Life Is Strange Reunion: Review of Max and Chloe's Latest Adventure

When in October 2024 I found myself facing the credits of Life Is Strange Double Exposure, I was deeply disappointed by the story presented and, above all, by how it was developed.

Despite the pleasure of rediscovering an adult Max who managed to preserve her identity, the game's plot focused more on the events to be narrated than on the emotions these provoked in the various characters — which is, after all, the saga's trademark.
The consequence was that very little remained of the various good characters created, who became mere extras for a story that, apart from the first two chapters, was quite predictable and bland.

That's why the announcement of Life Is Strange Reunion left me very cold, with a constant shiver down my spine that Deck Nine Games wanted to continue the events narrated in Double Exposure using Chloe's return as bait to attract long-time fans.

Safi, on the other hand, acts as a wild card that nonetheless gives coherence to the entire story. A bit like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, she knows more than she says and always seems to be one step ahead of Max.
Safi is an anomaly; she should have died but is alive. No one remembers her death and no one seems to care that she is alive, and this being white noise in the world creates a deep sense of incompleteness in her.

Chloe is the true gamble of the title.
For half of the players, she died 11 years ago; another half sacrificed an entire city for her, and after putting her aside in Double Exposure, the development team managed to prevent her return from being a simple nostalgia effect, making her perhaps the best-written character in the title.

Chloe's presence is a paradox; she is alive and dead, and in this reality, at least in theory, there is no place for her.
The game doesn't beat around the bush and pushes the player to feel the weight of the choice made in the first Life Is Strange.
If you decided to save Chloe, you will observe the burden she has carried for all these years; if you decided to sacrifice her, you will observe the woman she could have been.
Everything is now real and unreal at the same time, and Chloe pays the consequences, finding herself simply wanting to exist and live.

Is There Still Room for Max and Chloe?

Despite the many things happening in the background, it's immediately clear that Life Is Strange Reunion wants to analyze and narrate the relationship between Max and Chloe.

The two women have grown, and so have their differences, and despite the smiles and mutual jokes, it's evident that there is a certain distance, both physical and emotional, between them.
This distance is visible on multiple levels, from artistic and stylistic choices to narrative ones.
Adolescent hugs and caresses have been replaced by clumsy and awkward movements, almost like two puzzle pieces that don't belong together.

This continuous yearning for reunion gives enormous depth and meaning to Life is Strange: Reunion. Both must confront their inner demons while everything around them seems destined to collapse, tormented by the fear that one may no longer find space in the other's life.

Time Travel and Insolence, the Gameplay of Life Is Strange Reunion

With controller in hand, Life Is Strange Reunion doesn't revolutionize the genre; it maintains the good ideas of Double Exposure and adds the characteristic elements of the first chapter.
Max can manipulate time to collect objects and extract information during conversations with various characters.

The big novelty of Reunion is the ability to also control Chloe, which offers new gameplay mechanics such as insolence challenges that will help her get out of complicated situations or win various arguments she will have with the citizens of Lakeport.

There is also the decision system typical of the franchise, which will allow both Max and Chloe to make a series of choices that will influence the narrated events. At first, some choices may seem trivial; however, Reunion manages to catch players off guard who have not been able to read between the lines or have missed the various hidden details.

In each environment, there are also a series of collectibles and podcasts to listen to that contribute to world-building and add depth to the game world.

Life Is Strange Reunion, an Ending We Didn't Know We Wanted

Life Is Strange Reunion is a very pleasant surprise that not only avoids the mistakes of Double Exposure but erases them without remorse, proposing a story we didn't know we needed.

Seeing Max and Chloe again is like meeting two friends after a long time and noticing that despite the differences and difficulties, they are still the same people they once were.
The intertwining of their destinies is something that fans of the saga deserved, and after the mistake of Double Exposure, Deck Nine paid attention to every detail, proposing a story that deserves to be experienced.

Although the title focuses on the relationship between Max and Chloe, the background events are intriguing and by no means predictable, and — although we are far from the level of the first Life Is Strange — they do not disdain to deliver a few gut punches to the player.

Life Is Strange Reunion closes Max and Chloe's narrative arc by telling a story full of pain, confusion, and intimacy, and it does so by giving us a huge life lesson; namely, that sometimes despite our efforts, some things are destined to happen, and all we can do is accept the consequences, with the knowledge that we are never alone.