Life is Strange: Reunion Review

Max and Chloe back together again

Quick Info
Reviewed by:	Mark Goninon
Developer:	Deck Nine
Publisher:	Square Enix
Release Date:	26 Mar 2026
Time played:	9 hours

Previously on Life is Strange...

The last Life is Strange was Double Exposure and it ended on a cliffhanger. This is because Double Exposure is essentially a "part 1" of Max Caulfield's most recent adventure with less than two years between the release of that game and Reunion. I felt that Double Exposure was solid and the most exciting aspect is playing as Max again, the character that started this entire series off in the first place. For this particular entry it seems that the most exciting aspect is the, well, reunion of Max and Chloe but if you picked a particular path in the original Life is Strange, how is this even possible?

When you start this game you'll receive a huge recap in the form of a cinematic. It will provide you with a lot of exposition and you'll have to eventually make five choices which will tailor the background or history of your playthrough (such as, did Chloe survive the first game, did you part on good terms with Safi and who were you romantically involved with in the past). The merging of parallel universes that occurred in the previous game seems to have brought the alive version of Chloe back (for those that chose to save Arcadia Bay in the first game) but disaster strikes Caledon University that endangers Max's friends and students. Max is too late to save anyone so she does what she normally does and travels back in time using Polaroid magic, hoping that she can figure out why the fire started, who started it and how to stop them.

Conveniently, most characters have some form of amnesia thanks to the weird merging of universes except for Max's best buddy Moses, ensuring he has remembered everything that occurred during the events of Double Exposure.

I wonder whether Polaroid sales have spiked since the release of Life is Strange

Chloe is Back!

As mentioned, the biggest reason you're going to want to play this game is to see Max and Chloe back together again, especially for the "Chloe-Max shippers" aka "Pricefield" fans (when I finished the game last time, only 13% of players chose for Chloe and Max to remain best friends. Most wanted them to be more...), but despite not being a Pricefield fan, it was great seeing Chloe back in the series: her stubbornness, punk rocker energy was sorely missed and even the talkback gameplay mechanic from Before the Storm makes a reappearance.

What's best about having Chloe in the game is that you get the opportunity to play as her and Max. Just like other games which are told from different perspectives (e.g. David Cage games) I'm always curious to see how different characters perceive the same situation, not to mention discover how other people react to the different protagonists. You'll even get the opportunity to choose how both Chloe and Max react during conversations with each other, and although this doesn't seem that important when it's initially introduced, it has an impact on their relationship and how much they trust each other: I was ultimately surprised how it had an impact on the epilogue.

It's also sometimes the little things that make being able to play as a different protagonist great. For example, watching Max use her time travel powers from Chloe's perspective is an eye opener and something I never really thought much about until this game.

Old characters are referenced such as Mikey and Steph

Endings and Epilogues

You ultimately have to make some accusations about who you think is responsible for the disaster and this has an impact on the end game, including who lives and who dies. As I normally wing it when I play these sorts of games, I didn't get a very good ending: on the surface, I didn't think I did too bad as I managed to save many people, but not everyone. It's only after reading about the potential endings to the game that I realised how many variables it actually takes into account, and was quite impressed (although also disappointed in my own performance)!

Overall the game had a decent conclusion, especially for the "Pricefield" fans out there. As usual, they had a great selection of music for the game although animations were kind of sloppy, especially towards the end.

You'll have to wear your detective hat if you want to get to the bottom of the mystery

8

A decent enough conclusion to the most recent Life is Strange adventure, especially for the Chloe fans. While the game does have some minor animation issues which are sometimes common in the series, there are quite a few variables being recorded under the hood that will reward those who are good detectives and true empaths.

If you like this game, you might like…

• Life is Strange (2015)
• Life is Strange: Before the Storm (2017)
• Life is Strange : Double Exposure (2024)

Special thanks to my sister-in-law for gifting this game as a 2026 birthday present!