Life is Strange: True Colors Review

There was nothing like Life is Strange when it was first released. It’s a point-click adventure modeled after Telltale games where players interact with their environment to reveal information, and the plot is often driven by engaging characters rather than by action. . It focuses its attention on the lives of young people and the trials and tribulations they often face, but there is something special: Max Caulfield is given the ability to rewind time. Although its reviews were only “generally favorable” at the time, gamers’ love for Life is Strange ages, eventually calling for a prequel, a spinoff, and two more major installments. Whenever a game is so hyped, it’s easy to let expectations rise, only to be disappointed that it’s not the same experience. Perhaps Life is Strange 2 was a bit plagued by this, but now, Life is Strange: True Colors delivers a similarly emotional and cathartic experience but wrapped in stunning graphics, seamless gameplay, and heartfelt dialogue. This time, players step into the shoes of Alex Chen, a young adult who has been in and out of orphanages and the foster system since he was a teenager. While her brother escaped and disappeared, she struggled to find a permanent home due to her powers. Alex is an empath and therefore can pick up on other people’s feelings. But while he sees it as a curse, unable to control the negative emotions when it is overwhelming, his powers eventually become a gift recognized by everyone around him, as he uses them to help them deal with the death of his sibling. Alex joins his brother in the small town of Haven Springs, a town so perfect it’s almost surreal. With thick flowers overflowing every corner and appearing in almost every store, a sun that continues to shine on the mountaintop, and deer drinking from a river that flows through the main street, the beautiful location can be like heaven rather than a real place, like the dirty room players find Alex sitting in during the first moments of Life is Strange: True Colors. Not to mention that the place is named “Haven.” And people may seem to match this same beauty inside and out, but some will begin to show their true colors after Alex’s brother Gabe dies in a tragic accident when he just reconciled with her. There’s no doubt that Life is Strange: True Colors is the most cinematically gorgeous game the team has released to date, but the ways in which Life is Strange has grown since the first game are more than apparent. Possibly the biggest complaints of the first game were the awkward dialogue, unnatural facial expressions, and, in some rarer reviews, unlikable characters. But in True Colors, the characters may be the strongest element of the game, the animation has never been better, and the acting is more realistic thanks to full facial motion capture. Unfortunately, the haptic feedback provided by the DualSense PS5 controller doesn’t add as much to the experience as its many complex and endearing personalities, art direction, and soundtrack do. After Gabe passed, the town was engulfed in chaos. He is close to many of the Haven residents, except for Alex, who he is just starting to get along with. Now, Alex is doing herself the impossible—not only in finding the truth behind her death but in helping everyone deal with their grief. While other Life is Strange titles have explored death, grief, and their variations, none of them have explored the immediate aftermath as closely and realistically as True Colors. The death of a loved one sets off a range of complex emotions, especially when the loss itself is complex, and Life is Strange: True Colors tackles this directly and accurately. There is no one “right” way to deal with loss, and True Colors shows that. Similarly, it saves the essence of other Life is Strange games: there are rarely correct answers to every problem. Every character in Haven Springs is alive and complex, and Alex must use her superpower of empathy to understand how they really feel. Some will feel anger and hatred, while others will feel sadness and pain. Some residents will be quick to point and blame or become defensive so they don’t seem like the villain—all very normal emotions when dealing with the loss of a loved one. But as Life is Strange: True Colors will show, how one chooses to cope with those emotions is what really matters, which is why certain personas truly shine throughout the game. If characters are the stars of Haven Springs, then Steph and Ryan are front and center as some of the most well-crafted. Alex may choose to share a romantic relationship with one of them at the end, but ironically, the player may find himself falling in love as well. Steph just evolved from her nerdy dungeon master in Life is Strange: Before the Storm. He is passionate and hot-blooded, pouring himself into everything he does. And if Steph is chaotic good, then Ryan would be lawful good, a kindhearted outdoorsman overflowing with dad jokes. But in the end, he cares more about the people around him. RELATED: Life is Strange: All the Supernatural Powers in the Series So Far When it comes to spending time with the people of Haven Springs, no chapter can be too long. In fact, players may be a little confused by how short the overall experience is, even though its length is similar to other Life is Strange games. But it is worth considering that while the length remains the same, the price has increased. Until now, a Life is Strange game had never gone above $40, including the Remastered Collection. Now, Life is Strange: True Colors has the regularly seen $60 tag but has the same amount of playtime. The trade-off is the generally more impressive graphics and animations. Each chapter is filled with emotion and love, especially Chapter 3, which asks players to peek into every nook and cranny. Fans of Steph’s Dungeons and Dragons session from Before the Storm are in for a real treat when they get to LARPing. They will find many typical activities one would find in a typical action fantasy adventure. It hits RPGs on the head but is still light and easy enough that players who don’t usually play games with intense combat will still enjoy the experience. It’s childish, but seeing the happiness it brings to everyone is contagious. At its core, Life is Strange: True Color is a feel-good slice-of-life game about the friends Alex makes during his time at Haven Springs. Until not anymore. Life is Strange 2 changes the formula a bit. The players don’t control the kid with superpowers and it’s not so much a mystery as it is a painful journey, even if the players don’t know what awaits them at the end of the line. But True Colors brings the series back to its roots. Life is Strange is a thriller with unexpected twists and turns, even breaking away from reality to break the cycle completely, a tactic True Colors also uses. For a long time, Alex was comfortable in this shelter, getting to know this new world and all its charming perfection. Its residents, who all have good hearts. He is comfortable and happy in his new life. But it was too good to be true. The truth of Haven’s history is bad, but only by understanding the feelings of others can Alex understand what really happened to Gabe and why. If Life is Strange: True Colors suffers from anything, if at all, Alex’s choices may sometimes be a bit hollow. While there may be a total of 6 different endings, they all seem to lead down the same path with the same culprit. Yes, Alex’s decisions play a part in the final scenes, but it’s hard to imagine how different those moments could have been, unlike the many bittersweet endings of Life is Strange 2. However, within those endings, players will find consequences for their actions and success in their achievements, such as how they choose to deal with Charlotte’s anger or Pike’s fear. These decisions will influence the final moments but will not change the conclusion of the way Sean and Daniel Diaz’s story unfolds. Some players may be a bit disappointed by this lack of control. Instead, how Alex chooses to use his empath powers will often only make subtle differences in other people’s lives, but it won’t make or break anything. The same was said about Life is Strange. Writers from Deck Nine and DONTNOD have shown that their gift is not unlike Alex’s. They have empathy and understanding of the struggles people face. Life is Strange: True Colors builds on what the first installment did, and does it even better. No game in the series so far has reached this height of catharsis, and by the end of it, players will be heartbroken to leave the imperfect town of Haven Springs. Life is Strange: True Colors will be released on September 10, 2021 for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Today Technology was provided with a PS5 code for the purposes of this review. MORE: How Life is Strange: True Colors Differs From the Last Two Games