During PAX West 2024, I spoke with Life is Strange: Double Exposure game director Jonathan Stauder and narrative director Felice Kuan about the most hotly debated subject in the fandom: Max being back. 

Max Explained

For the uninitiated Max Caulfield was the protagonist of the first Life is Strange game. Since then, the series has blossomed into an anthology. It’s the same universe but other than some light nods to other characters and throughline easter eggs the games are completely self-contained. The only exception is Before the Storm, a prequel to Life is Strange 1 (LiS 1). 

This isn’t Deck Nine’s first time touching the lore of LiS 1 as they developed the aforementioned prequel. At the same time, Deck Nine has shown they’re capable of carving their own path. They made Life is Strange: True Colors with their own, original protagonist, Alex Chen. Not only was it one of the best games of 2021, but it might be the best game in the franchise.

It has been 9 years since the first Life is Strange released. Five games, two different studios, and one remastered collection later here we are again. But time changes everything. Max has gone from a shy teen with a time-rewind power in Life is Strange 1 (developed by DontNod) to a hardened college student with a time-shift ability in Life is Strange: Double Exposure (developed by Deck Nine).

Regardless of whether or not you think Max should be back, Deck Nine’s decision to venture into this territory begs the following questions: Why Max? And why now?

Why Max? And Why Now?

“We always felt like making a choice as an 18 year old is very different from making choices as an adult,” says Kuan. Focussing on young adults rather than teens is also in line with what we saw in Deck Nine’s last LiS game with their lead being 21. This reinforces the recent shift in LiS as a franchise; it’s not just a kid or teen story. 

Max returning is meant to be a continuation rather than a backtrack. This desire for a throughline is reflected in bringing back Hannah Telle, who voiced Max in LiS 1, to reprise her role. Kuan reminiscences on the experience, saying “getting to work with her [who’s also] older, [was meaningful as we talked] about the ways that we've grown as people since then”.

In some sense, there is no revisiting Max because she’s a different person after the events of LiS 1.  “We felt there was a lot to unpack in whichever ending Max chose [in LiS],” neither of which is considered the singular, canon ending. “I think most of our conversations [as a team] about developing Max's character [were related to] what kind of trauma she's carrying in both endings and then what might force her to confront [that trauma].”

Mechanically speaking, bringing back Max means emphasizing not just choice but the alternatives. As a fan of the first Life is Strange, Kuan reflects on what made it a landmark title and how it relates to their decision to bring Max back:

"What's so special about the first game [in particular] is how much the mechanic comments on choice, the nature of decision-making, and thinking about alternatives. In bringing back Max, we wanted to similarly meditate on choice…I think the shifting power is a related mechanic to rewinding and seeing alternatives, [but instead] it's almost like the two alternatives are persisting."

High Expectations: Dark and Trippy Deliveries

Like many initial entries in a franchise, Life is Strange 1’s flaws shine brighter as time goes on but so does the nostalgia for it. There’s just something special about beginnings that’s almost enough to supercede any shortcomings. So while LiS 1 isn’t the best in the franchise, the love for it has set the bar high for Life is Strange: Double Exposure. Don’t bring Max back if you aren’t going to bring it. 

Deck Nine seems ready to rise to the occasion. Their description of Double Exposure makes it sound like a supped-up LiS 1 with a darker story and deeper twists.

Life is Strange is always interesting dilemmas, slice of life, and an iconic licensed soundtrack. When asked what the secret sauce for Double Exposure is Staduer had this to say: 

"One aspect of the original that we really wanted to double down on was the dark murder mystery. That is much more driving force, much earlier [on in Double Exposure] than it was in the original. [This] allows us to have more and bigger twists and turns that you haven't even remotely glimpsed in trailers yet. So, there's there's an insane amount of this story that hasn't remotely been spoiled by press coverage."

Kuan echoes these sentiments adding “it's a very twisty, complex mystery, and we really enjoyed writing [it].”

When I think about the first Life is Strange one thing that comes to mind is the iconic, albeit sloppily executed, nightmare maze toward the end. This scene took us out of every day life and put us, literally, into another world. Being mindful of Double Exposure spoilers, I wanted to know just how trippy we can expect things to get. Stauder says “They'll be the first two episodes you’ll get to play in the early access, and I would say probably from that point forward you can expect sort of an exponential increase in those elements, without getting too specific.” 

It Needed to be Said

Talking to Kuan and Stauder about Life is Strange: Double Exposure, I can’t help but think back to the lead-up to The Last of Us Part II and how much concern there was about whether it was “needed” or not. Then when it arrived I felt foolish for ever doubting it. 

Kuan assures me when she says “I think I'm even prouder of the fact that we would not have done a sequel if we didn't have something very important to us to say about the first game and about Max… I think you will come out of everything [saying], ‘I needed that’.”

As the saying goes, people don't know what they want until you show it to them. I never thought Double Exposure was something I needed but after my brief gameplay session of campus conversations, time shifting, note reading, puzzle solving, and — best of all — using a singing Hawt Dawg Man Christmas ornament as a distraction to get out of a bind, it’s hard to think of any other place I'd rather be. 

We can all pick up where this story left off when Life is Strange: Double Exposure comes out on October 29, 2024. And those who are particularly eager can play the first two (of five) episodes early by pre-purchasing the Life is Strange: Double Exposure Ultimate Edition.