Life is Strange: Double Exposure Review

I had originally written these notes for a larger blog post, but I was facing burnout, so enjoy my rambling notes!

• Loved the option to romance one, both, or none of the LIs
• While it didn’t have Max’s original time-rewind power, her new power of shifting between timelines was pretty interesting, especially with solving puzzles and getting things from the different timelines. Since her power in the first game represented the time she never got to have with Chloe before she moved, I feel like this new power represents the desire to live in two timelines, i.e. the timeline where she saved the town and the timeline where she saved Chloe (in my playthrough of LiS:DE, I saved Chloe). I did like how they brought back Max’s ability to visit the past through a photograph, albeit briefly.
• I definitely feel like this game is setting up some Avengers-like crossover/mash-up of people with intense emotional super powers, what with the teaser at the end and the implications of the final choice (I chose to keep Safi on my side, since, as my roommate and I discussed, in the bigger picture it’d be good to have someone of that power on my side)
• I did miss Chloe Price in this game, since she’s such an iconic character in the franchise. I hope that the team working on the next game (if there is one) listens to the fan reactions and includes her in it. (And also include the characters from LiS 2. Even though I haven’t played that one yet, it would be important to include those characters, since they mean a lot to the fans)
• Made me slightly nostalgic for my university days, which feels a bit embarrassing to say
• Kinda wish there were more places to explore
• There were some epic plot twists, while playing with my roommate there was a point in the game where we both went “What the fuck?!”
• The representation was really great, probably the best of the game so far. I especially loved the autistic representation of Moses.
• It was enjoyable and addicting, I would tell myself I would only play for an hour or so, but the next time I checked the clock it would be past midnight. I didn’t grow up with the older games (the ones under the Dontnod developer), and I only started playing the games last year (beginning with Life is Strange: True Colors). Therefore, I didn’t feel as strongly as some of the character designs/traits in the game (some people on the social media website Tumblr were upset at Max’s characterization and design). Another critique a lot of die-hard fans had with the new game was the characterization of Chloe, who is only mentioned and presented off-screen, particularly in a journal entry that takes place before the events of this game. The way I read that situation was Chloe being more silly rather than serious, but I can understand the different interpretations). 
• The plot overall reminded me of the first game. A close friend of Max dies and she has to solve the mystery; there is a male and female love interest; a teacher who is secretly evil and twisted (though plagiarism is MUCH tamer than what Jefferson was doing in the first game); there’s a dead girl who was friends with the current dead girl, but instead of trying to find this girl, the pair have to find out why she died; there’s a mean/annoying girl who changes at the end of the game; and the fifth chapter involves a crazy nightmare/ hallucination/etc (though I think most LiS games have this element, I don’t remember if that’s the case for Before the Storm, and again I haven’t played Life is Strange 2). And there was an animal mascot for the game (a butterfly/doe for the first game, wolves for the second game, crows for Before the Storm…I don’t remember if there’s one for True Colors, and an owl for this one).
• Overall, I enjoyed it! It was fun, and I would definitely play it again.