Life is Strange: Double Exposure is not your typical murder mystery game. Instead of being a half-baked project, Choose Your Own Adventure, Double exposure is an intuitive, primarily player-driven psychological drama that rewrites the dialogue between an artist and his audience and invites his own audience to investigate the importance of self-acceptance.

Developed by Deck Nine, Double exposure is a direct sequel to that of 2015 Life is strangeand much like the studio’s previous work on True colors And Before the stormit’s a serialized thriller that eventually turns into a “what’s going on?” Set 10 years after the tragedies in Arcadia Bay, Oregon, the film follows Max Caulfield, who was also the protagonist of the 2015 game and whose life has since revolved around Lakeport, Vermont, where she works as a new photographer. residency at Caledon University. Max is still Max – she’s still terribly awkward at flirting, has a knack for sneaking into people’s rooms and thinks THE Return of the Living Dead is a zombie apocalypse masterpiece – but she hasn’t used her time-traveling powers in almost a decade, because they’ve only caused her “more trouble and even more heartache ”, in his words. That is, until his new lifelong best friend, Safiya Llewellyn-Fayyad, is murdered on a campus gazebo, and Max discovers that his ability to invert reality has evolved into the ability to tear apart a subdivision of the astral plane and jump between two. alternating deadlines.

Max may not be able to undo his own choices, but his new powers allow him to live with them and examine the ripple effects that follow. Mechanically, Max can now use an ability called Pulse to view the timelines of his current world, and his new ability Shift to create a metaphysical portal that allows him to cross both realities at set locations across Caledon. She can also use another ability, called Entanglement, to interweave objects between the two timelines. All three abilities allow him to explore different scenarios, puzzles, secrets, zen moments, and dialogue options that aren’t limited to a singular narrative. Double exposure still adheres to the popular Life Is Strange series brand of major and minor choices changing environments and interpersonal relationships – like accepting a joint from a fellow professor or changing a student’s grade – but navigating the Reality also allows players to delve into stories about who Max became.

As a twenty-something who still sympathizes with everyone, Max is moving away from the introverted idiosyncrasies that defined her at age 18, but she is still traumatized by the losses of Arcadia Bay, which made her a recluse. whenever she remembers Chloe Price and other aspects of her life that became “a summer”. Max still struggles to deal with loss, grief, and all the other complicated emotions that make her feel like a little dot that doesn’t fit the RGB values ​​of the world around her, but her new powers provide her with a way to process different emotions. stages of their grief and fully accept responsibility for their own choices.

It’s difficult to discuss its arc without tipping into spoilers, but Deck Nine’s propensity for world-building is always top-notch. Double exposureThe visuals of are an absolute delight as Lakeport mixes the color palette of Haven Springs and the cinematography of Before the storm to create a winter landscape composed of equal parts Donnie Darko, Teenage WolfAnd The girl who stood through time. It’s a less subtle setting reserved for stoned garden gnomes, LGBTQ bowling leagues, Krampus parties, true crime podcasts and sanctuaries like the Snapping Turtle – a campus bar lined with whiskey and of complex murals drawn from identity and multiculturalism. reminiscent of the works of visual artists like Ola Volo, Tristan Eaton and Mariell Guzman. And then there is the music — while the previous one Life is strange episodes enhanced the heartwarming tragedy genre with songs by Bonobo, Daughter and Angus & Julia Stone, Double exposure evokes intimacy with NewDad, Chloe Moriondo, Tessa Rose Jackson and a Feel For Music jukebox full of internal tracks that explore varying degrees of “indie sleaze” across the entirety of the various timelines.

It’s in the voice talent and storyline where the sequel really shines. Hannah Telle reprises her role as Max and is joined by a great supporting cast, which includes Safi (Olivia AbiAssi), Moses (Blu Allen), Amanda (Samantha Bowling), Diamond (Ilasiea Gray) and Gwen (Rachel Crowl) – all of which contribute to Double exposureIt’s about blunt but bittersweet moments and fanfiction from support groups that aren’t true crime. Restraining the narrative encourages more honest discussions about loneliness, emotional issues, the cost of relationships and the spirit of the staircaseand while there’s certainly room for more, these themes are aided by the player’s ability to reveal more context and clues by responding to text messages and keeping tabs on their friends through a platform social media platform called Crosstalk. Unlike the first Life is strangeMax can also use his analog instant camera, a Polaroid Now Generation 2 i-Type, to take “snapshots” in the impromptu moment set around Caledon. It’s an addition that could have used more features like filters, flashes, and adjustable aperture ranges and shutter speeds for added immersion, but its camera has a double exposure feature built in that is integral to creating two divergent experiences across the game’s five chapters.

There are very few situations in Double exposure which seem disconnected, because the only glaring reflections are its pacing and its reluctance to go off the deep end in the most Lynchian way possible. Its runtime barely exceeds 12 hours – if you don’t choose to do a completely different second playthrough – and although Deck Nine’s designers have created a game that respects the ending you consider canon in the original Don’t Nod, The Coward’s Eternal Thread ends on two parallel timelines may sound like a dream sequence you never signed up for. Double exposure shouldn’t be seen as an injustice to Max’s narrative, especially when relationships and romantic interests are determined more than ever by player choice, but it’s hard to ignore the details that could have added to his narrative abstract. Or at least I’ve swung the pendulum in a direction that looks like House of Leaves And The new weird.

Double exposure is still a magnificent and brilliantly written thriller that is worth stopping for. This doesn’t do anything revolutionary, but it’s a new episode in the Life is strange series that examines Max Caulfield’s separation from Arcadia Bay, her struggle with clinging to the past, and how she slowly embraced a stronger level of self-acceptance – despite a complicated journey of death still finding a way to get back to her. It may not be the “Max and Chloe Forever” sequel that many fans wanted (understandably), but it’s a fascinating adventure that highlights how flaws can build character – whether in serving as motivation to correct old habits or to dream about the future. .

Life is Strange: Double Exposure was released on October 29 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series X. The game was tested on PlayStation 5 using a preliminary download code provided by Deck Nine Games. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.