KingBily Life is Strange: Double Exposure Review

The game doesn't have an ounce of the writing quality found in the original *Life is Strange*. Asking a studio that hadn't developed anything notable since its inception to create a sequel to a masterpiece like *LiS* was madness, and it shows today. Developing a game on a shoestring budget to cash in on a franchise's nostalgia and success rarely turns out well, and here, we’re looking at a total crime scene; it’s a shame Max can’t rewind time to wipe this game from our memories (though, thankfully, it likely won't stay there long). When developing an interactive movie, you only have three things to manage: graphics, direction, and story. Yet here, everything fails—to the point where it’s practically criminal. Yes, I played the Switch version, and I know the PS5/PC versions look better; that said, nothing justifies the deplorable quality of this Switch port—especially the incessant flickering outlining every object that sears your retinas, and the magnificent—sorry, *horrible*—lip-syncing that decides to take a coffee break right in the middle of dialogue. What is direction, exactly? I won't give you a lecture on the subject, but the folks at Deck Nine could certainly use a few lessons themselves. It’s simple: there is zero effort involved. Aside from two or three moments where the director suddenly remembered they were getting paid, we’re stuck with just one or two static tripod camera angles. Not to mention the music placement—it’s all over the place. Having good music is fine, but if you don't know how to use it effectively, what's the point? As for the storytelling—where did those beautifully written slice-of-life scenes from the first *LiS* go? Those were the very moments that gave the characters depth and made us care about them. Here, however, we remain constantly focused on the investigation, like an inspector detached from everyone else. Yes, the game tells us about the connections between characters, but it doesn't make us *feel* them; we don't experience the adventure alongside Max—we observe her from a distance. Occasionally, a spark of humanity emerges in the characters, but like a tiny flame, it lacks the fuel to truly catch fire. To top it all off, the choices in this "choice-based game" have absolutely NO impact on the story—not the slightest bit. It makes no difference whether we take action or not; even though the game shows us the various possibilities at the end of a chapter, we don't actually feel the consequences in the narrative. There is no butterfly or domino effect unfolding from Chapter 1 to the end—nothing at all! Not to mention the paradoxes and time loops that are introduced only to be just as quickly ignored. As for the dual-world mechanic, it couldn't be more tedious; constantly having to travel back and forth between teleportation points is just... thrilling (not). I didn't play *LiS 2* because road-trip stories aren't my thing, and *True Colors* lost me after three hours; so, I tried to stick with this one, but what a mistake that was...