Life is Strange: Double Exposure Preview – Alternative time travel
Time is a concept that mankind has grappled with for… well… a long time. Is it just another dimension? Is it something that we perceive differently to other unknowable beings? Can it be manipulated? Certainly, that last one was proven true within the original Life Is Strange some 11 years ago. A stand-out moment for interactive fiction and storytelling, Max Caulfield’s tale was personal, fantastical and overwhelmingly emotional, and in the process, completely rewrote developer Don’t Nod’s fortunes. We’ve since had a decade of those personal, unique stories, with sequels and off-shoots populating this world with a vibrant and diverse set of characters and journeys. Now, Deck Nine is ready to complete this particular time loop, returning once more to Max Caulfield’s tale in Life is Strange: Double Exposure.
Just as with the original, music plays a huge part of the game’s appeal, and any preview that has you sitting at the opening screen just to listen to the song has chosen the right tone. Each chapter’s music is listed below the title, just in case you weren’t sure just how important it is to the game’s feel.
We join Max and her friend Safi as they indulge in a spot of urban exploration, breaking into a run-down bowling alley and taking pictures of the debris and decay littering it. It’s more on-rails than you might expect, with specific points of interest and the option to take snapshots appearing at select moments, rather than simply letting you loose in the space. Still, that control means that the conversation between Max and Safi feels natural and well-timed, without cluttering up the world with unnecessary interactions.
That specificity leads to having to interact with each point of interest before you can move the story on, at times making conversational choices, at others taking a picture. It’s a slow pace, but one that lets you get a feel for the characters, and for the world that we’re being reintroduced to.
As college students, Max and her friends’
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