The Game Awards presented the world premiere of Life is Strange Reunion, and along with it came the announcement of the game’s availability for March 26. This news confirmed the attendance of the series’ first protagonists, namely Max Caulfield and Chloe Price, which has sparked heated debates about the story and the role of the player in the gaming community.
But I guess that’s great news! The Game Awards showered us with a surprise and the internet is more or less responsive as it has always been. Life is Strange Reunion is finally on its way and it is only one month away? March 26, mark it in your calendar or whatever way you like to remind yourself. The girls are back! The teaser shows them as older but maybe smarter, still having that quality that brought a million gamers crying into their pillows in 2015. This is somewhat of a great event for those who have visited Arcadia Bay, even if it was just a digital visit.
The reaction. It’s just pure pandemonium on twitter. Some people are really losing it but in a nice way. One user, Spiritwolf13748, made a post saying, “This is everything to me…” along with a crying emoji, which is super relatable. Another one, RealmOfGamingYT, just said “So excited for this!” which is the calmest and most polite version of the shouting happening in other places. PlayBattleRise also chimed in with “We’re so hyped. Looks amazing,” sharing that cheerful corporate account vibe. And then there are the ones who scream in all caps, for instance, ilovemykittties who shouted “MAX AND CHLOE” and then “OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MYGOD” which, to be honest, is just like me.
But this is where it gets a bit tangled up, since Life is Strange 1 had that ending. That one you remember. The great choice. Sacrifice Arcadia Bay or let Chloe die. So how can Reunion even happen? Already, players have begun to pick at that thread like a loose sweater. User forwingol went straight to the point, “So what if you sacrifice Chloe in LIS 1, is she still in the game?” That’s the million-dollar question! Aaron Vo, also known as TheBa55Singer, went on to say: “…so does that mean that one ending is canon or are they totally rewriting the story to somehow make this work because I don’t see how they are bringing Chloe back without making the first game pointless.” Right here is the main concern. If your choice turns out to be inconsequential, does it damage the original? Some replies attempted to argue it out, with user shamaji4444 reasoning “but it’s still the same universes tho just two diff timelines,” whereas _Luuu_a countered “yes the timelines merged together so your choices dont matter like at all.” Ouch!
Then, there is the less enthusiastic side of the fans. Some are not thrilled at all. User stardust_ah referred to it as “pure fanservice” and that it was like “the fans were writing the story,” which can be a good or bad thing depending on your point of view. Others simply do not accept Deck Nine’s interpretation, thus DulanthaA candidly stated, “I am going to stick to the OG games from Dontnod, thank you.” The change of the voice actress for Chloe is also an issue for some. There was a whole debate about Ashly Burch where Heisrein199 labeled her “one of the most obnoxious activists” and said they don’t miss her, while MrJulianR1 considered her “one of the best voice actresses.” It’s really a thing.
And do not miss the dialogues that are both funny and crazy. Amadeusmon started a legendary rant: “Can’t wait to kill Chloe. Again and again and again and again and again and again and again until the game realizes that she is meant to stay dead. And by can’t wait, I mean I’ll wait until it’s $20.” The commitment to the joke is impressive. Meanwhile, on the other hand, TrialXtreme is going through a personal crisis: “I have to replay the previous game because my original branches are burnt.” I have been there, my friend. And minx87 has unwittingly managed to encapsulate a strikingly large part of the discussion with: “no chloe=bad. chloe=bad. older chloe-bad. XD.” That is just… right on target.
So what is the state of the matter? Is that a cash grab or a sincere homage? The official comment was very succinct regarding the details, thus the only things left to us are excitement and fear. Some people regard it as a “big +” for the new Dumbsville content, just like brickfighter13 said. The game is also coming to Xbox and other platforms.
