A decade ago, I made the hardest choice I’ve ever made in a game. It was at the end of Life is Strange, Don’t Nod’s narrative adventure game, where Max is forced to pick between saving the love of her life or her entire town. I agonized over the decision, but I ultimately decided to let Chloe die for the greater good. It pained me, but I have since found peace with my decision. It was the right thing to do, and I had to accept that outcome and move on.
Life is Strange: Reunion is out to reopen that wound. The series’ latest game, now developed by Deck Nine, is returning to where it all began by bringing Chloe and Max back together — regardless of what ending you got 10 years ago. It’s all in the name of giving the duo the “ending they deserve,” says Deck Nine. That statement has been met with some backlash, sparking a debate about fan service from the very audience that Reunion is hoping to please. Is Deck Nine’s “by and for fans” approach misguided, or do we just need to wait to see the big picture?
I got my first hint of the answer in a 90-minute demo of Life is Strange: Reunion. The chunk I played clarified exactly how Deck Nine is creating a direct sequel to the series’ last game, Double Exposure, while closing the book on a story that ended on an intentionally challenging note. The result is as awkward as Max so far, but there are signs that Chloe and Max’s reunion is serving a grander thematic purpose that’s worth giving the project the benefit of the doubt — for now.
Life is Strange: Reunion picks up where Double Exposure left off to a greater extent than I was expecting. With the marketing so heavily tied to the’ first game, I assumed we were moving on from Caledon University and the emotional baggage tied to it. That’s not the case. Max is still a teacher at the school, and familiar characters like Moses and Amanda return. The thrust of Max’s story isn’t actually about Chloe at all initially; she is out to save the university after having a vision of it burning down. (There may be some connection to the shady Abraxas, a group that also returns for the sequel.)
To go one step further, Reunion is very much built on Double Exposure’s design. My demo started in that game’s café, which looked relatively unchanged from the last time I saw it. A later section brought me back to Max’s on-campus house, which also remains consistent, even with some new clutter. If it feels like Reunion takes place surprisingly soon after the series’ last game, smart asset reuse seems to be what’s made that possible.
The choice-driven gameplay is about the same, too. I’m still talking to people and making decisions that shape where the story goes, as well as using Max’s time-rewinding powers to progress through story roadblocks. My first task was to stop a heckler from ruining an open-mic night. I went back in time and try to convince him that his car has rolled away, but I said the wrong model. He told me he drives a Mercedes, so I went back in time again and said the right vehicle to send him running outside in a panic. The future was saved, and Amanda got to do terrible stand-up comedy in peace.
There are some clever new ideas sprinkled in. When Chloe arrives in town (more on that in a second), she has to sneak into the café by getting around campus security. When she gets in and is spotted by the guard, I’m thrown into a backtalking minigame where I need to create a convincing cover story while being a total smartass about it. Much later, I’m thrown in the middle of an argument between Chloe and Max where I’m picking responses for both characters and shaping their relationship in the heat of the moment. Both are great ideas that feel additive to the dialogue systems of the original, rather than going too heavy on superhero twists like recent games.
Naturally, the thing that’s bound to get more attention than any gameplay twist is the return of Chloe. She’s back, whether you let her die in Life is Strange or not, though you’re able to shape Reunion’s story based on the outcome you chose. I was playing a save file that was operating under the logic that Max and Chloe got romantic and that Chloe died. How can you possibly tell a story about a character that can either be alive or dead? The answer is a bit of a cop out. Chloe exists in some sort of liminal space now, where she notes that she feels both alive and dead! Okay.
After a thrilling sequence where Max has to escape a house that’s about to be demolished, Chloe returns from the dead-but-maybe-not-dead and reunites with a flabbergasted Max, who looks like she’s seen a ghost-but-maybe-not-a-ghost. A lover’s quarrel ensues back at Max’s house, but the two set aside their tension and decide to work together to prevent Caledon’s impending arson attack. There’s still undeniable chemistry between the characters’ returning voice actresses, and that looks like it’s going to be what ultimately carries Reunion.
I’m hesitant to criticize this too much after 90 minutes, because it doesn’t feel entirely devoid of meaning. Deck Nine seems like it’s out to tell a story about the complicated feeling of reuniting with someone who you thought was out of your life. That’s thematically sound territory, and it’s almost helpful that fans would feel weird about seeing the game dredge up the past. There’s a generous meta reading of Reunion brewing that may not necessarily result in the forced happy ending some fans are dreading, but a thornier takeaway about closure. That doesn’t need to trample how you felt about the original Life is Strange, if it’s done right. It can be its own story with its own thing to say.
What I will call out is how unbearable some of the writing is so far. Hearing Chloe say phrases like “sexy ex-y” is skin-crawling beyond comprehension. She has big “fuckity fuck” energy. I mean, who is still saying the word “splooge” in 2026? Reunion seems very much stuck in the past in more ways than one, and I worry that trying to return to the original game without the actual studio that made it is bound to result in some unconvincing imitation.
Fans have a lot to say about Life is Strange Reunion right now, but I get the sense that we’ll need to let the full story play out before deciding if there’s more to it than empty pandering. The supernatural reason for Chloe’s return feels half-hearted as is, but there’s clearly a big mystery to it that’s building on Double Exposure’s groundwork. I do not envy Deck Nine for trying to thread a lead pipe through a needle, but I’ll be the first one to eat my words if it can pull it off.
