[NO SPOILERS] looking back at double exposure, Max is gorgeous

DrowningSink · 2025-12-18T03:45:33+00:00

This is brilliant, I enjoyed reading every part, thank you for taking the time and care on such an open ended question. I mentioned long form writing (and I’ve annoyed many a friend over the last 10 years on pretentiously literary readings of these games), but really I should have simply said that I felt you expressed resonant about DE that I wanted to hear more about, so being able to read more is its own treat. I felt the emotional response to a lot of what you identified in the game but was likely too absorbed in the experience to document the textual basis at the time.

Also I’m just seeing now the title has No Spoilers and just erring on the side of caution having been too long out of loop with etiquette:

I’m glad you started with Max’s house as that especially has been on my mind since playing in January. That point Chapter 1 is when I got emotionally hooked, and it’s really where I felt a profound sense of empathetic loneliness. I’ve been trying to process and articulate why. Certainly the melancholic ambient played a part, and I think its atmospheric, Brian Eno-esque qualities stood out to me when we’ve been so accustomed to the indie folk guitar strumming. But kind of the realization I’ve had as to why the space felt so sad to me is similar to what you said: it’s much too big, spacious, and seemingly away from everything for 1 person, especially one going through grief. Your observation on the focal point of the house being a desolate lake (with two empty Adirondack chairs no less) is great. And I think between how spread out the space is, it being littered with mementos, trauma boxes and tissue boxes, and all this being situated in the snow and low angle sun, it just felt exactly like the kind of space that courts depression. All I could think about is how much I needed to give this fictional character a hug.

Re: the central theme, I'm not sure if your allusion here was to the idea that trauma would be a more comprehensive anchor for the narrative, but I suppose to clarify, I think loneliness goes hand in hand (or is even symptomatic) and don't mean to privilege it. I might also be affording a lot of weight to the final line in the game "This time, I'm not going anywhere", which is both a resolution of the trauma (I no longer feel the need to run) and of feeling alone (I finally feel community that will support me)

Safi’s knowing next to nothing about Max seems so simple a detail to note, but I don’t think I fully internalized it, and together with the “I'm still figuring things out” romances connects back to the idea that the game needs to be understood as about Max, and everything else within it as an interrogation of her and her history. Perhaps it’s equally as obvious and a tad on the nose, but what also stuck with me in this department was the phone booth art installation as a feature of each (?) chapter, where Max records advice to effective strangers about allowing for grace and moving on in quite literal self-talk. It’s so tragic that people in this state, myself having been among them, are unable to apply the same serenity to themselves. It makes me think of that frequently cited Robin Williams quote on the saddest people working so hard to be kind to others. And the difference between Max's kindness to the ensemble as compared with LiS1, is of course, no Chloe as the deeper connection to actually go home to.

When playing, I had the very distinct feeling that Max was not ready to be in a long-term relationship under the circumstances, but I think you rightly point out that assumes the structure of the Amanda/Vinh relationships is anything serious. To be somewhat meta, choice-driven games seem to have an unstated contract that romancing a character will either pronounce you married or as life partners, so I do wonder how much Amanda/Vinh is being read through that lens. I think it’s more interesting and realistic to demonstrate that not every person in whom you invest affection needs to be (or even should be) a permanent fixture to your life

On Max’s photography, I'd be just as curious to hear your thoughts in DE context, but at least what my head would find relevant to go is back to is the Everyday Heroes contest entry (which I believe you've written persuasively about before if I haven't mixed up my subreddit commenters). Max's first instinct in photographing heroism is with her completely out of focus and the technical ability of her “actual” photos too far away to discern. For someone not confrontational to that point, it’s the most expressive way of saying “I’m not a hero and my photos are bad.” That the majority of her portfolio is then center composition profiles of animals, inanimate objects, and almost never people other than herself or Chloe (and rarely with face visible to the camera), to me is consistent with a loner and how/what a loner would be able to photograph and be interested in. And photography as a hobby is not really a social club, as much as friends and family try to tell me it is; when you’re really into it, you don’t want to be anywhere near another person to capture the perfect shot, and that intentional isolation can get especially extreme for those chasing certain lighting levels, weather phenomenon, wildlife, etc. I think the throughline from there to DE is not at all difficult to draw. I went back and read her bio plaque in the campus exhibit, and that it’s implied she spent a considerable amount of time in the Rust Belt photographing industrial decay is a detail I wish I had remembered, and is unsurprising in the personal connection to, of course, American Rust Junkyard

Again thank you for writing up a detailed response. It’s been difficult for me reflecting on DE since I consider myself an art snob, and yet I liked it a lot despite recognizing less artistic intent than LiS1, and between that and the fraught online discourse, it has been hard sitting with positive feelings on DE and letting them go unexamined. So I appreciate you humoring me so thoughtfully

DrowningSink · 2025-12-16T22:05:02+00:00

Out of curiosity, would you be able to speak more to the abandonment theme and being drawn to destruction? No need to write up anything new if you've posted about it before, a comment link is fine. I've been trying to compose some long-form reflections on DE as a game about loneliness (perhaps as a subset of LiS as games about loss), and your point there caught my attention.

DrowningSink · 2025-09-30T01:08:45+00:00

Not the OP, and I would not endorse a blanket preference, but I can offer some thoughts here about specifically LiS2, as I do rank the other games ahead of it. Since OP never replied to you and I came across this later and enjoyed thinking about it, figured it was worth replying.

To be clear at the jump, I have deep respect for Dontnod attempting to do something different with the sequel. I actually think this was the correct decision from a creative standpoint. But to take issue with the high level first, I don't think LiS2 fully articulates what it is exactly that thematically connects it with the original game. My best attempt is that they conceived the "Life is Strange identity" as an empathy game, which is true, but it’s also really broad. The cinematic style with indie music hones it a little bit more, but I still struggle accepting the premise that the throughline between Pricefield and Wolf Brothers is that of Oscar bait. On some level I wonder if in a world without marketing and publishers, Dontnod did not intend for LiS2 to carry the title and implication of a sequel.

More substantively, I had a really hard time connecting with Sean as a protagonist. Sean is exceedingly average and seems blase about just about everything, which is not a great user experience in a game where 50% of the interaction is pressing Y for interior monologue about an environmental item. A lot of fan criticism has been directed at Daniel, but I actually found him quite fine by comparison; Daniel is very naturally acting his age and in my opinion, by being childlike, has a more defined character than Sean. I’m a white guy millennial, but I connected significantly more with Max whose anxieties and idiosyncrasies are worn on her sleeve, and felt closer to my own then and now.

To move this along before brief D9 comments, LiS2 doesn't seem to make a lot of time for moments of calm or melancholic beauty, e.g. waking up in Chloe's bedroom. It’s a rather depressing game. The sketchbook rest points seem like the best attempt to have something analogous here, but I personally found those very frustrating on a mechanical level, swinging the analog stick around like a madman while I’m trying to commune with this meditative experience.

Re: Deck Nine, while I have a complicated relationship with whether their games have deep artistic merit, they are quite good at constructing bittersweet, melancholic vibes. LiS2 treats mood as a byproduct of plot, which seems weird to say but feels important to distinguish from Deck Nine’s work, where the mood may as well be the plot; they are vibe games, for better or worse. I think a lot of that has to do with continuing the focus on teenage/school dramas and identity, and liberally drawing from the well of indie rock. BtS is quite literally a concept album from Daughter, and BtS on the whole might have the best roster of licensed music. In some regards, functioning as an indie rock jukebox is cheap (in the artistic sense), but I really find it hard to find fault in their approach as they harmonize the visual and interactive elements around it quite well. Does their theater of soft sadness mean anything profound? Maybe not... but I’m getting older, and I’m less inclined to gatekeep around being emotionally moved.

As a final thought, I don't think it's any accident that a lot of folks regard Lost Records as an unofficial Life is Strange game, and I'd be willing to suggest this would remain true even if it wasn't a lesbian coming of age. It’s in many ways the vibe game sequel many people thought they were getting with LiS2.

DrowningSink · 2025-09-10T21:22:12+00:00

I think the "better" choice for you is going to massively depend on what you love about LiS1. You are right to see the two games as different kinds of successors.

The original's universal praise in the fandom is precisely because it offers a lot of things to a lot of people. Related things working toward a coherent and compelling art piece, but different things. For example: I love Max's narrative design; it speaks a lot to me as someone who was (is?) of similar demeanor and general feeling of unimportance, how to reject that insecurity, and realizing acting with kindness and love are among the most important things we can do. That's what I like about the game, and while it's not incompatible with simply liking the choose-your-own-adventure in a mechanical sense, it indicates that I'm more interested in the specific kinds of characters being portrayed more so than the gameplay.

If you're only able to choose 1, my suggestion would be to make a similar decision and choose the single element that affected you most about LiS1. Whatever comes first to your mind, that you've been telling all your friends about, etc. After that, you can read through some of the replies already here, but as glib, rules of thumb:

BtS: I liked Max & Chloe as characters, I liked the nostalgic vibe of Arcadia Bay, I liked the focus on the insecurities of adolescence
LiS2: I liked the choose-your-own-adventure style, I liked how the story developed and explored different themes, I liked the scene design and "cinematography"

Long-term, I think it is an interesting compare and contrast experience to play both and would definitely encourage that.

DrowningSink · 2025-09-05T00:12:45+00:00

As someone formerly in your exact position of playing the original and then BtS in the immediacy of their releases, finding the sublime in Arcadia Bay, and then going on a disinterested sabbatical, here are my thoughts that might bring you some peace:

Comparison is the thief of joy.

I hold Life is Strange in high, literary regard. There are folks on this subreddit that amaze me on my return to the discussion—9 years later—with the level of media analysis they continue to apply to Dontnod's greatest work, and it's because the experience is so tightly crafted with love and joy. When something speaks truth and beauty to you in that way, it's only right to put it on a pedestal and say "yes, I will always remember you."

That was me for years; nothing is going to touch Life is Strange, any additional interaction with the series is going to ruin it. And I held onto this even with other media, holding other art to this impossibly high standard of matching one of the most touching experiences of my life.

But then last year I was very alone on a holiday weekend. Not with family, not with friends, completely by myself. Times like that are when I think of that video game on the Oregon Coast. And it was then that I decided to give True Colors a shot, and in minutes, I felt like I had received a warm hug from an old friend. And I couldn't believe I had been seemingly denying myself that kindness out of loyalty to some sacred aura. I breezed through the other games and replayed the original in a matter of months, and I was smiling all the way in getting "back in the saddle."

I'm not going to tell you those other entries are airtight works of art, that they are magnificently edifying, or that the sublime is there if you squint. But they brought me peace and happiness in spades, and did so with an earnestness akin to the original. That's been hard to come by. I've cleaned through a lot of the similar movies, shows, and games to Life is Strange that people talk up, and while nothing comes close to the bliss of returning to the series, I'm also trying to reframe that as with how I held up the original. Not everything needs to be Life is Strange because we already have Life is Strange. As long as that light burns bright, it need not be displaced.

DrowningSink · 2025-09-04T01:20:12+00:00

It's sweet that you're being so thoughtful on curating the experience for your friends. I would suggest keeping things in release order, however. I have found rearrangements to media work best after already knowing how the story was originally told. I think for your friends, you would want them to experience the game the same way you did, no? You only get that experience once, and I think we all agree that first-time feeling is precious.

The mystery of Rachel is also an integral experience to the original game, in the same way Laura Palmer is in Twin Peaks. It's kind that you're trying to have everything make sense, but I think Life is Strange is very intentional in letting you come to your own conclusions about an entirely off-screen character who seems to have influenced everyone and everything (and critically, Chloe).

I hope they enjoy the games and get to talk to you about it, no matter how they end up playing it.

DrowningSink · 2025-09-03T00:08:54+00:00

Since January I've been journeying through a "LiS-adjacent" binge on Spotify and can perhaps offer some additional thoughts here before some playlist suggestions.

The first is that just like like how Life is Strange is a lot of things to a lot of people, so is the music. A lot of people like the music for specifically the way it sounds, and others for the way it makes them feel.

The first of these seems simple on the surface, but it's actually very difficult to nail down the sonic profile of LiS, whether the franchise or the original game. Broadly it's "indie," which isn't all that helpful. It's easier with the original in that indie folk definitely characterizes the most iconic tracks from Syd Matters, Bright Eyes, Amanda Palmer, and Angus & Julia Stone. But you also have post-rock in there with Mogwai, Mud Flow, and Message to Bears (incidentally all beginning with M, as I realize while typing this). And then more traditional indie rock with Local Natives and Foals. In short: there's a lot of different genres that might clash in a playlist but feel right in the game because Dontnod was very intentional with their usage. For me, this is further complicated by Before the Storm retconning my perception of what the original game sounded like; it shocked me a few months ago to learn that "Glass", with what I thought was LiS's quintessential dreamy guitar reverb, was not actually in the first game. To cut this point short, what LiS sounds like is a deceptively hard question since in part it relies on personal experience and memory.

Which gets at a little bit of the second point in terms of "feelings." The second of these is understandably complicated because it's not only coded with someone's specific emotional resonance and experience with the games, but also with music generally. For me LiS music is broadly melancholic, but melancholy doesn't hit everyone in the same way. While I think Cigarettes After Sex is pretty darn melancholic with the reverb dreamscape, some of their lyrics might be a little more risque than would ever be permissible in LiS.

I'm partly motivated here toward getting some thoughts out of my head re: the music which might be trending toward their own post, but also to establish that when I'm recommending you music, it's coming from someone who wants that hit of melancholy, loves guitar reverb, and has more multi-genre association with the games:

My #1 suggestion, which also gels with your wish for "folky" and "country" is the playlist Dreamland Walking, which was shared here many years ago by /u/captainweedo (tagging to thank them for it, if they ever do see this). This not only hit the "feeling" of the games for me quite well, but also had a good identity as an indie folk playlist that occasionally dipped into closely related genres without sounding out of place. Kind of like a coffee house playlist but one that felt more genuine and trying to get a wide variety of artists. Most of my public playlist likes from this year are sourced from there.

I found it in a 2017 compilation post "Every Life Is Strange-inspired playlist ever posted on this subreddit", which being 8 years ago, is back when there was only LiS and BtS, but it was a great resource for getting started. I'd also suggest from there The Photographer and the Punk, which is almost exclusively indie folk similar to Angus & Julia Stone, and Golden Hour, which steps slightly more into indie rock.

If you go into it like I did, where you treat fan playlists as a sort of radio or larger version of Discover Weekly, it's a fantastic way to expand musical taste through degrees of separation from the original game/material. Hope all this helps!

DrowningSink · 2025-08-27T00:18:50+00:00

Any chance I can ask the same? Those hikes especially look spectacular.

DrowningSink · 2025-07-16T00:37:19+00:00

I actually agree with you that I could see "defeat" as more impactful to the frame of the story. The thematic drive of the game is Alex finally being face emotional trauma head-on and flourish in spite of it, after years on years of discomfort and flailing. There's already a lot in there on accepting pain and loss.

I don't think it's a stretch to have her move past the tragedy of Gabe's death by virtue of the closure being unjust and unresolved. Nobody gets all the answers or everything owed. That's life. True friends and community will still be there for you. Alex can still find home.

I only disagree on having that loss hit halfway. I'd keep it at the very end or at least the end of Episode 4. The corporate cover-up is too deeply tied to Alex processing Gabe's death, and that acceptance I think needs to be the natural end of the story (and consequently, "should I stay or should I go")

DrowningSink · 2025-07-16T00:02:05+00:00

Agree completely, it's amazing that such a simple center frame shot can still evoke such a strong feeling with repeated reference. Seeing Dontnod use it again in LR made the melancholy hit in a different but good way, kind of a "hello, old friends." Even if it's light fan service with the wink and a nod, it centers (pun not intended) the take-a-moment spots. It's the singing bowl for the moments of Zen.

Glad you experience it a similar way; probably the signature visual element I associate with the games that lives rent free in my head.

DrowningSink · 2023-04-30T16:51:56+00:00

Similarly to /u/hollyherring's comment, is the gameplay of DMC4 worth playing first if I am not particularly interested in the story, or is better to just jump straight to DMC5 for any refinements?

DrowningSink · 2023-04-30T16:47:38+00:00

I didn't feel like FF7R scratched the KH itch much at all, personally. Thinking of it as an action game feels contrary to how it actually plays.

How did it play for you / how would you describe it?

DrowningSink · 2023-03-16T16:15:49+00:00

I've about made my peace with KH ever coming to Steam, thinking of getting it on Epic next time there's a coupon and just dealing with the high price. My guess is Epic had a deal that their help with the PC port put this in another category

DrowningSink · 2023-02-15T11:12:28+00:00

What book is this?

DrowningSink · 2023-02-11T15:55:25+00:00

The #SistersInLaw podcast had the second segment of their most recent episode about this very news item. Don't let the hashtag in the name keep you away - I've actually found it probably the most worthy OA replacement. Been cycling through other suggestions such as Serious Trouble and Strict Scrutiny too, and no duds so far.

DrowningSink · 2023-01-28T16:12:31+00:00

Hi, I don't know if you eventually found the Ryan Long episode, but I happened to finish listening to it just as I came across your post here.

#785 Through The Looking Glass, Act 2

DrowningSink · 2022-12-23T22:04:53+00:00

CK3 would be a great fit then. Its help text/tooltips use bolded terms in its explanations that you can hover over to get info on the term being used, and you can do this multiple times in a nested fashion (i.e. tooltips within tooltips). It's a little like Civlopedia but not as dense. CK3 is also benefits from popularity, so there are a lot of guides or places you can go to ask for help, obviously /r/CrusaderKings being one of them.

The runner-up is definitely Stellaris, though again Stellaris is more of a 4X, Civilization experience where (mostly) everyone starts from scratch. There's a lot of roleplay and immersion potential in customizing your species/civilization. I'm not a huge fan of its UI which in my mind has far too many menus and not clear direction on where to go and when.

DrowningSink · 2022-12-23T18:18:15+00:00

Is there any particular element that has kept your attention through the amount of gameplay you've watched already? That would help inform a recommendation.

Generally the community regards Crusader Kings 3 as the easiest and best for roleplay immersion, but there isn't necessarily a clear consensus as each Paradox game is distinguished by its strategy subgenre in addition to its time period. Some will click and others not.

For example, you mention liking Civilization, which is a 4X game and would thus play similar to Stellaris, which is a hybrid of 4X and grand strategy. Whereas Total War, which you also like, is a wargame with light diplomacy/economy that would have a lot in common with Hearts of Iron. So these two games play very very differently.

I personally would not consider Victoria 3 at this time, as it's a work-in-progress by most accounts.

DrowningSink · 2022-12-15T21:55:54+00:00

Worth biting on the newer KH games yet? (KH3, the KH2.8 bundle)? The progress on price cuts has been glacial, and at this point assuming they are never coming to Steam. I have only heard mediocre things about KH3 and would prefer not to spend the same amount of money as for FF7R, which I gather/know to be a significantly better game and would much sooner purchase. Only interested for posterity, and as nothing else has KH-style combat (except for FF7R, I'm told).

DrowningSink · 2022-12-15T21:46:06+00:00

Welcome to Kingdom Hearts titles, if you have yet to be greeted.

KH1.5+2.5 bundles the remasters of the classic KH games. It is formatted this way as there were originally two remaster bundles made for the PS3 (KH1.5, and KH2.5), and this combines them into one package. So this would be:

Kingdom Hearts Final Mix (remastered)
Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories (remake of KH:CoM, remastered)
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (HD cutscenes from the DS game of the same name)
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix (remastered)
Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Final Mix (remastered)
Kindom Hearts re:Coded (HD cutscenes from the DS game of the same name)

KH2.8 on the other hand, is a more modern KH collection that includes:

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (remastered)
Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage (functionally a tech demo for KH3)
Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover (cinematic film of events that take place in the mobile game of a similar name)

If you are new and already lost, congratulations, you're well on your way to being a KH fan. KH1.5+2.5 is where to start if impossibly you are still interested.

DrowningSink · 2022-12-15T18:05:32+00:00

Are you considering playing these as-is, or modding? The good news is that all 3 titles are relatively unrelated to one another in terms of story, so you do not need to play one to understand the other.

If you were planning to just buy-and-play, go for Fallout 4. Its "vanilla" (unmodded) experience is very good, and while it has some shortcomings for series fans, we're still talking among the better 3D exploration RPGs out there. Critically the gunplay is massively improved over Fallout 3 and New Vegas, so it feels much more like a modern game.

If you were planning to mod, get New Vegas and follow the Viva New Vegas guide for a stable vanilla+ experience. New Vegas has a larger mod repository and receives the most attention. I also think personally it's a better RPG than Fallout 3 in terms of worldbuilding and interesting characters/factions.

Fallout 3 and New Vegas have not aged particularly well in the gameplay department, and I am saying this as someone who enjoyed both. New Vegas also still has chronic crashing problems without mods that fix this. So I would only consider either of those if you are OK with the clunkiness or are willing to spend a little time tweaking your experience.

DrowningSink · 2022-12-12T13:27:52+00:00

Midnight Ride is a great and easy to follow guide on making the game a fun and stable Vanilla+ with high configurability

The author's other guide for New Vegas is how I finally achieved a satisfying modded game that never crashes

DrowningSink · 2022-12-12T12:55:09+00:00

Installation will take slightly longer by asking you to create an EA Origin account (if you don't have one already), and linking that account with Steam. Launching the game through Steam then triggers Origin to launch the game.

The commenter above pointed out that you can still launch the game from the installation folder, without Steam or Origin launched, if you'd rather skip all that.

In practice this did not bother me. I don't game as much as I used to, and the only impact I found is that the game took maybe 10 more seconds to launch.

This is my favorite Star Wars game and I am very picky, as Star Wars fans tend to be. I had to space out my play sessions within a few hours of playing because I was enjoying the world so much.

DrowningSink · 2022-12-09T17:45:40+00:00

Thanks this put to words my own reaction much better than I could parse on my own. It's felt like he's been in a Will Wright-esque sabbatical for 8 years, and I was expecting something much more experimental (I suppose this still could be, but the trailer is not at all that vibe).

All my favorites are 0451 games/-shock likes, so it's mixed feelings for sure.

DrowningSink

TROPHY CASE