Life is Strange Double Exposure is set to bring back Life is Strange protagonist Max Caulfield in a new adventure. Officially revealed during Summer Game Fest 2024 as part of the Xbox Game Showcase, the initial announcement trailer gave us our first showing of Max's new look and the supernatural murder mystery she's set to get wrapped up in later this year. Coming to us from Life is Strange True Colors and Before the Storm developer Deck Nine Games, Square Enix also released some gameplay to give us an even clearer picture of what's in store. With news of a release date confirming we won't have too long to wait to experience the adventure for ourselves, Double Exposure has quickly become one of the most exciting new games for 2024.
As we wait for the game to arrive, read on below as we give you a full recap of everything we know so far about Life is Strange Double Exposure.
Life is Strange Double Exposure release date
Life is Strange Double Exposure is set to release on October 29, 2024 on PC, Xbox Series X/S, 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 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 closeted 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.
Life is Strange Double Exposure gameplay
Square Enix released a deep-dive look at Double Exposure following the initial reveal, with a closer look at the gameplay and story elements in the upcoming adventure.
From the footage, it appears that we'll be able to take photos with Max's new camera, which makes sense given her past passion for photography and her current occupation, but it's also a nice little nod to the original experience which had us snapping Polaroids for achievements.
While Max originally had a rewind power in the first game, this time around she'll have a Shift ability that allows 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.
As the video explains, we'll be forging allies and pursuing suspects across the two realities, and our choices will shape both timelines. Along the way we can also expect to gather clues and solve puzzles as we explore different versions of the same space that have been impacted by the events that have unfolded in either reality. But of course we'll also be meeting two versions of every character we encounter. It certainly sounds like an intriguing concept, and could present some interesting relationships and dilemmas throughout. Described as a true race against time, we'll also have a detective hot on our heels as we try to put a stop to the murder.
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," Strauder said. "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."
