Life is Strange: Double Exposure returns players to the shoes of Max Caulfield. After the (player-chosen) events of Life is Strange, Max starts a new life away from her old family and friends. She's now a photographer-in-residence at Caeldon University, but after we rejoin Max, her new best friend, Safi, is found shot to death. Now Max must figure out who murdered Safi and why. The task is made both easier and more complicated by the sudden return of her superpowers, which have evolved from time rewinding to hopping between a dimension where Safi is alive and one where she has died.

I don't think Double Exposure pulled off the plot that it wanted to. Rather than feeling like a natural addition to the story, the presence of Max feels distracting and confusing. Life is Strange had enough variety and different outcomes that it's difficult to mesh them into one cohesive character, and Max feels like she has regressed from any growth she made in the original game. I still like the character, but she feels out of place, and the story would've flowed much better if it were an original story rather than "The Returning Adventures of Max."

The supporting cast feels so much weaker, too. Moses, Max's nerdy friend, is probably the highlight of the story, but he lacks the presence to be someone who Max can bounce ideas off of. There are characters who have a stronger presence, but the plot spends huge chunks of time taking them off the table for various reasons, and it leaves them feeling disconnected. As a character, Max needs a Chloe-like figure, and Safi, who's the closest to that in this title, is unavailable most of the time for obvious reasons.

This stands out the most with the romance plotlines, which are a mess. The shadow of Chloe hangs heavily over them, and the characters don't get much of a chance to establish themselves before everything hits the fan. From that point on, many of the romantic beats feel artificial and odd. It doesn't feel natural that Max casually hits on a sleezy dude shortly after her new best friend is murdered; it feels like it's there to check a box rather than serve as a natural part of the story.

The biggest flaw is losing track of what worked in the original Life is Strange, which was a magical murder mystery that served as a wrapper for a teen drama/romance story. Double Exposure feels like the opposite, with way more focus on the magic and mystery and a lot less on the drama. To me, the most memorable parts of the original game involved Chloe and Max's interactions and dramatic interactions, and the slow build-up of tension focused on real-world issues that are tempered by Max's ability to rewind. Double Exposure feels like it's more about superpowers. It also makes a number of choices that seem determined to tick off the most dedicated fans of the original game, which I suspect will make it difficult for LiS fans to give this title a fair shot.

The result is that the story isn't really engaging because it didn't feel like it knew what it wanted to be. Life is Strange was about regret and the "what ifs" about paths not taken, and it made great use of the fantasy elements to play to that. Double Exposure feels disconnected and leads to an ending that feels so drastically out of tune with the rest of the game that I don't know how the story got there. It's easily the weakest story in the franchise to date.

The core gameplay in Life if Strange: Double Exposure remains largely unchanged. It's functionally an adventure game/visual novel that focuses heavily on walking around, exploring environments, and solving relatively simple puzzles. This part of the game still does its job quite well. The environments are well crafted and contain a number of details that make them fun to exist in. There's an entire in-game Twitter clone that adds more dimension to the characters, and hidden photographic opportunities unlock special conversations.

The game's primary gimmick is the ability to explore two timelines (one in which Safi is alive and one in which Safi is dead). At any time, Max can emit a pulse that creates ghostly images of the alternate timeline, giving her an idea of what is going on, and she can even use those images to eavesdrop cross-dimensionally. By finding certain spots, she can hop between dimensions more interact more directly with it. As the game progresses, those powers evolve, such as allowing Max to send other objects from one timeline to the other. This not only lets her directly interact with people on both sides of the fence, but it can also be used for more illegal things, like entering a room that is locked in one timeline by entering while it's open in the other timeline.

The game's time-shifting and puzzle mechanics are neat but very scripted. Generally, you'll only use powers where the game tells you to, but there are a few hidden objectives and puzzles that give you the chance to learn more about characters or potentially alter some of their fates. Your reward is usually more dialogue and interactions, but considering that is what the game is about, that's not necessarily a bad thing! I wish the developers were a tad more creative with the powers, as some of the puzzles occasionally feel bizarrely contrived.

One area I can't find any real fault with is in the visuals and voice acting. The game looks quite good, and the slightly cartoony art style fits the mood and tone of the game quite well. The environments have a ton of nice detail, especially the way things shift between dimensions. The voice acting is largely on point, and most of the cast does a fantastic job with what they have. Moses is absolutely fantastic and makes the character sympathetic with a few word choices.

Life is Strange: Double Exposure feels like the definition of an unnecessary sequel. It doesn't feel like a natural continuation of Life is Strange, and in many ways, it is kind of a step backward for the characters. At the same time, it doesn't have enough of its own voice and ends up feeling weaker than True Colors or Life is Strange 2. It's nice to see Max again, but fans would've been happier if she hadn't shown up again. Taken entirely on its own merits, Double Exposure is a relatively fun little mystery, but it's too bogged down for its own good.

Score: 7.0/10