If there's one thing I can't get over with the Life is Strange series, it's that no matter how much its design elements advance, some aspects feel like they're always stuck in the past. While Life is Strange: Double Exposure has proven divisive in some circles, with a low of 73 on Metacritic, I think there are many things it does exceptionally well: its nuanced storytelling, its impressive visual fidelity, its clever character studies, and Expansive puzzle design.
You can read our Life is Strange: Double Exposure review to learn more about all that. But if there's one thing that really destroys my immersion in the new installment, it's the way Max Caufield rigidly navigates the environments. Movement has only gradually improved since 2015, and for an experience so squarely based on exploring every inch of any space, that Max still moves like a character from the original Resident Evil trilogy is a bit frustrating.
Speaking to game director Jon Stauder, he tells me that the team is always working to ensure they're making the right investments in time, energy, and budget to deliver the best possible experience. For Double Exposure, that meant the restrictive move echoes that of Life is Strange: True Colors, as the team focused its energy on inserting a familiar character into a new setting and a new power struggle. But that doesn't mean this won't change in the future.
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“A good part of the way we look at these games is considering the tools we have to work with and the engine we work with. Life is Strange: Double Exposure is our first game with Unreal Engine 5, which immediately was a huge turnout, huge leaps in visual fidelity,” says Stauder. “There are some really cool new things that have recently come online in Unreal that will do great things, like help us make sure janky walking feels less janky next time – you know, we should be so lucky!”
It remains to be seen if Deck Nine will have the opportunity to fulfill this promise in the future, although the studio has anticipated that there are many opportunities to continue expanding the openness of this universe. Personally, I hope the studio gets the chance to deliver a sequel to Double Exposure, if only to see how more fluid movement can be realized.