Today, Square Enix® aired the Life is Strange: Double Exposure Reveal Livestream, detailing everything players need to know about the next entry in the award-winning narrative adventure series.
Deck Nine developers Jonathan Stauder (Game Director) and Felice Kuan (Narrative Director) were joined by host Elyse Willems (Funhaus, 30 Morbid Minutes), who interviewed them about this thrilling new adventure, including how the game is designed to appeal to both long-term fans and brand-new players. Though the reverberations of Max’s past are felt throughout this story, no previous Life is Strange save file is needed to dive in.
Felice Kuan, Narrative Director, detailed further:
“We knew that this had to be something special. We also knew we had to respect the two unforgettable endings to the first chapter of Max’s story, while also crafting something new. Something fresh, that echoed and acknowledged Max’s past challenges, even as it moved her personal story forward. Welcoming in new players from the very beginning, while giving fans the story they didn’t know they wanted.”
Later in the show, Hannah Telle (Max Caulfield) sat down for a one-on-one chat with Elyse, detailing her emotional journey from the Max of the past to the Max of the present day:
“As Max has evolved, her powers have evolved too. She didn’t use that power for a really long time, because it creates so much devastation. So it adapted into something different. She now has this supernatural ability to move between two timelines, giving her a unique position to figure out what’s really going on with Safi’s murder.”
We also got a further look at Max’s new ability to ‘Shift’ between two parallel timelines. Game Director, Jonathan Stauder explained:
“Max’s ability to Shift between the two timelines opens up a whole slew of gameplay possibilities. Max will navigate between different two versions of the same space, and she’ll be able to use these powers to circumnavigate puzzles and discover clues about suspects she might not otherwise have access to.”
Featuring never-before-seen in-game footage and stories from behind the scenes, the stream culminated in an extended gameplay showcase from Chapter 1, seeing protagonist Max and her friends Safi and Moses watching a meteor shower together from the roof of the Caledon Observatory. However, things soon took a strange and deadly turn…
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, two weeks ahead of the release of the full game.
Full details on each Edition can be found at lifeisstrange.com.
Available on Xbox Series X|S games and entertainment systems, PC Windows Store, PC Steam, and PlayStation 5® on October 29, 2024, and also coming to Nintendo Switch, further details to be announced.