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Life is Strange: Double Exposure is almost here, with the new adventure to set enter an early access period on October 15, 2024. This one is well worth paying attention to, as developer Deck Nine brings about the return of original Life is Strange protagonist Max Caulfield. A lot has changed since we last saw Max, but with a new mystery to solve and new supernatural powers to control, I can't wait to dive in.
Deck Nine has quietly delivered some of the best adventure games in recent years, and its work on the Life is Strange series has been sublime. That's one of the reasons Life is Strange: Double Exposure has been one of my most anticipated new games of 2024 ever since it was revealed at the Xbox Game Showcase. It's almost here now, so while we wait for release let's get you caught up with all the latest Life is Strange: Double Exposure news and gameplay details.
Life is Strange Double Exposure release date
The Life is Strange Double Exposure release date is set for October 29, 2024 on PC, Xbox Series X, and PS5. Square Enix also confirmed the game will be coming to Switch, but with no exact release date given for the platform.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure early access
If you get your Life is Strange: Double Exposure pre-order in, you'll be able to jump into Max Caulfield's new adventure two weeks early. If you go ahead and purchase the Ultimate Edition ($80) of the game on PC, PS5, or Xbox Series X, you'll gain access to a Life is Strange: Double Exposure early access period which commences on October 15. This will let you play through the first two chapters of the game, and then you'll need to wait until October 29 to access the rest of it.
Life is Strange Double Exposure trailer
The initial reveal trailer gave us our very first look at an older Max Caulfield and the new campus setting we'll be exploring as we try to solve and prevent a murder.
Life is Strange Double Exposure story
Life is Strange Double Exposure will see us once again take on the role of Max Caulfield from the original Life is Strange game. Said to now be a photographer-in-residence at the "prestigious Caledon University" where she's come to make a fresh start, things take a turn when Max finds her closest new friend Safi dead in the snow. In order to save her from being murdered, Max decides to try using her rewind powers - which she hasn't used in years - only to somehow open up the way to a parallel timeline. In one timeline, Safi is dead, but in the other she's still alive. Even so, in both versions of the reality, the murderer threatens to strike again, so it'll be up to us to prevent the same murder from happening in both timelines.
Bringing Max back hasn't been without its challenges, with writer Aysha Farah explaining that: "[The portrayal of Max] definitely something we thought about a lot, because whenever there is a big gap in time between things coming out, everybody now has the Max in their heads that we have to compete with," she says, adding: "It's definitely something we thought about a lot."
Life is Strange Double Exposure gameplay
The Life is Strange: Double Exposure gameplay experience isn't straying too far from the established formula. You'll take control of a returning Max Caulfield (protagonist of the original adventure) and lead her into another supernatural mystery. Chapter by chapter, you'll need to make difficult choices with far-reaching consequences. Developer Deck Nine has form here, with our Life is Strange: True Colors review praising the studio for pulling the series forward.
Naturally, some things have changed since we last saw Max. For starters, her time rewind powers have been replaced with a Shift ability – allowing her to open up the way to a parallel timeline and explore the two versions of reality she finds herself in at Caledon University. Narrative director Felice Kuan describes the Shift ability as "kind of an evolution of her rewind power" and the reason behind that "is at the heart of the story."
Kuan also explains that Max hasn't used her rewind power because of the trauma she experienced using it in the past in Arcadia Bay. Alongside the ability to Shift, she also has a pulse power which allows her to detect spots in either timeline where she can shift between realities, and also see glimpses of other people and key objects across both timelines to piece together events, or clues.
With the change in powers, that also means Deck Nine has made a sweeping alteration to your ability to second guess yourself. Game director Jonathan Stauder tells us that: "This time around, [Max has] got to commit to those choices. She doesn't have the option to just rewind and try the other path. And so there's a lot more weight every time we do throw up one of those major decision points, and you have to really commit to one, knowing that you cannot go back and take a second stab at it."
Life is Strange Double Exposure and the ending of Life is Strange
One of the major questions among fans after the initial reveal was how Double Exposure would address the ending of the original Life is Strange - which saw you choose to either save Chloe or Arcadia Bay. As game director Jonathan Stauder explained, Max's new adventure will respect both possible endings.
"There's no canon ending in our book, to the first game," says Strauder. "Double Exposure will respect both endings in Max's thoughts, her journal, her SMS, her interactions with other characters. What she opts to reveal about her past to her new friends. It's all reflective of that final choice."
