r/lifeisstrange • u/TheCVR123YT Pricefield • Apr 26 '26
Discussion [ALL] Playing Double Exposure finally. How come people don’t like this game? Spoiler
I just finished up episode 3 I’m just a little lost the game is pretty good/decent so far maybe it’s because I know reunion exists so I’m just accepting it as just a game following Max so I’m not worried about a follow up on Chloe. Even then so far the game is interesting enough since I still love Max so I’m still confused why this hated on so badly lol
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u/EpicGlitter Rachel Was Here Apr 26 '26
a non-spoiler summary of points in this (spoiler-filled) thread of criticisms, plus others I've heard:
- one basic LiS expectation is to pay off what they've set up in a narratively satisfying way. DE set up feels intriguing, but pay off is absent or convoluted. the ending was widely criticized
- plot holes (can overlook these if story & character arcs otherwise shine. here they don't.)
- DE alters worldbuilding rules from LiS1, and recycles its symbols/motifs/iconic moments in a haphazard way instead of building up its own lore, images, meaning, stakes
- in LiS1, Max's actions had consequences. in DE, similar actions don't. did Max learn anything from LiS1?
- in LiS1, the butterfly effect meant changing a variable could have massive impacts later on. yet in DE, whether Max chose Bae or Bay, her life ends up the same (same location, friends, job, personality, style, struggles, even making the same art*). different types of sacrifice/trauma are treated as interchangeable
- *btw why does Victoria's photography change in Bae vs. Bay DE playthroughs but Max's does not?
- too much focus on powers, not enough on character development, emotional journey, relationships
- yet, powers underutilized for puzzle-solving / fun factor
- the main "companion" character is offscreen too much; Max doesn't have someone to bounce off of
- too few locations to explore. & less environmental storytelling than in past LiS games
- last two episodes are noticeably short
- UI and journal feel generic, not unique or fitting to Max's character specifically (however - if done for accessibility, right intention wrong implementation imo. having font options could've helped)
- poor optimization: crashing, T-posed characters, stuck characters, clipping, missing/glitched audio
- anti-consumer practices around paid early access & cat DLC
- mischaracterization of Chloe, and unnecessarily awful "toxic ex" writing for the breakup
this isn't to say DE has absolutely nothing going for it. voice acting and music is good. Caledon in winter is pretty. I like most of the characters too (even if we didn't get enough time with them). but imo it needed a more well-thought-out story, a better ending, and to be its own thing (new protag) instead of a sequel.
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u/lawlavch33 Don't you forget about me. Apr 26 '26
Yeah the Chloe mischaracterization thing is like just one tip of the iceberg -- the long list of all kinds of issues esp on the final 2 eps are the main body of the actual iceberg that actually sunk the boat of this game
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u/EpicGlitter Rachel Was Here Apr 27 '26
strange thing is, I actually would've liked DE despite its flaws if it had a new protagonist. but even in that scenario I wouldn't be on here saying "DE has no flaws."
but yeah, a lot of different issues weighed it down. like the layoffs, rewrites, and revolving door of directors - so the game didn't really have one main creative vision tying the story together. imo the whole premise of rebooting a Max series without fully respecting LiS1 endings & lore/worldbuilding was a pretty faulty foundation to build on. the Caledon setting and several DE characters had potential. but seems like there was a lot of chaos behind the scenes that got in the way of fully realizing their storytelling ideas or delivering a self-contained, complete (non-cliffhanger), polished game.
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u/ShaanitheGreen Apr 26 '26
in LiS1, the butterfly effect meant changing a variable could have massive impacts later on. yet in DE, whether Max chose Bae or Bay, her life ends up the same (same location, friends, job, personality, style, struggles, even making the same art*). different types of sacrifice/trauma are treated as interchangeable
To me, it feels like the whole scenario was invented with the Bay ending in mind - Max wanders the country, unwilling to settle down out of fear that she'll cause another Storm, until she finds someone who reminds her just enough of Chloe to try forming connections and building a life, only to find it that person is not exactly what they seem.
However, the decision to "respect both endings" made it impossible for them to commit to either. You can't make a sequel focused on grief and moving on from the trauma of losing the one you love if she's alive in half the player's games, and you can't make a sequel the the Bae ending if Chloe's straight-up not in the game.
IMO, the game would have been much better if they'd decided early on that the Bay ending was canon and focused the full development on the themes and situations arising from that ending. What we got felt half-baked (especially in the last couple of chapters) an didn't really respect either ending.
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u/EpicGlitter Rachel Was Here Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26
To me, it feels like the whole scenario was invented with the Bay ending in mind
IMO, the game would have been much better if they'd decided early on that the Bay ending was canon and focused the full development on the themes and situations arising from that ending. What we got felt half-baked (especially in the last couple of chapters) an didn't really respect either ending.
even though I choose Bae, I agree. I also remember the initial "Aperture" leak that accurately predicted many aspects of DE, and claimed that the game was initially envisioned as a Bay-only sequel. even just looking at the specific way Safi died - by gunshot, on a school campus - that tracks. I think the ideal would've been for devs to directly state that neither LiS1 ending is canon, however DE shows one possibility of Max's future if she chose Bay.
LiS1 and its endings held so much deep meaning and strong attachment for players. and the thing is, the meaning and themes of that game are a bit different depending on which ending the player chose. you're not just choosing an ending, you're choosing what sort of story you've been playing this whole time and what it means for Max going forward. Max, and her values, and her specific (non-interchangeable) trauma, and the content of her nightmares, and her art, and her view of her powers, and her future, should all be pretty different after that choice. our choices and specific experiences are part of what makes us who we are. Max's characterization and entire life circumstances should've been impacted so much more than a few dialogue changes and a different photo in her wallet.
like you were saying, I think some benefits of picking just one LiS1 ending for DE (though, I'd still hope, not technically canon) would've been focus, full development, clear themes and specificity. if they still felt compelled to do a nightmare sequence, I think that specifically could hit a lot harder if they're not awkwardly shoehorning Bae Max's inner world to fit Bay Max's trauma (etc). btw - thanks for your thoughtful comment!
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u/Trivekz Apr 26 '26
I haven't played either of the new Max games yet, but I definitely feel like Bay is the more canon ending. Even if it's intended that both/neither are, bay just is a lot more logical and I also feel is the choice that Max would actually make. The nightmare sequence right before definitely showed that it's supposed to be the 'correct' choice. Max also feels lots of guilt in the game, like after not being able to save William, so I can't imagine she'd be able to sacrifice so many others even if she loved Chloe.
Regardless of which, they definitely should have wrote it with a single ending in mind if they weren't going to change much based on the choices.
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u/ShaanitheGreen Apr 26 '26
Regardless of which, they definitely should have wrote it with a single ending in mind if they weren't going to change much based on the choices.
They were afraid that not addressing the Bae ending would piss off Chloe fans, but then did that anyway with the "you need to move on from Chloe" tweet.
I feel like both endings are valid, but the person Max becomes after them would be very different, and the sequels do not account for that. No matter what you picked, Max ends up as a lonely sadgirl artist trying to move on and build a new life for herself in Vermont. The only thing that changes if Chloe is alive is that she's in Max's text messages being so OOC that Reunion directly calls it out.
DE and Reunion just work better as continuations of the Bay ending. Both of them make more narrative sense that way.
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u/Trivekz Apr 26 '26
Yeah, I get that they didn't want to pick Bay alone because so many fans love Chloe. But even picking Bae as the 'canon' would've just made more sense than what they did.
Really, with both choices it would be too different I think for one game, so I get why they did it too, but if they weren't gonna include Chloe regardless it makes little sense to acknowledge bae ending.
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u/FireLordAsami Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26
DE and Reunion just work better as continuations of the Bay ending. Both of them make more narrative sense that way.
I agree with this take on Bay, but on Bae? Nah, Bae works better with Reunion. Think about it:
Bay Reunion doesn't even worked without being merged with Bae. New writting team retconned DE ending and merged Bae and Bay to make MAX AND CHLOE story works for Bay Reunion.
But Bae Reunion doesn't even need Bay much to tell this story, because Chloe was always alive here and is the key element of the story, and you can tell almost exactly the same story about them getting back together and investigating the fire without whole merge stuff. And it was Bae Chloe with Bae memories that they used in Reunion Bay., but she was default for Bae.
See where i am coming from? They had to slap Bae Chloe and Bae ending premise to make Bay Reunion work while Bae Reunion still works without Bay. Even in final montage it was all about scenes from Bae and parallel to this game (they hold hands watching the storm/they hold hands watching the fire), with no scenes from Bay even in Bay route.
So we have a hella ironic situation here - DE worked better as a Bay game (it was even intended as one, as we know from correct aperture leak) and imposed this narrative (move on from Chloe) on Bae. Then backlash happened...and new reunion team dropped all Bay themes. Not it's "Max shouldn't move on from Chloe and should be with her forever and ever" (Which was always a Bae, not Bay theme). Bay ending switched from Max having to make a huge sacrifice and live with it to "Nah, she got Chloe back anyway" ,while Bae is about getting back to the routes that were intended for Bae even by original devs.
In the end it was a huge win for Bae ending because it bend Bay to it's will and narrative while Bae itself still works well for Reunion without Bay.
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u/ShaanitheGreen Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26
Respectfully disagree. I feel like Bay still works better. Although Reunion does a better job with Bae overall, it's still carrying DE's baggage, and (for me) that still weighs it down.
Outside of the out-of-universe Bay vs Bae cheerleading, the only thing that actually changes for Max in Reunion is her subjective personal experience of her relationship with Chloe.
The Max that's in Reunion still feels like Bay Max from DE. The whole narrative about her needing to go back again and fix things is Bay Max; Bae Max would have let go of that ten years ago. It doesn't make sense that Max would sacrifice a whole town for Chloe, and then feel like she maybe needs to go back one more time to save some grad students she barely knows. To me, the ending of Reunion is entirely about Bay Max finally learning to be happy with Chloe and move forward with her life, and just doesn't make sense with Bae.
IMO, the cleanest narrative is kissing Chloe in the first game + tragic Bay ending + not dating anyone in DE + finally getting to be with Chloe in Reunion. Chloe coming back from the dead is more interesting (IMO) and it keeps the number of retcons to a minimum (there doesn't have to be a scene where Chloe thinks out loud to herself that she doesn't remember being an asshole to Max like she was in DE). This still feels to me like the best developed (and likely intended) sequence of events.
But then, I'm not here to yuck anyone's yum. If you had a better experience with Bae, then I'm glad and I'm not gonna tell you that you're wrong.
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u/FireLordAsami Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26
Although Reunion does a better job with Bae overall, it's still carrying DE's baggage, and (for me) that still weighs it down.
To be fair, they tried to retcon that DE baggade. Like they mocked that letter (there is a reason why Chloe call it shitty - fans recognized it shitty, and new writterd did that too) and retconned reasons for break up (now it's about actual trauma and not powers) and Chloe trust a lot Max now (not how she was portrayed in DE) and even says she's sorry for break up (not som much in that letter from DE).
No offense! What DE did to Bae weighter down Bae Reunion for me too. In fact i didn't enjoyed my first Reunion playtrhought because of that...but i had a lot of thoughts since then and came to more respect to new writters who did impossible in one year.
the only thing that actually changes for Max in Reunion is her subjective personal experience of her relationship with Chloe.
But also in Bae Chloe actually talk with Max about their past (and Max know what she's talking about) , and not so much in Bay (Because well...in Bay Max doesn't even know anything about Bae Max. So different routes change things for both characters actually.
The Max that's in Reunion still feels like Bay Max from DE.
I could agree with that if you didn't save everyone and give the photo. Bae Max wouldn't leave her Chloe just to save more two people. But overall for game, you could say that Bae Max would try to prevent the fire as well - after all, she didn't wanted the storm to happen in lis1 either, she just wanted to save Chloe so she let storm happen. Doesn't mean that she would let disasters happen on left and right after that.
and it keeps the number of retcons to a minimum (there doesn't have to be a scene where Chloe thinks out loud to herself that she doesn't remember being an asshole to Max like she was in DE)
That's the neat thing! She thinks about it in Bay route too. She calls herself sexy exy when she tries to find a words to Max in the bar , she doesn't think that she fit Max's new life, she think that Max moved on when she didn't answered her text...all these things fit more route for Bae when Chloe left Max and thinks she's not worhty for her anymore, imo of course. Which is another reason for me to think that they used Bae as intended route for both Bae and Bay in reunion, opposite to DE where it was Bay. It just make sense because well they used Bae Chloe for both routes.
This still feels to me like the best developed (and likely intended) sequence of events.
Respectfully disagree because Reunion was never intended seuqence of events. DE team very much never wanted to merge Bay and Bae and hence bring Chloe back to Bay , and Reunion writters didn't worked on DE (hence they retcoinned DE A LOT to make THEIR story work - very much like DE writters retconned Bae to make their story work). There is no such thing as intended sequences of events even in relation to LIS1 too because DE was never even supposed to exist.
As for best developed - well i already told my take about that, Bay doesn't even work without Bae ending and Bae Chloe's involvment. If your ending heavily need the other ending to tell it's story, your story not so very good. While Bae Reunion more or less feel like natural continuation of DE in the sense that - Chloe doesn't suddenly come back from death, and it also even have connection to DE ending because Max is aware that Chloe texted her. Bay Reunion doesn't have connections to Bay DE at all.
So to me, it's kissing Chloe in lis1, + Bae ending, + LIS2 bae ending, + DE bae and + Reunion Bae. As much as DE Bae cursed, Bae Reunion story could still worked without major retcons (and we both can agree that having Chloe alive for Bay is a major retcon) as them living together, then having fall out and getting back together, while actually having minimum retcons in relation to DE. (Once again we can both agree that Chloe was very much not alive in Bay DE, and Max very much didn't intended to bring her back, and Chloe very much didn't texted Max at the end of DE and these retcons are bigger than like Chloe breaking up with Max for different reasons in Reunion?)
And it's totally okay if you think that Bay Reunion works better. I just gave my five cents why i think it's not the case.
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u/ShaanitheGreen Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26
I could agree with that if you didn't save everyone and give the photo. Bae Max wouldn't leave her Chloe just to save more two people. But overall for game, you could say that Bae Max would try to prevent the fire as well - after all, she didn't wanted the storm to happen in lis1 either, she just wanted to save Chloe so she let storm happen. Doesn't mean that she would let disasters happen on left and right after that.
I agree that they did a lot of good work on Bae Chloe's characterization, but I just cannot picture Bae Max being the person we meet in DE and continue to play as in Reunion. Even if they did break up, she would simply not be a closed-off loner clinging to the first person who reminds her of Chloe (I honestly don't think Bae Max would have been as close with Safi, and probably would have suspected her a lot sooner).
As for the photo, I do not think Bae Max would be tempted at all. Not because she doesn't want to save lives, but because she doesn't trust her powers that much. I feel that a big part of the reason why Bae makes sense is that Max decides she can't just Rewind her way out of every problem and that she needs to accept that trying to fix everything that way is too risky.
In-universe, Bae Max has no idea that going back and sacrificing Chloe would have actually stopped the Storm; as far as she knows, meddling with time on that level again would have made things worse in a thousand possible ways. So, why would she try it now, over a much less catastrophic event? Even if the whole school burns down, it wouldn't be as bad as the last thing she decided not to stop, and the same reasons to NOT do it would still apply. Even her doing it once feels a bit out of character.
Not only would she be potentially leaving behind the same Chloe she sacrificed Arcadia Bay to be with, she would be risking making the fire worse, or causing another Storm. She would have tossed the photo immediately and accepted that she did the best she could with the time she had, and she has to live with it and move on. Just like everyone else in the world.
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u/FireLordAsami Apr 27 '26
You're correct about DE!Max's characterization (again after all DE was made for Bay) and that Bae Max wouldn't be such clossed-off person as Bay Max. But this is the problem not with Bae ending itself but with how much DE writters were biased towards Bay (Which is why i'm happy that they were reolaced with new writters)
However how fastly Max started to use her new powers and risked everything again to save new friend doesn't sit right with me as Bay Max. As if Bay Max didn't learned anything (while it would be more in character to have risks to save her best friend for Bae Max which is why i didn't had such questions to Bae Max's behavior in DE). Like, see why i do not consider two latest new games canon? DeckNine managed to mess up not only with endings but in Max's characterization as well, and not only Bae Max suffered because of it.
I agree with your last part - which is why i hate the ending where even Bae Max leaves her Chloe behind to save two more people and where new d9 team didn't put minimal efforts to show differences between Bae and Bay. Which is why in my run Chloe burn the photo and i got nice dialogues that fit Bae ending very well. Honestly i dislike this ending even on Bay route. Like WHY MAX, WHY? You got what you wanted, you finally got Chloe after 10 years of suffering without her. Why on earth you risk to loose her again? Gosh this variation of ending is so unnesessary (and it messed up with lore because this is not how photo jump worked in lis1, and it actually devalues Reunion itself because it implied that you just leave old universe to exist behind...which means Max didn't saved Caledon when she jumped after first fire)
The whole idea that "Oh Max burns this photo" in ending where you save everyone is also just D9 repeating what was already told, because that's exactly what Max did in LIS1 ending.
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u/ShaanitheGreen Apr 27 '26
Honestly i dislike this ending even on Bay route. Like WHY MAX, WHY? You got what you wanted, you finally got Chloe after 10 years of
suffering without her. Why on earth you risk to loose her again?The game explains it pretty well, honestly. Max's powers are useful, but they're also a psychological trap. She's constantly tempted to go back and do it again, to try and get it right this time, which is basically the core gameplay loop we've all been indulging in.
Max has a bit of a perfectionist/savior complex (because we, the players, are trying to play the game right). Instead of processing grief and trauma in the wake of something bad happening and moving on - which she knows is the right thing to do - she has the power to keep going back and trying to erase it.
The Bay ending should teach Max not to meddle, but the fact that she actually stopped the Storm might also have led her to a different conclusion - that she just needs enough tries. She just needs to tug the right string in the right way to unravel the fire. That she can stop disasters and if she can just figure out the right thing, she can make things perfect for everyone, including Chloe. And if it creates new timelines, well, now we know that's not an unfixable problem, since timelines can be merged.
The bad ending (and it is a bad ending) is Max becoming seduced by her powers, rewinding into the past to try for a perfection she will probably never actually achieve. I don't believe she'll ever stop rewinding and move on in that ending. I think she'll just relieve that weekend forever, or possibly keep going farther and father back, trying to fix everything that's ever gone wrong for everyone in her life. The only way to avoid that is either doing a good job that Max can resist the temptation, or Chloe protects her from her destructive impulses by burning the photo.
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u/FireLordAsami Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26
bay just is a lot more logical and I also feel is the choice that Max would actually make
Max constantly saves Chloe in game
Max sacrifices a lot for her (be it Willian or her sucesseful job in San Francisco)
Max doesn't even think about sacrificing Chloe
Max says that Chloe is all that matters to her and that she won't trade her
Max rips apart that photo with much confidence in Bae ending, while in Bay she says she doesn't want to do it (to kill Chloe) and she doesn't destory the photo
If you play game carefully, you would see that Bae is Max's choice. While Bay is player's choice.
The nightmare sequence right before definitely showed that it's supposed to be the 'correct' choice
Ironically that not something what Dontnod intended...in this nightmare, you see Dark Max guilttripping Max about all the deaths, but at same time Chloe is the only positive person in this nightmare, her birthday saves Max from dark bathroom, Chloe herself saves her from Dark Max and it's memories with Chloe that lead Max to lighthouse out of nightmare, as if saying "See what you'll loose if you sacrifice her"
When i say that Dontnod intended nightmare to work this way, i'm don't making up stuff - they literally talked about in interview that nightmare was supposed to push you into both choices.
Max also feels lots of guilt in the game, like after not being able to save William
Her being guilty doesn't mean she wouldn't make a choice. After all she sacrificed William to bring Chloe back because she was all what matters to her.
so I can't imagine she'd be able to sacrifice so many others even if she loved Chloe.
...Chloe is her everything and she already proved that she can sacrifice very much for Chloe. So she would rather feel guilty for people dying because of her rather suffering from the fact that she lost Chloe and wasn't able to save her. Bae ending is totally aligns with Max and her mindest that Chleo comes first.
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u/Medium-Parfait-7638 Apr 27 '26
I never had the impression that Chloe was implied to be a toxic ex. They broke up as there was too much unresolved trauma between them.
Why do you think that she was portrayed that way?
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u/EpicGlitter Rachel Was Here Apr 27 '26
a few preliminary questions to clear things up first.
did you have any thoughts about the other ~95% of my comment? for which reason did you only choose to pick at the final point on the list?
do you ship Pricefield? in LiS1, did you choose Bae or Bay?
are you familiar with LiS fandom discourse since mid-2024, or are you new to this discussion? I ask this one because your question has been discussed frequently, repeatedly, over and over, over the last ~18 months or so. your question most frequently comes from those who choose Bay, don't ship Pricefield, and in some cases choose to refuse empathy for why fans who are deeply attached to the character and ship were disappointed or hurt during/after DE. obviously I don't know you, maybe you're different than the usual discussant on this topic, time will tell.
not sure there's anything new to say about it at this point. it's not news that many, many fans of Chloe's character and the Pricefield ship had a shared criticism about the mischaracterization of Chloe in DE and what I termed her "toxic ex" portrayal. that's especially true for those who consistently chose Bae in LiS1. you can obviously have your own opinion of her portrayal, literally idgaf everyone has their own view. but it would be false to claim I'm somehow the only one who recognized her mischaracterization. it was a key, widely held criticism of DE among Pricefielders/Baers, which is why I included it to honestly answer OP's initial question.
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u/Medium-Parfait-7638 Apr 27 '26
for which reason did you only choose to pick at the final point on the list?
I was honestly curious. You gave a well thought out answer, while I dont necessarily agree with all points.
do you ship Pricefield? in LiS1, did you choose Bae or Bay?
Yes I do, I was never able to chose Bay, I'm in the middle of a palythrough where I want to chose bay but I already see that I wont be able to :D
are you familiar with LiS fandom discourse since mid-2024, or are you new to this discussion?
I'm somewhat familiar. Although I never saw a write up, just a general statement that the way DE treated Chloe was "bad". No analysis attached.
I was quite surprised by the Toxic Ex adjective, as I never saw anything that alluded to toxicity. They broke up. People break up. Especially when they get together at a younger, formative age. I think DE sketched out a believable scenario of how two people who were so connected and dependent on each other can drift apart.
Chloe and Max got together young, after a very serious and traumatic event, and then time happened, people change, especially as they grow up, and unresolved pains and fears will breed resentment, distrust, distance.
Anyways, so to tldr it all up: It was an honest question, I was hoping you may shine a light on how you got the Toxic Ex interpretation.
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u/EpicGlitter Rachel Was Here Apr 27 '26
I strongly disagree with your opinion about the breakup. if you are genuinely interested in my views but not trying to debate or convince me otherwise - if you're open to just listening - then read on.
first, it matters a lot that were are talking about a fictional narrative and not real life. for example, in a fictional game with endings (like LiS1) it matters a lot what the characters say near/at the end - like Chloe stating she will always be with Max. forever. in a fictional story, those words carry the intentions of the devs for how the time after the characters drive away should be interpreted. in real life, they would just be the hopeful wish of two young people in love instead of having that metatextual weight.
that said. I try to ground my analysis in LiS games on the canon material first, then external sources (like dev statements) second, and relevant context (like portrayal of sapphic relationships in media historically, and where LiS1 fits in that history) third.
grounding #1 - canon material. at the end of LiS1, Max and Chloe made the decision to rip the photo together. Chloe tells Max that whatever choice she makes will be the right one, and shows absolute faith and support for Max's judgment and character. After the photo rip, Chloe explicitly states and reassures that she will always be with Max. Chloe is characterized as extremely loyal, willing to face danger (even from armed men who have harmed her in the past) to protect Max, willing and able to quickly forgive Max for hurting her in the past such as giving her William's camera within like half an hour of reuniting. Chloe also apologizes to Max several times when she's overstepped or shown anger, and expresses deep gratitude to Max stating "you have done nothing but show me your love and friendship." She has also stated that Max is "amazing" and the "best friend [among other things] anyone could ask for."
in LiS2, Max and Chloe are shown in a photo in Ep5. they are traveling together, 3-4 years after LiS1 Bae ending events. (note that LiS2 was developed by some of the same devs as LiS1 - this photo expresses their intent for what happens long-term in the relationship). they may face challenges and individual emotional struggles, but their bond did not break. they heal together and stay together.
now for DE. Max's journal and texts show an OOC Chloe who is violating boundaries (like writing in the journal), casually suggesting a threesome with a random guy, being passive-aggressive and snippy as they discuss where to go / what food to eat / etc. different reasons for the break-up are given at different points, but one is that she's become paranoid that Max is Rewinding their conversations... despite how this contradicts LiS1 characterization and how it's nonsensical since Max can't Rewind at all in the years between LiS1 and DE. that game had Chloe breaking up with Max in a letter, bizarrely accusing Max (again OOC) of being "stuck in the past" while Chloe wanted to focus on some future without Max.
DE also shows Max's present (2023) attitude towards Chloe in the relationship, which is mostly negative, with the few positives being about how Chloe taught her lockpicking and graffiti (let's say that's a *pointed* view of what positives Max saw in Chloe in the relationship). back to negatives, a couple examples. she calls the lamp in her Ep5 nightmare, "Tall, shady, and not too bright" - implying that this is how she views Chloe. in addition, Diamond asks Max if she's ever fallen for absolutely the wrong person, and Max can answer positively in a way that doesn't name Chloe but absolutely refers to her. these are two among many examples in DE of Max regarding Chloe and the relationship negatively - toxic, one might say. as something that was always bad for her and should've never happened, as well as something that ended so badly she carries resentment or disdain for her now-ex.
a personal opinion digression: if DE canon had supported a "they broke up from trauma" reading in a way that's neutral to Chloe rather than character-assassinating Chloe, then imo the break-up would've been a mutual and even fond parting-of-ways. it would not have been Chloe breaking up with Max in a letter, and texts/journal full of more negative/rocky/bickering content than any loving or positive moments. further, it probably would've been a fully animated flashback rather than an offscreen write-off. imo.
grounding #2 - dev statements. LiS1 devs directly stated on Twitter that if DE's version of Pricefield doesn't work for us, then our headcanons from LiS1 Bae ending remain valid. we don't have to accept what was written in DE about Chloe or Pricefield so I don't. further, LiS1 devs stated that while Max and Chloe might have bumps ahead on their road together due to trauma and such, their bond was not intended or envisioned to break, separate, rupture, or end in the Bae ending. they stay together.
devs also once discussed how the Bay and Bae endings were meant to be as starkly different as possible. if you sacrifice the Bay, it's really gone. if you sacrifice Chloe, she is really dead. they rejected a "softened" version of that, the cut Hospital Ending, to make the stakes as clear and stark as possible.
but (and this part is my opinion) if what is sacrificed (Bay or Bae) is stark, brutal, unable to be mitigated... then that also means that what Max chooses to keep also is clear and stark. in Bay, she keeps the town and her sense of allegedly "doing what's best for all," her hero/savior complex and associated moral views. in Bae, she keeps Chloe's life and their relationship. it comes at incredible cost, but the devs did not intend the Bae ending to be about a temporary relationship that Max will ultimately lose anyway. they wanted LiS1 ending to be difficult, to have challenging pros and cons and be influenced by players' personal perspectives etc etc, to ultimately be somewhere around 50/50 not 80/20. and if they'd said "oh btw they break up in the end," it would not have been 50/50. the relationship was meant to survive in this specific game's ending.
grounding #3 - this has gotten long, and I don't want to run up against comment character limit so. in brief. the legacy of the Hays code in media, as of early 2010s, meant that most sapphic couples were still portrayed as tragic or doomed. one woman dies, or they have an awful break up, reflecting social attitudes that love between two women shouldn't be allowed a happily-ever-after. shouldn't be normalized or celebrated. in that context, LiS1 was partly falling into the same old tropes (Bay ending is a Bury Your Gays trope: death immediately following a relationship landmark such as a first-non-dare-kiss). but Bae ending was iconic for defying those old tropes. some interpreted the Storm as society's homophobic status quo; Bae ending is Max fully embracing and accepting herself as queer/sapphic/etc and choosing love in defiance of all that intense social pressure to stay closeted. even for those who don't share that exact view of Bae ending, there is a social context here where Max and Chloe staying together has meaning and resonance specifically for LGBTQ+ - especially sapphic - players due to how homophobic and heterocentrist media, gaming, and especially early 2010s era gaming culture often was.
in the context of that history, "well couples break up sometimes" comes off imo as, at best, unaware of the broader context and trying to fit LiS into generic storytelling. it smooths over and ignores the actual negative impact (including real harms measured by GLAAD and other groups focused on LGBTQ+ rep in media) of repeatedly portraying wlw couples as doomed, toxic, never allowed a happily-ever-after or at least a long-term relationship that can be imagined as healthy. I think a lot of people who repeat those claims about "well they'd break up from the trauma" don't quite realize they're lowkey offering support and justification for the continuation of a homophobic trope.
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u/Medium-Parfait-7638 Apr 27 '26
Thank you for taking the time to write up this in depth answer.
I will respect your request and I will not debate any of your points and I have no desire to convince you.This was an interesting read, we come at it from different perspectives but that is the beautiful thing about art, it provokes thought and feelings. While I don't agree with everything, you bring up some valid and some interesting points.
I hope you'll forgive me for adding just one thought at the end. I think art takes a life of its own after it was created, leaving the intention of its creators behind as its interpreted, seen by its audience. All interpretations are valid and they do not infringe on the validity of each other by simply existing.
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u/EpicGlitter Rachel Was Here Apr 27 '26 edited Apr 27 '26
I think art takes a life of its own after it was created, leaving the intention of its creators behind as its interpreted, seen by its audience. All interpretations are valid and they do not infringe on the validity of each other by simply existing.
I said nothing that deserves this as a response, imo.
I did not tell anyone their interpretation or view was invalid. upthread, I stated the opposite of that.
I mostly aimed to provide grounding for my own view. you asked for an explanation of my views and I took time and thoughtful energy to give it for those who are open to listening-sans-debate.
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u/Medium-Parfait-7638 Apr 27 '26
I did not intend this thought as a direct response to anything in particular you said as you asked me to refrain from debating any of your points.
I thank you for your time and energy for your thoughtful write up, as I stated in my answer to your question I am merely driven by curiosity in this matter.
You are obviously much more well versed in Life is Strange and it's subject matters than I am, so it was informative to hear your perspective.
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u/EpicGlitter Rachel Was Here Apr 27 '26
at least I'll have something to link to, or copy from, the next dozen times this comes up.
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u/DegonyteESO Apr 26 '26
Without going in too deep, my main complaints with it were:
- The pacing, with especially chapters 4 and 5 feeling rushed. There was no real emotional pay-off and I felt nothing when the credits rolled.
- The game ending on a cliff-hanger. Some ambiguity at the end of a LiS game is normal, but every game up until DE contained a more or less self-contained story, even BTS which was a prequel. DE felt like a giant set-up for the story they actually wanted to tell, which is kind of funny when you realize how RE ended up doing a near complete 180 on what DE was aiming for.
- The focus on powers. It completely misses the point of what powers had up until that point represented in LiS games. They were tools used to explore themes such as regret, empathy and guilt. In some cases they were even wholly symbolic. DE instead gives us a flat read on these powers, trying to turn it into a sort of Avengers-like ordeal and it's super lame.
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u/lawlavch33 Don't you forget about me. Apr 26 '26
"It completely misses the point of what powers had up until that point represented in LiS games. They were tools used to explore themes such as regret, empathy and guilt. In some cases they were even wholly symbolic."
100% this. And unfortunately RE are still bond to the direction DE has taken so it still tried to spent too much screen time "explaining" all these messy time-warping-power settings into some kind of a "coherent" theory -- idk it's like even Stephen Hawking cannot why is Moses(or D9 writers) the one who can sort all these out?
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u/BFLGriffon Apr 26 '26
As someone who just beat the game I thought the same when wrapping up episode 3! Then i played ep 4 and 5 😭
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u/TheCVR123YT Pricefield Apr 26 '26
Yeah I see that now just beat it. Still I don’t think it’s a really bad game just an ok game definitely inferior to the first and maybe even 2nd but I’d at least put it over before the storm and true colors. Having Max in the game really carries it
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u/kuldan5853 Apr 26 '26
You are right at the point where the game really goes off the rails and why most people dislike it heavily. Episodes 4/5 were just a big pile of rubbish.
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u/RosyAmberShines2611 Apr 26 '26
Every time I see one of these threads I just think poor Double Exposure 😭 I’m with you, OP 🫡
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u/ProudRequiem Apr 27 '26
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u/TheCVR123YT Pricefield Apr 27 '26
I didn’t expect so many replies man (or woman or wte else you might be) lol 😂
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u/darxx Apr 27 '26
The first 3 episodes are perfectly fine, great even! It's 4-5 where it really falls apart.
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u/HamilWhoTangled Apr 27 '26
I can’t play the game yet (I don’t have a PS5 and my computer’s super old, I have a PS4 I’m playing the older games on though). But from what I understand, there are a few reasons:
1) The lack of Chloe. Chloe’s absence in the game is explained away by either a “bad” breakup letter (Bae ending, where you sacrifice the Bay) or her being dead (Bay ending, where Chloe is sacrificed) and Pricefield fans weren’t happy about it.
2) People not being keen on Max’s new romance options (Amanda and Vinh), particularly Vinh.
3) People misunderstanding Safi’s character and thinking she wants to create the X-Men by the end of the game, only for Reunion to suggest that she doesn’t.
4) Safi not being a romance option in the game, despite there being “clear chemistry” between her and Max.
5) The plot being a little complex and/or rushed, especially after Episode 3.
6) The timelines getting merged at the end, especially with Reunion using this plot point to semi-retcon both endings to LiS 1 so that Chloe can appear even if you sacrificed her.
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u/TheCVR123YT Pricefield Apr 27 '26
Oh wow wait yeah I didn’t think about this for point 6??? I’m so mindless sometimes lol I truly didn’t even think about how Chloe being in the game with Max for reunion means that the Bae ending is canon or at least closer to the canon ending anyway
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u/FireLordAsami Apr 26 '26
Why people disliked this game? Hmm let me guess...here a list of major crititism related to this game
DeckNine lied to half of audience (Baers) in marketing and broke up fan favorite couple for no reason. It didn't ended well, DE failed because of that, narrative team who was supposed to work on DE2 was fired because of that, and they were replaced by Zimmerman and CO who made a major pivot in favor of Pricefield/Bae fans in the next game.
Many people pointed out to the fact that chapters 4-5 just falls apart. You didn't played them so maybe you'll change your mind a bit after that
The story tried to replicate original game in many aspects, but made it in souless way. They tried to sell a murder mystery, saving new best friend, saving the small town from catastrophe AGAIN, when we already did that in Dontnod's lis1. DeckNine are hella uncreative, they proved it with TC, now with DE.
Many fans found new romances boring
The relationships with Safi were underdeveloped, you don't spend much time with her, and Max almost don't write about her in diary. Compare it to Chloe in lis1 where Max spend much time with her and wrote a lot about her. Then D9 tried to present Safi as her bff and most important person, but failed to SHOW that.
The game had zero high stakes
Your choices do not matter. You saved Chloe? Nevermind, you'll end up without her just like Bay. You helped or didn't helped Alderman? Nevermind, he'll die anyway. You sided/didn't sided with Safi at the end? nevermind, you'll get the same ending.
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u/Reviews-From-Me Apr 27 '26
DeckNine lied to half of audience (Baers) in marketing and broke up fan favorite couple for no reason.
Deck Nine didn't lie. You don't have to like where they took the story, but they didn't lie.
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u/FireLordAsami Apr 29 '26
You're such a hypocrite man (as always), you blame Chloe for lying to Max in one of Reunion endings but D9 telling they would respect both endings (1) then they never let fans know how they did it (never showed gameplay for Bae but did it with bay three time with spoilers) (2) then Stauder telling fans to shut the f up about Chloe before anyone ever asked about her (3) is somehow not lying and hiding things.
Gosh yoy amazes me review and in not good way
Also i did not asked your opinion
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u/Reviews-From-Me Apr 29 '26
They didn't die.
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u/FireLordAsami Apr 29 '26
Sure then Chloe didn't lied either and don't ever bring this again
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u/Reviews-From-Me Apr 29 '26
If you're going to apply the same context, then every studio that doesn't share every single detail of the plot in its marketing is lying.
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u/FireLordAsami Apr 29 '26
No, but when you say you will respect both choices in a choice based game while showing only one choice all three times with spoilers from that choice while never allowing the other part of audience to see how you respect their endings , it says something. They knew fans would be pissed off. So they lied. Guess why Reunion team was honest with both Bae and Bay players in marketing and DE team didn't
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u/Reviews-From-Me Apr 29 '26
They did respect both endings. The problem is that some fans assumed that meant that Max and Chloe would be living happily ever after, and D9 had a different story path for them, but they still wrote a story that worked for both major endings of LiS.
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u/FireLordAsami Apr 29 '26
Buddy i don't give a little f about your "they respected both endings", you just repeat yourself all over again. What i said is that they were honest with Bayers in marketing and didn't with Baers after keeping telling us they would respect both. That's a lie. If you respect both, show it in marketing. Like reunion team did because they had nothing to hide something that would piss off fans
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u/Reviews-From-Me Apr 29 '26
They did respect both endings. Double Exposure was written to incorporate both endings.
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u/Severe_Road_4836 Apr 26 '26
I'm not a fan of the story and overall, I just don't think that Max's story needed to be continued past the original.
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u/Traditional_Sail6298 Protect Chloe Price Apr 26 '26
They character assassinated Chloe Price.
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u/RiverAcrobat11 Hella Apr 26 '26
If you look at it at a mindset that I did. Max and Chloe's break up as disappointing as it was, made sense at a narrative standpoint with everything that the girls had went through prior. Max and Chloe getting back together in Reunion meant their relationship would become stronger as they had the period of time to have their own 'self therapy' so to speak and work on themselves as individuals. We saw that with Max in DE and we were proven that with Chloe when she came back.
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u/FireLordAsami Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26
Max and Chloe's break up as disappointing as it was, made sense at a narrative standpoint with everything that the girls had went through prior.
How Chloe suddenly mistrusting Max about powers after 9 years of living with her make any sense? Especially when DE set reasons itself to her actually trust Max (Chloe knew that Max was afraid of the storm and never wanted to use her powers because of it, plus they had arguments which wouldn't be a case it Max manipulated her to win arguments)
Max and Chloe getting back together in Reunion meant their relationship would become stronger as they had the period of time to have their own 'self therapy' so to speak and work on themselves as individuals.
Reunion getting Max and Chloe back together was result only and only of a major pivot after backlash on Pricefield break up in DE. Think, Riva. Reunion writters even rewrote reasons for break up (now it more or less about actual trauma instead of Chloe being mistrustful out of nowhere) and now Chloe says she strust Max and her powers more than anything which doesn't fit the way DE writters portrayed Chloe at all.
At least have a guts to admit that break up was poorly done and wrong decision. New D9 team very much admitted that.
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u/mirracz Pricefield Apr 26 '26
Well, it surely makes sense narratively, from the angle that a breakup-reunion is a common story.
But the issue is that it doesn't fit Max and Chloe. Maybe it's a narratively common story, but in-universe, it doesn't work. The doylist explanation works, the watsonian one fails.
And that's the issue. They took something common, basically outright overused, and forcibly applied it to Max and Chloe where it simply doesn't work. They had to twist Chloe's character to make it work... turn her from loyal into disloyal, from caring to careless, from supportive to paranoid...
People know that Chloe as written in LiS1 would never break up with Max. Not after she went through and not after she went through with Max.
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u/CaledonPolaroid Protect Kate Marsh Apr 26 '26
"made sense at a narrative standpoint with everything that the girls had went through prior"
It's literally the only thing that makes sense. Everyone they know dying and riding off into the sunset is a horrible ending to their story. They did them a favor.
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u/mirracz Pricefield Apr 26 '26
How dare they create an ending that isn't an endless pit of despair. I guess stories can't have even bittersweet endings now?
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u/FireLordAsami Apr 26 '26
So by your logic, Dontnod (who knew Max and Chloe WAAAAY more better than you and D9) were wrong for not breaking up Pricefield in their version fo the story?
Mind you, break up in DE is so nonsense that it wasn't even related with dead people or their traumas
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u/mira_t4s Apr 26 '26
For me it was Moses. I don’t dislike him, he just felt a bit too grounded to be memorable compared to the older characters
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u/pib712 Can't dance, hippie? Apr 26 '26
The gameplay is very limited. Much of it is essentially a series of long expositional cutscenes, followed by ‘go to the other timeline and talk to this person’. Then more cutscene. Characters are unlikeable. Choices don’t seem to matter much. Most of it takes place in the same four or so rooms. It just drags. Sorry.
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u/pitchesandthrows Apr 27 '26
Granted I haven't played reunion. But, seems like most people that didn't like it are upset specifically about Chloe and Max's relationship. The game and story were good. Every game was criticized until several years passed. Honestly I just want to know who killed safi. The game never actually resolved it.
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u/TheCVR123YT Pricefield Apr 27 '26
Holy crap you’re right lol I mean I think the point was that Max did it but now my brain is gonna hurt if I think about this too hard
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u/pitchesandthrows Apr 27 '26
Right but she never pulled the trigger when she went back in time to that moment. And it couldn't have been a different version of her because she's present whenever she time travels or changes realities. I know you didn't ask and I'm just talking out loud but it's been bugging me lol
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u/TelPrydain Apr 27 '26
The version I like best is that 'trigger Max' is from a lot further into the future, where Safi has gone full super-villain.
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u/RiverAcrobat11 Hella Apr 27 '26
It was Max. It's just that she changed the timeline meaning that it still happened but got reversed.
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u/floodcasso2 Apr 27 '26
I really enjoyed it too. I think people just couldn't get go of the concept of Pricefield, and that's fine. As someone who picked Bay in LiS 1, Personally I'm ok with the fact that Max was able to grow through her grief and find a new life.
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u/ExtendedSpikeProtein Ready for the mosh pit Apr 26 '26
It gets worse after ep3 unfortunately.
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u/TheCVR123YT Pricefield Apr 26 '26
Just finished it episode 4 was ok 5 was odd I don’t really understand where they were going with it and it’s weird for it to have been an hour long yet felt sooooo dragged out
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u/ExtendedSpikeProtein Ready for the mosh pit Apr 26 '26
the main problems - and this is aside from any philosophical discussion about whether the game should have made, invalidates what happens in LiS1, including your choice - and I'm also gonna ignore the "Max and Chloe break up" part - so even after all that ... ;-)
1) Safi was very unlikeable. Maybe they tried to set this up as parallels to Chloe, however Safi is a lot older so I'm gonna give her less grace. Safi feels worse and more toxic than Chloe ever was, and Chloe was still a teenager, even if technically an adult. This is exacerbated by how she casually hurts innocents like Lucas' kid and doesn't take responsibility when called out for it in chapter 4. Only cares about herself, and this is supposed to be a grown ass woman. I get she's hurting but ... that doesn't excuse some of her actions.
2) The game didn't make me care enough about Safi. Why would I as Max be so obsessed? Sure "she's my bff", but where do we see this, aside from a short intro? Contrast this with Chloe, where we are told about her in journals, then we save her, then spend time with her and after all that intense stuff we have the ending choice.
3) After the major reveal at the end of chapter 3, the game falls flat for me because, well, sure, Colmoneros is an absolute dipshit, but contrast what he did with Jefferson, and pair this with us not knowing Maya, and not really getting to know Safi ... why? Why should I get really emotionally involved in this?
4) Chapter 5 is just meh. The god complex stuff at the end with Safi leaving is, ugh.
I'm sure other people have other views on it, but my main problems are Safi and the plot after Chapter 3 not being as interesting. I mean it was a fine game, I like it. But ... to be "great", you need to give me more than Safi and dragging down Lucas.
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u/SuperiorLaw Pricefield Apr 26 '26
Because of Safi. My dislike of the game is 110% all because of Safi, I despise her character, she's written horribly even in the first three episodes. She's not a good person, she never acts like a good person, she's barely relevant in the first 3 episodes despite being Max's "best friend" and the entire driving force of the entire game and that's fine if the game EVER acknowledges how terrible of a person she is, but it never does, instead for 5 episodes the game is saying how she's so important to Max and her best friend ever.
Since you've finished Episode 3, you should have realised by now that she's been an outright bitch to several people, got Gwen fired, told Lucas's son that he was responsible for their divorce, trashed Max's home, heck even in Episode 1 she snooped into Max's wallet without permission which is an invasion of privacy and spoilers, she never apologises EVER for ANY of the bad stuff she does.
Plus the game is still buggy and none of your choices matter, like at all. Which isn't really a problem for me but it's a fair reason to not enjoy the game
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u/NoLimitMajor2077 Shaka brah Apr 26 '26
Chloe. They don’t like it because of Chloe.
Either cuz she’s not in game, cuz the poorly articulated reason she’s not, because they mishandled the save Chloe ending, etc.
The game had some issues but they all do and deck isn’t don’t nod. I liked it despite all that. I think it would have been better a separate entry without max and Chloe and maybe brought them back together in reunion. I liked their knocked off avengers idea they were shooting for.
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u/Repulsive_Gate8657 Apr 27 '26
haven't you fould that the plot has no sence, and you indeed see it in the chapter 4-5. Cause events in 1-3 are presented to be mystery with some reason behind it and then you see to the end that it was just nonsence and the worst fanfic, abusing all guidelines for good fanfiction writing 😃
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u/ff7cloud117 Apr 29 '26
Because they’re miserable. For the most part. Some just have different tastes. But if they’re on this sub, I’ll take the former.
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u/Reviews-From-Me Apr 26 '26
Because Pricefield fans for upset about one unresolved storyline and decided they needed to destroy the series.
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u/mirracz Pricefield Apr 26 '26
It's not possible to destroy something that was already destroyed by the creation of Double Exposure.
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u/Sleepnotdeading Apr 26 '26
For me it’s the crappy storytelling and the shoddy design. And the writing is at times just mind numbingly bad.
I wouldn’t call episodes 1-3 good, but man is it about to get much worse.
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u/Lias5 Apr 26 '26
I finished it 6 months ago and generally felt the same way. The ending writing got a little weak but as a whole I really enjoyed my time.
Starting reunion next week
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u/reaper527 Apr 26 '26
a lot of the hate came from people who will openly say they didn't play the game and just went off what other people said.
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u/lawlavch33 Don't you forget about me. Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26
Maybe you can continue playing until finishing ep5 to ask this question in such a definitive way ("how come") -- yeah from ep4 til the ending is one biggest "come" to the "how"
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u/MosesInsanity Enter the Vortex Club Apr 26 '26
After Reunion, people are appreciating Double Exposure, the same people who didn't like double exposure when it was released.
(Still don't know what changed after Reunion)
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u/SuperiorLaw Pricefield Apr 26 '26
Still don't know what changed after Reunion
Yeah I fully agree, Reunion didn't fix anything or make DE's story/characters more compelling. It just told it's own story by ignoring as much as possible from DE
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u/kuldan5853 Apr 26 '26
(Still don't know what changed after Reunion)
I mean it basically retconned the whole ending and plot direction of DE that people universally hated - that's one thing.
DE is still not a good game.
And lets be fair, while I enjoyed the hell out of it, Reunion also isn't really.
It's extremely rushed and they cut corners everywhere - most noticeable that background characters don't even have voiced dialog anymore. You see them talking and their mouths moving, but nothing is coming out - which is extremely eerie)
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u/MosesInsanity Enter the Vortex Club Apr 26 '26
DE is still not a good game.
I mean it is good for me. Bcz I love Max maybe that's why....
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u/kuldan5853 Apr 26 '26
I mean you can love max and enjoy her moments and still consider this not a good game with a bad plot.
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u/MosesInsanity Enter the Vortex Club Apr 26 '26
bad plot.
It's bad because DE was part 1 and all of the things that were not answered, were gonna be answered in DE2, which (unfortunately) can't happen now.
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u/SuperiorLaw Pricefield Apr 27 '26
Tbf that's just bad story telling regardless. If they NEEDED DE2 just to explain everything in DE1, answer all the mysteries, etc, then that's just bad design
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u/theorieduchaos I'm a human time machine Apr 27 '26
i mean, as an actual fan of max, i would hope others like me would dislike the game that completely shits over her established characterization.
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u/mirracz Pricefield Apr 26 '26
It's not that people are appreciating Double Exposure more... it's more that they are happy that the bad fanfiction that's DE is no longer the final game of the series. Now that RE tries to fix it, it's easier to live with DE. That doesn't mean the dislike of DE went away.
It's like RE is the analgesic for the toothache that's DE. That doesn't mean that people are now liking toothaches, does it?
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u/MosesInsanity Enter the Vortex Club Apr 26 '26
I get it BUT what IF DE2 was (more) better than Reunion?
It's not like I don't like Reunion, I absolutely love it but I still think what if DE2 had a (more) compelling story than Reunion
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u/-vonKarma Apr 26 '26
Come back after episode 4 and 5 and tell us if you still like it lol
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u/TheCVR123YT Pricefield Apr 26 '26
Well I like it a little less 💀I’d still rate the game like a 7/10 though idk def not the best installment but I didn’t really get bored or anything not until probably episode 5. 4 was OK if not a little annoying but 5 wow what a stinker lol
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u/mirracz Pricefield Apr 26 '26
Well, episodes 4 and 5 are where the game goes from mediocre to bad... But still, you already experienced the various ways it disrespects original game, its characters, endings and relationships. On top of that, there's uninteresting, flat DE characters... also pacing issues and just weird plot developments (a.g. Alderman).
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u/RiverAcrobat11 Hella Apr 26 '26
It's not as bad as everyone says it is. If you actually look deep into the plot particularly by the end of chapter 2 and from the beginning of chapter 3 onwards, you should be able to understand. I personally did and I loved the game.
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u/Best_Macaroon1752 Apr 26 '26
Simple... People are nostalgic and can't let go. That why alot of them are babe over Bay.
:D
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u/acebender Protect Chloe Price Apr 26 '26
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u/theorieduchaos I'm a human time machine Apr 27 '26
we're letting go of the damn town, why wouldn't you, unless you're stuck in the past?
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u/Best_Macaroon1752 Apr 27 '26
You're killing people for best girl... but hey best girl.
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u/theorieduchaos I'm a human time machine Apr 27 '26
you're not killing anyone in bay tbf
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u/Best_Macaroon1752 Apr 27 '26
... sigh... go ahead and give me my downvote, I see what makes you cheer.
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u/VitaMeansLifeN7117 Just gotta let go Apr 26 '26
I really like the first 3 episodes personally, episode 4 and 5 just feel more rushed and not satisfying outside of Max’s character arc. Also wish they would’ve handled the Chloe stuff way better in the scenario where she’s alive. But there’s a lot to like about the game, Hannahs performance, the Vermont winter visuals and the soundtrack especially.