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Life is Strange: Reunion - Reviews Thread

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Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Game Information

Game Title: Life is Strange: Reunion

Platforms:
  • PC (Mar 26, 2026)
Trailer:

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 83 average - 100% recommended
Metacritic - 85 average - Based on 4 reviews

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Critic Reviews


But Why Tho? - Charles Hartford - 8.5 / 10
Life Is Strange Reunion isn't perfect, but it hits the most important notes. Getting to see Max and Chloe together again is a phenomenally emotional experience.
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COGconnected - Jaz Sagoo - 85 / 100
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GAMES.CH - Benjamin Braun - German - 80%
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Game8 - Allisandra Reyes - 84 / 100
Life is Strange: Reunion delivers a carefully crafted send-off for longtime fans, full of emotional depth, nuanced character relationships, and a story that rewards attention to the smallest details. While the gameplay can feel limited and technical hiccups occasionally distract, the strength of the narrative, the exceptional audio, and the quiet, intimate moments carry the experience. It may not be flawless, but Reunion is a heartfelt farewell to Max and Chloe.
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Screen Hype - Lyssa Greywood - 8.5 / 10
Life is Strange has always been about consequence, and Reunion leans into that more than anything else. The game opens by grounding you in Max's history: her childhood with Chloe, the storm, the impossible choice, and the grief that follows, no matter what you originally chose. By the time you reach Reunion, Max is still carrying all of it. Whether you saved Chloe or the town, that decision has shaped her adulthood in a way that never really settled.

I do not believe that there could be a game anymore deserving of Chloe and Max's ending than this one. Life is Strange: Reunion builds on every major choice from Max's games, and it doesn't ignore the major decisions that players made. Your past actions shape how this story plays out, from who Max has loved to who or what she's lost. It's a story that we've been watching for over 11 years.
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Is there a reason why Metacritic includes more reviews than OpenCritic? Metacritic's separating the scores by platform is dumb, but because it has more reviews listed, I take it more seriously.
 
I'm sure it's fine. But in this era of cynical politics, this could just be getting signal boosted because… some folks want it to be signal boosted.

As for anyone, take a look at the game, story and mechanics. If it's for you. Buy it. If not, don't. But don't pay too much attention to the reviews. Honestly… on any game or piece of media these days.
 
Sticks said:
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It's like 6 reviews, and the most important site that bothered to review it is Game Rant, so yeah I don't think the outlook is very good.

Also it's already in the 30s on the Steam top seller list (peaked at 12 on the day of release iirc) and it hasn't even been a week.
 
uncreativename said:
It's like 6 reviews, and the most important site that bothered to review it is Game Rant, so yeah I don't think the outlook is very good.

Also it's already in the 30s on the Steam top seller list (peaked at 12 on the day of release iirc) and it hasn't even been a week.
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I don't think that really matters for a game like this, this franchise has never been a steam top seller. It has its dedicated audience and apparently that's enough for them to keep making more games.
 
cormack12 said:
This takes place at Caladan right? So is the ending with Saffi still in play?
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Yup. It takes place 9 months after the events in Caledon, with most of the characters from the previous game returning, Safiya included, but from what I've played so far (I'm about 4 hours in), there are other things at play, so she isn't as much of a focus as she was in the last game.

I'll say this though, I've been taking my time with the game, exploring everything, trying every dialogue option, etc., and so far I've been enjoying it a lot. The pacing is better than in the previous game and I like that Max has her OG time rewind power back from the first LiS.

The only issue I have is with the console presentation. The image quality in performance mode is too soft for my liking, so I'm playing on quality mode, which is 30 fps.
 
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I bought this with the intention of playing it right away, but I thought "maybe I should play Double Exposure again to get a refresher"...but before I did that, I remembered that I also never played Before the Storm...and with Chloe returning in Reunion, I thought maybe now would be a good time to do that.

So yeah lol I got a lot of Life is Strange in my immediate future. I'm mostly enjoying Before the storm so far. Looking forward to getting to Reunion.
 
Raven117 said:
I'm sure it's fine. But in this era of cynical politics, this could just be getting signal boosted because… some folks want it to be signal boosted.

As for anyone, take a look at the game, story and mechanics. If it's for you. Buy it. If not, don't. But don't pay too much attention to the reviews. Honestly… on any game or piece of media these days.
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Considering the last one got absolutely eviscerated, reviews for these games tend to be honest
 
Love it. Deck Nine just get the rougher side of Chloe better than the actual creators. Makes Double Exposure so much better being a part 1 to this.
And Safi is hot af as well.
 
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adamsapple said:
I don't think that really matters for a game like this, this franchise has never been a steam top seller. It has its dedicated audience and apparently that's enough for them to keep making more games.
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Yep what matters is the steam reviews and its glowing resonating with fans. This most probably being the last LIS means its ending on a high note.
 
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Crazy that they pulled this off.

Double Exposure's last two chapters were embarrassingly bad that it ruined the entire game.

Genuinely shocked with such a quick turnaround this ended up being good.
 
Wait, how old is Double Exposure? Been like, what, 2 years, hasn't it? They're real quick with the releases.

Last LiS I've played was True Colors which was OK. Before the Storm was pretty meh, but I really liked the original LiS back when it was released. Time was right and it was a fresh experience even though the "choices matter" thing wasn't as deep as advertised (as always with these kind of games).

Haven't touched Double Exposure because of the badly reviewed last chapters. Although I still do want to know what happens to Max. She kind of grew on me in LiS 1.
 
vodka-bull said:
Is this game as gay as Lost Records Bloom & Rage? That was by far the worst game I've played this generation.
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I'm not someone who really wants the token gay characters in games or media because it often feels forced, but if something is written well, I don't really mind it...Life is Strange is one of those series for me I think. Even though you can basically choose Max's orientation in the original, for me personally Chloe and Max just feels right for each other. Their closeness felt real to me, so I don't care that they're gay, even though technically I'm the one who make them that way with my choices. Maybe it's because Warren is such a weak love interest otherwise. Or maybe it's because I'm a dude myself, so as the player I want to go after the hot lady relationship, I dunno.

I think it really does have more to do with Chloe as a good fit for Max, because when I played Double Exposure, the lesbian option in that game...didn't work for me, so I didn't make Max into her, and actually had her go with the dude that time. I was playing as if Chloe had died in the original, so she wasn't cheating on her or anything. The lesbian option in double exposure though was too forced, and was trying too hard so I wasn't into her.

Edit: unrelated to my other reply, but I also just finished the main chapters of Before the storm, still have the bonus episode to do. I liked it! dunno why i waited so long to play it. Not crazy about Rachel, but I enjoyed spending more time with Chloe. Didn't necessarily love every story beat, but I didn't have to. During the ending of the game, I found myself yelling at the game for the choice it was trying to steer me in, and I appreciate when something can make me that invested.
 
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Filben said:
Wait, how old is Double Exposure? Been like, what, 2 years, hasn't it? They're real quick with the releases.
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October 2024, yeah a one and a half year release window between games. Almost completely unheard of these days.

But I guess it's 'possible' cause they heavily reuse assets like the RGG studio Yakuza games do.
 
I do not think I am interested in this game. The first one was good, but my interest has waned since then.
 
I just can't get myself to care about this, at all. I enjoyed the first game and thought the ending was absolutely fine. I don't need a reunion at all. If it ever comes to Game Pass then sure I'll give it a whirl but I'm really not gonna buy this and honestly I'm quite done with these type of games by them.

Am curious about that sci-fi game though.
 
I'm interested in the game but not $40 interested. I guess GMG has it for $31 so that's closer to what I would expect a game like this to cost. I actually really enjoyed the last game and True Colors. These typically have a good vibe and decent story, though sadly nothing has quite recaptured the lightning in a bottle that was the first game.
 
I didn't want to buy this at all after Double Exposure and seeing a new game so quickly that had that smell of desperation. I caved hearing it's the "last one" for these 2 characters and also being a fan of the 1st one.

For me it's not better than DE, sure, they ditched the gather the superpowered people thing and it's a more personal story, even so it fails in other stuff.
It's a step down in visuals, animation, gameplay. These two games both fail at the core themes of LIS, the last decent one was True Colors.

I get people want more of Max and Chloe, but this series can't ever recapture that if they continue with these characters.
 


Life is Strange: Reunion reviewed by Nick Maillet on Xbox Series X. Also available on PlayStation 5 and PC.

It's not often the final game in a series, or in this case the ending chapter of the series' two most important characters, sticks the landing quite like Life is Strange: Reunion. While it has some flaws in its overall pacing and could have used a little more time expanding on Max and Chloe's lives post Arcadia Bay. It's excellent writing, multiple gameplay styles, outstanding presentation, and return to form with the two characters that made the series so important for so many people over ten years ago. Life is Strange: Reunion is a fitting end to the decade-spanning Max and Chloe saga.
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Way too high of a score from IGN influenced no doubt by the Max+Chloe duo being present. This is a 7 game at most if you close your eyes to most of the flaws.

For me it's 6 and just for them dropping the gathering of superheroes storyline from the previous game.
 
Branded said:
Did this series ever get over the Trump Derangement Syndrome of the second installment? It was so embarrassing.
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I'll never not think that was their most head scratching moment and I don't even like Trump. Weird as fuck the devs went out of their way to borderline straight up name drop him lol.

I don't remember them doing anything like that in the first game or Before the Storm.
 
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Started this today.

I can see how they pumped it out so quick, you're basically in an asset flip of the last game, just with Chloe and a new story.

The graphics and environments are very cozy but texture pop-in in cut-scenes is pretty notable for a game with small areas.

Chloe's voice is just not fitting with me, the same actress from Before the Storm but that game sounded a lot closer to the original.

But I have to admit, I marked out hard when they dropped the Spanish Sahara song when Chloe and Max finally meet again, nice call back to the first game.


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adamsapple said:
But I have to admit, I marked out hard when they dropped the Spanish Sahara song when Chloe and Max finally meet again, nice call back to the first game.
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The whole game is basically a callback to the 1st one. It's made for that specific fan base of everything Max+Chloe.
 
Alex11 said:
The whole game is basically a callback to the 1st one. It's made for that specific fan base of everything Max+Chloe.
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I chose to start with the "Chloe was dead" choice in the intro and they're doing a pretty decent job addressing it, I think it'll be worth doing a second run with the Chloe was Alive choice cause there's just too much dialogue and story beats here that refer to Chloe being dead and then alive and what that means for all the years that passed in between.
 
adamsapple said:
I chose to start with the "Chloe was dead" choice in the intro and they're doing a pretty decent job addressing it, I think it'll be worth doing a second run with the Chloe was Alive choice cause there's just too much dialogue and story beats here that refer to Chloe being dead and then alive and what that means for all the years that passed in between.
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I did start with "Chloe alive" and at certain moments the game acted like Chloe was dead, regardless of my choice. It has to do with the merging of timelines and all that shit.
Honestly they've backed themselves into this corner with alternate realities and time travel weirdness, even if the 1st had this, it wasn't this literal how is presented in this and also Double Expsoure.
And it wasn't supposed to be, the powers and stuff were meant to be a bit more abstract and metaphoric.

Sure, the relationship between Max and Chloe is pretty good, but it also depends on how you view them. I for one never viewed them as a romantic couple; the 1st game had a tiny moment, but it never gave the idea that they felt anything other than friendship.
So here I started with "Chloe friends", but the game through interactions and conversations it felt that it kept pulling me towards making them a couple even though my choices were opposite.
 
I'm finding this a bit difficult to understand given that I didn't play Double Exposure.

Skipped that one because I heard it wasn't very good, and also that it forced the Chloe is dead ending, which was not the one I chose.

Now Chloe is alive, but the game is full of characters and references I don't get at all. Maybe I should have bought the double pack and played the previous game first.
 
calistan said:
I'm finding this a bit difficult to understand given that I didn't play Double Exposure.

Skipped that one because I heard it wasn't very good, and also that it forced the Chloe is dead ending, which was not the one I chose.

Now Chloe is alive, but the game is full of characters and references I don't get at all. Maybe I should have bought the double pack and played the previous game first.
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That's not true. You get to choose it in a dialogue option at the start of the game whether she is alive or dead. If she's alive, it makes it so that they spent some time after the first game but broke up and Max moved to this new town where Double Exposure and Reunion takes place.

Chloe doesn't physically appear in the game but it factors in both endings.

-

And yes, this is as much of a direct story sequel to Double Exposure as it is to LiS 1, playing that would certainly help.
 
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adamsapple said:
That's not true. You get to choose it in a dialogue option at the start of the game whether she is alive or dead. If she's alive, it makes it so that they spent some time after the first game but broke up and Max moved to this new town where Double Exposure and Reunion takes place.

Chloe doesn't physically appear in the game but it factors in both endings.

-

And yes, this is as much of a direct story sequel to Double Exposure as it is to LiS 1, playing that would certainly help.
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Damn, I shouldn't have skipped it. Not sure why, but I assumed this was more of a standalone thing like Life is Strange 2 and True Colors.
 
Alex11 Alex11

I'm in the "Chloe was alive" run right now and they changed the song for when Max and Chloe first see each other. I vastly prefer the Spanish Sahara one from if Chloe was dead .. hell the entire game and their interactions make a lot more sense if you play the game that way. Like, Max wouldn't be staring at a sleeping Chloe if they had just broken up a few years ago like that, that kind of thing only makes sense if it's someone who was literally dead before.

Bay > Bae seems to be the more rewarding story experience, IMO. At least now both Bay and Bae can exist in the same timeline.
 
adamsapple said:
Alex11 Alex11

I'm in the "Chloe was alive" run right now and they changed the song for when Max and Chloe first see each other. I vastly prefer the Spanish Sahara one from if Chloe was dead .. hell the entire game and their interactions make a lot more sense if you play the game that way. Like, Max wouldn't be staring at a sleeping Chloe if they had just broken up a few years ago like that, that kind of thing only makes sense if it's someone who was literally dead before.

Bay > Bae seems to be the more rewarding story experience, IMO. At least now both Bay and Bae can exist in the same timeline.
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Yeah, so it wasn't just a feeling I had, it makes sense in a way. It doesn't mean I agree with it, but I understand it.

I'm planning to do a "Chloe dead" run to see for myself, but at the moment I'm pissed a bit by this game and the whole management of the series.
 
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