Life is Strange: Double Exposure

Franchise

Life is Strange

Before the Storm

Captain Spirit

Life is Strange 2

True Colors

Double Exposure

Life is Strange: Double Exposure
Developer(s)	Deck Nine Games
Publisher(s)	Square Enix
Platform(s)	PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch
Release date(s)	October 29, 2024
Genre(s)	Interactive Storytelling Drama, Adventure, Murder Mystery
Language(s)	English, French, German, Japanese

Life is Strange: Double Exposure is an upcoming video game in the Life is Strange franchise, it's a direct sequel to the original Life is Strange game and stars the original protagonist of the franchise, Max Caulfield in a new murder mystery. It was announced on June 9, 2024 and will be released October 29, 2024 with a Nintendo Switch port coming at a later date.

Story

Official Description

Max Caulfield, now photographer-in-residence at the prestigious Caledon University, discovers her closest new friend, Safi, dead in the snow. Murdered. To save her, Max tries to Rewind time - a power she possesses but has not used in years. But instead of reversing events, it opens the way to a parallel timeline where Safi is still alive, and still in danger! Max realizes that the killer will strike again soon, in both versions of reality. It’s up to Max to shift between the two parallel timelines to both solve and prevent her friend’s murder. But with a relentless detective on her back, and the killer growing closer with every clue uncovered, can Max survive long enough to do the impossible?

Chapters

• Chapter 1: TBA
• Chapter 2: TBA

Characters

• Maxine Caulfield
• Safiya Llewellyn-Fayyad
• Moses Murphy
• Chloe Price (mentioned)
• Joyce Price (mentioned)
• Loretta Rice
• Yasmin Fayyad
• Amanda
• Gwen
• Lucas
• Vince Alderman
• Carla
• Victoria Chase

Demos

Demo 1

Max, Safi, and Moses are shown watching the stars on a balcony in the Caledon University on a snowy night. As they listen to music and drink hot chocolate, Max learns that Safi has some good news, but does not want to share it. Max is determined to find out. After she unsuccessfully tries to convince Safi to explain the news, she asks Moses for help, who gives her a bottle cap and tells her that whoever has it must do as they're told. Max slips it into a candy box and tricks Safi into taking it. Safi discovers her and Moses's prank and she finally reveals the news: she met a publisher who is interested in her poems. Upon receiving a phone call, Safi leaves. After chatting with Moses, Max sees the moon and decides to take a photo, but she suffers head pains upon doing so. Max decides to head home; though Moses offers to give her a ride, she declines. While listening to music from an iPod, Max walks through campus. She sees an owl on a statue and after taking a picture, she suffers from more head pains that causes her to fall unconscious and have memories of the Arcadia Bay storm. She regains conscious just as Moses finds her. Noticing footprints going into the forest, Max senses something is off and follows them, with Moses right behind her. Max spots Safi and follows her, but suddenly hears a gunshot. She is relieved to see Safi okay as she disappears around a corner. She finds Safi sitting on a bench, but upon touching her, she drops her camera and falls to the ground; she has been shot. As Moses catches up, the two are horrified by the death of their friend. Max grieves for Safi while Moses takes out his phone and calls the authorities. The camera then pans up into the sky as a shooting star flies by.

Demo 2

Max visits Moses at the dorms as a detective named Vince Alderman is busy looking around. She learns that Moses hid Safi's camera in his office out of fear that it would fall into the hands of the police, leading the two to realize that Moses made a mistake doing this as the camera has evidence of the murder case. Vince then comes over and explains that maintenance tech is coming over to unlock Moses's office so he can investigate it, leading Max to see that she needs to get the camera before he does. He then has an unfriendly greeting with Max. The demo then skips to where Vince is talking to Moses, where Max uses this time to travel to Timeline 2. She finds the alternate Moses at work on a telescope in his office. After a musical ornament on a nearby Christmas tree gets her attention, Max criticizes Moses about it. As she indirectly tries to ask him about hiding places, the telescope almost falls, but Moses catches it in time. He asks Max to get an allen wrench from Carla. Not having enough time to do that, Max returns to Timeline 1, finds the wrench that she's looking for, and goes back to Timeline 2 to give it to Moses. After she asks about the writing on the wall, Moses explains that it has something to do with Safi. He then decides to make tea for Max. Discovering that the cabinet that Moses opened may be where the camera is, she takes the cabinet key and travels back to Timeline 1, She then uses the key to unlock the cabinet, but Vince's arrival forces her to hide. She takes refuge in Timeline 2 so that she can safely watch Vince without being seen. After evading Vince, she escapes upstairs.

History

Development commenced in 2021, around the release of Life is Strange: True Colors. It was revealed at the Xbox Summer Showcase in 2024. Additional information about Life is Strange: Double Exposure was released in the reveal broadcast, on June 13, 2024. Several behind-the-scenes secrets about the process of creating this new adventure were revealed, as well as exclusive gameplay footage.

Following the reveal trailer, the developers knew there was massive speculation about the canonocity of the ending of the first game. Creative director Felice Kuan said “We knew we had to respect the two unforgettable endings to the first chapter of Max's story, while also crafting something new, something fresh that echoed Max's past challenges even while it moved Max's personal story forward “ Deck Nine confirmed that there is no canon choice.

IN an interview with Game Radar+, Deck Nine spoke on the pressures and challenges when it came to bringing back a beloved character. Writer Aysha Farah said  that everyone had a set imagme of Max, so they changed the setting to over 10 years later so it would be space for the devs to create a max that has a new power. 

Theories

• Max traveling through two realities could mean that one of the realities is set where Max saves Chloe, and the other where Max saves Arcadia Bay at the end in the original Life is Strange game. The main reality might be the one based on what ending the player chose, meaning the selected ending could affect events in Double Exposure as well.
  • It was confirmed that Chloe will be mentioned or referenced in the game, but it is unknown if she will make an actual appearance (if the player chose to save her).
    • This is shown in a clip where Max looks at a picture of Chloe.
    • It is unknown why she and Chloe are not together (if she was not sacrificed), but it may be because since Max is in university, Chloe herself could not enroll in it because she was expelled from school in the past games. It is presumed that they are still friends/lovers and kept in touch after going separate ways.
    • A blue butterfly was briefly seen in one of the trailers. This could be a foreshadowing of Chloe making an appearance should she still be alive as the blue butterfly is believed to be Chloe's spirit animal.
  • Joyce will also be mentioned in the game, but whether she will make an appearance or not is unknown (if the player saved Arcadia Bay).
  • Other characters from past games might return too or could be mentioned. There is a chance that the game will reveal more characters that have survived the Arcadia Bay storm (if the player chose to sacrifice Arcadia Bay) besides David and Victoria, who are theorized to make an appearance in the game.
    • It is confirmed that Victoria will return in the game, but it is unknown if she's make an appearance or will be mentioned.
• It is presumed that characters from both timelines might interact with each other, as the detective was shown looking at what appears to be his alternate self in the trailer.
• Max's powers might cause anomalies again just like in the first game. The two moons that were shown in the trailer hint this.
• Max might have been framed for murdering Safi by the killer due to the police officer appearing in the trailer; however, Max could be just visiting the police station to inform him of her friend's murder.
  • Moses's reaction to Max in the trailer could show that he believes that she killed Safi.
• The person who murdered Safi might be a returning character from a past game. Some believe it could be Mark Jefferson.
  • Safi claimed that she met a publisher. It is implied that this could be Jefferson due to him being a skilled photographer and novelist. Also, the person that she was talking to on the phone could be Jefferson himself, who was luring her to an empty spot to kill her without anyone seeing them.
  • The owl that Max saw before Safi's murder could also hint this since it is Jefferson's spirit animal.
  • Since Jefferson was arrested in the first game, he may have escaped from prison and is hiding in Vermont and operating under a different name to continue his wicked deeds.
• The detective could also be an antagonist, as he seemly believes that Max is the killer and is hunting her down.
  • In the second demo, his name is revealed to be Vince Alderman. He is also shown to have a demeanor personality as well as apparent suspicions of Max, which further indicates that he will indeed be an antagonist.
• Safi's killer and the detective could be the same person, but there is far too little evidence to prove this.
• Some believe that Moses killed Safi, but this may not be true as he was following Max, so he couldn't have made it to Safi first.
• Safi was shown to be alright after the gunshot was heard, which leads to the following theories:
  • Safi could've been still alive after being shot and was able to move to the bench before succumbing to her wounds. However, she was shown be still talking on the phone and was not in pain.
    • Strangely, when Max found her, she had her camera instead of her phone.
  • The person that Max saw after hearing the gunshot may have not been Safi, but someone else who looks like her. It could be the Safi from the alternate timeline, who somehow found her way to the main one.
    • This could imply that the killer is the alternate Safi, but why she would kill her original counterpart is unexplained.
• People suspect the character Loretta Rice could be Rachel Amber in the alternate reality where she might not have been murdered.
  • However, Rachel was voiced by Kylie Brown and Loretta is voiced by Ashlynn Hideman.

• Yasmin might also think that Max is the killer, but it is currently not known what she will think after she found out that her daughter was murdered, so there is a chance that she may not accuse Max.
• Max might have love interests, whom may possibly be Moses, Safi (in the alternate timeline), or Amanda.
• The game may have more than two alternate endings, possibly four in all.
• It can be presumed that some of main characters (besides Safi in the original timeline) will die at the end of the game.
• One of the characters that was seen in the trailer and demo could be the killer.'
• There is a possibility that Abraxas has ulterior motives, which may be connected to Safi's murder.
• Some fans think that the murderer is Max herself, but it is still unknown due to lack of evidence.
  • This theory may not be true as Max and Safi are good friends and that Max would have no intention to kill her.
  • It is possibly that Max's role in Safi's death was accidental somehow.

Game Editions

Life is Strange: Double Exposure will be available in three editions; Standard, Deluxe, and Ultimate. Players can pre-order the Ultimate Edition now to gain Advanced Access to Chapters 1 and 2 on October 15, 2024, two weeks ahead of the release of the full game.

Collector's Box

The game has a Collector's Box, which was released for pre-order exclusively on the Square Enix Store website. Not paired with a physical or digital copy of the game itself, it contained:

• Collector’s Box
• 12” Vinyl Soundtrack with 13 songs from the game
• 32pp Mini Hardcover Artbook with exclusive concept art
• 4 Double-Sided 12” Artcards
• Max’s Owl Pin Replica

Controversy

Protagonist Critique

While the announcement of the game was met with fanfare from die-hard fans, the choice to feature the franchise's original protagonist in another game was met with mixed reception.

Some fans were critical of the publisher's choice to use Max again, already content with Max's story being covered in the first game, with possible alternative futures for her considered within the other entries in the franchise, notably within the Life is Strange comic series.

With Max's actions in the first game being completely subjective to the player's choices, some view her as having a platonic relationship with her best friend, Chloe, while others were passionate about the romantic partnership Max was able to explore with her. Given the significance of this relationship and the choices Max must make in the first game, it is understandable that some fans are not enthusiastic about playing as a Max whose life has moved beyond this important relationship. To many, the choice not to feature Chloe in the game is merely an above-lore method to ensure Max can be featured in another entry in the franchise without complication for new players.

As it stands, Chloe's involvement within Double Exposure has been confirmed to be limited, with the player choosing what kind of relationship the two had previously shared, (Choosing either "We're just friends" or "We were high school sweethearts" in a conversation with Safi near the beginning of the game). While context is currently unclear, it feels to many fans as though the choice to have Max as a protagonist has side-lined the importance and complexity of the players' previous choices when it comes to Chloe and their relationship.

Others have theorised that within the Life is Strange universe, there are already alternative timelines with alternative versions of Max, and that Double Exposure will simply be exploring another version of Max; a version where she did not have a lasting relationship with Chloe, now at age 28.

Game edition content

Additionally, there has been some criticism over the Double Exposure game editions on offer, particularly related to the early access to game content for the game's Ultimate Edition, which is priced higher than the other offerings.

The game industry's movement towards "games as a service", taking advantage of cosmetic offerings and DLC is nothing new; providing earlier access to game content in exchange for fees is not a new concept, however this is more prevalent in the industry among MMOs, Shooters and other subscription genres. For a narrative game with a thriving theory-crafting fanbase, the concept of having core content available to players two weeks early was disappointing for many long-time fans.

Square Enix has been critiqued for monetizing the fear of spoilers, incentivising players to pay higher prices to remain ahead of online spoiler posting for the first two episodes of the game. Additionally, having bonus mission ("Cat content") available to players who can pay the additional fees for the Ultimate edition of the game, is something the player base was not enthusiastic about.

There is no Collector's edition of the game available, replaced instead with The Collector's Box. The Collector's Box was the only offering available that contained physical merchandise, and did not actually include a copy of the game. Historically, Collector edition packages had been a mixture of physical merchandise and a copy of the game. Many players commented that they had expected a bundle with both physical and digital content that would be available at a higher price point, rather than having to make separate purchases for the game and the merchandise box.

Gallery

Promo Stills

Videos

Life is Strange- Double Exposure – Announce Trailer (PEGI)

Life is Strange- Double Exposure – Extended Gameplay (PEGI)