Part of the charm of the Life is Strange series has always been its focus on more than just one character or a single setting. After Don’t Nod helped launch the series back in 2014 for publisher Square Enix, Deck Nine Games took the baton a few years later. These games have maintained a consistent level of quality, primarily by balancing grounded teenage and young adult drama with supernatural and science fiction elements.
Whatever criticisms Life is Strange has faced over the years, lack of freshness has never been one of them. You could argue that the ideas haven’t always been great, but they have always been different. Even *Life is Strange: Double Exposure*, which revisited original protagonist Max Caulfield a decade after the first game’s events, felt like a step forward for the character and a leap into new territory for the series as a whole.
Then came Tuesday’s livestream reveal from Square Enix and Deck Nine. Somehow, Chloe Price is back.
Indeed, *Life is Strange: Reunion* brings the original series protagonists back together. Max Caulfield and Chloe Price unite once more, drawn into a new mystery that kicks off soon after the events of *Double Exposure*. Regardless of how the first *Life is Strange* ended, *Reunion* promises to seamlessly tell its narrative and reunite its two heroines.
Voice actresses Hannah Telle and Rhianna DeVries, who portray Max and Chloe respectively, presented this reveal as something special for the fans. It’s everything players remember about Max and Chloe. Max can use her Rewind power again, while Chloe can improvise and sass her way through situations with her Backtalk mechanic. The entire presentation seems designed to evoke a strong sense of nostalgia.
Nostalgia itself isn’t inherently bad, but the problem here is that *Life is Strange* has never relied on it in such a blatant way before.
I’m not happy to see Max and Chloe back because their story is over. It has been over. The ending was definitive—varying from player to player, yes, but emphatic nonetheless.
*Double Exposure* was largely about Max’s new life: how she had moved on from Chloe and Arcadia Bay, forging new friendships and potential relationships. Even the powers Max wielded in *Double Exposure* were entirely different from those in the original game. She couldn’t even use her Rewind power if she wanted to—and without spoiling anything, there were moments when she absolutely wished she could.
While Max’s past was sometimes discussed, it was never the main focus. *Double Exposure* used a previous protagonist but carried a sense of moving forward and exploring the unknown—because that’s what life is supposed to be about.
The way Square Enix and Deck Nine are bringing Chloe back now feels too much like nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake.
I’m sure *Reunion* will have unexpected moments, and the mystery at its core looks captivating. Yet the entire premise revolves around reliving the past. No matter what “new” story the next couple of months of marketing try to sell, it doesn’t erase the feeling that this is about living in the past.
It’s about seeing Chloe again.
It’s about getting to Rewind again.
It’s about remembering the good old days of Arcadia Bay, teenage drama, racing to third period, the Obama administration, and a generally more innocent era of 2014—a time no one can truly return to, no matter how much we wish we could.
This is disappointing, especially given what I’ve seen Deck Nine accomplish with the *Life is Strange* series. I wasn’t a big fan of *Double Exposure*’s story, but at least it tried something different. I was a much bigger fan of *Life is Strange: True Colors*, which took place in the same universe but told an original story with a new protagonist in a fresh setting.
*True Colors* showed the potential of what this series could be.
The real irony of the *Reunion* reveal comes when remembering the last time Max and Chloe were together: a deadly storm was threatening the world, and a sacrifice was necessary to save everyone. Only through that selfless act could the world continue.
At best, *Reunion* will force players to make that gut-wrenching choice again—which could be interesting but ultimately feels like déjà vu.
At worst, it renders that moment almost meaningless.
The ending of the first *Life is Strange* was about knowing when to let go.
I only wish Square Enix and Deck Nine recognized that themselves.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/147480/life-is-strange-reunion-just-let-max-and-chloe-go-please
