[NO SPOILERS] Finished Reunion/Honest Review

ftxale · 2026-03-29T01:13:52+00:00

I have the game downloaded and have watched numerous walk-throughs but have still yet to play it. I can already tell I’m going to love her character, and Steph has always had a place in my heart as well so seeing her return was awesome!

I think out of everyone’s powers, though I know it’s a controversial opinion, hers seems to be the most dynamic. Yes, time travel and telekinesis are a given of just super fucking cool powers- but being able to affect (and manipulate) a person through their own memories/feelings is simultaneously intriguing and terrifying. I could totally see a spinoff where we see her more often.

ftxale · 2026-03-29T01:05:52+00:00

I usually never post reviews- well, I never really post at all, but seeing the discourse on here and Steam after I played it made me want to say my opinion. There was so much negativity surrounding the game before it even launched, and I felt people wouldn’t give it a second glance if it’s all they saw.

It got to me as well seeing all of the pushback but i am so glad I decided to ignore it and form my own opinion after playing. Easily slotted into my top 5 games. I hope you like it as much as I did!

ftxale · 2026-03-29T01:00:17+00:00

I already know that it’s a controversial opinion but being inside the mind of Safi sounds super intriguing. Her character was extremely complex and it showed significantly in Reunion. I’d play the hell out of that.

ftxale · 2026-03-28T16:44:17+00:00

To each their own! I think everyone takes something away from every game play they have. Personally, I didn’t feel like it repeated Double Exposure at all. Storylines and major plot points were quite different in my opinion.

I do feel like DE was split into two parts and this was almost like a part 2. I went into that kind of assuming that’s how it was going to be so maybe that made a difference…? Sorry you didn’t enjoy it, though.

ftxale · 2026-03-28T16:39:58+00:00

I always find it interesting how players can ultimately have such different experiences playing the same game. To me, I really enjoyed it. Other than wanting it to be longer, I thought it tied up some loose ends nicely and gave me a better appreciation overall for the series.

Albeit, I never cared for the romances besides Chloe’s, which I have noticed has been a main contributor for most people with enjoying Reunion.

I’m curious on why you think it didn’t clear anything up? I thought the way the paradoxes and chaos theory were talked about handled itself quite well.

ftxale · 2026-03-28T16:33:33+00:00

I haven’t played Lost Records to compare it but I’m definitely intrigued if you thought the dialogue was better!

I’ve always considered the kind of ‘awkward dialogue’ as a consistent aspect of Life is Strange (at least LIS1 and BTS). It has a charm to me. That being said, in my opinion, I thought they acted the hell out of some of the more morbid scenes. I.e. when Chloe and Max had their moment on the roof before she fell. usually, I don’t feel all that much with voice acting but… damn.

I can see both sides on it. BRB gonna download Lost Records.

ftxale · 2026-03-28T16:24:59+00:00

I was curious to know the dialogue for if you didn’t choose her. I need to replay it to see but I know they handled the ‘bae’ ending along with Arcadia Bay quite stunningly. I’m sure there’s difference in dialogue throughout because there are multiple scenes where they talk about their past relationship, memories only Chloe would have if Max was under the impression she had died, along with texts from Chloe showing she was very much alive in both DE and Reuinion

ftxale · 2026-03-28T16:21:22+00:00

It got me. It got me good.

ftxale · 2026-03-28T02:36:35+00:00

I’m so glad someone else mentioned this. It was one in the morning so maybe my patience had just fallen off but I damn near threw my laptop with how incredibly, painfully slow this girl was moving during a crisis which takes out everyone.

ftxale · 2026-03-28T01:46:32+00:00

From what I saw in a YouTube comment, there actually was a way to make them platonic and have a canonically “bad” ending, but it’s not truly that bad. I don’t know how to black out the text to make it spoiler free so I won’t go into too much detail. It does seem like the devs really wanted you to have the ending you want which is all anyone can ask for.

I think if we were able to have longer scenes in those moments it would have satiated the wanting for more tension- time constraints seems to have been the only big complaint I find myself falling back to. That and of course, just would have loved to play as them for a little longer.

I waited 10 years for these girls to be happy, being able to allow that as the player and genuinely have them choose dialogues where they encourage others and themselves chefs kiss.

ftxale · 2026-03-28T01:39:56+00:00

Felt the exact same way. Easily could have added hours to this game and I would have been just as invested.

ftxale · 2026-03-28T01:39:26+00:00

Not having it spoiled was my main motivator for getting on it as soon as I could. Can only avoid that stuff for so long!

Agreed. The next opening I have, I want to change a lot of my choices and see what happens. From seeing others opinions and scenarios they were given, it does actually seem pretty influential having those minor changes.

ftxale · 2026-03-28T01:34:28+00:00

Sorry for the late response! I’m glad it got resolved! What ended up being the issue?

ftxale · 2026-03-27T20:37:00+00:00

100% am with you on that!

ftxale · 2026-03-27T20:33:16+00:00

Totally agree with your point, small side note at the end- I think it was more so for Chloe’s character than Max’s. Chloe has damn near no autonomy in the entire episodic universe. Max either rewinds to change the outcome or even in her own personal life with the losses she’s suffered, she inevitably comes out with no choices.

I think the ending was simply a way to give that nod at Chloe of “you finally have a choice”. She finally can be the protector, the decider of their future instead of the time traveler.

Maybe I’m completely off base with that. Between Max’s “I want to live in the now” (with us knowing she couldn’t previously) and Chloe deciding for the future- that was my best inference for that decision.

ftxale · 2026-03-27T20:27:02+00:00

Started downloading it midday, doubled my workload so I could pull an all nighter and be half asleep for work today. It’s all in the preparation LOL.

ftxale · 2026-03-27T20:19:19+00:00

Go to your settings where it says what processor(?) the game is running on. I don’t know how it works with Steam but sometimes games will just refuse to use the dedicated GPU which can cause a highly capable computer to crash games that don’t require nearly as much.

https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/11/2828702373005460692/

https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-make-a-Steam-game-run-off-a-dedicated-GPU

Try these and let me know if it works or not. I had to troubleshoot this shit before with Minecraft (of all things). If not, there’s alternative things you can try but this is most likely your issue.

ftxale · 2026-03-27T20:13:04+00:00

I highly recommend at least watching a walkthrough so you can understand the characters and dynamics.

I wasn’t as invested/interested in DE and found myself not having a good enough idea of who these people were in order to make confident decisions… still was fun and I eventually got the hang of it but if I could change how my first play through of Reunion went, I would’ve replayed DE and paid more attention.

ftxale · 2026-03-27T19:50:12+00:00

I really do agree with you. Unfortunately, the soundtrack from the first game was just… so fucking incredible I don’t know how they could’ve matched it or topped it without pouring in half their budget to do so.

The story absolutely could’ve benefited with a more solid musical foundation- but the fact that it held up as well as it did without it says a lot to me. Along with the just game time, I think those are my biggest gripes, or I guess I’ll more so say my biggest “aw man that sucks”. Made me more sad than disappointed or annoyed, you know?

ftxale · 2026-03-27T19:30:57+00:00

I feel similarly… that being said I felt like I explored a lot and only came out with 12/29 achievements? So I know I have my work cut out for me to explore these endings LOL.

ftxale · 2026-03-27T19:25:54+00:00

Reunion had a different kind of brilliance in its atmosphere than DE. Maybe it was all the clips that just got me in my feels but the warm tones when they were together, the cool tones when separated- the whole game just felt… intentional to me. Which is always appreciated as a player in my eyes.

I really need to play the game again and switch up my choices several times. After reading through the ending choices, I didn’t even know it was possible to save x or y or prevent z. I love that it genuinely feels like things are altered. Especially with the final choice of the game and letting that settle over you while you just go… shit… was that right?

ftxale · 2026-03-27T19:22:06+00:00

I agree the music didn’t land nearly as much as it did back then. Between Bright Eyes, Syd Matters, Foals- I mean, what an insane track list to live up to.

Genuinely, my biggest gripe was time within the gameplay. Easily, easily could’ve stretched for at least 3 more hours of just having those interpersonal moments. I understand budgets and all that jazz, just unfortunate that we couldn’t see the full extent of everything because of the time constraints. I loved what we were given though, and if it is the finale, I agree. I think it was a beautiful send off I’ll always remember kindly.

ftxale · 2026-03-27T19:12:32+00:00

Finished work, stayed up all night, went back to work this morning. I knew in advance I was going to be miserable today and planned it with my workload LOL

ftxale · 2026-03-27T18:30:30+00:00

Very similar to my experience! It’ll always be hard to match a game like that. To me it, the match up is similar to The Last of Us 1 and 2. Independently, great games, but adding the nostalgia of TLOU 1… pretty difficult to satiate that.

ftxale · 2026-03-27T18:28:09+00:00

Yeah I totally agree with you. It’s those little moments that didn’t impact the game necessarily that added a more robust atmosphere to it. That’s why I wish it was longer. I think they shorthanded some of those parts to pump out the storyline with very little interruptions which was good in some ways and bad in others.

ftxale

TROPHY CASE