Deck Nine Games continues to be a great custodian of the teen drama series it helped shape, as evidenced by our hands-on demo at Gamescom 2024.
Years after the events of Arcadia Bay, Life is Strange’s original protagonist returns to solve a new murder mystery that is equal parts emotional and supernatural.
It's been so long since Max Caulfield starred in a Life is Strange game, by this point it feels like her initial time-bending adventure released in a different era – and in many ways it did. It released episodically, featured multiple endings, and gave players the ability to rewind traumatic events near instantly via a single button push. Absolutely none of that exists in Life is Strange: Double Exposure – but trust me, this is very much a good thing. Max’s return to the franchise has seen her grow up, allowing her to approach tricky situations using a much different skillset. One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the onset of a new murder mystery to solve. I only got to play an hour or so during my hands-on session at Gamescom 2024, yet I can already tell that developer Deck Nine is continuing to do justice to the Life is Strange legacy alongside publisher Square Enix.
For my demo, I was dropped into what seemed to be a low point for Max and her professor friend, Moses, at Caledon University. After finding the body of their mutual friend, Safi, in the snow, Max takes it upon herself to try and relieve Moses of any suspicion by keeping one crucial piece of evidence out of the Detective's (Alderman) hands. Apparently, Moses thought he was doing justice to Safi’s legacy by removing her camera from the crime scene, but the police certainly won’t see it that way. To remove Moses from the list of primary suspects, Max must try to remove Safi’s camera from Moses’ office before the authorities find it, and potentially arrest an innocent man.
It turns out that this incredibly specific set of circ*mstances offers up the perfect opportunity to try out Max’s new main power in Life is Strange: Double Exposure: timeline shifting. This worked in the demo by having me explore two versions of the university office: one where Safi has died, and one where she hasn’t. Using information gained in the latter – both through dialogue with Moses and interacting with items – Max is eventually able to find Safi’s camera in the former. This theme of parallel worlds is an unexpected turn for a series I’d thought couldn’t get more creative in how it intertwines narrative and gameplay, but it’s one that worked brilliantly here.
Through the lens
Of course, Max is only able to shift between timelines at certain spots in the level, removing the risk of letting players get too lost in the mix while searching for clues. That said, once you’re in either the 'Dead' or 'Living' timeline, you can explore the space far and wide for however long you like. Although Moses’ office was littered with items and objects that offered further context to the life Max and her friends now live, years on from the original Life is Strange game’s events, my only disappointment is that it didn’t tell me anything about Safi herself. I can only imagine that this won’t be the case when the full version of Life is Strange: Double Exposure launches on October 29, 2024 , which will make it much easier to invest in Moses and Max’s plight.
From a pure gameplay perspective, exploration is still very much the main crux of what you’ll be doing, judging by the demo. However, the nature of timeline shifting means you’ll always have two versions of most locations to explore, giving Max the opportunity to use information gathered in both to hopefully try and save Safi in the timeline where she’s still alive. Because that’s the other thing; in addition to shifting between worlds, moving into the Living timeline sees the clock rewind back. In this sense, Deck Nine Games has ensured that Max still has a penchant for rewinding important events – just much further back and in a far more efficient manner.
My demo culminated in a section where I was required to find the camera by solving a riddle relating to Moses’ job as an astrology professor. I won’t give away the specific solution given that Life is Strange: Double Exposure parses out the star-related clue hunt for Safi’s camera surprisingly well, finding a way to flip my expectations in terms of what I thought I should be looking for – in a rather cool way, might I add. I didn’t even mind the brief section where stealth was needed, seeing me guide Max around desks and up stairs while avoiding the gaze of Alderman to plant a further distraction. After all, failing this instance once also confirmed Max’s ability to set back the clock a few seconds, doubling up as a handy in-game checkpoint.
Overall, Life is Strange: Double Exposure feels like a good way to evolve the series using its original protagonist. While I was initially quite trepidatious about Deck Nine Games bringing Max back, since her story felt so complete already, aging her up (alongside her powers) so far seems like a good way to offer up yet another new perspective on this world where the emotional regularly meets the supernatural. It helps that I’ve already fallen in love with Moses through my brief dialogue interactions with him, which in some way makes it more heartbreaking knowing Safi’s fate and the lengths Max will go to when trying to save her. Consider my heart ready to break, because Life is Strange: Double Exposure has earned my full focus.
