Life is Strange: Double Exposure – First Impressions

Note: This post contains major spoilers for the original Life is Strange game, but only minor ones for Double Exposure.

So if you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know I’m a big fan of the Life is Strange series. I didn’t play any of them until 2018, three years after the original was released, but I’ve posted at least a dozen blogs about the series.

The newest entry in the series, “Double Exposure,” has caused controversy since it was first announced. For starters, it doesn’t officially release until 10/29, but people who pre-ordered the “Ultimate Edition” got to play the first two chapters two weeks early. Some people liken this to paying to be a beta tester. Other people just hated that you don’t get enough stuff for the extra $30. (In addition to playing early, you also get a couple of new outfits and a pet cat.)

There’s also been some behind-the-scenes turmoil within the company that’s causing controversy, and some of the early players are experiencing bugs, both major and minor.

But the biggest complaint is how they handled the ongoing canon of the series. The first Life is Strange game ended with a very difficult choice: Should Max allow her best friend Chloe to die, or should she let a hurricane wipe out the entire town of Arcadia Bay?

Personally I think sacrificing Chloe is the “better” ending, in that it feels more cinematic and gives the entire game a sort of Twilight Zone vibe. Pricefield shippers, put your torches down. This does not mean I prefer that ending or that I consider it more canon. All I’m saying is that it’s tighter, and it feels more like how a story should end.

But the other ending - Sacrifice Arcadia Bay - has the advantage of being more ambiguous, in a “The Adventure Continues…” sort of way. That’s the ending the comics start from, which makes perfect sense for an ongoing series. The developers claim neither ending is canon, which was the whole point of letting you pick your ending .

The game was followed by a prequel (Before the Storm), then two sequels that star mostly-new characters. Life is Strange 2 asked you which ending you picked in the first game, but it only affected a couple of scenes. The writers could have skipped mentioning the first game entirely, so your choice is basically “which fanservice easter eggs would you like to see?”

The next game, True Colors, gives your choice a bit more weight in the bonus story “Wavelengths,” in which a former resident of Arcadia Bay comes to terms with the first game’s tragedies.

The new game, Double Exposure, handles it a little differently. Instead of the UI just asking you point blank which ending you picked, it takes a cue from “Knights of the Old Republic II” and asks you through dialogue. (Okay, KotOR2 isn’t the only game to do this, but why make just any old reference when I can make a Star Wars reference?)

Near the beginning of Double Exposure, Max has a conversation with her friend Safi, who asks Max about a photo in her wallet. First she asks if Chloe was Max's friend or girlfriend. Then she asks what happened to her. Your only choices are “She Died” or “We Broke Up.”

That pissed a lot of people off, and I can see why. Many fans who picked the “Sacrifice Arcadia Bay” ending expected it to mean that Max and Chloe lived happily ever after. Together. Even though Double Exposure follows either ending, it still found a way to screw up the canon (or at least the headcanon) for a lot of players.

I wish Double Exposure had given a third option. They could have added “We’re Still Together But She’s Out Of Town” or something. But then they wouldn’t have been able to give Max dating options in the game. So far I could live without those relationship options, but who knows? They might become more relevant to the plot later.

Anyway, a good portion of the fan base is furious. Some players have gotten their game refunded, some are boycotting the company, and some have even gone as far as to threaten the programming staff. That’s never cool.

The problem is, the game ain’t over yet. We’re only two chapters in, and the rest of the game doesn’t release for another week. I’m not saying the ending will fix it, but it’s ridiculous to complain until you know for sure.

A huge part of Double Exposure involves travelling between two versions of reality. What if, in the final chapter, Max realizes that neither reality is the “prime” reality? Maybe both are skewed, and she has to find a way to get to the real one. By the end of the third chapter, she might be traveling among five or six realities. Maybe in one of them, Chloe and Max never broke up.

And maybe the game’s final choice lets you decide which reality you want to live in. Wouldn’t that be interesting?

Is any of that likely? No. Sometimes it feels like the game is foreshadowing a Chloe appearance, but I’m not going to hold my breath. They probably remain broken up. But complaining about it before you know for sure is like sending back your pizza while it’s still in the oven.

Personally I wish people would judge a story by what’s in it rather than what they wanted to be in it. Admittedly I can be hypocritical on that point. Sure, when Star Wars fans hated on The Force Awakens for tossing the old extended canon in the trash, I said get over it and enjoy the movie. But I still refuse to forgive Alien 3 for undoing the previous movie’s happy ending. Some people say the Alien 3 Assembly Cut is actually a very good horror movie if you give it a chance, but I can’t do that. Hey, I never said I was perfect.

Regardless, I intend to judge Double Exposure on its own merits, and so far it’s really good. The graphics have come a long way. I love the facial expressions. You can actually tell what people are thinking by their faces, and not in a cartoonish way. I love Max’s new ability to shift between two versions of reality. Some of the puzzles remind me of “The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.” Especially the ones where you keep shifting back and forth just to get past obstacles.

The plot is predictable in places, but the biggest plot twists still surprised me. Especially the one at the end of chapter 2. There are a lot of suspicious characters milling about the game, but the real bad guy will probably turn out to be someone who never seemed sus at all. The game has some decent puzzles, but none of them have sent me online looking for a solution.

The game is a little glitchy in places. Note I’m playing on the Steam Deck. Sometimes I’ll go through a door and the new environment will load in one piece at a time, with weird bars at the top and bottom of the screen. Sometimes the sunlight looks like it’s going supernova, but only from certain camera angles. But none of this has been game breaking so far.

Like all Life is Strange games, the scenery is beautiful. They always pick gorgeous towns as their settings, and this one is no different. Though so far I don’t think Lakeport is as iconic as Arcadia Bay or even Haven Springs. I just played “Tell Me Why” a couple of months ago, so Double Exposure’s snowscapes kind of feel like more of the same.

I’m not in love with how you choose Max’s wardrobe at the beginning of each chapter. I can’t explain it, it’s just such an abrupt, no-frills clothing selection screen, and it feels like a placeholder for something better.

The soundtrack is excellent, as usual, though none of the songs have really resonated with me the way they did in some of the earlier games.

Overall I’m having a great time. I don’t mind the break-up thing, as I see this game as one of many possible timelines. I do hope they clarify that in the ending though, just to keep the other fans happy. I’m eagerly anticipating the rest of the chapters and I can’t wait to see how everything is resolved.