Finished the game a few days ago and I've been thinking about it since. I'll probably write another post when I've got some free time & this LPer I'm watching finishes their run. It's helping to keep the details fresh in my mind as I reflect on my own playthrough.
On the whole I do like the game. In terms of plot it's by far the most exciting thing Deck Nine has written and shows that they've got a vision for breathing life into this series moving forward. And they are unambiguously moving forward, even so far as to have a "Max Caufield will return" message capping off the game. The graphics are great, but I do want them to pull a bit further back with the realistic detail on character models. Life is Strange has a signature style and I think they're moving a bit too far from the brush stroke aesthetic established in the first game. This is also the best gameplay Deck Nine has done, there's plenty of room for improvement but after completely under-utilizing Alex's powers in True Colors it is a step up. Double Exposure's cast of characters is also quite strong, memorable and fun to interact with for the most part. I do think certain characters get sidelined for way too long at times, and there's occasional instances of unrealistic motivations that can be jarring.
The trend here is a lot of qualified praise. Life is Strange Double Exposure gets a lot of things right, but doesn't get too much "just right." As the story progresses some major reveals shock and engross, but fatal flaws show themselves as well.
It's weird how they brought the storm back and it's not clear if its a manifestation of Max's power usage, Safi's, or both. They call it a "time storm" which would imply Max, but the way they work through the storm is by removing Safi's influence from the minds she corrupted. Either way the storm imagery is so closely tied to the themes of the first game and Max's character arc from that game that it reminds me of how the Silent Hill movie just plopped Pyramid Head into what is essentially a retelling of Silent Hill 1, which of course makes no sense. It's using superficial elements of Life is Strange without a sufficiently deep understanding of what they mean. The entire last episode, which is a dream-like journey through Max's insecurities, feels misplaced and weird. It dredges up past events from LiS1 in a way that seems supremely unearned and utterly pointless. They also try to make Max's travelling and taking photos of abandoned places seem pivotal to some character arc that doesn't actually exist in the game. I guess what they're going for is Max was racked with guilt over abandoning Arcadia Bay after LiS1? If that's the case it's barely explored in the rest of the game. Now that I think about it, Deck Nine had this exact same issue in True Colors. Where they take you on an acid trip tour through Alex Chen's horrible family life, which had been barely touched upon until that point outside of knowing she's an orphan and a few collectable memories.
For one, I don't know why Deck Nine feels obligated to bookend every one of their Life is Strange games with a trippy journey through the protagonists psychological issues. It's getting stale and formulaic at this point. Furthermore, the fact that they had to rehash drama from the original Life is Strange to even complete the sequence kind of highlights how sparse Max's character development was in this game. Which is actually fine because the story's emotional core and mystery is really more about Safi. So it would've been a lot better IMO if this section delved deeper into Safi's struggles, with her mother, abandonment from her father (which they only barely touch at the end), alienation due to her mother's perfectionism, alienation due to hiding her powers, etc. The fact that they try to juggle the emotional significance of the climax between both characters leaves it weaker for each IMO. Max already conquered her own storm, she doesn't need to psycho trip re-explore Mark Jefferson's dark room 10 years later for basically no reason. It's okay to simply let Max be the eyes through which we observe another character's journey, serving as the connective tissue of the series.
To that end, I think the strange weather/earth shattering event looming on the horizon should have been something more specific to Safi's powers. The concept is already right there. Safi has a piece of herself stuck in the minds of all the people she shape shifted as. So we cut to vignettes that are a representation of each characters corrupted mind, perhaps using our shift powers to switch between the part of their brain Safi controls and the uncorrupted part, find where Safi's hiding then double expose her out of their brain. That would afford an opportunity for the imagery of these scenes to further explore the inner thoughts of the entire cast and Safi herself, and would probably be more interesting than getting a mind-break acid trip text from Warren for no reason. Or going through a same-y hotel room for a while, as Max reflects that hotel rooms start to look the same after a while.
So, while I consider the emotional resonance of the final act to be somewhat bungled due to Deck Nine trying to juggle two half baked character arcs rather than just picking a lane, I still think the overall plot and character writing was interesting enough not to lose me. I think they've shown crucial improvements and are above playing it as safe as they did with True Colors (even if the execution of that game was more coherent overall). You can see the uncertainty of how to deal with the Life is Strange's past in their writing. Which might be why this ultimately feels like a set up for a sequel that mostly sheds that baggage.
IDK, what I'll say for now is, Double Exposure has some significant issues but it is an interesting game. I'm curious to see where we go from here.
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