Life is Strange: Reunion: How to Clear Part 1 – Rewind Puzzle Guide

Part 1 Overview – What This Walkthrough Covers

Part 1 of Life is Strange: Reunion establishes the core loop: observe a scene, experiment, then use Max’s rewind power to reach the outcome you want. This walkthrough follows the opening sequence through to the end of Moses’s training and the first fire investigation beats, with a focus on the rewind-based puzzles and key choice points that can cause early confusion.

The guide is based on a full playthrough of Part 1 on a controller. Button prompts below are given as:

• PlayStation: L1 (rewind), L2+R2 (fast rewind)
• Xbox: LB (rewind), LT+RT (fast rewind)
• PC / Switch: follow the on-screen equivalents; the logic of each step is the same

This section of the game roughly breaks down as:

• Opening with Chloe and the first dialogue choice
• The sunset photo objective
• Initial fire scene and “Help” objective
• Meeting Moses in his office
• Practicing rewind through three formal tests
• Debrief, early social choices, and first photo demonstration

Opening with Chloe – First Dialogue and the Gun

After the introductory sequence, you regain control as present-day Chloe backstage. You are pushed into a short confrontation and must pick how to respond:

• Negotiate
• Lie
• Threaten

For Part 1, this choice mainly sets Chloe’s tone in the scene rather than locking major branches. Selecting Negotiate keeps things relatively calm and is a safe baseline for a first run, but the walkthrough proceeds correctly no matter which of the three you pick.

Once control returns, follow the snowy path forward. You will come across a gun lying in the snow. Inspecting it is mandatory to progress. Continue down the path until the cutscene triggers and the perspective shifts away from Chloe.

Take a Photo of the Sunset – Finding and Using the Camera

Back with Max, your next main objective is to “Take a photo of the sunset.” The game does not immediately highlight the camera, which can stall progress if you start wandering.

Follow these steps:

• Walk to the rear of the car and interact with the trunk.
• Move or inspect the clutter inside (boxes, bags, and other items) until the camera becomes visible.
• While clearing the trunk, you gain access to Max’s journal. The game pauses to introduce it; back out when finished to return to the trunk.
• Pick up the camera once it is no longer obscured.

With the camera equipped, move to the photo marker at the viewpoint, line up the shot, and slightly zoom in before taking the picture. Zoom is not heavily constrained here, but zooming a bit ensures the game recognizes the composition and advances to the next cutscene.

Fire Scene and “Help” Objective – Graffiti and Fire Material

After the next transition, Max arrives near the aftermath of a fire on campus. The HUD gives you a simple “Help” objective, but there are a few optional details worth noting for story context.

Work through the area in this order:

• Move forward and examine the nearby graffiti when prompted. This is flavour text and sets up the tension on campus.
• Head up the stairs toward the building. You’ll see a sign reading “Stop The Lies”; approach to trigger a short cutscene with some students.
• After the conversation, you are free to search the area. On the second bench on the right-hand side, interact with an object labeled Fire Material.

Finding the Fire Material explicitly signals that someone is likely starting fires deliberately. This supports later investigative dialogue and is worth picking up even though it does not involve a rewind puzzle at this point.

From the bench, continue along the path to the right to reach the next trigger point. Advancing far enough along this path initiates another cutscene and moves the story toward Moses and the rewind tutorial.

Reaching Moses’s Office – Hot Chocolate Objective

Once you regain control indoors, Max’s new objective is to meet Moses for hot chocolate. This objective is linear but the layout can be slightly disorienting on a first pass.

• From your starting position, walk straight ahead toward the faculty area.
• Follow the signs to the Instructor Offices section.
• At the corridor intersection, turn left. You are looking for room 112A.
• Interact with the door to Moses’s office to start the main cutscene.

During this first extended conversation with Moses, you receive several dialogue options. In Part 1, most of these primarily affect tone and how Max characterizes her uncertainty:

• Picking the more cautious or “safer” responses tends to keep Moses supportive.
• When he asks about rewinding, choosing lines like “I didn’t know if I should” keeps Max open but hesitant, which fits the tutorial context.

The important outcome is not a specific line, but that the conversation leads to Moses formally asking Max to practice her rewind ability. Once that happens, the critical gameplay segment begins.

Rewind Basics in Moses’s Office

Before starting the tests, Moses’s office functions as a sandbox where you can safely try rewinding while interacting with various objects.

• Use L1 / LB to rewind time around Max. The world will roll backward while she stays in place.
• Hold L2+R2 / LT+RT together for a fast rewind, useful after long interactions or if you want to quickly reset the room.
• Notice that Max’s knowledge and inventory persist through rewinds; this is the key mechanic that the upcoming puzzles test.

It is efficient to interact with as many items and notes as you like, absorb their information, and then rewind back to Moses before answering any of his questions. This way, you retain all the knowledge but can answer as if you already knew it.

Test 1 – Identifying Who Killed the Swordmaster

Moses’s first formal test is to see whether you understand how rewind preserves information. The objective appears as something like “Learn who killed the swordmaster.”

To complete Test 1:

• From Moses’s desk area, locate the stairs in his office and go up to the upper level.
• Search for the schoolgirl figurine related to Moses’s fictional series No True Samurai.
• Inspect the figurine. Rotate or move the camera as needed until you can read the name printed on the base. The relevant name is Mina Hiramatsu.
• After confirming the name, press L1 / LB (or hold plus fast rewind) to rewind time back to when Moses first posed the question.
• When he asks who killed swordmaster Frostbite, choose Mina Hiramatsu from the list of options.

Your ability to recall Mina’s name after rewinding is exactly what the test is designed to highlight. Getting the answer right advances you immediately to Test 2; no penalty is applied if you pick incorrectly-you can simply rewind and try again-but using the figurine once avoids unnecessary repetition.

Test 2 – The Locked Cabinet, Falling Mug, and Door

The second test introduces physical cause-and-effect and asks you to prevent an object from breaking while still retrieving what Moses wants from a locked cabinet.

When the objective appears (“Get Moses what is locked in the cabinet”):

• Approach the cabinet and interact to inspect it. This marks it as the focus of Test 2.
• Look around the office for tools; on a nearby countertop, you will find a screwdriver. Pick it up.
• Use the screwdriver on the cabinet to open it. A mug will fall and shatter on the floor, failing the test condition.

At this point, hold L2+R2 / LT+RT to quickly rewind to just before you opened the cabinet. The mug is intact again, but you now know what will happen.

To prevent the break:

• Position Max so she is facing away from the cabinet.
• Move right and then right again into the small seating area.
• Interact with the cushion on the chair and pick it up.
• Return to the cabinet, now carrying the cushion. Repeat the process of opening the cabinet with the screwdriver.

This time, when the mug falls, it will land on the cushion and remain intact, satisfying Moses’s requirement that you avoid breaking it while still obtaining the contents of the cabinet.

After this, Moses will reference the busted door. The solution here is automated: allow the sequence to play out, then rewind twice when prompted so that the door returns to its original, unbroken state while Max still remembers what happened. Once you speak to Moses again, Test 2 concludes.

Test 3 – Standing on the X and Preventing the Fire

The final test focuses on reacting quickly with rewind to avert harm. Moses asks you to stand on the X marked on the floor.

Follow the sequence:

• Walk onto the X mark to trigger the test cutscene.
• Watch as the kettle malfunctions and catches fire while Moses is distracted.
• As soon as the situation escalates, activate rewind with L1 / LB (or fast rewind if allowed) to roll back to just before the fire ignites.
• Immediately run over to the kettle and interact to unplug or otherwise shut it down before ignition occurs.

The key here is to note the warning signs during the first pass (e.g., the kettle overboiling), then use rewind to act pre-emptively. Once the kettle is made safe, you have effectively passed Test 3.

Debrief with Moses and Dialogue Outcomes

After all three tests, speak to Moses again to debrief. This conversation contains several symbolic lines (including references like “the school is not a mug”) and optional branches.

For Part 1, these responses largely frame how Max interprets her responsibility rather than altering immediate gameplay. You can safely explore the different topics offered-many of them can be selected sequentially rather than mutually excluding one another.

Once the debrief ends, the scene transitions to Max interacting with some students. You will be prompted to choose between three names when deciding whom to approach (for example, Reggie). Picking Reggie moves the conversation forward smoothly and is the path this walkthrough assumes, but any of the presented students should keep the story within normal bounds for Part 1.

Max is then asked to perform a small photo demonstration with a stranger as subject:

• The subject asks why she was chosen. Selecting a line such as “You look intriguing” maintains a respectful tone and avoids the more abrasive response.
• After taking the photograph, choosing a follow-up like “I never got your name” keeps the interaction open and slightly more personal, which fits with Max’s teaching role.

These dialogue decisions are mostly tonal. There is no rewind puzzle attached here, but you can still freely rewind to compare how the different responses feel if you want to fine-tune Max’s social presence.

Early Rewind Best Practices for Part 1

By the end of Moses’s three tests and the early campus scenes, you have seen most of the core ways the rewind mechanic will be used. Applying a few consistent habits in Part 1 makes later sections more efficient:

• Always scout first. Explore a room fully, read notes, and examine objects before committing to major actions or answers. Max keeps this knowledge even after rewinding.
• Use rewind to correct, not to grind. There is no benefit to repeating an action multiple times just to see the same outcome; focus on rewinding when you have new information to apply.
• Remember physical consequences. Test 2 demonstrates that the world state (broken mug, busted door) matters. If something breaks, consider whether there is a way to place an object (like the cushion) or reposition Max before reattempting.
• Leverage fast rewind for long sequences. In dialogue-heavy scenes, using L2+R2 / LT+RT saves time when returning to a key branch point.
• Watch visual cues. Items that repeatedly draw Max’s attention—such as the kettle, the figurine, or the Fire Material—are often tied into puzzles or later conversations and are worth examining at least once.

End of Part 1 – What You Should Have Achieved

When Part 1 wraps, you should have:

• Completed the sunset photo objective using the camera from the car trunk.
• Investigated the initial fire scene, including collecting the Fire Material clue.
• Reached Moses’s office and unlocked Max’s formal rewind training.
• Successfully passed all three Moses tests:
  • Identified Mina Hiramatsu as the swordmaster’s killer.
  • Prevented the mug from breaking while opening the cabinet and restored the door via rewind.
  • Stopped the kettle fire by rewinding and unplugging it.
• Completed the debrief, met students like Reggie, and run a short photo demonstration with a stranger.

With these objectives cleared and the rewind mechanics internalized through Moses’s tests, you are structurally prepared for the more complex investigations and branching conversations that follow in the subsequent sections of Life is Strange: Reunion.