the player. 

It’s a relaxing game that has no intense quick-time events or strict time limit to make a major choice as the story and the many choices a player can make remain the main focus of why one would invest in a game like this. But payer choices here aren’t all that impactful after exploring the game multiple times. There are different outcomes sure, but not to completely derail and deliver a new storyline. These major decisions feel more like how a scene will play out, not necessarily change it entirely, so I never felt like I had a big dilemma between the two choices put in front of me except probably towards the end, which was disappointing.

The ability to travel and explore two different timelines results in a less meaty cast of supporting characters, despite them showing potential to be a likable bunch as there are two different versions of each character experiencing something completely different and unique as Max is the only constant on both sides. Instead of a story delivering typical character growth as the narrative progresses, it feels like the writing was spread thin as they were trying to manage two different timelines. There are interesting characters as mentioned before, but they are mostly left as a means to an end as they were just fleshed just enough and then left to be in the background for the rest of the game.

Serialized presentation, with various minor issues

Thankfully, games like Life is Strange: Double Exposure have given up the release structure where each episode drops months apart, as if you’re following a TV series every week. They may have stopped that practice here, but still developed this story-focused game in the same manner, as each chapter is left with a major cliffhanger that’s expertly crafted to urge you to progress to the next chapter instead of taking a break. 

The game features five chapters, and it took roughly twelve hours for me to reach the end of one playthrough. Visually, Double Exposure is a step up if you’re coming from the first three games of the series, but it’s similar to 2021’s Life is Strange: True Color. This mystery box felt like an isolated chamber piece, as it sticks within school grounds. There’s not much exploration beyond the campus, the bar, Max’s house, and the environment surrounding each location mentioned.

Performance is rather stable, as Double Exposure ran fairly well on the PS5, but constant technical audio issues kept appearing that ruined the immersion of certain areas, as the background music would occasionally disappear. I’ve entered a bar with people dancing to absent music, for example.

While Double Exposure introduces intriguing mechanics with the ability to travel between two parallel timelines and retains the series' signature tone and charm, its underwhelming story and forgettable player choices prevent it from standing alongside the best entries in the franchise. The only thing you’ll get here is a nostalgic trip to see what happened to a beloved character, but that’s about it.

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Verdict: 2 / 5 (Poor)

PROS

• Impressive implementation of Max’s new powers

• An expressive soundtrack that perfectly captivates and supports the most subtle and intense moments

CONS

• A story that fell flat and struggled to deliver the kind of magic seen in the first game

• Weak story points and player choices that could ruin a player’s interest in multiple playthroughs

• Potential supporting characters that weren’t fleshed out

What I’ve Played 

• Completed the main story

• Replayed various chapters to experience different outcomes of major decisions

*This review is based on a - review copy provided to the reviewer

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