‘Life of Strange: Reunion’ is the final chapter in the long-standing saga of Max Caulfield and Chloe Price’s time-bending exploits. Deck Nine’s game-changing series comes to an end with a climactic ending, this time fighting a catastrophic fire with time manipulation. As a fan of Life is Strange (2015), being reunited was bittersweet. Most of the time, Life is Strange: Reunion blends nostalgia with modern themes well, but it doesn’t always hit the same as the struggle against that first storm in Arcadia Bay.

Life is Strange: Reunion follows on from the sequel to Max’s storyline, Life is Strange: Double Exposure (2024). From the opening scenes, there are flashbacks to pivotal moments of the past games. Reliving the memories of Max’s connection with Chloe and the butterfly effect it caused in future entries. We’ve seen Max Caulfield’s life unfold from her teen years at Blackwell High to her evolution into a full-blown photography teacher at Caledon University. While some things change, other things stay the same.

The storytelling is as emotional as ever, exploring themes that are confronting but handled gracefully. It doesn’t feel as heavy as the incredibly dark themes they’ve already explored in the past titles, losing some of the long-lasting impact I was expecting.

The gameplay stays more or less the same with Max’s ability to rewind time. This mechanic completely changed decision-based storytelling in its heyday and mostly lands, especially since you can see how different choices play out before travelling back to alter the series of events. In some instances, it feels like there ultimately is no way to completely change the outcome, with decisions feeling somewhat forced since you can rewind time until you get the right solution, taking away some of the feel of choice, leading to consequences.

At the beginning of the game, you can choose or randomise the relationships you’ve had with characters from the previous games, including the decisions of who you aligned with or even, in some cases, who survived. It lends itself to replayability to what could have been different had I made those initial decisions earlier, and changes a reasonable amount of relationship dynamics. Though the rare moments there is a “this action will have consequences” pop-up can feel incredibly unnerving, especially since in some decisions, it’s hard to know what the long-term impact will be.

The game is easy to pick up, focusing on living through Max’s experience and her connections to other characters, which can change the course of the future. For gamers like me who love a good story, this is another strong entry, but the opening hour or so is an incredibly slow-burning experience, like watching a drawn-out cutscene with a smattering of short interactions and decisions rather than me being the sole driver of the plot. Once I was given full control of Max, Life is Strange: Reunion picked up momentum.

There are touching themes reflecting real human experiences delivered in a way that’s believable and engaging, but as a game, it’s an acquired taste. If you enjoy narrative games amongst a sea of high-stakes action-adventure, combat-heavy titles, this might be worth playing. Still, I found I had to be in the right mindset to play. It’s slow-paced and thoughtful, but you have to sit with it and fully immerse yourself to appreciate what Life is Strange: Reunion has to offer.

Where the characters shine is how insanely expressive their faces are, and the delivery of their dialogue is so well-delivered that it’s hard not to feel emotionally invested. The original voice cast returns, and usually the dialogue lands, but sometimes the writing, trying to get that “hip and young” vibe, feels cringeworthy, but these encounters were minimal. Another mellow indie soundtrack perfectly captures the essence of Max and Chloe’s personalities, especially with a throwback song from Life is Strange, which damn near made me cry.

The university and surroundings have plenty to look at and interact with, lending itself to inspect absolutely everything, to hear the commentary from characters. Mostly, the game ran well on PlayStation 5 with a few slow texture load-ins, but nothing major.

Overall, Life is Strange: Reunion looks stunning, and I enjoyed the times when Max could bring out her camera to take picturesque snapshots of her world.

Life is Strange: Reunion is a strong send-off to Max and Chloe’s story for gamers who have been there since the beginning or picked up on the way through. If you’ve followed the existing story, you’ll likely appreciate the substance more. I’ve been alongside Max’s journey for just over 10 years and grown alongside her into a fully fledged adult as well,l so I understood the pivotal moments that led up to now.

New players should rewind to at least the original Life is Strange to get the full picture, which might be lost on them otherwise. Life is Strange: Reunion is a strong farewell to Max and Chloe’s story arc.

Whether it’s memorable depends on the player. Still, I would encourage newcomers to return to Arcadia Bay, where it all started in the past, to appreciate the present entry and how all of Max’s previous choices led up to now.

Written by: Yasmin Noble