When I first heard about the development of Life is Strange: True Colors, I could not contain my excitement. The Life is Strange series has held a special place in my heart since I first picked up the controller and played through the original back in 2015. I didn’t think there could ever be a protagonist I loved as much as Max Caulfield — and then I met Alex Chen.
The story follows Alex traveling to the fictional town of Haven Springs, Colorado to reconnect with her older brother, Gabe, after spending years separated due to the foster care system. However, the family reunion is cut short when Gabe is killed in an unforeseen incident just a few hours after Alex’s arrival. Even though Gabe’s death happens in the first chapter of the game — and is stated in the blurb on the back of the DVD case — it’s absolutely heart-wrenching to watch Alex’s chance at a future with her family vanish before her eyes. It’s also a testament to Deck Nine’s incredible writing, as players were able to fall in love with Gabe’s character in only a couple of hours.
True Colors continues the Life is Strange tradition of including a magical element of sorts, this time with Alex possessing the power of extreme empathy. This allows her to sense and experience the emotions of the people around her, occasionally to an absolutely painful extent. Stronger emotions can overwhelm her, but she pushes past her concerns in order to use the ability to try and uncover the truth about Gabe’s accident.
Alex Chen is not only able to win our hearts with her charisma and strength, but she is the first Life is Strange protagonist to be canonically bisexual. Whether a player chooses to romance Steph or Ryan, there is information within Alex’s journal entries and text messages that reveal she has pursued relationships with both male and female partners. Because of this, no romance option feels forced or canonical, and bisexual representation in the media is always appreciated.
I’m incredibly grateful that Deck Nine decided to release the entire game at once, as opposed to the previous games being made public one chapter at a time. In doing a combined release, players have the option to spread out their playthrough or binge the entire story in one sitting. True Color’s main story is roughly 10 hours long, so it’s totally feasible to knock it out in a single day. My personal playthrough was around 14 hours long, but that’s because I decided to go all-in and complete any optional side quest to get the Platinum trophy (yes…I am, in fact, a try-hard). Actually, my only complaint about the game is I do wish that its runtime was slightly longer. I wanted more time to interact with the characters and to explore the astonishingly beautiful town of Haven.
Life is Strange: True Colors really is a wonderful new installment in the series, and its design, character development and pacing all come together beautifully in a way that surpassed my expectations. If you’re interested in playing a graphic adventure game that puts an emphasis on character relationships and makes you feel like each of your choices truly matters, then picking up True Colors is worth it, 100%.