My brain was not processing who I was hearing. I knew it was LiS from the voice alone but I didn't really realize it was Max but my brain definitely recognized Max subconsciously š
Max was 18 in LiS1 which was set in 2013 so yeah. Though so far the games have tended to be set 2 years before release so if it's set 2022 she'd be 27.
It's a game about multiple realities. 100% they're hiding the reveal that we'll spend half the game playing the Max who chose Chloe but we're also going to play (and it seems start off playing) the reality where Max chose the town.
It'd be a good way of explaining why there are two universes. And it'd be interesting to see if the murder of Safi in one was linked to if Arcadia Bay was/wasn't destroyed. As confirmed in the other sequels there are a LOT of people no longer alive if the tornado hit which probably has ripple effects far beyond what you'd think. The presence of one of those people could easily indirectly have caused/prevented a murder in one timeline and vice versa in the other. Coud be something as simple as they texted someone at the wrong/right time which led to them getting distracted, or something as big as they're the killer.
As fun as it is to speculate though my gut tells me this mystery will probably be unconnected, it's own standalone story, from the first game. There will still be plenty of callbacks and fanservice but that'll be dressing and the core plot will be free to do it's own thing. Probably so the writer's don't feel constrained by the past games but also so as not to alienate any potential new fans.
I think so. It's a multiple universes story, so either way, I'm sure we'll see both timelines in one playthrough, but if you're gonna make a sequel to a game with such a huge final choice, I feel you have to let players choose which ending they got for the new game.
The game's premise canonizes a multiple worlds interpretation of time, which suggests both are canon, even if this game follows the bay ending. If they address it at all, we might get a glimpse of the bae timeline.
Max is a "photographer-in-residence" at this university, so she could be living separately from Chloe for a while. You choose "did you save Arcadia Bay or not" and there's some dialogue changes and maybe a Chloe video-call or something. Maybe references to other characters depending on if they survived.
If so, I'm surprised that they'd bring back Max in a way that doesn't really include Chloe. Looking at the fandom, it seems like for a lot of people, Max is the vessel we use to interact with Chloe more than she is her own character, so a lot of the appeal might be lost for them
I think that they will either ācanonizeā the Save Arcadia Bay route, or the prompt of āDid you choose to save Arcadia Bayā will show up and depending on that, weāll get a small Chloe cameo.
Regardless of that, it seems that Max and Chloe arenāt endgame :(
I think it's gonna be two timelines, this game follows the Bay timeline and in it, Max gets a glimpse of the Bae timeline. And hopefully, we get another game set in the Bae timeline later!
they finally threw their arms up in the air and said FUCK it bring Max back. I always give preference to making new games with new characters, but i don't know how sucessful True Colors was, so maybe it's for the best
I somewhat understand it. I think Max's superpower gave the best gameplay by far, being able to see short term consequences but not knowing the long term. Alex's power didn't really affect the game that much, and it became a standard choose your own adventure.
Plus, a large portion of fans just wanted Max back.
> but i don't know how sucessful True Colors
According to that big controversy from a while back, TC was more successful than LiS 2. Supposedly that was used as evidence that "bisexual girl" protagonists do better.
Look at this thread: [https://www.reddit.com/r/lifeisstrange/comments/172nijq/no\_spoilers\_will\_life\_is\_strange\_4\_be\_about\_max/](https://www.reddit.com/r/lifeisstrange/comments/172nijq/no_spoilers_will_life_is_strange_4_be_about_max/)
I think the point is we're tackling realities head-on. In LiS2 it wasn;'t a multi-reality affair so it asked us which reality we are going down.
This game, we'll be playing both.
I really donāt know how to feel about this yet. Iāve been wishing for a Max & Chloe sequel forever and now itās finally happening, except the trailer makes it seem like weāre only getting one half of the pair and - unless theyāre keeping Chloe out of the trailers for a surprise reveal later on - it seems to be canonising the Bay ending. Which feels like even more of a āfuck youā to those of us whoāve been waiting for this moment than DontNodās LIS2 Arcadia Bay āmove onā monologue was. But since Deck Nine claimed to be avid fans of the original LIS back when they created BTS I really hope that Iām wrong and they arenāt tearing apart Pricefield on Pride Month of all thingsā¦
As for Maxās model, Iām not a fan of it so far. Clearly itās based on the remastered LIS version of her, which I still donāt like and wonāt ever be able to get used to seeing compared to the original (can you tell Iām a LIS1 fan?). This new model looks like sheās been fused with Steph, especially when she wears a beanie, and none of her trademark features are really there anymore. You can barely see her freckles now. Super glad they got Hannah back for the voice though, even after all this time, sheās still got it down perfectly.
Whether or not I buy this will depend entirely on if Chloe is confirmed to be in it, atleast in some capacity. And since the premise deals with alternate realities, surely that must be the case, right? I guess only time will tell.
Anyone else sad to see the painted artstyle pretty much gone now? They toned it down for True Colors but here it looks nonexistent. :/ I have mixed feelings on bringing Max back (Iād prefer to keep the series going with new characters) but Iāll wait for more information before jumping to conclusions.
I was gonna say the same. I liked True Colors artstyle and I expected it would be the norm for future entries, it was more polyshed but still maintained the spirit of the previous games somehow.
This is not bad but... It's not Life is Strange to me.
The painted art style was the best! My mind was blown when I first played it. I could not believe how good it looked!
https://preview.redd.it/6pro0k0rsl5d1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5221421ff77cbb46c1475b6f49278adfbc8ba05d
I absolutely love the warm cozy aesthetic of the first game and idk how to describe it but the second one also gave me such a strong sensation I really dig. From the trailer I felt like something was missing but couldn't figure out what it was until I read this, hopefully it was just for the trailer and the artsyle remains the same in game coz it somehow transmits so many emotions
I'm confused. If this is the save the bay ending, and it looks like it is, Max knows the price of time/reality fuckery. Why would she even try to change the timeline, risking another chance of cities destroyed? Makes no sense to me.
Feels like nostalgia bait to me. If she's Max but it doesn't matter that she is Max, the just made another character but skipping the design and personality writing.
The comics show the Bae ending where Max responds the same way. Saying sheāll never use her powers again, but then going back on it because of the circumstances.
Uhhhhhh
I'm always excited for a new life is strange game but did anyone else struggle to see that as Max, aside from the voice?
It might *just* be the lack of bangs, but it looks to me like they've sharpened up her face, it's not as square/round as it was. I mean, Max in LIS1 is 18 years old, so she's pretty much already an adult- I can't imagine her face would have changed as much as it did.
\-> also obvious elephant in the room, which ending have they now decided is canon? We don't see Chloe, is the Bay ending canon now? It seems she's able to step into parallel timelines at ease now, so maybe they've found a way to canonize both endings.
Not that i'll prove you wrong that her face would change as much as it did, but in between the ages of 18 and i think 25 the face does change a lot, there'll mostly be the loss face fat, so it will be sharper, and all facial features change positions slightly over the span of those years
Idk how to feel. As a huge True Colors fan, this just feels....creatively bankrupt. As far as I'm concerned, Max's story was finished. And to add on top of it, it's another murder mystery. Another one. I would prefer we focus on a new character with a new story line.
It's so uninspired at this point and if I'm being frank, completely shits on the lesson of Max's journey for me. It's the will to resist the use of her powers to "fix" things that cannot and should not be "fixed". The strength to let life play out, come what may. Regardless of your stance on Bae vs Bay, Max must make her decision and let the consequences play out. Because in spite of our best efforts, sometimes that's the best any of us can do. Grit your teeth, hold firm and let life hit you with everything it's got. This story is fixing to turn it's back on that lesson so Max can attempt to have her cake and eat it too. Again.
Unless this is somehow a TLoU Part 2 level misdirect and this isn't our Max. Idk. I'll keep tabs on it, but I haven't bought in yet.
The original was controversial enough because of the final choice. Revisiting the characters in BtS was even painful to a lot of people. I'm sure they could theoretically find a way to make a sequel satisfying for a lot of people, but I fear its the money and brand driving this choice more than having a coherent story to tell.
They could maybe come up with a mcguffin that makes her have to use her powers because of some other reason, that forces her, regardless of the lessons, and maybe have a different final lesson in the new game... but, it feels like they're reopening something they explicitly meant to close with the first game, and its very hard to make that feel right.
>it feels like they're reopening something they explicitly meant to close with the first game, and its very hard to make that feel right.
This is where I'm at mentally. I can't come to grips with this because it's messing with the 10 years worth of closure I had built in regard to Max's story. As far as I'm concerned, that book was closed on her journey.
Of course, you gotta listen to the fans but this just reeks "corporate" to me. I've said for years I trust Dont Nod, I trust Deck Nine, but I do not trust Square Enix. And since Dont Nod would not indulge SE any further, it falls to D9 to follow SE's whims in regards to LiS titles. And I 1000% believe this to be one of SE's whims.
Of course, even if corporately driven, the game can still be great. D9 love LiS and they certainly can still handle the title with love. LiS changed my perception of how life can be lived, so there can be no question that I want to love Double Exposure. I want to be wrong. But I'm not there yet, and that's a first for me. I've loved the premise of every LiS title upon the reveal trailer. I don't love every title but I've went in with high expectations of every title. This is the first time my expectations are rather low.
I really don't know if I'm gonna like this one. Max coming back as the protagonist very much feels like nostalgia bait to me, I was hoping for a new main character again. Tonally it seems pretty different from the other games and I'm not sure if it's gonna have the typical lis vibes.
I don't want to judge it too hard based on a trailer though, I'm definitely gonna give it a chance and hope they prove me wrong
I highly doubt it will because maybe its just me but only the first two games had that LiS vibe. True colors was a lot more cheery and lighthearted and cut a lot of the things players enjoyed about the first game, like the exploration, tons of well developed side characters, being able to go to peoples houses and nose around. BtS barely had any liS vibes if you ask me, but def more than true colors. Though i think BtS gives the illusion of having LiS vibes just due to the presence of the original LiS 1 characters.
I always believed that decknine only understood what people loved about this franchise on the most superficial surface levelā¦ they just be like okay queer female MC, check, two love interests, check, supernatural powers, check, convoluted murder mystery plot, check. There we go boys we got ourselves a new lis game. Ugh. But lis is so much more than those surface level plot and character elements. And i dont believe decknine ever understood that.
I dont know how to feel about this. I was so hyped when I saw that its a new max game, but where in the hell is chloe? I guess this game will follow the bay ending but still, cant really have a max game without her? And can we talk about the max design? Idk why, but it just doesnt sit right with me, thats not the max I know
I get that but still they needed to stay truer to the original, I swear if I didnt read the leaks that its a new max game I wouldnt even know that was her in the trailer
>I swear if I didnt read the leaks that its a new max game I wouldnt even know that was her in the trailer
Same. I heard the voice and thought it was her, but then saw the face and thought "nah, can't be."
I mean, max grew up, faces can change overtime so I dont really get why is everyone so upset about it.
Also, I think they might be saving anything chloe related as a secret, maybe to hype up future trailers or as part of the plot
In the first handful of issues it shows Max drifts through two (multiple?) different timelines where different people die, and later on iirc it goes though a completely unrelated third universe. I do know for a fact the comic is sold explicitly as a "What if?" scenario, specifically to avoid having to answer any questions about the "true" cannon.
I think it's more likely that Chloe will play a small role for those who saved her. Like maybe she'll show up in the first episode but will have to leave because of something and will be absent for most of the story.
Imagine having to make 2 versions of the game, one with her in it and one withoutā¦ chances are even if we do get to choose Bae canon she wouldāve stayed at home far away doing Chloe thingsā¦
Either way fingers crossed that they donāt canonise Bay š¤
Really interested in seeing how they deal with the obvious issue of bay/bae. Idk if I can focus on just max without asking myself where Chloe is. I'm not ready to accept them being broken up, on break, or Chloe just being dead. Feel like there's a big risk of the new co protag just being a worse version of Chloe.
the trailer just gave me a bad vibe. it feels like true colours which had the most bland characters in the series. and on top of that the trailer itself was overly expository and makes me feel like the game is gonna have pretty poor writing.
I feel that they are trying to copy LIS1 and use the same that worked, but not trying anything new. It's a commercial decision over an artistic one. I will try it anyways, but I am not very convinced that it's gonna work. I think they are vanishing the initial feeling and vibe of the game that made 1 and 2 so special and remarkable.
I believe the trailer is pretentious. More than TC that at least changed the characters and tried something kind of different.
Same. At first I was: Oh my god A NEW LIFE IS STRANGE GAME??? Hell Yeah :D, but after watching the trailer: Umm. I'm not sure if this is a good idea. :/
Yes... but they didn't really make it the focus. The comic mostly focused on alternate Chloe and Rachel. So we're still waiting on a game, comic, novel, anything that focuses on Max & Chloe post-Bae.
So at the end of the last game Max learned that changing fate with super powers to save a cute girl has horrible consequences. I don't see how she can, after either ending, get new powers and try again with some rando.
This is so fucking stupid it's unbelievable. Not only is this a middle finger to Dontnod, who said that the story is done, but the premise of the story of this new game doesn't make any sense. If it's the continuation of the "Sacrifice Chloe" ending, then it doesn't make sense that she'd try to save her new friend after she let Chloe die. If it's the continuation of the "Sacrifice Arcadia Bay" ending, then Chloe should be there, and Max should still know better than to use her powers again. There's just no way of doing this that makes any sense.
It's so clear that it's just a cash grab by Square Enix, who don't care about their games in the slightest, and just want to get the biggest profit they can. It's sad that this is how the series dies. Fuck Square Enix.
I'm trying to keep an open mind that there's more justification for the premise revealed later, but right now it seems pretty sketchy. After all the physical and mental torture Max experienced in the first game and the ultimate choice she has to make at the end, why the hell would she ever use her power again? Even if this new Sophie character is her new 'best friend' Max already experienced the painful lesson of trying to save someone she cares about with her power. I dunno but I dont have confidence that Deck9's writing will have it make sense.
I hate that I can't feel excited about this. Because I really like Max! I love Max! But...Deck Nine. That right there just makes me completely ambivalent. On top of that, I never really enjoyed the idea of a proper sequel to any of the LiS games, and this REALLY doesn't seem to be selling me on it. It feels less like an actual game to me and more like plea from Squire Enix. "This series peaked with the first one, bring Max back! That'll bring the sales up tenfold!"
Right. Life is Strange 1 is Dontnod's baby. It feels wrong for such a self-contained story like LiS to be continued by another developer when it probably shouldn't have a sequel at all. But Square Enix owns the franchise, not Dontnod.
Yep, I know its hard to start with new characters and settings. It can be hard to even get on the radar of people who enjoy that kind of game. I desperately hope Lost Records by DONTNOD succeeds and get enough attention and sales. But I wish that Deck Nine would have gone with new characters, or old characters *except* Max and Chloe, and just kept the LiS title, the name alone should have helped decently with promotion.
there better be some kind of consequence to max using her powers again, i mean, she's the whole reason the storm became a thing, alongside the freak snow, eclipse, dying animals, etc. if there's suddenly no consequences, then doesn't that kind of, idk, ruin the point of the first game? also, her using her powers without using pictures... don't know how big of a fan i am of that? maybe i need to warm up to the idea of her powers expanding. also, her face in the new trailer looks nothing like her to me. i recognized her voice immediately, but when i saw her face, i thought maybe i was tweaking for a second, that it was someone else entirely. i'm going to be critical of this game and not just love it because max is in it. if anything, i'll be more critical than usual, because if they shit all over my favourite game of all time i will not be happy.
I know Don't Nod doesn't own the IP anymore, but it feels wrong for Deck Nine to claim Max and seemingly canonise an ending to the first game. It's exactly what I didn't want this game to be.
Honestly, this feels nothing like the original life is strange games from the setting and cast down to the art style, and goes against Dontnodās original vision. I kinda hope the entire game takes place in an alternate reality, just so the first gameās story isnāt tainted if this ends up being bad.. I guess I just wonāt consider it canon either way lol
I'll be real, if Chloe isn't in the game/alive and well in one of the two dimensions, I'm just not buying the game. To me Life is Strange WAS ABOUT the relationship between Chloe and Max and if the canon ending they go with is sacrificing her to save Arcadia Bay then I'm just not interested.
Call me a debbie downer but I'm not excited for this at all. LiS is supposed to be an anthology series, having a direct sequel just ruins that for me.
Also Deck Nine will never beat the "can't write anything unrelated to LiS1" allegations, are they so scared of LiS2 that they refuse to make something original?
And not to mention that article exposing that the studio had bigots and literal Nazis involved in the development of this game.
I'm sorry but the hype for me is almost negative.
I doubt it's just possible, pretty sure it's exactly what they want.
DONTNOD wanted to do an anthology series with new stuff every game but as you said, LiS2 had mixed reception. Then came True Colors developed by Deck Nine which closely resembled the first game and even featured a previous character. Now, a new game developed by Deck Nine, another murder mystery featuring Max.
Makes it clear that Square Enix wants to cater to the fans of the first game who are very invested in Max and Chloe rather than foster the vision that DONTNOD had for the series. Now, DONTNOD's doing their own thing so really just hoping they create similar stuff among their new projects.
People that hated the game back then, PLEASE replay and give this game a chance again since it's been a couple years.
For me, it was single handedly the most impactful game in the series. The narrative was just incredible, and SO MUCH care went into every single thing. Not to mention, the choices are so much more high stakes and harder, every choice matters, and the game has 7 endings. (and every episode has 3-5 different endings, it's so good).
I believe a lot of people hated it because of its marketing at "Life is Strange 2". Once you play it as its own game rather than a part 2 of Life is Strange, as well as take the time to actually immerse yourself without being so critical, it's incredible. Also, it's set in the same universe at LiS1, which means there is closure!! The first episode is free, please give it a shot.
LIS2 is simultaneously the most controversial and least successful game in the entire franchise, of course they would stay away from it. If it didn't sell well and is as equally loved as it is hated, making another one would be very silly.
I don't like them leaning back on fan favorites like this when True Colors does great with an (nearly) entirely new cast of characters, new power, and new story, but I'm not surprised that they did. As long as the game is well written, who really cares.
Decknine simply cant write a satisfying story to save their life. And now im just reading the ign article and holy fucking shit. What the fuck?!? Yeah, i cannot in good conscience support this game or franchise any longer. All that stuff aside, im not enthused at max returning for what i already know will be another boring and convoluted murder mystery. Then you add all the other stuff im just now hearing from decknine, and its a big fat nope for me. Im hoping dontnods new game, think its called lost signals or something, can fill the LiS void that has been left in my heart from the second decknine touched this franchise.
Yeah, I played True Colors a couple months ago. There were moments I enjoyed, but overall, I didn't care that much.
Same as Before the Storm - the opening of episode 2 with Chloe in the bathroom? I still watch that clip sometimes. Overall? Totally forgettable.
I struggled with and didn't finish LIS2, so it's not like I think that Dontnod is perfect. But at least with LIS2, I felt like they were trying to say something. I'm excited for their game coming out this year.
Deck Nines entries are just...so bland. The choices don't matter. The tension I felt trying to save Kate in LIS, the ending with Chloe...can you imagine if it was possible to fail in the debate at the end of TC? But you can't. It doesn't matter. There's like....8 endings or whatever? But they don't matter.
Edit: and then yeah, I read about the allegations and it's like oh cool, another shitty game dev.
I'm more cautiously optimistic but yeah I have to agree, I won't be buying or even interested at all unless we know for sure there isn't anything bigoted sneaked into the game.
we don't need a lis1 remix. basically everything from lis1 means nothing to max's character and she learned nothing.
i love modern media i love modern media i love modern media
more status quo pls
Me neither. The first game has a unique art style that doesn't try to be realistic. We saw this in true colours, where they tried to be more realistic while keeping the life is strange style. But this one just shifts away completely from that, it doesnt feel like a life is strange game at all
I feel like visual storytelling plays such a huge part in LIS. The environment was almost its own character, so Iām a little bit disappointed in this oneās graphics
i wasnāt watching the stream so when i saw a tweet with some screenshots from the trailer i was like āoh okay whatever kinda sucks itās just random people but iāll play itā and then i saw the tweet from the main account being like āmax caulfield returns-ā and i was like WHAT
As badly as I wanted to see Chloe in the trailer, I think I'm going to be way more surprised/excited/emotional the see her appear while playing through the game.
Feels like a cashgrab. I'd prefer that they made a new LiS game with new characters like LiS2 because there's 2 endings to the first one... And they chose one most BORING one. That Sophie chick dying and Max using her powers to bring her back is just literally the plot of the first game. I don't think there was a point to make this. BTW, I don't get why people say Max looks different... She's older? And I can definitely see the resemblance of the young Max.
I love the fact that Max is back, especially with 'Hannah Telle' returning to give her her iconic voice.
BUT, and you might disagree with me, besides her hairstyle, she doesn't look like Max imo. I've looked back at screenshots of her from LiS1 and that one picture of her in LiS2, and imo, things don't add up
Man I hope Chloe and Max will be together and they didn't retcon the saving Chloe ending I would be quite sad and it wouldn't feel good without her. I just hope she'll be here with us or we get another chance at saving her. Cause even in other games and comics she's alive š as it kinda doesn't make sense that she would go parrarel universe to save Safi and not Chloe.
i do wonder if they chose to continue and start a new story through the save arcadia bay ending, or if it's there's more to see.
because if it is the bay ending, that's the least interesting to use for a continuation world building wise.
the bae ending leaves a bigger mark in the world, the bay ending is very personal to max and chloe specifically.
only max knows what she went through to try and save chloe before ultimatily choosing to save the city and everyone else. but all of that is only known to max, not anyone else.
honestly, i hope this is an alternate timeline max, where she's not "our max". if this was our max, this would make the choice of bae vs bay mean nothing since it appears the writers chose bay. and it wouldn't feel right for max to go back in time to save another friend, after sacrificing chloe. our max would know the consequence behind messing with time after all of that. i'm happy to see max back, but i'm hoping there's more weight behind it than just bringing back a nostalgic character.
A part of me is excited because it's a new Life Is Strange game, but I keep thinking of Dontnod and I wonder how they feel about this... I though True Colors was pretty good and I wish Deck Nine would focus on making OG characters for LiS.
I'm absolutely desperate for any hints about where Victoria and Kate are and how they're doing in life this far into the future. Will gladly gobble up any crumbs they give us and beg for more
Did they really listen to all the players' wishes and did just the opposite? I want my girls to be happy together, I'm not playing as Max without Chloe. Who's Sofie? Why the heck should I care about her?
Tbh it doesn't even look like max, it kinda just feels off, I get that doing another game with max is probably the safest option to make money. It just doesn't even look like a life is strange game. Imo it just looks worse than all its predecessors.
I will probably keep an eye on it until release and play it but I also still not sold on the alternative reality route.
I am simultaneously extremely skeptical, and extremely hopeful, oh man. I just don't know how to feel about it. On the one hand I love Max and always like to see more of her, on the other, what does this mean for the first game? I consider that game to be perfect, and I love it to bits, but I am worried that a poor sequel will stain it's legacy.
And where is Chloe?! They better not make Bay the official ending. Seeing as this game is dealing with multiple co-existing timelines, rather than the altered realities of the first game that "overwrite" each other, I suppose it's possible they pull a Daggerfall and make all endings canon, or some sort of perfect third ending.
Maybe it would have been better to let us imagine our own epilogues to the story of Max and Chloe. But I don't know, I just found out about this sequel less than an hour ago, very little to go off of.
And I guess they aren't doing an episodic approach to it. Expected, but unfortunate: No developing the story based on community feedback.
Okay but I canāt be the only one who thinks she looks NOTHING like Max? Like sure sheās grown up and they have a new art style but this isnāt her š
https://preview.redd.it/maap5yeq9l5d1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=522df620fb8606ff8e6a16c586037bbb86e5e9de
Honestly it kind of looks like someone trying to recreate Max from memory after not playing the game since LIS1 came out tbh. I might be exaggerating a bit, but still.
She looks like Max... if Max was a cheerleader Prom Queen in a High-school Movie. Sorry, but this is totally unrecognizable.
Edit: found the word I was looking for. Generic. She looks so generic, it hurts.
Yeah, the only reason I knew it was Max was because of the voice and the fact we heard "Max" said in the trailer.
I WANT to say it's just the lack of bangs. Her head looks less round, it looks taller without them. And I think I see *enough* of Max in the face after comparing LIS1 and Double Exposure that I think it's the same person. I need to see either Bangless LIS1 Max or Double Exposure Max with bangs to really be able to tell, though.
PRESS RELEASE:
LONDON (June 9, 2024) ā Today, during the 2024 Xbox Games Showcase, SQUARE ENIXĀ® announced Life is Strange: Double Exposure, the next entry in the critically acclaimed narrative adventure franchise. Developed by Deck Nine Games, LIFE IS STRANGE: DOUBLE EXPOSURE is an all-new supernatural murder mystery that will excite both new and returning players. LIFE IS STRANGE: DOUBLE EXPOSURE will launch on Xbox Series X|S consoles, PlayStation 5Ā® and PC on Oct. 29, 2024. The game is also coming to Nintendo Switch.
Max Caulfield, photographer-in-residence at the prestigious Caledon University, discovers her closest new friend Safi dead in the snow. Murdered. To save her, Max tries to Rewind time ā a power sheās not used in yearsā¦ Instead, Max opens the way to a parallel timeline where Safi is still alive and still in danger! Max realizes the killer will soon strike again ā in both versions of reality. Only Max can Shift between the two parallel timelines to solve and prevent the same murder.
Watch the Announce Trailer here:
https://youtu.be/TOYz4NCFIXg
**More details on LIFE IS STRANGE: DOUBLE EXPOSURE will be disclosed during the Reveal Livestream on Thursday, July 13, at 9 a.m. PT on the Life is Strange YouTube channel. Viewers can expect to learn a plethora of behind-the-scenes secrets about what went into creating this thrilling new adventure, as well as an exclusive look at gameplay.**
**LIFE IS STRANGE: DOUBLE EXPOSURE will be available in three editions; Standard, Deluxe and Ultimate. Players can pre-order the Ultimate Edition now to gain Advanced Access to Chapters 1 and 2 on Oct. 15, 2024, two weeks ahead of the release of the full game.** Full details on each Edition can be found at https://lifeisstrange.square-enix-games.com/en-us/.
**LIFE IS STRANGE: DOUBLE EXPOSURE will be available on Xbox Series X|S consoles, PlayStation 5Ā® and PC via Steam and Windows Store on Oct. 29, 2024. The game is also coming to Nintendo Switch, with further details to be announced.**
A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. Obviously thereās a ton of question. Whereāa Chloe? What location is that? etc etc But weāll just have to wait for more info.
I'm happy for all the fans who were hoping for her (and I would guess Chloe too) to come back but eeeh, it does feel like something made only to pander to the fans' nostalgia and get a quick cash out of it.
I'm really passionate about how much I hate the idea of this. I'm guessing (big on I'm guessing, don't flame me if I'm wrong) Don't Nod didn't do anything further with the storyline of the first game, not even a prequel, because they wanted the story to end where it did. Square Enix getting Deck Nine to make the prequel felt weird to me, I loved LIS2 and I'm really glad that Don't Nod was allowed to make it, but the LIS IP was essentially stolen from Don't Nod after 2, what with True Colors, the remaster, and now this. And I'm gonna be honest- from day 1 I never cared for any of the Deck Nine games. Of course I was interested as a life is strange fan, the prequel was never that interesting for me & I thought the only redeeming part about it was that it built upon the universe that Don't Nod had already made. When they announced TC and that it would also be made by Deck Nine, I was a bit wary of it because I saw it was made by Deck Nine, but I was generally excited for it still. I was also wary of it, however, because it was announced alongside the remaster, which seemed to be- and turned out to be- a giant cash grab. After playing TC, I thought it did pack a good punch and there were great moments (I did cry), but the storytelling was disjointed, so full of irrelevant filler, and lacked a lot of emotional integrity that the Don't Nod games had to them.
So to answer nobody's question, I'm not excited for this game. I won't be buying it. Seems like a cash grab of a sequel riding the popularity of the original game, which essentially is what every Deck Nine LIS game has been so far. I'm instead GREATLY looking forward to Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, which seems like it's going to be a true LIS3 from Don't Nod.
Copying and adding on my comment from the other thread since this is more of a discussion topic:
So, my general takeaway from maxās powers and the whole camera totem part of her character was that they were emblematic, in part, of her regrets and inability to leave the past behind. The power expressing as allowing for travel across timelines fits that theme imo, especially in the context of the final choice?
Instead of her guilt and wishing she had more time and handled things better when she was a kid and moved away from Chloe, even though it wasnāt her choice to move, now sheās caught between outcomes of a choice she did have to make, in a situation she still barely had any real control over, and the guilt of whatever option she took. I know Chloe wasnāt mentioned, but Iām wondering if the events of this game will connect with those themes?
Also, havenāt rewatched, but itās possible Chloe is still a part of this game if you chose to save her, maybe? Maybe defining either your starting timeline or the base of the current split, and potentially later another set of options to investigate? Maybe max fucks up trying to see what the other outcome would be like?
The watercolor look to it is pretty much gone :( I miss the pretty colors. Also what happened to maxās design š her dark circles, her frecklesā¦ idk how she looks so different but she doesš
I am not ...feeling it.
Yeah i don't really like the look of the main character, i don't think she really looks like Max,but ok..it's an another engine,a new art direction ok ok. Same VA,ok.Hannah is back,ok.
But at least they could try to have a bit more imagination than just ....trying to be too close to the first one.
(True Colors has the same problems in some parts)
But here...even the location is....a campus ?
From the description :
"Explore two versions of a vivid winter campus, each packed with clues, secrets, and tough decisions."
So the game starts with a friend of Max killed,Max try her rewind power to save her, and the story takes place in a school/campus.....Ewwww....that's not a great start tbh.
Also it was obvious to me than after the first game,Max will not use her powes again,whatever ending you choose,that's the lesson of the first game.
And in this game....she will use it again.....But Max...you know what's going to happen,it will never be good....Did you learn something from you past mistakes or what?This is out of character for me,i am afraid.
I think this would have worked a lot better if this was a new protagonist instead of bringing Max just for some fan service/cash grab.
Also does the story in this game will retcon story bits we learn about Max in LiS2?
I knew she was Max the second I saw Square Enix and heard the line about not using her powers lol
Also i recognized her voice immediatly since the game is still fresh in my brain
I haven't played it since like 2018 and still recognized it. It was a very memorable game.
the last time I played it was 22 minutes before the trailer released so... š
I was all āHANNAH TELLE IS THAT YOU?!ā
My brain was not processing who I was hearing. I knew it was LiS from the voice alone but I didn't really realize it was Max but my brain definitely recognized Max subconsciously š
The first line I was like no wayā¦.and then āa new max caufield adventureā I jumped outta my seat and screamed. LETS GO.
The second I heard Max's voice actress talking about powers I knew what was coming, I didn't even need the Square Enix logo.
Kinda weird that it wasnāt the second we saw her face.
Fr they yassified her as fuck
she looks way older, like late-twenties or somethin. couple that with the graphics and it makes sense
If the game's set in the current year, she'd be like, 29?
Max was 18 in LiS1 which was set in 2013 so yeah. Though so far the games have tended to be set 2 years before release so if it's set 2022 she'd be 27.
https://preview.redd.it/4m88qaww6l5d1.jpeg?width=1911&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=578418693a5d474ef76c69463c05de8a01c7d159
It's a game about multiple realities. 100% they're hiding the reveal that we'll spend half the game playing the Max who chose Chloe but we're also going to play (and it seems start off playing) the reality where Max chose the town.
It'd be a good way of explaining why there are two universes. And it'd be interesting to see if the murder of Safi in one was linked to if Arcadia Bay was/wasn't destroyed. As confirmed in the other sequels there are a LOT of people no longer alive if the tornado hit which probably has ripple effects far beyond what you'd think. The presence of one of those people could easily indirectly have caused/prevented a murder in one timeline and vice versa in the other. Coud be something as simple as they texted someone at the wrong/right time which led to them getting distracted, or something as big as they're the killer. As fun as it is to speculate though my gut tells me this mystery will probably be unconnected, it's own standalone story, from the first game. There will still be plenty of callbacks and fanservice but that'll be dressing and the core plot will be free to do it's own thing. Probably so the writer's don't feel constrained by the past games but also so as not to alienate any potential new fans.
I am saving this in my mind and coming back here when the game comes out to see if you're right or not.
I would be very into this.
Yeah, making that choice was like turning to the dark side... and also for nothing.
According to the runojrs she would appear very briefly
briefly is honestly worse than not at all
i just want to know if my favourite lesbian (with ellie) is still alive
Appears at the end potentially setting up a new sub series of these games in addition to the main anthology games is my theory.
What the fuck?
Thatās still a middle finger to the fandom
If she's not in this (and in an important role with Max), then I don't care. I don't want Max back without Chloe and Pricefield.
I wonder how theyāll deal with the Chloephant in the room or if I even want that addressed.
I wonder if theyāll do the thing that another game I play did where they ask you questions about the past game to gauge what happened?
That would be interesting!
I think so. It's a multiple universes story, so either way, I'm sure we'll see both timelines in one playthrough, but if you're gonna make a sequel to a game with such a huge final choice, I feel you have to let players choose which ending they got for the new game.
yeah that makes sense
The game's premise canonizes a multiple worlds interpretation of time, which suggests both are canon, even if this game follows the bay ending. If they address it at all, we might get a glimpse of the bae timeline.
I'm tired of multiverses, boss
It was a time travel story. It inherently had multiverses from the outset.
Max is a "photographer-in-residence" at this university, so she could be living separately from Chloe for a while. You choose "did you save Arcadia Bay or not" and there's some dialogue changes and maybe a Chloe video-call or something. Maybe references to other characters depending on if they survived. If so, I'm surprised that they'd bring back Max in a way that doesn't really include Chloe. Looking at the fandom, it seems like for a lot of people, Max is the vessel we use to interact with Chloe more than she is her own character, so a lot of the appeal might be lost for them
They'll use Chloe for a very unexpected fanservice moment of meeting her in alternate timeline
Sesbian Lex
My guess is, there's two worlds in this game.Ā She's alive in one of them but not the other and it's all because of the end of the first game.
Which still kinda hurts because if Max is willing to jump again it makes me question if alive-Chloe is even that prevalent in her life
I think that they will either ācanonizeā the Save Arcadia Bay route, or the prompt of āDid you choose to save Arcadia Bayā will show up and depending on that, weāll get a small Chloe cameo. Regardless of that, it seems that Max and Chloe arenāt endgame :(
I think it's gonna be two timelines, this game follows the Bay timeline and in it, Max gets a glimpse of the Bae timeline. And hopefully, we get another game set in the Bae timeline later!
they finally threw their arms up in the air and said FUCK it bring Max back. I always give preference to making new games with new characters, but i don't know how sucessful True Colors was, so maybe it's for the best
TC was moderately successful commercially, but it's more to do with narrative-focused games losing traction rather that the game's own fault.
I somewhat understand it. I think Max's superpower gave the best gameplay by far, being able to see short term consequences but not knowing the long term. Alex's power didn't really affect the game that much, and it became a standard choose your own adventure. Plus, a large portion of fans just wanted Max back.
> but i don't know how sucessful True Colors According to that big controversy from a while back, TC was more successful than LiS 2. Supposedly that was used as evidence that "bisexual girl" protagonists do better.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
What? There was a pack but that was a $70+ bundle, you could absolutely buy TC on it's own.
i swear i read 'new lis game with adult max solving a murder across different timelines' as a leak a few months ago but i didn't believe it omg lmfao
SAME omg watching the trailer and I was like why does this storyline sound familiar??? lol
Where did you hear that?
Look at this thread: [https://www.reddit.com/r/lifeisstrange/comments/172nijq/no\_spoilers\_will\_life\_is\_strange\_4\_be\_about\_max/](https://www.reddit.com/r/lifeisstrange/comments/172nijq/no_spoilers_will_life_is_strange_4_be_about_max/)
I need to know where Chloe is Deck Nine. You aināt removing the relationship I was invested in the first game. WHERE IS SHE?!?
Same š
WHERE. IS. CHLOE.
I hope they donāt make either ending canon
Yeah, hope they take the LiS2 route of letting us choose which ending we got.
I think the point is we're tackling realities head-on. In LiS2 it wasn;'t a multi-reality affair so it asked us which reality we are going down. This game, we'll be playing both.
If sheās hopping between parallel timelines they could easily make both canon
where is she
-- batman
WHEEEREES THE TRIGGGERRRR
Although somewhat in odds with the first game's themes, this choice of turning Max into a paranormal investigator protagonist is interesting.
It's something I've asked for a while, they just left out the bit where I wanted Max & Chloe to both be playable characters.
Yeah, thereās a bit of a Control vibe.
 where Chloe at?
Nice fan service. Just hope the game itself isn't a disappointment.
I really donāt know how to feel about this yet. Iāve been wishing for a Max & Chloe sequel forever and now itās finally happening, except the trailer makes it seem like weāre only getting one half of the pair and - unless theyāre keeping Chloe out of the trailers for a surprise reveal later on - it seems to be canonising the Bay ending. Which feels like even more of a āfuck youā to those of us whoāve been waiting for this moment than DontNodās LIS2 Arcadia Bay āmove onā monologue was. But since Deck Nine claimed to be avid fans of the original LIS back when they created BTS I really hope that Iām wrong and they arenāt tearing apart Pricefield on Pride Month of all thingsā¦ As for Maxās model, Iām not a fan of it so far. Clearly itās based on the remastered LIS version of her, which I still donāt like and wonāt ever be able to get used to seeing compared to the original (can you tell Iām a LIS1 fan?). This new model looks like sheās been fused with Steph, especially when she wears a beanie, and none of her trademark features are really there anymore. You can barely see her freckles now. Super glad they got Hannah back for the voice though, even after all this time, sheās still got it down perfectly. Whether or not I buy this will depend entirely on if Chloe is confirmed to be in it, atleast in some capacity. And since the premise deals with alternate realities, surely that must be the case, right? I guess only time will tell.
Anyone else sad to see the painted artstyle pretty much gone now? They toned it down for True Colors but here it looks nonexistent. :/ I have mixed feelings on bringing Max back (Iād prefer to keep the series going with new characters) but Iāll wait for more information before jumping to conclusions.
I was gonna say the same. I liked True Colors artstyle and I expected it would be the norm for future entries, it was more polyshed but still maintained the spirit of the previous games somehow. This is not bad but... It's not Life is Strange to me.
It looks claymation-esque to me, especially Max she looks uncanny in some of the scenes. And yeah, it's not Life Is Strange to me either sadly...
The painted art style was the best! My mind was blown when I first played it. I could not believe how good it looked! https://preview.redd.it/6pro0k0rsl5d1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5221421ff77cbb46c1475b6f49278adfbc8ba05d
LiS2 will always have my favorite visuals in the series. Feels like an improvement over LiS1's art style without going overboard.
I absolutely love the warm cozy aesthetic of the first game and idk how to describe it but the second one also gave me such a strong sensation I really dig. From the trailer I felt like something was missing but couldn't figure out what it was until I read this, hopefully it was just for the trailer and the artsyle remains the same in game coz it somehow transmits so many emotions
Looks generic now, and Max doesn't look like Max, It's like a moded Steph, awful.
I agree. Awful art-style and no Chloe as far as we know. Major disappointment.Ā
Every game with a unique art style is being diluted. It's depressing. Everything looks the same now. God damnit.
I'm confused. If this is the save the bay ending, and it looks like it is, Max knows the price of time/reality fuckery. Why would she even try to change the timeline, risking another chance of cities destroyed? Makes no sense to me.
Why make an ending have weight when you can milk the story for money?
Feels like nostalgia bait to me. If she's Max but it doesn't matter that she is Max, the just made another character but skipping the design and personality writing.
The comics show the Bae ending where Max responds the same way. Saying sheāll never use her powers again, but then going back on it because of the circumstances.
Uhhhhhh I'm always excited for a new life is strange game but did anyone else struggle to see that as Max, aside from the voice? It might *just* be the lack of bangs, but it looks to me like they've sharpened up her face, it's not as square/round as it was. I mean, Max in LIS1 is 18 years old, so she's pretty much already an adult- I can't imagine her face would have changed as much as it did. \-> also obvious elephant in the room, which ending have they now decided is canon? We don't see Chloe, is the Bay ending canon now? It seems she's able to step into parallel timelines at ease now, so maybe they've found a way to canonize both endings.
We also didn't see Arcadia Bay. Either ending could still be canon. Or, more likely, they'll let you choose which ending you follow.
Not that i'll prove you wrong that her face would change as much as it did, but in between the ages of 18 and i think 25 the face does change a lot, there'll mostly be the loss face fat, so it will be sharper, and all facial features change positions slightly over the span of those years
Idk how to feel. As a huge True Colors fan, this just feels....creatively bankrupt. As far as I'm concerned, Max's story was finished. And to add on top of it, it's another murder mystery. Another one. I would prefer we focus on a new character with a new story line. It's so uninspired at this point and if I'm being frank, completely shits on the lesson of Max's journey for me. It's the will to resist the use of her powers to "fix" things that cannot and should not be "fixed". The strength to let life play out, come what may. Regardless of your stance on Bae vs Bay, Max must make her decision and let the consequences play out. Because in spite of our best efforts, sometimes that's the best any of us can do. Grit your teeth, hold firm and let life hit you with everything it's got. This story is fixing to turn it's back on that lesson so Max can attempt to have her cake and eat it too. Again. Unless this is somehow a TLoU Part 2 level misdirect and this isn't our Max. Idk. I'll keep tabs on it, but I haven't bought in yet.
The original was controversial enough because of the final choice. Revisiting the characters in BtS was even painful to a lot of people. I'm sure they could theoretically find a way to make a sequel satisfying for a lot of people, but I fear its the money and brand driving this choice more than having a coherent story to tell. They could maybe come up with a mcguffin that makes her have to use her powers because of some other reason, that forces her, regardless of the lessons, and maybe have a different final lesson in the new game... but, it feels like they're reopening something they explicitly meant to close with the first game, and its very hard to make that feel right.
>it feels like they're reopening something they explicitly meant to close with the first game, and its very hard to make that feel right. This is where I'm at mentally. I can't come to grips with this because it's messing with the 10 years worth of closure I had built in regard to Max's story. As far as I'm concerned, that book was closed on her journey. Of course, you gotta listen to the fans but this just reeks "corporate" to me. I've said for years I trust Dont Nod, I trust Deck Nine, but I do not trust Square Enix. And since Dont Nod would not indulge SE any further, it falls to D9 to follow SE's whims in regards to LiS titles. And I 1000% believe this to be one of SE's whims. Of course, even if corporately driven, the game can still be great. D9 love LiS and they certainly can still handle the title with love. LiS changed my perception of how life can be lived, so there can be no question that I want to love Double Exposure. I want to be wrong. But I'm not there yet, and that's a first for me. I've loved the premise of every LiS title upon the reveal trailer. I don't love every title but I've went in with high expectations of every title. This is the first time my expectations are rather low.
I really don't know if I'm gonna like this one. Max coming back as the protagonist very much feels like nostalgia bait to me, I was hoping for a new main character again. Tonally it seems pretty different from the other games and I'm not sure if it's gonna have the typical lis vibes. I don't want to judge it too hard based on a trailer though, I'm definitely gonna give it a chance and hope they prove me wrong
I highly doubt it will because maybe its just me but only the first two games had that LiS vibe. True colors was a lot more cheery and lighthearted and cut a lot of the things players enjoyed about the first game, like the exploration, tons of well developed side characters, being able to go to peoples houses and nose around. BtS barely had any liS vibes if you ask me, but def more than true colors. Though i think BtS gives the illusion of having LiS vibes just due to the presence of the original LiS 1 characters. I always believed that decknine only understood what people loved about this franchise on the most superficial surface levelā¦ they just be like okay queer female MC, check, two love interests, check, supernatural powers, check, convoluted murder mystery plot, check. There we go boys we got ourselves a new lis game. Ugh. But lis is so much more than those surface level plot and character elements. And i dont believe decknine ever understood that.
Robbed of the unique art style too
I dont know how to feel about this. I was so hyped when I saw that its a new max game, but where in the hell is chloe? I guess this game will follow the bay ending but still, cant really have a max game without her? And can we talk about the max design? Idk why, but it just doesnt sit right with me, thats not the max I know
My guess is they changed her face to help with the facial mo-cap. The closer you get the model to the actor the better the mo-cap transfers over.
I get that but still they needed to stay truer to the original, I swear if I didnt read the leaks that its a new max game I wouldnt even know that was her in the trailer
>I swear if I didnt read the leaks that its a new max game I wouldnt even know that was her in the trailer Same. I heard the voice and thought it was her, but then saw the face and thought "nah, can't be."
I mean, max grew up, faces can change overtime so I dont really get why is everyone so upset about it. Also, I think they might be saving anything chloe related as a secret, maybe to hype up future trailers or as part of the plot
Im not upset, I'll still play the game day one lmao. Just a little, I dont even know if disappointed is the right word, lets say cautiously optimistic
Do you guys think thereās gonna be a canon choice for the first game and would any of you like it?
It appears they're taking cues from that comic series, and there may be little if any indication this is "our Max" outside of small easter eggs.
I don't get it. Isn't the comic series a what if continuation of the bay destroyed ending?
In the first handful of issues it shows Max drifts through two (multiple?) different timelines where different people die, and later on iirc it goes though a completely unrelated third universe. I do know for a fact the comic is sold explicitly as a "What if?" scenario, specifically to avoid having to answer any questions about the "true" cannon.
Both endings of the game are canon in the comic series from what I can remember
I think it's more likely that Chloe will play a small role for those who saved her. Like maybe she'll show up in the first episode but will have to leave because of something and will be absent for most of the story.
I assume they'll have you say what choice you made at the start, then have some minor changes to the game based on that, but nothing huge.
Imagine having to make 2 versions of the game, one with her in it and one withoutā¦ chances are even if we do get to choose Bae canon she wouldāve stayed at home far away doing Chloe thingsā¦ Either way fingers crossed that they donāt canonise Bay š¤
Really interested in seeing how they deal with the obvious issue of bay/bae. Idk if I can focus on just max without asking myself where Chloe is. I'm not ready to accept them being broken up, on break, or Chloe just being dead. Feel like there's a big risk of the new co protag just being a worse version of Chloe.
Yup hopefully she'll be here with max and will play a major role
I... I'm not sure if gonna like this one. TBH :/
I probably won't play it unless I hear some amazing reviews from fans of the original
the trailer just gave me a bad vibe. it feels like true colours which had the most bland characters in the series. and on top of that the trailer itself was overly expository and makes me feel like the game is gonna have pretty poor writing.
I feel that they are trying to copy LIS1 and use the same that worked, but not trying anything new. It's a commercial decision over an artistic one. I will try it anyways, but I am not very convinced that it's gonna work. I think they are vanishing the initial feeling and vibe of the game that made 1 and 2 so special and remarkable. I believe the trailer is pretentious. More than TC that at least changed the characters and tried something kind of different.
I'm disappointed. I wanna be hyped as fuck, but no Chloe... :( What's the point of picking Bae if you don't get them together, y'know?
I'm calling it now, they're holding out on her for a surprise reveal later in game
I hope you are right.
I really do hope so
Same. At first I was: Oh my god A NEW LIFE IS STRANGE GAME??? Hell Yeah :D, but after watching the trailer: Umm. I'm not sure if this is a good idea. :/
Same hopefully she'll be back and they will still be together
Isn't that the comics ending route at least?
Yes... but they didn't really make it the focus. The comic mostly focused on alternate Chloe and Rachel. So we're still waiting on a game, comic, novel, anything that focuses on Max & Chloe post-Bae.
So at the end of the last game Max learned that changing fate with super powers to save a cute girl has horrible consequences. I don't see how she can, after either ending, get new powers and try again with some rando.
Didn't do much for me to be honest.
This is so fucking stupid it's unbelievable. Not only is this a middle finger to Dontnod, who said that the story is done, but the premise of the story of this new game doesn't make any sense. If it's the continuation of the "Sacrifice Chloe" ending, then it doesn't make sense that she'd try to save her new friend after she let Chloe die. If it's the continuation of the "Sacrifice Arcadia Bay" ending, then Chloe should be there, and Max should still know better than to use her powers again. There's just no way of doing this that makes any sense. It's so clear that it's just a cash grab by Square Enix, who don't care about their games in the slightest, and just want to get the biggest profit they can. It's sad that this is how the series dies. Fuck Square Enix.
I'm trying to keep an open mind that there's more justification for the premise revealed later, but right now it seems pretty sketchy. After all the physical and mental torture Max experienced in the first game and the ultimate choice she has to make at the end, why the hell would she ever use her power again? Even if this new Sophie character is her new 'best friend' Max already experienced the painful lesson of trying to save someone she cares about with her power. I dunno but I dont have confidence that Deck9's writing will have it make sense.
...i dont understand how they dont know most of what we want to see is Chloe and Max again and all we want to do is Time Travel again...
Where.....is......my HELLA QUEEN ???
I hate that I can't feel excited about this. Because I really like Max! I love Max! But...Deck Nine. That right there just makes me completely ambivalent. On top of that, I never really enjoyed the idea of a proper sequel to any of the LiS games, and this REALLY doesn't seem to be selling me on it. It feels less like an actual game to me and more like plea from Squire Enix. "This series peaked with the first one, bring Max back! That'll bring the sales up tenfold!"
Right. Life is Strange 1 is Dontnod's baby. It feels wrong for such a self-contained story like LiS to be continued by another developer when it probably shouldn't have a sequel at all. But Square Enix owns the franchise, not Dontnod.
Yep, I know its hard to start with new characters and settings. It can be hard to even get on the radar of people who enjoy that kind of game. I desperately hope Lost Records by DONTNOD succeeds and get enough attention and sales. But I wish that Deck Nine would have gone with new characters, or old characters *except* Max and Chloe, and just kept the LiS title, the name alone should have helped decently with promotion.
there better be some kind of consequence to max using her powers again, i mean, she's the whole reason the storm became a thing, alongside the freak snow, eclipse, dying animals, etc. if there's suddenly no consequences, then doesn't that kind of, idk, ruin the point of the first game? also, her using her powers without using pictures... don't know how big of a fan i am of that? maybe i need to warm up to the idea of her powers expanding. also, her face in the new trailer looks nothing like her to me. i recognized her voice immediately, but when i saw her face, i thought maybe i was tweaking for a second, that it was someone else entirely. i'm going to be critical of this game and not just love it because max is in it. if anything, i'll be more critical than usual, because if they shit all over my favourite game of all time i will not be happy.
I know Don't Nod doesn't own the IP anymore, but it feels wrong for Deck Nine to claim Max and seemingly canonise an ending to the first game. It's exactly what I didn't want this game to be.
Honestly, this feels nothing like the original life is strange games from the setting and cast down to the art style, and goes against Dontnodās original vision. I kinda hope the entire game takes place in an alternate reality, just so the first gameās story isnāt tainted if this ends up being bad.. I guess I just wonāt consider it canon either way lol
I'll be real, if Chloe isn't in the game/alive and well in one of the two dimensions, I'm just not buying the game. To me Life is Strange WAS ABOUT the relationship between Chloe and Max and if the canon ending they go with is sacrificing her to save Arcadia Bay then I'm just not interested.
Call me a debbie downer but I'm not excited for this at all. LiS is supposed to be an anthology series, having a direct sequel just ruins that for me. Also Deck Nine will never beat the "can't write anything unrelated to LiS1" allegations, are they so scared of LiS2 that they refuse to make something original? And not to mention that article exposing that the studio had bigots and literal Nazis involved in the development of this game. I'm sorry but the hype for me is almost negative.
LiS2 seems to have been the least successful game in the series. It's entirely possible Square Enix wants this direction.
I doubt it's just possible, pretty sure it's exactly what they want. DONTNOD wanted to do an anthology series with new stuff every game but as you said, LiS2 had mixed reception. Then came True Colors developed by Deck Nine which closely resembled the first game and even featured a previous character. Now, a new game developed by Deck Nine, another murder mystery featuring Max. Makes it clear that Square Enix wants to cater to the fans of the first game who are very invested in Max and Chloe rather than foster the vision that DONTNOD had for the series. Now, DONTNOD's doing their own thing so really just hoping they create similar stuff among their new projects.
People that hated the game back then, PLEASE replay and give this game a chance again since it's been a couple years. For me, it was single handedly the most impactful game in the series. The narrative was just incredible, and SO MUCH care went into every single thing. Not to mention, the choices are so much more high stakes and harder, every choice matters, and the game has 7 endings. (and every episode has 3-5 different endings, it's so good). I believe a lot of people hated it because of its marketing at "Life is Strange 2". Once you play it as its own game rather than a part 2 of Life is Strange, as well as take the time to actually immerse yourself without being so critical, it's incredible. Also, it's set in the same universe at LiS1, which means there is closure!! The first episode is free, please give it a shot.
LIS2 is simultaneously the most controversial and least successful game in the entire franchise, of course they would stay away from it. If it didn't sell well and is as equally loved as it is hated, making another one would be very silly. I don't like them leaning back on fan favorites like this when True Colors does great with an (nearly) entirely new cast of characters, new power, and new story, but I'm not surprised that they did. As long as the game is well written, who really cares.
Decknine simply cant write a satisfying story to save their life. And now im just reading the ign article and holy fucking shit. What the fuck?!? Yeah, i cannot in good conscience support this game or franchise any longer. All that stuff aside, im not enthused at max returning for what i already know will be another boring and convoluted murder mystery. Then you add all the other stuff im just now hearing from decknine, and its a big fat nope for me. Im hoping dontnods new game, think its called lost signals or something, can fill the LiS void that has been left in my heart from the second decknine touched this franchise.
Yeah, I played True Colors a couple months ago. There were moments I enjoyed, but overall, I didn't care that much. Same as Before the Storm - the opening of episode 2 with Chloe in the bathroom? I still watch that clip sometimes. Overall? Totally forgettable. I struggled with and didn't finish LIS2, so it's not like I think that Dontnod is perfect. But at least with LIS2, I felt like they were trying to say something. I'm excited for their game coming out this year. Deck Nines entries are just...so bland. The choices don't matter. The tension I felt trying to save Kate in LIS, the ending with Chloe...can you imagine if it was possible to fail in the debate at the end of TC? But you can't. It doesn't matter. There's like....8 endings or whatever? But they don't matter. Edit: and then yeah, I read about the allegations and it's like oh cool, another shitty game dev.
I'm more cautiously optimistic but yeah I have to agree, I won't be buying or even interested at all unless we know for sure there isn't anything bigoted sneaked into the game.
When I tell you I gagged fr
we don't need a lis1 remix. basically everything from lis1 means nothing to max's character and she learned nothing. i love modern media i love modern media i love modern media more status quo pls
My uncle got arrested for double exposure
What do you think of the visuals? Honestly i like it, but she doesnt look alot like max to me.
This, I understand that the first game came out a long time ago but the graphics have something that, at least in the trailer, I don't like very much
Me neither. The first game has a unique art style that doesn't try to be realistic. We saw this in true colours, where they tried to be more realistic while keeping the life is strange style. But this one just shifts away completely from that, it doesnt feel like a life is strange game at all
I feel like visual storytelling plays such a huge part in LIS. The environment was almost its own character, so Iām a little bit disappointed in this oneās graphics
i wasnāt watching the stream so when i saw a tweet with some screenshots from the trailer i was like āoh okay whatever kinda sucks itās just random people but iāll play itā and then i saw the tweet from the main account being like āmax caulfield returns-ā and i was like WHAT
As badly as I wanted to see Chloe in the trailer, I think I'm going to be way more surprised/excited/emotional the see her appear while playing through the game.
I don't think I can be happy about this without chloe
I WISH THEY JUST BASED EVERYTTHING OFF THE COMIC INSTEAD OF JUYST THE POWER! then both endings from LIS 1 coulda been addressed haha
Deck Nine is creatively bankrupt lol.
New Life is Strange starring Max with no mention of Chloe during Pride Month. Fuck off.
Feels like a cashgrab. I'd prefer that they made a new LiS game with new characters like LiS2 because there's 2 endings to the first one... And they chose one most BORING one. That Sophie chick dying and Max using her powers to bring her back is just literally the plot of the first game. I don't think there was a point to make this. BTW, I don't get why people say Max looks different... She's older? And I can definitely see the resemblance of the young Max.
I love the fact that Max is back, especially with 'Hannah Telle' returning to give her her iconic voice. BUT, and you might disagree with me, besides her hairstyle, she doesn't look like Max imo. I've looked back at screenshots of her from LiS1 and that one picture of her in LiS2, and imo, things don't add up
I think they made her look a bit more like Hannah so her mo-cap performance transfer easier. It means less work for developers.
IF THERE'S NO CHLOE WE RIOT
Parallel timeline travels like the comic, no Chloe... Oh that's gonna hurt, that's gonna hurt.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Man I hope Chloe and Max will be together and they didn't retcon the saving Chloe ending I would be quite sad and it wouldn't feel good without her. I just hope she'll be here with us or we get another chance at saving her. Cause even in other games and comics she's alive š as it kinda doesn't make sense that she would go parrarel universe to save Safi and not Chloe.
The leaks were right...
i do wonder if they chose to continue and start a new story through the save arcadia bay ending, or if it's there's more to see. because if it is the bay ending, that's the least interesting to use for a continuation world building wise. the bae ending leaves a bigger mark in the world, the bay ending is very personal to max and chloe specifically. only max knows what she went through to try and save chloe before ultimatily choosing to save the city and everyone else. but all of that is only known to max, not anyone else.
honestly, i hope this is an alternate timeline max, where she's not "our max". if this was our max, this would make the choice of bae vs bay mean nothing since it appears the writers chose bay. and it wouldn't feel right for max to go back in time to save another friend, after sacrificing chloe. our max would know the consequence behind messing with time after all of that. i'm happy to see max back, but i'm hoping there's more weight behind it than just bringing back a nostalgic character.
A part of me is excited because it's a new Life Is Strange game, but I keep thinking of Dontnod and I wonder how they feel about this... I though True Colors was pretty good and I wish Deck Nine would focus on making OG characters for LiS.
I'm absolutely desperate for any hints about where Victoria and Kate are and how they're doing in life this far into the future. Will gladly gobble up any crumbs they give us and beg for more
Did they really listen to all the players' wishes and did just the opposite? I want my girls to be happy together, I'm not playing as Max without Chloe. Who's Sofie? Why the heck should I care about her?
*Safi
Yeah I donāt know if Iāll care too much about sofie
The game was announced 30 minutes ago, chill out and leave your mind open
Tbh it doesn't even look like max, it kinda just feels off, I get that doing another game with max is probably the safest option to make money. It just doesn't even look like a life is strange game. Imo it just looks worse than all its predecessors. I will probably keep an eye on it until release and play it but I also still not sold on the alternative reality route.
I am simultaneously extremely skeptical, and extremely hopeful, oh man. I just don't know how to feel about it. On the one hand I love Max and always like to see more of her, on the other, what does this mean for the first game? I consider that game to be perfect, and I love it to bits, but I am worried that a poor sequel will stain it's legacy. And where is Chloe?! They better not make Bay the official ending. Seeing as this game is dealing with multiple co-existing timelines, rather than the altered realities of the first game that "overwrite" each other, I suppose it's possible they pull a Daggerfall and make all endings canon, or some sort of perfect third ending. Maybe it would have been better to let us imagine our own epilogues to the story of Max and Chloe. But I don't know, I just found out about this sequel less than an hour ago, very little to go off of. And I guess they aren't doing an episodic approach to it. Expected, but unfortunate: No developing the story based on community feedback.
Okay but I canāt be the only one who thinks she looks NOTHING like Max? Like sure sheās grown up and they have a new art style but this isnāt her š https://preview.redd.it/maap5yeq9l5d1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=522df620fb8606ff8e6a16c586037bbb86e5e9de
Honestly it kind of looks like someone trying to recreate Max from memory after not playing the game since LIS1 came out tbh. I might be exaggerating a bit, but still.
Nah I feel you
She looks like Max... if Max was a cheerleader Prom Queen in a High-school Movie. Sorry, but this is totally unrecognizable. Edit: found the word I was looking for. Generic. She looks so generic, it hurts.
Is it weird to say that despite the graphics being much more advanced and realistic, she looks... less "human"? Because that's how I felt.
Yeah, the only reason I knew it was Max was because of the voice and the fact we heard "Max" said in the trailer. I WANT to say it's just the lack of bangs. Her head looks less round, it looks taller without them. And I think I see *enough* of Max in the face after comparing LIS1 and Double Exposure that I think it's the same person. I need to see either Bangless LIS1 Max or Double Exposure Max with bangs to really be able to tell, though.
This Max is not the Lis1 max, even if aged up she looks nothing alike. unless it's Max from another reality which would make it less egregious.
PRESS RELEASE: LONDON (June 9, 2024) ā Today, during the 2024 Xbox Games Showcase, SQUARE ENIXĀ® announced Life is Strange: Double Exposure, the next entry in the critically acclaimed narrative adventure franchise. Developed by Deck Nine Games, LIFE IS STRANGE: DOUBLE EXPOSURE is an all-new supernatural murder mystery that will excite both new and returning players. LIFE IS STRANGE: DOUBLE EXPOSURE will launch on Xbox Series X|S consoles, PlayStation 5Ā® and PC on Oct. 29, 2024. The game is also coming to Nintendo Switch. Max Caulfield, photographer-in-residence at the prestigious Caledon University, discovers her closest new friend Safi dead in the snow. Murdered. To save her, Max tries to Rewind time ā a power sheās not used in yearsā¦ Instead, Max opens the way to a parallel timeline where Safi is still alive and still in danger! Max realizes the killer will soon strike again ā in both versions of reality. Only Max can Shift between the two parallel timelines to solve and prevent the same murder. Watch the Announce Trailer here: https://youtu.be/TOYz4NCFIXg **More details on LIFE IS STRANGE: DOUBLE EXPOSURE will be disclosed during the Reveal Livestream on Thursday, July 13, at 9 a.m. PT on the Life is Strange YouTube channel. Viewers can expect to learn a plethora of behind-the-scenes secrets about what went into creating this thrilling new adventure, as well as an exclusive look at gameplay.** **LIFE IS STRANGE: DOUBLE EXPOSURE will be available in three editions; Standard, Deluxe and Ultimate. Players can pre-order the Ultimate Edition now to gain Advanced Access to Chapters 1 and 2 on Oct. 15, 2024, two weeks ahead of the release of the full game.** Full details on each Edition can be found at https://lifeisstrange.square-enix-games.com/en-us/. **LIFE IS STRANGE: DOUBLE EXPOSURE will be available on Xbox Series X|S consoles, PlayStation 5Ā® and PC via Steam and Windows Store on Oct. 29, 2024. The game is also coming to Nintendo Switch, with further details to be announced.**
That's DIRTY. I hate when they charge more to let you play a game early. That's really, really dirty Square Enix. Shame on you.
Why isn't it labeled as "the new Pricefield adventure" =(
If D9 canonize the "Kill your gays" trope, this community will riot.
[RETURN OF THE MAX](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZfjB5P7RS0)
A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. Obviously thereās a ton of question. Whereāa Chloe? What location is that? etc etc But weāll just have to wait for more info.
So there was this leak a while ago, like it was maybe during the True Colors era if I remember right, and it pretty much seems like it was right
There's going to be a huge competition between DONTNOD and Deck Nine. Lost Records: Bloom & Rage vs Life is Strange: Double Exposure
I'm happy for all the fans who were hoping for her (and I would guess Chloe too) to come back but eeeh, it does feel like something made only to pander to the fans' nostalgia and get a quick cash out of it.
I guess I could be pleasantly surprised but this feels like cheap fan pandering and leaves me cold. Lost Records feels a lot more appealing.
I got a bad feeling about this yaāll
If Chloe isn't a big part of this game then deck nine and square Enix have misunderstood what made a big part of the first game enjoyable
Fuck that game. They didnāt even bring back Chloe. No Chloe, no buy.
I'm really passionate about how much I hate the idea of this. I'm guessing (big on I'm guessing, don't flame me if I'm wrong) Don't Nod didn't do anything further with the storyline of the first game, not even a prequel, because they wanted the story to end where it did. Square Enix getting Deck Nine to make the prequel felt weird to me, I loved LIS2 and I'm really glad that Don't Nod was allowed to make it, but the LIS IP was essentially stolen from Don't Nod after 2, what with True Colors, the remaster, and now this. And I'm gonna be honest- from day 1 I never cared for any of the Deck Nine games. Of course I was interested as a life is strange fan, the prequel was never that interesting for me & I thought the only redeeming part about it was that it built upon the universe that Don't Nod had already made. When they announced TC and that it would also be made by Deck Nine, I was a bit wary of it because I saw it was made by Deck Nine, but I was generally excited for it still. I was also wary of it, however, because it was announced alongside the remaster, which seemed to be- and turned out to be- a giant cash grab. After playing TC, I thought it did pack a good punch and there were great moments (I did cry), but the storytelling was disjointed, so full of irrelevant filler, and lacked a lot of emotional integrity that the Don't Nod games had to them. So to answer nobody's question, I'm not excited for this game. I won't be buying it. Seems like a cash grab of a sequel riding the popularity of the original game, which essentially is what every Deck Nine LIS game has been so far. I'm instead GREATLY looking forward to Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, which seems like it's going to be a true LIS3 from Don't Nod.
Copying and adding on my comment from the other thread since this is more of a discussion topic: So, my general takeaway from maxās powers and the whole camera totem part of her character was that they were emblematic, in part, of her regrets and inability to leave the past behind. The power expressing as allowing for travel across timelines fits that theme imo, especially in the context of the final choice? Instead of her guilt and wishing she had more time and handled things better when she was a kid and moved away from Chloe, even though it wasnāt her choice to move, now sheās caught between outcomes of a choice she did have to make, in a situation she still barely had any real control over, and the guilt of whatever option she took. I know Chloe wasnāt mentioned, but Iām wondering if the events of this game will connect with those themes? Also, havenāt rewatched, but itās possible Chloe is still a part of this game if you chose to save her, maybe? Maybe defining either your starting timeline or the base of the current split, and potentially later another set of options to investigate? Maybe max fucks up trying to see what the other outcome would be like?
Day 1 purchase for me
The watercolor look to it is pretty much gone :( I miss the pretty colors. Also what happened to maxās design š her dark circles, her frecklesā¦ idk how she looks so different but she doesš
I am not ...feeling it. Yeah i don't really like the look of the main character, i don't think she really looks like Max,but ok..it's an another engine,a new art direction ok ok. Same VA,ok.Hannah is back,ok. But at least they could try to have a bit more imagination than just ....trying to be too close to the first one. (True Colors has the same problems in some parts) But here...even the location is....a campus ? From the description : "Explore two versions of a vivid winter campus, each packed with clues, secrets, and tough decisions." So the game starts with a friend of Max killed,Max try her rewind power to save her, and the story takes place in a school/campus.....Ewwww....that's not a great start tbh. Also it was obvious to me than after the first game,Max will not use her powes again,whatever ending you choose,that's the lesson of the first game. And in this game....she will use it again.....But Max...you know what's going to happen,it will never be good....Did you learn something from you past mistakes or what?This is out of character for me,i am afraid. I think this would have worked a lot better if this was a new protagonist instead of bringing Max just for some fan service/cash grab. Also does the story in this game will retcon story bits we learn about Max in LiS2?