Kate Marsh, Diamond, QTE, Backtalk with Safi: New Cut Details of Life is Strange: Reunion Revealed

Life is Strange: Reunion, released this March, marked the end of Max Caulfield and Chloe Price’s story, which began in the original 2015 video game. It is believed that certain story and gameplay elements were cut from the title, and a recent file leak revealed that Reunion might have included several interesting features, including connections to key characters from the first installment and even scenes featuring QTEs.

A Reddit user revealed several Life is Strange: Reunion files that didn't make it into the game's final cut. It is believed that the game was originally titled Life is Strange: Iris, which made a certain amount of sense. Since Max Caulfield is a photographer, “iris” refers to a specific form of macro photography that captures detailed images of the human iris—the colored part of the eye. Additionally, Diamond, a character from Life is Strange: Double Exposure, appears to have been the second main protagonist instead of Chloe, as indicated by texture files for her phone and room—most likely referring to a room in the Abraxas headquarters building. Furthermore, Kate Marsh, a character from the original Life is Strange, was also supposed to appear in Reunion—but only through text messages with Max. On top of that, at certain points, players would have encountered QTE scenes, which have never appeared in any game in the franchise, and Chloe and Safi likely would have had a “Backtalk” scene at the lighthouse, as the related icons were observed.

Cut Content from Life is Strange: Reunion

PLEASE NOTE: i got a few things wrong here because i missed a few things in my playthroughs so please forgive me! Rens dad is Ian, and the unnamed guy is the guy in the turtle doing poetry reading!

• unused backtalk graphics for LiS1 Chloe
• unused backtalk graphics for Safi
• unnamed unused male character
• unused Diamond phone textures
• unused QTE graphics
• unused Kate text icon
• Ren originally being named Ian
• Originally using LiS1 rewind spiral
• Leftover folder named "DiamondsRoom"..

Other than that, I was unable to find anything else so far.

This isn't the first time we've heard about cut content from Life is Strange: Reunion. Previously, former Square Enix digital artist Jan-Wah Li shared images of unused NPCs for the game, as well as an autumn version of Caledon University—a playable area that was likely set on the university campus and open for exploration—and various alternate appearances for Chloe Price. Furthermore, one player also noted that Deck Nine had completely recreated the North Yard area of Caledon University for Life is Strange: Reunion, which directly suggests that players had potentially more opportunities to explore the game’s environments.

the fact that the north yard is fully modeled in reunion... we were supposed to see so much more

The future of the Life is Strange franchise remains uncertain. This May, several key developers left the studio, including Deck Nine’s lead programmer, Damien Kochanek. But this week, Square Enix announced that sales of Life is Strange: Reunion have exceeded their expectations, and there is a possibility that this will lead to a new game in the series in the foreseeable future. Moreover, the book Life is Strange: Welcome to Caledon University may have teased what the next game in the franchise could be like. Its storyline follows Safi and Diamond as they search for characters from previous Life is Strange installments, including Daniel from Life is Strange 2 and Alex from Life is Strange: True Colors. You can also check out what’s next for Life is Strange game franchise.

Currently, work is underway on adapting the first part of Life is Strange, with Amazon handling the production. The lead roles will be played by Tatum Grace Hopkins (Max Caulfield) and Maisy Stella (Chloe Price). An unofficial first look at them was recently shared on social media. Filming is set to begin in the coming days, as the creators have already arrived in Vancouver, where the shooting will take place.

Are you disappointed about these cut features of Life is Strange: Reunion? Share your thoughts in the comments below!