Life Is Strange heading towards a dramatic Reunion in March

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Upcoming "epic finale" of the saga of Max and Chloe coming to PC and consoles on March 26th

The various consequences of choices made by players at the end of Dontnod Entertainment's 2015 classic Life Is Strange suggested that the relationship between teenaged protagonist Max Caufield and her rebellious friend Chloe Price had ended in dramatic fashion, one way or the other. At best, a continuation of their story seemed unlikely; at worst, impossible. And yet it's happening! And soon, as developer Deck Nine Games and publisher Square Enix have just revealed the real "epic finale" of Max and Chloe's saga, appropriately called Life Is Strange: Reunion. 

Events in this game follow not only from the original Life Is Strange, but from 2024's Double Exposure as well. Max is now a photography teacher at Caledon University, where she returns from a weekend break to find it "ablaze, as a raging inferno destroys the hallowed grounds and ends the lives of Max’s friends, students and faculty alike." Now her only chance to avert the disaster is to revive her extraordinary power to rewind time – in this case to any point within the last three days. Desperate and terrified that she won't be able to deal with the "chaos" alone, an even bigger shock awaits when Chloe appears from out of the blue.

Chloe is in serious trouble of her own, suffering from terrible visions and "haunted by nightmares of a past she never lived." Together the two young women will need to figure out what's happening to Chloe (and what happened after the terrible events in Arcadia Bay so many years earlier to make this reunion possible), and stop the deadly fire from completely destroying the campus. Through all the "devastating decisions" they'll need to make in the process, perhaps they can even "find a future together... before everything burns." 

The slick visual and audio presentation of Reunion is exactly what we've come to expect from the series, with its third-person, free-roaming graphics accompanied by an "original score and songs, and licensed tracks both nostalgic and new." Perhaps most importantly, actors Hannah Telle and Ashly Burch are returning to reprise their roles as Max and Chloe, respectively. The fact that the two protagonists are back together at all is a surprise, but this game also marks the first time that both will be playable in the same game. (Chloe was previously the star of the spinoff prequel Before the Storm in 2017.) Here players will alternate "between their different perspectives as the story unfolds." As always, the focus is less on puzzle-solving and more on "character-led, grounded storytelling ... with meaningful choices that affect the outcome of a dramatic and surprising narrative."

While Max's earlier traumatic experiences caused her to vow never to use her time rewind powers again, here she has no choice if she's to save her beloved school, and this time it's "more responsive than ever." When playing as Max, you can choose any time to revisit within the past three days, allowing you to carry items between present and past (a handy ability and indeed a requirement for overcoming certain obstacles), as well as "undo and redo every decision, change the course of conversations, and manipulate your environment to solve four-dimensional puzzles." It may even kick in automatically at times whenever Max is in mortal danger.

Chloe has no such paranormal ability, but even in her torment she is still very much "unapologetically Chloe." Along with her sassy, often amusing gift of "backtalk," Chloe will rely on her "quick wits and take-no-prisoners attitude to sway key suspects," which enable her to "go where Max can’t" in her "race to unravel the secrets of her nightmares and double memories." Of course, no matter who is in control, there will be repercussions to every decision you make. What you do (and how) very much matters, with the fates of those around you continually hanging in the balance as you attempt to figure out who started the fire and why, and hopefully stop them before they're able to set their destruction plan in motion. 

Even better than the announcement of Life Is Strange: Reunion is that the "epic climax that serves as a finale to the Max and Chloe saga" isn't far off. The game is slated to launch on Steam and the Microsoft Store for Windows PC on March 26th, along with console versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The game will be sold in various versions, beginning with Standard and including a Deluxe Edition, Twin Pack, and Collector’s Edition, each with their own set of exclusive bonuses.