Life is Strange: Reunion [REVIEW] – A Picture-Perfect Send-Off 

Keeping up with Life is Strange over the past decade has been quite the emotional journey, and after the rather divisive last entry, well… I was a little worried about what would come next. I knew Deck Nine could pull it off – especially after Life is Strange: True Colors – but with the added pressure of finally reuniting our favourite time-manipulating photographer and her rebellious best friend, it felt like there were big expectations to deliver. And, thankfully, they have managed to pull together a genuinely heartfelt and satisfying conclusion, and whilst it is not without a few small flaws, Life is Strange: Reunion delivers exactly what we fans have been waiting for. 

Check out some screenshots down below: 

Before you even take your first steps on campus, the game asks you to lock in your personal canon from the past decade of choices. Did you save a certain town, or did you save the girl? Once you have set the record straight, you are dropped into Caledon University about a year after the chaotic events of the last game. Max Caulfield is trying her best to settle into a normal routine as a photography lecturer, enjoying a bit of minor fame and stability, but of course, peace and quiet do NOT last long in this universe. A devastating fire breaks out, threatening the university and her closest friends, and fuelled by her desperation to stop the disaster, Max uses a recently snapped polaroid to wind the clock back a few days, kicking off a frantic investigation to uncover the arsonist. 

But she is not tackling this alone. The massive draw in Life is Strange: Reunion is the long-awaited return of Chloe Price. Rocking some funky green hair and working as an indie band manager, Chloe arrives back in Max’s life whilst dealing with her own unsettling, nightmarish visions, with the dynamic between the two being the absolute lifeblood of the experience. They have matured a little bit, but their signature banter remains fully intact… a little TOO intact, maybe. You could argue that they still act a bit too much like twenty-something teenagers, making it slightly hard to buy Max as a university faculty member, but their chemistry is so undeniable that it is very easy to overlook – ESPECIALLY if you’re a long-time fan of the series. 

In a brilliant design choice, the game lets you play as both characters – you swap between them throughout the story, and you can even control both characters during their shared conversations. This means you get to completely dictate the flow and tone of their relationship – whether that’s by being kind and welcoming to one another or even showing a sharper edge. Heck, if you want Chloe to be aggressively blunt and sweary, you can choose those dialogue options, and the game rewards you for letting her be her authentic self rather than punishing you for it. It removes the fear of picking the wrong option and ruining a conversation, allowing you to craft a genuinely beautiful friendship (or romance) that feels incredibly personal to your own playthrough. It’s something that’s easy to appreciate, especially since player choice has always been at the forefront of the core Life is Strange experience. 

“The sheer emotional weight of the narrative ensures that Life is Strange: Reunion offers a conclusion that will absolutely live up to fans’ expectations.” 

When it comes to the actual gameplay, things are admittedly very stripped back and linear. You will not find any frustrating puzzles or tedious fetch quests here, but instead, the focus is entirely on narrative exploration and dialogue. Max uses her returning time-rewind powers to squeeze extra information out of suspects during interrogations, which feels incredibly rewarding and builds some great tension, whilst Chloe approaches things with her own chaotic energy by using her infamous backtalk skills to argue her way out of trouble. Sadly, this argument mechanic doesn’t show up a whole lot, which feels like a massively missed opportunity – especially since it was so damn effective in Life is Strange: Before the Storm. 

You really need to pay attention when exploring, too. Gathering evidence about the upcoming fire is crucial, and the game does not hold your hand… if you miss a vital clue hidden in the environment, you might end up accusing the wrong person at the end of the game, leading to some disastrous consequences. However, some of the dialogue prompts tcan be frustratingly vague, leaving you slightly confused about what your character is actually going to say next. I had the same problem with Life is Strange: Double Exposure, so it’s a shame that it’s not something that has been rectified here. 

It is also worth noting that while the central relationship is fantastic, the overarching mystery surrounding the university and the secret society Abraxas is a bit underwhelming. It is hard to care about campus politics when the stakes between the main duo are so high, and the supporting cast (aside from the brilliant Moses and a surprisingly emotional arc for Safi) largely feel like afterthoughts. On top of that, the game relies heavily on the illusion of choice: while you make plenty of decisions throughout the game that have minor repercussions in the moment, the heavy consequences are mostly saved for the very final act rather than rippling naturally throughout the runtime. 

Check out some screenshots down below: 

Presentation and audio-wise, however, the game is another impressive showing for the series. The campus is bathed in warm, cosy autumnal colours, and the indie acoustic soundtrack is as stellar as ever, making it a genuinely lovely world to inhabit. Once again, I have filled up my Spotify playlists with songs from a Life is Strange game, and honestly, I hope it’s not the last time it happens.

Developer: Deck Nine Games 
Publisher: Square Enix 
Platform(s): PlayStation 5 (Reviewed), Xbox Series X|S, PC 
Website: https://lifeisstrange.square-enix-games.com/en-us/games/life-is-strange-reunion