Review: Life is Strange: True Colors

Overview

Life is Strange: True Colors is the latest installment in the series that was started by DONTNOD, though this game (like the Before the Storm prequel) was developed by Deck Nine. True Colors, like Life is Strange 2, follows a brand new protagonist, Alex, and a brand new superpower— empathy. Like the first game, this one features a mystery to solve, and everything in this game is fantastic - it just needs more.

  • Developer: Deck Nine

  • Genre: Mystery/Adventure

  • Release Date: September 10, 2021

  • Platform: PS4/5, Xbox One/Series S/X, PC, Nintendo Switch

  • Price: $59.99

Mechanics

Let's talk about the supernatural powers in True Colors. The first item of note is that Alex has been living with this ability for a while, rather than obtaining it at the start of the game. Alex is still learning how to manage her power after mostly avoiding situations that would invoke it. This allows the player to maintain a sense of discovery as Alex strengthens her power and learns new ways to utilize it instead of suppressing it. The power itself is the ability to see colored auras around other characters that represent their emotions. Alex can also tune in to someone's emotions and use nearby objects to understand the origin of those feelings. There is so much potential for this ability that is, sadly, underutilized. Overall, the player doesn't have enough agency in using this power. The user can use the power or not, and once they choose to use the power, the prayer choices don't affect anything within that scene. At one point Alex learns that she can choose to take someone's emotion from them— their anger, their grief — with the caveat that she will absorb it for herself. I was so excited for this mechanic, but the consequences of making these choices are so minimal and short-lived that it nearly obliterated the impact of being asked to make it in the first place.

I loved the power in this game, but the consequences of how you use that power— or rather, If you use it— are just too minimal and delayed to make a sufficient lasting impact. At the end of the game, your relationships with the various residents of Haven Springs will determine how the final confrontation unfolds. Along the way, there are also a number of smaller ways you can affect the lives of people in Haven Springs. These smaller moments in which you can choose to intervene are where the game really shines in my opinion. Ultimately, though, the impact of Alex's power may just be too subtle. That said, the mechanics of this game are still excellent and true to the spirit of the Life is Strange franchise. It's wonderful to use the empathy power to explore not just haven springs, but all of its residents. The way that Alex uses this ability to help people is enchanting, even if I wish I got to make more decisions about how to use it!

Environment

Haven Springs is the perfect Life is Strange location. It's beautiful and full of small details that bring the town and the people to life. The small mining town is reminiscent of both Arcadia Bay and Possum Springs from Night in the Woods (both in terms of its quaint small town offerings and its morbid hidden secrets). Haven Springs has a bar, record store, dispensary, and plenty of empty buildings in between purposes. Each location is equally brilliant in design, and connected by a picturesque street for the player to roam. The music is also wonderful, as always. There are a series of opportunities for the player to sit, admire the scenery, and listen to music along with Alex's reflections. My only complaint is that we don't get to listen to more music while walking around Haven Springs.

The only thing more gorgeous than Haven Springs is the people who live there. The character models are amazing. The facial animations alone contribute so much to the atmosphere and storytelling. The Deck Nine team has managed to preserve the stylized aesthetic of the US brand while also taking advantage of what new consoles have to offer. I continue to be impressed by both DONTNOD and Deck Nine in their contributions to the art of this franchise.

Characters

The people of haven springs may be lovely in aesthetic, but they're also fabulously written. Alex is a fantastic protagonist. She's relatable, determined, and has great chemistry with the other residents of Haven Springs. In terms of representation, she's a female asian protagonist who isn't ridiculously thin or hyper-sexualized. Further, the fact that Alex is a woman is essentially non consequential. It's never a plot point. She's a protagonist who happens to be a woman, nothing more. It's wonderful. (As a side note, I didn't realize how much it meant to me to have a more curvy protagonist until I saw myself in Alex in a way l'd never experienced before. It was a phenomenal moment for me, and one that won't be easily forgotten.) The other characters also demonstrate complexity and depth— Steph, Ryan, Charlotte, Ethan, Jed, Riley, Eleanor… — they are all compelling additions to the Life is Strange universe. Their personalities are all amplified during the LARP episode, during which the town rallies together to cheer up Ethan. Each character interacts with Alex and each other in unique ways that really make Haven Springs feel full, small though it may be.

Narrative

It wouldn’t be a Life is Strange game if the player wasn’t left twisted in an emotional knot, and True Colors is no exception. Like the other games, this one weaves together a terrible tragedy with plenty of lighter moments, including two potential romantic pursuits (which present the most difficult romantic choice to date in the series). The player can’t help but become invested in the young protagonists’ determined amateur detective efforts, even with the usual questionable decision making and sometimes less-than-realistic plot events. True Colors was an enjoyable— if heartbreaking — adventure, and brings back much of the reckless excitement and emotional investment that so many players found irresistible in the original Life is Strange game. At the conclusion of the game, True Colors will ask the player to choose if Alex should remain in Haven Springs, and it will be a very difficult choice. Fortunately, the DLC Wavelengths features Steph and serves as a brief prequel, and does an excellent job supporting the narrative and the characters of True Colors, giving players just a little more time in Haven Springs.

Summary

Ultimately, I cannot recommend this game enough. While there are several areas where I just wanted more out of the experience, I’m still debating if this game might actually be better than the original Life is Strange. If it isn’t, it’s a very, very close second in the series. The developers have clearly paid a great deal of attention to every aspect of the game and have done a marvelous job maintaining the spirit of these games.