Life is Strange: Double Exposure Review (I'M SAYING THE N WORD)
TL;DR: This game doesn’t respect the past events from the first game, sweeping them under the rug. Max is the only thing that carries over from the first game personality-wise but none of the baggage she would have. The romance options are terrible and out of place, with one option introduced after just a minute and the other being so creepy and weird that neither Max nor the player would consider them. Lastly, wait for reviews after the full release. If the leaks are true, this could be the worst story of 2024.
This year seems filled with sequels that weren’t really needed. I loved the first game as a kid and have always connected with Max; her story and the plot really made me care about everyone in that town. Because of that, I gave this sequel a shot, and here are my thoughts:
Max’s character is still great—she’s just as I remember, and having the original voice actor is a nice touch. However, it feels like the only real connection to Life is Strange 1 is Max herself. The first game’s ending was intense and meaningful, with players having to choose between the town or Chole, here all they did was Chloe dead or Max and Chloe broke up.. This on its face feels disrespectful to me, but it's even worse later on as it’s barely acknowledged the events for how this would even happen. Episode 1 offers a few hints about what happened, but it feels more like they wanted to mention it and move on as fast as they could as it is ever talked about again, rather than fully respect the original’s endings to move to this plot. They should have either made one ending canon or handled both more thoughtfully.
It feels similar to Telltale’s The Walking Dead series, where Clem is forced into certain point in time for the plot of 3 to happen so she can be in the same spot for the plot to happen regardless of your choices in the second game. Here, Chloe cuts off contact with Max, supposedly because Max can’t move on from the past and out of fear Max would use her powers to make Chloe agree with her. This could work, though I feel like Max wouldn’t want to use her powers again after the events of the first game. But Max just accepts Chloe leaving without any real explanation or pushback, which doesn’t feel right. After everything they went through, Max would likely do anything to stay connected, not just give up on a friend and lover she sacrificed a town for. The idea that they can’t move on from Max’s choice could be written well—Chloe dealing with the fact that her mother died because Max chose her would make sense. But the reason for the breakup is so vague that it feels disrespectful to fans. If they didn’t want to handle both endings, they should’ve just picked one. They claimed they’d respect both endings, but that’s clearly untrue.
The writing feels off overall. The game does something I dislike in media—introducing a character you just met, telling you they’re cool, and immediately pushing romance with them. Within a minute, this character is flirting and there’s an option to date them, which makes no sense. I barely know them. It’s jarring, especially since it happens right after choosing whether you chose Chloe’s death or the breakup. I’d rather have the romance option after getting to know them, not be thrown into it in the hope that it was a good choice later. There’s also another love interest who is portrayed as creepy, self-centered, and just a terrible person. It feels like a bad joke to suggest that Max would ever be interested in him.
I’m still curious about the story, but I don’t get why they released the first two chapters early and separately, especially when the full game drops on the 30th with all 5 chapters. It feels like they’re just trying to cash in. If you’re thinking about buying this game, I’d suggest waiting for the full release and reading some reviews. The leaked ending, if true, sounds like it could be Game of Thrones Season 8-level of bad. I was hoping it was fake, but seeing gameplay, I’m worried. It’s The Last of Us Part II all over again. Personally, I’m invested in Max’s story enough to see it through, but I’d advise others to wait and see if the game lives up to the legacy of the first.