Life Is Unusual: Double Exposure concurrently serves as a welcoming return and an thrilling leap ahead, as fan-favorite protagonist Max Caulfield steps again into the highlight with new mates, a contemporary thriller, and reality-bending skills. I took the game for a spin throughout Gamescom and the demo revealed, to my shock, that Double Exposure would be the sequence’ most mechanically intriguing entry but.
With the game set a decade after the occasions of the unique Life Is Unusual, the now-adult Max has left Arcadia Bay and works as an artist-in-residence at Caledon College in upstate Vermont. She’s shaped a new good friend circle in Moses, a science fanatic, and Safi, daughter of the college’s president. Because the cataclysmic occasions at Arcadia Bay, of which each endings will funnel into this narrative, Max has sworn by no means to make use of her time-rewind energy once more. Nevertheless, her new peace turns into shattered when Safi is mysteriously murdered, prompting Max to try to save lots of her by winding again the clock for the primary time in years. For causes unknown, the prolonged interval of inactivity has brought on Max’s energy to evolve, and she or he manages to tear via the material of time and area to entry an alternate timeline the place Safi nonetheless lives however stays in mortal hazard. Thus, Double Exposure turns into a double homicide thriller with gamers using Max’s newfound Shift energy to leap between timelines to find the id of the killer in a single actuality whereas stopping Safi’s homicide within the different.
The Gamescom demo takes place shortly after Safi’s homicide. I gained’t spoil the narrative particulars, however Max should retrieve Safi’s digital camera from a classroom whereas avoiding detection by a snooping detective. Whereas the room is locked in her present timeline, the identical might not be true within the alternate actuality. Retaining observe of which timeline you occupy is simple because of an icon within the upper-left nook labeling the truth as “Living” or “Dead,” referencing Safi’s destiny in that world. Utilizing Max’s Pulse skill, one other new trick that lets her detect and reveal ghostly components from the opposite timeline with out doing a full swap, I discover a glowing weak level between realities the place switching timelines turns into potential. Making the bounce sees Max pull aside the present actuality like she’s opening a pair of curtains to instantaneously cross over to the opposite facet. The snappiness of this transition makes for a cool visible.
Getting my fingers on Safi’s digital camera turns into an concerned train in exploring the two-story room, discovering clues and hitting lifeless ends that may solely be circumvented by switching to the opposite timeline. Parts such because the room’s structure, the characters’ present actions and moods, and the placement of vital gadgets differ in every timeline, and the crux of puzzle-solving entails determining how gathering data in a single world solutions a query within the reverse one.
What begins as a easy seek for a secure spirals into utilizing an astronomy chart to search out a very important constellation referenced by Moses, then activating a projector to overlay a star chart on a classroom mural in such a method that the orientation of the constellation reveals the hidden location of the secure’s merchandise. Fixing this single puzzle requires a number of timeline shifts to unravel smaller riddles that logically construct towards the answer.
Upon fixing this puzzle, the detective forces his manner into the classroom, triggering a stealth sequence the place I want to flee the room undetected. Merely sneaking previous him isn’t sufficient; I want a loud object to create a distraction, and it could possibly solely be discovered within the Residing actuality. Because the patrolling investigator blocks sure routes within the cluttered, box-ridden room, getting previous him requires a few strategic makes use of of Shift, as he’s not current within the Residing timeline.
Whereas Double Exposure appears to check your noodle more than earlier entries, it nonetheless closely emphasizes managing character relationships and steering the story via dialogue selections. Nevertheless, timeline hopping provides some spice to this method. Whereas a character could also be hesitant to disclose a essential private secret in a single timeline, their counterpart could also be more forthcoming, providing data that can provide Max the higher hand. Resorting to utilizing data Max technically shouldn’t possess could not go over properly, although, including a considerate wrinkle to conversations.
The Double Exposure Gamescom demo bought me on Shift as a enjoyable mechanic, and I’m excited to see how the game additional leverages it to inform its story. Tack on the return of Max and I’m itching to see how this multiversal homicide thriller unravels.
