Life is Strange: Double Exposure is Technically Playable on Steam Deck - First Impressions

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I have loved the Life is Strange series ever since I first played the original years and years ago, so it is awesome to see the newest addition to the series! Life is Strange: Double Exposure brings us back to Max Caufield as she has to find a way to save her friend Safi. It looks incredible, and today, those who have the Ultimate Edition of the game can play through the first two chapters of the experience! So, we went ahead and bought it and decided to test out how it's running on the Steam Deck.

Quick heads up, this article contains our impressions and how we think the game will run on the Steam Deck. We have played a bit to begin with, but have not played the full game, so there may be some issues with performance later on that we haven't encountered yet.

Life is Strange: Double Exposure is playable on the Steam Deck, but to play with a stable framerate, there is a major compromise that you need to make. I noticed that in some of the more polluted areas, like inside a populated bar, and some of the larger areas, the framerate can tank a bit more than others. To make sure it all sticks above 30 FPS, you have to disable shadows, which can completely kill the look of some areas. Unfortunately, even with every other setting on the lowest, including the resolution scale, I still had those drops.

With Shadows on, the game looks significantly better and can hold above 30 FPS in most areas. It does still have those drops in some areas, but considering the slower pacing of this type of game in general, it didn't turn me off when it would dip. It did go as low as 19 FPS though, which can be a big issue to some, but I didn't mind.

I do expect later parts in the game to include more demanding scenes, so I would expect more drops if you choose to play with shadows on, but it is technically playable. Personally, I would rather dip in framerate over have no shadows with a game like this, but either way, I would consider Life is Strange: Double Exposure playable on the Steam Deck. It does take some compromises for sure, but if this is the only way you have to experience the game, it will still be playable at the very least. RAM usage is a little high for my liking as well, but it didn't go higher, so I would say it is in a safe realm.

Life is Strange: Double Exposure can be purchased on Steam for $49.99, though you will need the $79.99 Ultimate Edition if you want to play Chapter 1 and 2 right now. You can also get the Ultimate Edition through GreenManGaming for $63.99, saving $16!

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