Life is Strange was never a perfect game, but it had its charm. It had characters capable of carrying an interesting, emotional story. An introverted teenager who gains the power to control time at her will and her rebellious friend, who helps her uncover what happened to a certain figure that quietly haunts the entire narrative. Add a bit of inspiration from Twin Peaks and The Butterfly Effect, and you might have a great combination for a memorable story. And when you add the choices the game offers, because a lot depends on you, including its ending, you get something packed with emotion. All of this was the perfect recipe to win over audiences, myself included.
I was eagerly awaiting every new entry – Life is Strange: Before The Storm, a prequel to the first game where learn more about Rachel Amber, who, although not physically present in the first game, is the driving force behind the entire story, Life is Strange 2, which, despite having its own characters wasn’t bad at all (quite the opposite), Life is Strange: True Colors, which was solid, but not memorable enough, and after almost a decade – Life is Strange: Double Exposure where my favorite protagonist Max, finally returns. Expectations were extremely high, and unfortunately, the game wasn’t nearly as good. It felt like we were supposed to bond with characters introduced too quickly, and the story seemed to have a beginning, a rushed middle, and an ending, which simply wasn’t it. There were some crazy plot twists and rising tension, only for the narrative to suddenly become completely disconnected. On top of that, fans, myself included, were frustrated that one of the main characters didn’t appear at all and was massacred by the writers.
Because of all of that, I had a reason to be very sceptical when they announced a new instalment – Life is Strange: Reunion. Right from the start, they promised that the character of Chloe Price would return, but it remained to be seen how she would fit into the story. I was doubtful, expecting something similar to True Colors and Double Exposure, however…I got far more than I ever thought I would. This felt like the end of an era in an almost fairytale-like way.
The story is fairly easy to follow. There are moments that will make you feel very nostalgic if you’re a fan of the previous games, moments that will make you smile, but also moments where things become quite tense. At times, the game takes on the shape of a murder mystery”,, who dunnit” stories, where suddenly everyone is suspicious, even those closest to you and here is where your choices become very interesting. Compared to the previous game, the narrative flows smoothly. You won’t feel like you didn’t have enough time to develop relationships with characters, nor that something is suddenly missing. Over roughly ten hours or so, the story hold your attention. It’s engaging and filled with tension.
As mentioned, Life is Strange: Reunion, depending on your choices in Life is Strange: Double Exposure, acts as its continuation. You begin the game as an already very familiar character, Chloe Price, who is now touring with her own band, but she’s also troubled by visions of a mysterious girl telling her they are both dead. Chloe is completely confused; she has her own memories, but they’re mixed with visions of her death, which is a direct consequence of two universes merging all thanks to Max. Unable to distinguish reality from illusion, she decides to pay Max a visit and get some answers in order to make sense of everything. It’s important to note that Reunion also makes both endings of the first game canon at the same time. Double Exposure and Reunion are also somewhat inspired by themes from the Life is Strange comics, particularly regarding parallel dimensions.
On the other side of the story, we have Max Caulfield. Based on her journal and text messages, we can see that she’s doing very well professionally. After being absent from university for several days, Max receives a message from a close friend telling her that something serious is happening on campus. She returns immediately the same day and finds chaos. Scattered banners, sirens, security everywhere – total collapse. After failing to save her friends and students, Max once again uses her powers to travel three days back through a photograph, giving herself a chance to stop the fire threatening the university and everyone on campus. That’s where your story officially begins.
If you played Life is Strange: Double Exposure, many characters will already be familiar, such as Moses Murphy, Max’s best friend, who receives all the information regarding the fire and her time travel. This section also serves as a kind of tutorial if you need to remember how your powers work. After speaking with your friend and testing your abilities, it’s up to you to gather evidence and talk to people to learn who is responsible for the protest and the upcoming fire. The deeper Max and her friends investigate, the more the clues point toward the infamous Abraxas Club, it’s dark secrets and that is where the game delivers its recognisable,,BOOM” moment and a juicy plot twist.
As the title suggests, Max and Chloe reunite, not only to solve the mystery but also to help each other. Chloe gets the chance to meet people Max has grown close to and even befriend them herself. Reunion allows us to see just how much Chloe has developed as a character. From a constant rebel and impulsive character, she’s become someone who understands what her mother Joyce has been dealing with which improves their relationship, and recognises how much Max has sacrificed due to her powers and other people around her. Her character growth shines here and it’s hard not to notice. It finally feels like Chloe was written by someone who truly cares about her and even though she’s matured, small details remind us she’s still the same Chloe we fell in love with in the first game.
Gameplay is more or less the same as in previous entries, focused on exploration and time manipulation, but there are some new additions. The game first asks you whether you want it to randomly determine past events or if you’d like to make those choices yourself. These choices will also affect certain dialogues. My personal recommendation is to play the game twice with both, ,,Bae and Bay” ending during each of your playthroughs. This will even reward you with a sweet trophy!
During the game you switch between Max and Chloe at certain moments. For example, while one leads a class outdoors, the other tries to figure out who the mysterious girl in her visions is and what she wants. Could she somehow be connected to the fire threatening the university?
Just as Max collects photographs, Chloe collects sketches. Sometimes you will need to examine a certain object, which Chloe will use as inspiration for her sketches. This game also introduces another type of collectables which are podcasts you can find through the game which give you more information about the university and people on campus and they are counted as achievements if you aim for 100% completition. Both characters also have journals and text messages that help you understand their lives and people that surround them better. While Max can rewind time using L2 or L1, which determines the speed of your rewind, to get out of tricky situations, use information she learned during dialogues or fix something that got broken, Chloe has the ,,backtalk” ability, which is her ability to win arguments and gather more information. Unfortunately, while the backtalk ability is interesting it isn’t used enough in the game. As in every Life is Strange game, there are several key choices. Y ou can disable time limits on your decisions in the menu options, allowing you to think longer since the story and the ending depend on them.
The story once again takes place at Caledon University, a peaceful place nestled between mountains. You can walk around campus covered in fallen leaves, revisit The Snapping Turtle bar with its great atmosphere and familiar people and maybe even get into a bar fight? You’ll also visit a completely new location hiding a major secret.
Life is Strange: Reunion also lets you enjoy its beautiful scenery. Sometimes you can sit on a bench, listen to a podcast or music and simply look at the sunset. Music has always been a defining part of the franchise, and this game is no exception. Some artists return and one very important song makes a comeback – Foals – ,,Spanish Sahara”. Interestingly enough, you can hear the echoes of the song at certain moments if you pay attention, which leaves an even stronger impression and will definitely give you chills. The atmosphere, enhanced by music, unironically takes you back in time to the very first game.
On console, you can choose between quality and performance modes. There are also accessibility options such as content warnings, audio cues for objects and people you can interact with and even an indicator for collectables when you’re looking for them as Max.
Graphically, there aren’t many changes compared to the previous game. The lighting feels more cinematic with warmer tones and facial animations are more natural, making some scenes more believable. I encountered a few glitches on my second playthrough such as textures disappearing while “travelling” as Chloe from one place to another that would usually require a quick restart, unnatural facial movements while characters were wearing masks and occasional light flickering. Voice acting is excellent, and Hannah Telle remains brilliant as Max Caulfield, but the rest of the cast sounds amazingly convincing, too.
In the end, Life is Strange: Reunion is an emotional journey that perfectly combines nostalgia, mystery and personal choices. It explores themes of friendship, love, loss and redemption. The ending feels like the story has come full circle, yet it leaves room for us to still reflect on its characters and their (our) decisions. Overall, Reunion is a beautifully crafted experience that both continues and respectfully concludes the series.
The fate of Max, Chloe, Caledon University and the people you meet there ultimately depends on you. While the final choice helps the game come full circle, it is only up to you to decide whether that circle will keep spinning forever or whether you will finally close it.
Life is Strange: Reunion (PlayStation 5)
In the end, Life is Strange: Reunion is an emotional journey that perfectly combines nostalgia, mystery and personal choices. It explores themes of friendship, love, loss and redemption. The ending feels like the story has come full circle, yet it leaves room for us to still reflect on its characters and their (our) decisions. Overall, Reunion is a beautifully crafted experience that both continues and respectfully concludes the series.
The fate of Max, Chloe, Caledon University and the people you meet there ultimately depends on you. While the final choice helps the game come full circle, it is only up to you to decide whether that circle will keep spinning forever or whether you will finally close it.
