- Publisher: Square Enix
- Release Date: Oct 29, 2024
- Also On: PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox Series X
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
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Oct 28, 2024It's great to have Max Caulfield back, but I'm not sure she ever needed to be in the first place. A somewhat unnecessary-feeling sequel that still manages to tell a compelling story, if not a little messy and underbaked.
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Nov 29, 2024It can be played for the sake of the original game and Max, but you may not find the same spirit.
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Oct 31, 2024Life is Strange: Double Exposure impresses with its stunning visuals and exceptional soundtrack, featuring detailed environments and rich expressions that significantly enhance immersion. The game excels in world-building, suspense, and narrative pacing, offering an engaging and unpredictable experience. However, the early segments struggle with their connection to the original, and the emotional arcs feel somewhat underdeveloped, lacking the depth seen in the first installment's character relationships.
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Oct 28, 2024Life is Strange: Double Exposure brings back Max for another instance in her life where her powers grant her the means of righting a wrong, but instead she discovers an alternate timeline and events that remind her of her past. Instead of fully diving into it, the game ultimately shoves her past and present aside and tries to make you forget it leaving you with unanswered questions. It has some strong points and features thought-provoking storytelling the series is known for, but it ultimately feels like a roll of film needing some development.
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Oct 28, 2024While it's great to see Max back with beautiful graphics and decent gameplay, Life is Strange Double Exposure's narrative may disappoint both Chloe fans and lovers of a good story. The game clearly sets a path that Square Enix wants to take with the franchise, and it involves more superpowers and less exciting stories.
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Oct 28, 2024Life is Strange: Double Exposure starts as a compelling mystery and grows into a poignant story about social bonds and trauma, but its awful ending weakens the series' identity, casting doubt on Deck Nine's choices.
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Oct 28, 2024Despite excellent facial animations and wonderful music, Double Exposure has pacing issues, unlikable characters, dire gameplay, tonal problems, and is an incomplete imitation of the perfect storm.
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Jan 2, 2025It knows how to grab you with its enticing plot twists, but it lacks substance. Life is Strange is more than this; it's an introspective look into themes of youth that resonate with the player. Here, however, too much substance is sacrificed for style and dramatic flourishes.
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Oct 30, 2024And that’s really what it comes down to for me, what makes Double Exposure a strong and worthy sequel to the original. It’s genuinely interested in Max as a person, in exploring her, in developing her further. It respects her enough to let her grow and change in ways that feel consistent with her experience and who she’s always been. Fans who just wanted more of what they got in the original Life Is Strange may be frustrated by the fact that Max’s life has entered a new chapter of ambiguity and growth, but, then, things rarely go precisely the way we want them to. Much of getting older and growing as a person is about carrying the pain of the past with some measure of grace and still maintaining the capacity for hope, joy, and love. If you ask me, Max is doing just fine.
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Nov 6, 2024Double Exposure is also at its most confident narratively when it’s chronicling her growth, with the game deftly bringing together the grandiose plot twists and the quieter, more intimate scenes with incredible sentiment.