I’m a recent (but enthusiastic) Life is Strange convert. My journey with the series began first with Life is Strange: True Colors and its DLC, and from there, I went back to the very beginning and played the game that started it all, and totally got why Max’s story hooked quite so many players all those years ago.
So, when Life is Strange: Double Exposure was confirmed to be reuniting us with a depowered Max Caulfield who was now settling into college life, I was excited to be there at launch and to be drawn into Max’s next mystery.
Having had early access to the first two chapters on PlayStation 5, I’m pleased to say the game feels exactly like what you’d expect from a new Life is Strange game; these first two chapters set up an intriguing (and emotional) new supernatural whodunnit in and around Max’s new haunt, Caledon University, and introduce us to a fresh cast of interesting characters.
That said, I came away from these first two chapters feeling a tad frustrated with the actual game itself; here’s why.
What I didn’t love about Life is Strange: Double Exposure
As I mentioned, my big gripe with Life is Strange: Double Exposure isn’t with the story, nor is it with the new cast of characters. It’s not even with the niggling performance issues — though I did spot occasional environmental pop-in, one bizarrely juddering character model, and some awkward transitions between cutscenes during play.
No, my big problem with the game is Max’s new timeline-hopping power. While she has lost the power to rewind time, after the murder of her friend, Safi, she develops another supernatural ability altogether. Now, she can freely move between two timelines: the current reality… and one where Safi’s still alive.
Mechanically, the power only really becomes a major factor in Chapter 2, “Penumbra”, and, from what I’ve seen so far, I don’t think it’s been implemented in super interesting ways. If anything, having the extra hassle of switching between the two worlds made it feel like the game was getting in its own way.
While I’m purposefully going to stay as vague as possible (to avoid spoiling any big story beats), I found the new power was more frustrating than fun. I want to learn more about Max’s colleagues, friends, and suspects, but in between scenes, I had to waste time wandering back and forth to the specific locations on campus where you can hop between timelines.
Often, all I needed to do was pick up an item or listen to a couple of lines of dialogue, before hopping back again, to continue my investigation, and sometimes you need to do this several times over to solve that particular sequence. So much timeline jumping felt like it dragged the pace down.
Of course, I know this is still early in the game, but I’d much rather this extra downtime wasn’t in the way of the story I want to see more of. Thankfully, though, there were some hints that things would be developing in the right direction towards the end of the second chapter.
Near the end of “Penumbra”, the game had me hopping timelines to avoid being caught by someone (I won’t say who, for anyone who wants to go in blind), and this is where the powers started showing potential in the puzzle department, beyond the most simple fetch-questing.
That same scene then concludes with a hint that perhaps Max has more tricks up her sleeves as she gets to grips with her new ability.. Between that — and the Chapter’s genuinely shocking ending — I am still keen to see what else Life is Strange: Double Exposure has in store, and where the story goes; I’ve just tempered my expectations about the moment-to-moment gameplay a little bit.
For now, I hope to be pleasantly surprised when the full game launches on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on Tuesday, October 29, with a Nintendo Switch port coming at a later date. If you can’t wait till then to play, owners of the Ultimate Edition gain access to the first two chapters on October 15.
