Life Is Strange: Double Exposure Is a Gripping Adventure That Stumbles At the Last Hurdle [Review]

Life Is Strange: Double Exposure has Max Caulfield flying solo, and it’s all the better for it. Depending on which ending you chose in the original, friend/girlfriend Chloe Price could be six feet under, but her absence enables a refreshing new dynamic.

Taking place around ten years after the original, Life is Strange: Double Exposure‘s Max is a tad more confident, so much so that when her best friend Safi is killed, she sets out to solve the mystery, with some newly acquired dimension-hopping powers.

She gains the ability to travel between timelines; the “original” where Safi was murdered and another where she still lives. It takes a little while to get used to these powers, and you can only hop between dimensions at specific, sparkling switch points. But they’re so satisfying to use and set up some smart puzzles (which are more satisfying to solve if you disable Max’s hints).

There were many times that I wanted to shove my skills in the face of my would-be suspects. Striding across dimensions to steal someone’s briefcase key was a rush, there’s no denying that. But part of me wanted Max to leap onto the table, twirling her imaginary mustache while she mocked the briefcase’s owner, investigation be damned.

It’s slightly disappointing that we don’t get to see Max, now a university’s photographer-in-residence, actually teaching students. But her newfound confidence manifests itself in the way you tackle the subjects of Max’s murder hunt. It makes for some wonderfully uncomfortable moments, too.

Depending on your choices, her Scooby Doo antics visibly irritate some characters, and without Chloe to leap to her defense, it can leave Max and, by extension, you feeling very vulnerable. She has friends, sure, but their bond doesn’t burn as brightly as Max and Chloe’s.

While Life Is Strange: Double Exposure’s story is relatively linear, there were points when I was terrified of making the wrong move, of putting myself in the killer’s sights. Ditching Max’s time-reversal powers is another smart move, since it all but removes the chance of a do-over; there are no undoing actions or dialogue choices, at least on your first run.

You’ll absolutely care about what characters think of you and your decisions, more so than the original Life Is Strange. There’s an impressively rounded range of characters, from astronomy expert and tech wizard Moses to Yasmin, the occasionally abrasive university president who just happens to be Safi’s mother. And while self-centered professor Lucas is a jerk of the highest order, there’s no Nathan Prescott-esque obvious suspect.

Related: 13 Best Games Like Life Is Strange for Story Rich Adventures

If you ever cringed at the original’s dialogue, you’ll be happy to hear that it feels thoroughly natural here, without barely a snippet of Buffy-esque pretend teen-speak. However, as Max, you can throw in a Shaka Brah, just for old-time’s sake. And thanks to Life Is Strange: Double Exposure‘s motion capture, you get to experience every aspect of some superb performances.

Unfortunately, just as Life is Strange: Double Exposure is heading into its home stretch, it falters. For the most part, it’s a smartly-scripted tale, with enough twists and turns to keep you engaged but not confused. But then it all goes a little Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.

How so? Because the final chapter fizzles out a little and feels as if it’s there to usher in a follow-up. Life Is Strange: Double Exposure is, wisely, more than a beat-for-beat retread of the original. But halfway through Chapter 4, I started wondering how it was going to wrap things up neatly, and the truth is it doesn’t.

Instead, while I can’t say more without getting into serious story spoilers, it left me with as many questions as answers. I enjoyed myself enough that I’m positive about the prospect of more Life Is Strange, and it’s not a full-on cliffhanger, but it wasn’t the payoff I expected or needed.

Despite that, Life Is Strange: Double Exposure is such a gripping, reality-bending adventure that the joy you’ll get out of it eclipses its late-game fumble. Max Caulfield’s return is still a welcome one, and if you know a Pricefield fan who’s about to play this, hand them a tissue for me.

Verdict: Recommended

Life Is Strange: Double Exposure releases on Oct. 29. A review code for the game was provided by the publisher. Reviewed on PC.