The original Life is Strange, a narrative-heavy game developed by studio Don't Nod, launched in 2015 to great acclaim and was followed by numerous sequels. With the exception of one prequel to the initial game, each entry brought up a new setting, cast of characters and supernatural powers to play with. Now, almost a decade after the first game, studio Deck Nine has brought back original protagonist Max Caulfield for Double Exposure, the first direct continuation this series has had.
With all these entries and overlapping narratives, it can be hard to tell what you should have already played and what you need to know before starting this new one. We previewed Life is Strange: Double Exposure game back in the summer at Gamescom in Germany, playing a short segment set during the second chapter of the game. Having now finished the entire story, I can explain just how much of the previous games' plotlines you should know in order to get the most out of Max's new adventure. This is especially important considering the first Life is Strange featured two vastly different endings players could choose between.
While the Life is Strange series is formatted as an anthology, many characters and locations pop up from time to time in each other's games, creating a shared world. The easiest way to start is to eliminate which of the games have no real relationship with Double Exposure.
From Life Is Strange: Double Exposure.
Don't NodLife is Strange 2 takes place shortly after the events of the first game but features an entirely new cast. The brother protagonists, Sean and Daniel Diaz, run away on a cross country chase along the US west coast towards Mexico's border. The only connection to Max's story is that Arcadia Bay, located in the Pacific Northwest and where the first game takes place, is driven past and pointed out. Based on how you ended that first game, the scene the brothers see will be different.
Life is Strange: Before the Storm
Before the Storm has the closest connection to Max's story since it's a prequel to the first game. However, it follows Chloe Price, a secondary main (though not playable) character in Life is Strange. It fleshes out her backstory and sets up a lot of the events that will take place in the original game but doesn't touch much on Max or her actions that influence Double Exposure.
A choice presented to Max in Life Is Strange: Double Exposure.
Don't NodLife is Strange: True Colors
True Colors is the game that's the least connected to the rest of the franchise. Like Life is Strange 2, it features a new cast of characters and location, Haven Springs, Colorado. However, it does bring back Steph Gingrich, a side character from Before the Storm.
Life is Strange and Double Exposure
The first Life is Strange is the only title I'd recommend playing through before starting Double Exposure. While it's not absolutely required -- you could fire up the new game and learn enough as you go -- there are definitely some major references to the original title throughout the new one.
To talk about Double Exposure, we need to spoil the ending of the first Life is Strange, so here is your warning: finish playing it if you need to, otherwise keep reading.
During the first Life is Strange, a high school-aged Max builds up a relationship, either romantic or platonic, with her old friend Chloe. As Max uses her time-rewinding super powers more and more, they become unstable and cause a giant storm to approach Arcadia Bay. In the final episode, the player must choose between saving Chloe and letting her town get destroyed, or sacrificing her in order to save everyone. Each choice leads to a different ending to the game (and whether or not you drive past a town or ruins during Life is Strange 2).
Fast forward to Life is Strange: Double Exposure, where Max has aged up to her low-mid twenties after having left her hometown to be a traveling photographer. During the first episode, your new colleague, Safi, will start grilling you on who the blue-haired girl (Chloe) is that you keep a photo of in your wallet. You're then given a few options to explain what the relationship was and how things ended – Since Double Exposure doesn't import your old save data, you're essentially deciding how the first game ended similar to how sequel games like Mass Effect 2 have handled it. Regardless of what you choose, the girls are no longer in a relationship and have moved on from one another. There's no way to keep the two together, Chloe either died or the couple has split.
The remainder of the game will only feature Max's thoughts on Chloe as she deals with another supernatural mystery. Without giving away much of Double Exposure's story, I'll say that Deck Nine have done a good job of bringing back this character and the trauma she went through in the first game, especially in the back half of Double Exposure. While Chloe doesn't play a big role in the new game, it's clear that her memory is still impacting Max.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure comes out for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on October 29.
Watch this: Hands-on with Alarmo: Nintendo's High-Tech Alarm Clock Turns Waking Up Into a Game
06:11