Spoilers ahead.
That was a fitting end to Max & Chloe's story. I'm glad this is going to be the last game with these characters, but I hope the series continues with new characters.
As I suspected, this is very much an apology game. This is totally a "fans complained, so let's give them what they want" game. And if you love these characters, it's a blast.
As a one-off game, it's not great. The story is very much "Double Exposure Part 2," as well as the end of the story started by the original Life is Strange. Playing this one by itself would be like watching "Return of the Jedi" as your first Star Wars movie.
It fixes the mistakes created by the last game. But it also undoes the tragic choice you have to make in the very first game. It weaves everything back together in a way that leads to a happy - if bittersweet - ending. I don't know if I really approve of this... the original game made an impact for a reason, you had to choose between two equally tragic endings. But Reunion merges the timelines into a universe that's the best of both worlds.
The characters deserve this happy ending, finally, but it does mean that the original game loses a little of its bite. Kind of like how Spock's sacrifice in Star Trek II feels less meaningful after Star Trek III.
My biggest fear was that I'd have to choose between Max and Chloe surviving. Well, my fears were groundless. The final choice really isn't that tough. I'd say it's on par with the final choice in Before the Storm.
I think this game's most interesting mechanic is just how much extra material they had to write based on your previous choices. At the beginning of Reunion, when it asks you what you picked in the original game, I told it I sacrificed Chloe. In my playthrough of Reunion, Chloe mentions that she's supposed to be dead approximately 6,000 times. I'll have to watch a YouTube walkthrough to see the alternate dialogue. I swear it had to be like programming two entire games' worth of dialogue.
There are a lot of possible outcomes in the end. Different characters can die in the fire, and different buildings can burn down. As usual, when I looked at my post-credits stats, I saw options I never noticed when playing the through the story. Like I said, I'm going to have to watch some YouTube playthroughs.
In my ending, two main characters died - Vinh and Owen. I didn't manage to stop any of the fires, and the buildings burned down. When presented with the final choice, I lied to Max. None of these are happy events.
And yet, this game left me with warm fuzzy feelings. That feels wrong, somehow, but at this point in my life, I'll take happiness where I can find it.
Ranking the Life is Strange Games:
1. Life is Strange
2. Life is Strange: Before the Storm
3. Life is Strange: True Colors
4. Life is Strange: Reunion
5. The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit
6. Life is Strange 2
7: Life is Strange: Double Exposure
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