Deck Nine Discusses The FUTURE Of Life Is Strange

[@TheSuperPsychoKiller]

How is Safi going to find other people with powers? The Sean and Daniel endings were so different so including them in the next game would be complicated.

[@Bliss-l1t]

Watch they will make it Sean died in Mexico or Sean died after being released from jail. With the way they did the Bay v Bae ending those are likely the choices.

[@Sg190th]

@@Bliss-l1t Sean being released from Jail is like a decade or less from now in real time so possibly when he's in rendevouz with his lover or dead like you said.

[@DaveLH]

And they'll have Alex break up with Steph/Ryan and turn her into Dolores Umbridge (i.e. using empathy for sadistic ends). Voice inside my head: "You think you're being sarcastic, but you're just giving Deck Nine ideas!"

[@cicik57]

you can choose their endings.

[@empatheticdevil875]

Personally im ok with there being a group of people with powers and shit but i dont want them to make max or alex a villain. I just KNOW theyre not villains, especially max. Id like to see max and alex work together as a team and friendship somehow to prevent safi from fucking everything up

[@Ephemeral994]

As far as I'm concerned life is strange ended when dontnod gave up the rights to square enix everything decknine makes now is just a cash grab that's clear after they lied about double exposure

[@creationguy3871]

This.

[@washma73829]

Exactly

[@alsenar2]

And yet Double Exposure is still a game with a lot of passion and love to detail. I think it's unfair to judge them so harshly. Especially DeckNine because i am sure they get pressured by Square Enix a lot.

[@sakurasaku2251]

​@@alsenar2 exactly! I really enjoyed all three lis games they made. Theres still so much heart even tho SE is puppeting them...

[@domonicdaniels7458]

The game is good they didn’t lie about anything

[@mtlfpv]

I feel like double exposure probably ended the franchise by being such a low effort mess

[@creationguy3871]

Correct.

[@sakurasaku2251]

Calling this game low effort means you have no idea how much effort it takes to make a game and its a good game even with some of the bad.

[@creationguy3871]

@@sakurasaku2251 I mean, the game is awful. The narrative is even worse. The characters are extremely low effort, nothingness characters. There's not a single thing good about this... thing. Well, apart from the graphics.

[@lilshrimp0628]

@@sakurasaku2251truthfully it is the lowest effort LIS game yet- i’m sure it was a hard process but most things are low effort in the game

[@kevinsmith6414]

At lot of fans would preorder or just by on release day (especially when it was released by episodes) and that was still true until DE. I now think a lot of fans are going to wait until the games released and see what real players say before buying. If that hurts SE in the profits, maybe they'll start listening to the fans for once

[@H3rmon861]

Double Exposure for me is a game with a lot of positives (most intriguing plot in the franchise so far, very charming if underdeveloped characters, very endearing animation/writing, and a nice setting) but fumbles a lot when it comes to reaching the finish line. I think Deck Nine has the potential to make a great game if they polish what they did right and correct the mistakes they’ve made along the way. Life is Strange in general is an EXTREMELY flawed series that you appreciate despite what it does wrong and I don’t think this game is that much of a drop in quality to the previous ones despite what many are saying. I have so much nostalgia for Life is Strange 1 and it still has a special place in my heart, but I can’t deny that the many criticisms it has received over the years aren’t valid. Chloé is unlikable, the characters are cliché, the dialogue is bad, the plot does have a mountain of holes (chief among which is the Save Chloe ending) the way sensitive topics are treated is problematic and Mister Jefferson is a pretty bad villain. But I still think the fact that this game, and the franchise in general, is saved by having a vibe that you can’t find anywhere else in gaming. And Double Exposure, despite being a lot more bombastic opinions are saying, hasn’t lost that signature appeal. As long as it doesn’t, the fact that more people with superpowers get introduced, no matter how many, won’t particularly impact the DNA of the series imo. For a while, people used to think that Life is Strange was about the school setting and were shitting violently on LiS2 for making it a road trip where you can’t familiarize yourself with one spot. But as time went on, there was this sudden shift when people accepted that isn’t a vital part of a Life is Strange game. Same thing goes for here. Even if the story introduces more individuals with superpowers and leans into the ethics of what that entails, as long as the conflict relies on interpersonal drama and not on bombastic action scenes where the fate of the world is at stake, it will still be good for me.

[@FuzzzyPurplePickle]

I agree! I absolutely understand people's frustrations with Double Exposure, because I do think it's very flawed, but I also think it's a shame that the things the game does right haven't really gotten as much attention. I'm totally with you that the vibe of the game still has that special LIS flavour and I'm honestly really excited to see the cast again in the sequel because I found them all very endearing. Hopefully they can find a way for the sequel to develop those characters in meaningful ways even with the introduction of more powered people and the exploration of the ethics of powers. I think some seeds for that could be planted already, like Amanda having such firm morals and boundaries around the use of Max's powers, and the ways Safi misused her powers against Gwen and Lucas' son. Those threads have the potential to go further to explore the ethics of powers in a way that's still grounded and I'm interested in seeing that.

[@kevinsmith6414]

I think this is people's frustration. The game looks very good and the animations are great but it feels like the time was dedicated to that rather than the story and the choices, and that's the real heart of the game.

[@H3rmon861]

⁠@@kevinsmith6414My point wasn’t that the game only looks good but is horrible in every other department. I was saying that the story has a lot of untapped potential and the writing has a lot of great moments that aren’t fully capitalized. Chapter 2/3 and even 4 are really engrossing but that’s 5 where it becomes more iffy. It just felt like too much was solved too quickly and should’ve been more spread out throughout the game. The characterization is also the strongest personally I’ve seen in the series (I like hearing those characters interact and hanging out with each other) but the big problem is they are very underdeveloped. Every characters struggles is only alluded but never really that much explored like Chloe was for example. But I think a lot of ppl don’t really want to see that because a lot of media discussion nowadays has to be either the writing is absolutely Peak or it’s garbage with no redeeming qualities. I think, in this situation, there’s some nuance to have. EDIT: Oh and my point was also about the fact that I find it so weird to see the criticism levied at this game considering that we’re Life is strange fans and that series is known to have a lot of problems in their story department. I always thought the assumption in the fandom was that we knew the game were far from perfect but we didn’t care because what they offered was special enough to overlook some of the incredibly cringe inducing writing choices lol.

[@FuzzzyPurplePickle]

@@kevinsmith6414 I get being frustrated that the writing was a letdown when it's the most important element, but I don't think the reason it falls short is because they dedicated time to other things. Stuff like the acting, environments, animation etc is handled by different people than the writing so I don't think there's any reason to conclude that the writing was a lower priority.

[@kevinsmith6414]

@H3rmon861 I wasn't disagreeing with you, I agree that a lot of parts of the game weren't developed and explored. Stories and character development started then just randomly stopped like Alderman. Choices didn't feel like they had a big effect on how the story progressed or relationships changed. Those are the things that make these games special as that's what makes it YOUR game and experience. Some of the criticism has been over the top but I don't think D9 have done a good job with this game. I personally don't like the direction they see for the franchise and I personally don't think they understand why these games are so loved by the fans

[@zenxymes2]

Safi went crazy. That's the only way I can make sense of her.

[@alpha6617]

I think the only way they can gain most of us back or maybe just me is make a dlc merging both the BAE and BAY endings if you truly meant what you said when you stated “we respect both endings” so show us that you do make a dlc like you did with true colors and fix your mistake and you’ll win me and maybe quite a few others back and if I get this I’m willing to forgive the terrible writing

[@missraingaming]

there is no future of life is strange for me, im out! I’m not buying the next because of a lot of reasons, i bought the expensive version last time and anything they’ve decided for the game wasn’t great in my opinion, Hanna was the only great in this game, anything else is not worth it for me anymore. It’s very sad.

[@N_alessandra1992]

I can't understand how someone who saw the mess that was DE can give a vote of confidence to this studio. Deck Nine didn't even have the capacity to make the plot work with two characters with powers, imagine this bizarre MCU thing

[@alsenar2]

I personally like this idea. I mean we already know that Max isn't the only one with superpowers since LiS 2, so why not connect everything.

[@creationguy3871]

10:01 "I don't know if they're in it to burn the franchise to the ground" Whether intentionally or inadvertadly, that's precisely what they've done. They've burnt it to the ground. There's no coming back from this staggering disaster

[@DiabloBiscuit]

I very much disagree with your comment. They have done no such thing. Franchises evolve, its a thing. They can rebound from this.

[@creationguy3871]

@DiabloBiscuit Evolve!?? This is the complete opposite of evolution! It's regression on a disastrous scale we've not seen before. There's no fixing this mess.

[@Sleepster1999]

Didn't like the way it went. And I have problems with popping the trophys. They will never get nowhere near to the originals again in my opinion 👍

[@imory4492]

We don’t know that for Sure it might get as Good as Lis 1 who knows and I don’t see with a popping trophy it’s only a simple issue Not a big deal

[@Sleepster1999]

@imory4492 well trophys not pooping for me pisses me off one of my pet hates it has put a damper on the game for me 👍

[@imory4492]

@@Sleepster1999 again The Game isn’t that bad and it’s definitely near as Good but Not Close Enough but still and the next Game might Get as Good as Lis 1 trust me it’s Gonna be Worth it of how it went

[@kevinsmith6414]

I hate that they describe Max's choices as 'villainous'. Let's be honest, they mean saving Chloe. I could understand a game where Safi uses her powers to manipulate things to how she wants and Max trying to undo it and characters 'fighting' in that regard but it's the phrase villainous. That's what scares me with how D9 view this franchise. There's no good or evil. Everyone's broken remember?

[@ViperPilot16]

Can you just stop with your anti Chloe hate boner? Max has more choices that would be villainous other than just letting Chloe live and the bay die. Attempting to shoot Frank comes to mind.

[@kevinsmith6414]

@ViperPilot16 wow that's one way to start a reply. You stay classy. Frank was hardly a great guy, BTS makes him a lot more likeable. But you don't think they'd consider letting Arcadia Bay get destroyed was villainous? Getting tired of people who don't like the Chloe character acting like every decision that is against her is great as it matches their opinion.

[@ViperPilot16]

@kevinsmith6414 There you go again. I don't hate Chloe, if you are going to hate a game hate it for what is in it. Not it destroying your head cannon. I don't like DE either, clearly for different reasons.

[@kevinsmith6414]

@ViperPilot16 my original post was criticising the word Villainous. That's a very deliberately chosen word. Not selfish or something like that. Villainous is a strong way to view decisions from LIS1 and it feels like the final decision is what they are talking about. Of course there are other tough decisions but not many you'd consider makes Max a villain. The way they handle chloe isn't great but that's way down the list of things D9 have done wrong with this game and the franchise since taking control.

[@James_Marshall92]

I love life is strange but the new one is OK and it's great to see Max again but it does feel like a mixed bag in some way as well

[@wickdaline8668]

Wonder if they're giving LIS1 the DRDR treatment? Something they may have hinted at with the Blackwell restroom in DE?

[@reliya1996]

DRDR?? 🤔

[@wickdaline8668]

@reliya1996 Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster

[@Mkmichael001]

They’ve already remastered lis

[@wickdaline8668]

@Mkmichael001 Not with updated visuals they haven't. TC and DE type visuals, specifically. Maybe the Deluxe Remaster could also give use alternate costumes for Max. Maybe they switch the voice cast as well. They recast Max, have Rhianna voice Chloe, along with some of the other BTS voice actors voice the LIS1 cast as well. Which is pretty much what DRDR was.

[@BURNINGKAM101]

Max to put it delicately is a "everyday hero". Max may have godlike powers but she uses it sparingly not shape the entire world hence why didn't Save The Arcadia Bay. After everything that happened in LIS1 i feel that living with everything that happened is best you can do.

[@Joshmc1113]

I always had a feeling this kind of thing was gonna happen eventually. I don’t know if it’ll be a full on Avengers game as it is about finding why the powers happen. So they’ll bring characters back to look at why they’re given them. I believe it’ll have something to do with the afterlife and spirits. Rachel had a sort of power in Before the storm when she sped up the wind possibly given by Chloe’s dad being his spirit was the crow. Chloe’s dad said “you have a friend that needs you” and in the afterlife he knew about Rachel’s mom so he gave her the power of wind and caused the wildfire. It invoked a lot of emotion on Rachel and pushed her to find truth. The powers are given to find truth and justice. Rachel gave Max the time traveling power to find truth about her death. Then Alex was given her power around the time her father died possibly in the mine and he gave Alex the power for truth. The powers are made to find truth so I think there is something big coming like the villains of every game are connected in some way.

[@francescarossetti3545]

I like the idea. Maybe they won't be able to develop the concept in an interesting way,but who knows. Very sorry that most of people are against the idea so there is the possibility at the end they will cut short the next adventures.

[@blueiavatar29]

I am a fan of life is strange games and storylines

[@patrixx6190]

Cool discusión my friend! I really like your vision. I agree on what you said, its stuff to talk about. I would like to see them all together, but afraid on how they would approach and handle it. MCU wouldn't work here, they need to be subtle and build the story slowly. I don't want to give up on this game. It makes me feel good to play these types of game.

[@MrCemicalX]

It felt like Double Exposure was trying to do a lot of things together but then they settled for leaving certain stuff open for the future to explore and try to consolidate the story progress here. I suspect they were also torn between having their own story and this being a sequel, there may have been a point during developement were the story became to convoluted (for me it would certainly explain how the story shifted and had weaker moments towards the two last chapters). So even if they failed to, for example, detail the events happening between the first game and this one regardless of the ending you choose, they had to decide where to focus on and left snippets that come up here and there of Max facing here past actions and her trying to teach Sophi about consequences. I kinda see what they wanted to do here (which I appreciate) but than it feels like this story was made for Max to be a redemtion arc as well and show how much she has grown. Yet, a chapter more for the new characters to interact with them, build relationships and some more time with Sofi would have certainly helped show this process and make choices and consequeces towards the end, I guess, more in dept or have more weight for the player. In that regard leaving certain avenues open they should (imo) focus on solid writing to explore this aveneues in the next interations of the game to deliever on this prospects and build upon a more grounded approach.

[@jacobrosa6410]

Awesome video

[@AdApT3Rx]

Safi might try and fail with Alex and try locate Daniel get Sean to lower his guard and she could use Daniel😮

[@thatforemankid2262]

In a perfect world, Daniel and Alex will return, and all their endings would be honored (especially Daniel's, whose endings are drastically different)...but as we've seen, that's very unlikely. But a game with Safi, Max, Diamond, Alex, and Daniel sounds super fun in theory, and any of them would make fun protagonists (maybe not Max and Alex, i think we've exhausted their powers), but I just don't trust Deck Nine. I would really really love to see Daniel (and Sean) return, though. No game will ever come close to surpassing Life is Strange 2 in my opinion. I would also love another game that isn't a murder mystery. It's getting boring.

[@balazsretai8019]

I don’t think they will bring too many people with powers I think for now they will go only with Max Safi and Diamomd and maybe Alex. Deck nine did not say they want an army of people with powers

[@TheFIame]

This kinda indirectly confirms my theory that they viewed Chloe as problematic in the original lol. No way you can say Max is kinda villianish but not Chloe😂

[@DeathsAvarice]

I'm gonna remain curious to see how this plays out I suppose.

[@TheLostFan2010]

I do believe they have no idea where they're taking this story and this franchise. I was hesitant to believe everything LadyDevHeart said on Reddit but a lot of stuff in Double Exposure has borne out pretty much every one of her statements. All except for Alderman being great but I'm guessing she left the company before they decided to ice him halfway through.

[@eogenjoymentofgaming3938]

If they gone have safi find her own people then max should atleast get all protagonists form the main life is strange series

[@jscout13]

Sounds like Magneto v. Professor X from X-men

[@celestinenox]

I seriously disagree with the idea that Safi "just turns evil." There's precedent in her actions throughout the game for her becoming someone Max wouldn't want to be friends with anymore. What she does to those she precieves as having done her wrong is absolutely *nuclear* revenge, including bringing in Lucas' innocent son into the conflict. And she's arrogant as hell, especially when it comes to her power. It's just that we don't learn about a lot of these actions on her part until late in the game.

[@seanred7681]

The quotes from the interviews sound good and they're saying the right things but it's a very fine line, and based on the mishandling of DE, I'm not confident Deck Nine can produce a game people want if they go in this direction. Regarding Safi and her attitude, I can't help thinking about Chloe and the rumoured dislike of the character behind the scenes. With them both being Max's friend, I almost feel like Deck Nine was trying to draw a parallel between the two, saying 'Safi is what Chloe would be at her most disruptive, but with powers'. I don't know, maybe I'm reading too much into it, but if the rumours are true about them not liking Chloe's character, I feel like they may have swapped out Safi for Chloe and made her this villain character if they thought they could get away with it without backlash. Okay,, tin foil hat conspiracy over lol.

[@N_alessandra1992]

Future seems to be as dark as possible. A franchise that is quickly becoming generic and mediocre

[@HuskyDaxx]

the problem with the writing is, yeah they want to keep it grounded in real emotions.. but then they turn safi into a pure comic book villan. its a little jaring

[@cicik57]

Nothing wrong of supers using powers against each other if moral values are in the center of the story :D

[@creationguy3871]

We dont care what DeckNine thinks. They singlehandedly ruined one of the greatest franchises of all time. They certainly ruined the best in the franchise in original which is beyond disgraceful and unforgivable. The garbage that D9 spew out is non canon. Double Exposure was just some pathetic fan fiction. Square Enix need to fire DeckNine NOW and bring back Don'tNod to erase this trash from history and give us a brand new sequel to the original WITH NO time skip beyond maybe a few days or weeks after the storm. Retcon the disgusting Double Exposure. Apologise profusely for the mammoth disaster and swear it'll never happen again, or Life is Strange is officially dead.

[@MauryExplorer_]

Life Is strange double exposure is not a true Life Is strange. They take Maxine and do a hero story around her and her background. For what ? A superhero story where Safi want to make a super group of heroes. No emotions, no empathy, no player immersion

[@Aemothkas]

Wait is it actually true that they tried mixing the games? Thats not good. I was thinking of like max having a vision of Sean and Daniel not like them actually meeting

[@mattstansbeary3068]

I'm against it. I pretty much understand what they want & my answer is No. Why Because this is A Choice base Game & if your Taking away Choice then there is No Reason to do anything. What was the first thing After People Played the Game said is there going to be DLC or are they going to Do Before Double Exposure. The answer is No. We could have 6 Characters with Powers in 1 Game guess how many you will Play as 1 Person. Ok so are you going to telling us Why. No

[@bravo0105]

There is none.

[@topy706]

Square enix is absolutely axing the franchise. This game is a flop and square is financially screwed

[@creationguy3871]

Sincerely hope so. I don't know how the financials are looking, but this garbage HAS to be the straw that broke the camel's back. Retcon this trash and bring back Don'tNod to give us an actual sequel to the original.

[@topy706]

@creationguy3871 just to give you a perspective. Squares flagship game ff16 sold about 3 million copies which is 3 times less than most if any previous mainline game. Plus they already axed ALL their big hitters on the western marked including hitman, tomb raider and deus ex.

[@creationguy3871]

@@topy706 Good. I still want a sequel to the original LiS game, just to be clear. But it HAS to be done by DontNod, and it HAS to have nothing to do with this Double Exposure horse shit. Do you know how the Double Exposure is doing financially speaking? I DESPERATELY hope it's a failure of epic proportions!

[@topy706]

@@creationguy3871 DontNod itself is at the brink of collapse. if their next game fails its over and out. they will certainly not return to the franchise unless a publisher scoops them up alongside the IP

[@creationguy3871]

@@topy706 Perhaps. I know it's somewhat unlikely that the return to unfuck this franchise, but honestly, if they don't, Life is Strange as a whole is finished and done.

[@Kurniawan21-d5j]

👍

[@mangojuice-le2fn]

i know this has nothing to do with the video but I really want the next game to have a male protagonist

[@sippinice4]

That’s not necessary to be honest.

[@mangojuice-le2fn]

@ id just like it to be easier for me to relate to don’t get me wrong I love max but you know

[@washma73829]

Anything decknine makes under the title life is strange is pure trash. dontnod presented 2 great life is strange games and decknine is making this into everything BUT life is strange. Square enix is also to blame, they just cant stop cash grabbing can they? Let this title rest for good.

[@thesunisinlovewithme]

Why didn't don't not, made the new game?

[@cookiecip20]

They gave their rights to square enix sadly and since LiS is now square enix intellectual property they are the ones incharge on what to decide the stories of the games will go and that means they don't have any freedom from writing different stories like michel koch wanted, also square enix didn't like that lis2 didnt sell well and was completely ignored by fans of the first lis since it isn't about max and chloe and this I think was the reason they left, Its sad cause i actually think lis2 is the only lis game that choices actually mattered and i really liked it :(

[@thesunisinlovewithme]

@cookiecip20 Wow that is so interesting. I actually have a special place for LIS2, I loved the dynamic and different endings a lot. So they gave there rights away, because the fans didn't like LIS2, or did I understand it wrong?