4/5 ★ – vassm's review of Life is Strange: Double Exposure.

"Life is Strange: Double Exposure" was one of this year's most unexpected and exciting releases for me by far. A direct sequel bringing back Max Caulfield, arguably one of my favorite characters of all time, was most definitely a pleasant surprise (This was the first game that I pre-ordered since TLOU2 :P). Right off the bat, the art direction was stunning. The textures on both the characters and environment were fantastic and impressive given how most Life is Strange games don't hone in on hyper-realistic textures or character models. The VFX were also really impressive. The developers clearly put a lot of time into building a world that had the same cozy charm as the first but also made it more real. One thing I wish was expanded upon was the environment, I thought each setting was so pretty to look at, and I wish there was more to enjoy. In the previous games, you were able to see so much of Arcadia Bay, whereas here I was confined to three areas, all within 2 minutes away from each other. The first three chapters excelled and drew me into a detective-like narrative that had Max navigating multiple timelines at once. Shifting between different realities to piece together clues was super fun and reminiscent of the previous games of the franchise. Unfortunately, things changed quickly and the final two chapters took a narrative tumble. The narrative direction became really unsure of what it wanted to be and threw the momentum the first three chapters had for a loop. Safi's character arc was a particularly jarring example, with her sudden and drastic change in personality and values leaving me annoyed and confused. What began as a really cool murder mystery quickly lost its focus. The music, arguably the most important aspect of the "Life is Strange" series, is mostly delivered. However, this time it veered too far into industry plant territory, lacking the intimate and almost reflective tone that made previous soundtracks iconic. A lot of the songs reminded me of something that would have been in "I Saw the TV Glow" XD (which isn't a bad thing, it's just not LIS). The characters were almost all compelling, I really loved Moses, Gwen, and early-game Safi, and they all added so much to the gameplay and made me feel like I was really there at Caledon University. However, the love interests this time around- Amanda and Vinh- were boring, and fell flat, failing to evoke the same emotional resonance that Chloe/Warren did in the first game. No one can compare to them lol. Overall "Life is Strange: Double Exposure" was relatively good, probably my least favorite of the franchise, but not all the way bad by any means. It was visually impressive and it was often an enjoyable experience, granted I am a sucker for these games so it's hard for me to give these games a REALLY bad score. However, its scattered storytelling and lack of focus knock it down a couple of points. The "Life is Strange" franchise will always hold a special place in my heart. I always felt seen by Max as a character when I was growing up, and I still see myself in her with her older self. This was a pretty decent journey with some issues, but I can't wait to see what Deck Nine thinks of going forward. 8/10