After the previous entry in this beloved series “Life Is Strange: Double Exposure” failed to deliver, Deck Nine Games needed to make sure the next installment steered the franchise back on track. On March 26, “Life Is Strange: Reunion” was released, becoming the seventh installment in the series. While having some minor flaws, “Reunion” largely accomplishes their goal.
“Reunion” picks up where “Double Exposure” left off with fan-favorite protagonist Max Caulfield, but unlike “Double Exposure,” she’s not alone, as they pair her up with her partner in time Chloe Price.
Actress Hannah Telle returns to voice Max, and once again does an incredible job. Chloe is not voiced by her original voice actress Ashly Burch, instead being voiced by Rhianna DeVries, who voiced Chloe in the prequel to the first game “Life Is Strange: Before the Storm.” The Life Is Strange community was split on the decision on who voiced the character; while DeVries is good as Chloe, Burch is great. Regardless of the controversy, DeVries still delivers in her return to the character.
“Reunion” has two playable protagonists in Max and Chloe, something no other “Life Is Strange” has done before. When players are playing as Max, they can use her rewind power once again, as Max regained the power after the events of “Double Exposure.” When players are controlling Chloe, they can use her back-talk mechanic introduced in “Before the Storm.”
The game begins when a fire breaks out at Caledon University. Max stumbles upon the fire and, seeing its chaos and destruction, decides to jump into a photo from three days before the fire starts to prevent it.
During the first day, Max reunites with Chloe and the rest of the story unfolds from there. Chloe’s role in the story makes sense no matter which choice you made at the end of the first game, since Max merged the timelines at the end of “Double Exposure.” While this does negate the player’s choice at the end of the first game, which I am not a fan of, I feel it is executed the best way it could’ve been for the story to work.
Max and Chloe are easily the best characters in the game as their chemistry is electric. When the two are not together, they still shine and hold their own in their individual scenes. Max’s best friend Moses Murphey returns again, and outside of the main protagonist, is the next best character in the game. Moses’ role in the game is similar to his role in “Double Exposure,” which works given our familiarity with the character in that game.
Two characters who get a bigger role in “Reunion” are Loretta and Reggie. Originally, they weren’t the most compelling characters, but with more screen time given to the pair, they turn into solid side characters. However, not every character from the previous game works in “Reunion,” as Amanda, Vinh, Lucas and Safi are all middle of the road. Because the other characters mentioned get the majority of the screen time, these middle of the road characters don’t bog down the game.
The music in the game is great and serves as callbacks to the original game, including “Spanish Sahara” by Foals and “Piano Fire” by Sparklehorse and PJ Harvey.
The other songs, including “Embers in The Sky” by Holly Humberstone and “Isolation” by Daughter, help put together a solid soundtrack.
There are three different endings to the game, and while two of the endings are better than one, the game ends on a beautiful note. After the player’s final choice, the game cuts to a montage of the first game, “Before the Storm” and “Double Exposure,” showing how far Max and Chloe have come.
While I believe the series should’ve stayed an anthology, this is a beautiful conclusion for these iconic characters, making “Life Is Strange: Reunion” a 8/10.
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Rodney Prunty is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @rprunty05
