I don’t really review games on here. Usually just talk about bigger picture issues in tech, reviews of products, and—for better or worse—Apple gossip. But there have been a few games I’ve felt the need to call out on here. Games that really stood out or, in many cases, had such a rich story that they demand attention, even from non-gamers. One of the most common mentions has been Life is Strange.
Life is Strange is a series with four games: Life is Strange 1, a prequel to that game, Life is Strange 2, and the latest installment, Life is Strange: True Colors. Each game follows an ordinary person discovering extraordinary powers within themselves and learning how to use them to save others or themselves. They’re heartfelt games filled with choices, mysteries, and consequences. The first one was one of my favorite games of all time, making me cry at points, a telltale sign that a game did something right. The prequel was similarly emotionally raw. The second was also good, a must-play for fans of these story-driven games. True Colors continues that heritage in a way that feels uniquely meta.
Life is Strange has always asked you to empathize with people. The unsure girl who can control time. The punk with (rightful) abandonment issues. The big brother trying to make sure his little brother uses his gift to help others. And now we have the girl who’s power is empathy. Or is it a curse? After asking us to empathize with others for years, Life is Strange has given us a character who can do just that, whether she wants to or not.
Oh, and don’t worry, I won’t spoil anything. I won’t even link the trailer, which you shouldn’t watch because it has spoilers.
In This Article:
The Story
Life is Strange games are divided into episodes. In the past, these released one at a time, often with weeks or months between releases. However, for Life is Strange: True Colors, we got them all at once. The binging era for Life is Strange has begun.
Life is Strange: True Colors follows Alex Chen. Orphaned as a child, she was separated from her brother due to the foster system. During that time, she found the ability to see and even feel the emotions of those around her. This became problematic for an orphan in group home settings. Even after leaving foster care, she still spent time in a psychiatric facility. After all, she sees auras. Eventually, her brother, Gabe Chen, finds her. He had been searching for their father, who abandoned them, for years. Eventually he settled down in the fictitious town of Haven Springs, Colorado. Gabe invites her to move in with him. It’s a perfect chance for Alex to find the one thing she’s been missing for most of her life: a home. She takes a bus into town with all of her possessions in a large duffel bag to meet up with her long-lost brother.
Fun fact: her journal entries include songs she’s writing. It caused me to pick up my guitar and play along. Now I’m playing guitar again. Thanks, Life is Strange.
Once there, she finds the perfect little town has its own secrets. Some of them are harmless. A couple of lovebirds who just need a nudge to finally confess their feelings for one another. Others, like the mining corporation basically running the town, are more sinister. Using her abilities, Alex investigates these little and large secrets in a way that only she can.
Does it Work?
Oh my yes. Unlike previous Life is Strange games, which were often just rife with nothing but tragedy, Life is Strange: True Colors has a more hopeful message. There are moments of levity, wonderful humor, and pure joy. There are also moments of intense pain, guilt, and unforeseen consequences. The story is engaging. Like a good Netflix binge, I just couldn’t pull myself away from the game. After getting it, I stayed up past 4am on multiple occasions, just trying to get a little bit more of the story. It’s a joy to play and, in a sense, experience. While it’s not a story with solely happy moments, it’s one that shows you why those happy moments are truly worth fighting for.
Obviously talking about it in too much detail would reveal spoilers. So, just take my advice. If you like an engaging story with a large cast and a mystery, you’ll like the story Life is Strange: True Colors has for you.
Graphics
This isn’t even a cutscene screenshot, it’s just pretty and stylized all the time.
One of the first things I noticed about the first Life is Strange game was the distinctive graphics style. They weren’t the best or most realistic graphics, even for the time (2014), but they were exceptionally pretty. Light filtering through trees, soft light wrapping itself around people as they talked to each other. That soft, pretty style drew my attention before I knew anything about the series.
True Colors changes that a little. The graphics are noticeably better than previous Life is Strange games, even the more recent sequel. It’s also the first in the series to use motion capture, showing surprisingly realistic emotions on character’s faces to go along with their lines. The voice actors deserve praise for bringing these characters to life, and finally their lines seem to really be coming from their characters.
There’s considerable detail here. However, the beauty isn’t lost. The camera shows bokeh and lens flairs. Along the edges of your screen you’ll notice just a touch of chromatic abrasion. Every scene feels like a photograph. That’s good, because so many scenes are worthy of being photographed. The settings are gorgeous, idyllic in a way that only exists in nature or imagination. Much of it is almost too pretty to be real. Perhaps it’s the cynic in me, but I have a hard time believing that there are just so many locations that are this beautiful yet survived a brush with humanity. I’m sure places this perfect exist, but I’ve never witnessed them. Perhaps that says more about what I should do the next time I take some time off than anything else.
Whenever that will be.
Gameplay and Controls
Some people call story-driven games “walking simulators.” These people have a hole where their heart should be and must hate puzzles. Will you be walking around? Yes. You’ll have to collect items, clues, and read people to get to the goals. But reducing something like this to just walking is like saying, “Yeah, sometimes Mario jumps, it’s basically just a jumping simulator, go play jump rope instead.”
The gameplay is simple though, and often self-explanatory. In fact, even if you’ve never played video games or are terrible at them, you can figure it out. Well, except for the arcade games. I just got a high score on one and, I won’t lie, I’m more excited than I should be. One is a mining game clearly inspired by classic arcade games, while the other is Arkanoid. They’re fun to play when you need a break from the admittedly heavy story. And don’t worry, no one will call you out for playing video games too long. With Life is Strange, you can largely take your time and explore everything in each “scene.”
There were times where I was unsure if I had to hold down the left trigger and press ‘X’ to read a person or if I could just read them by pressing ‘X’. This happens when someone’s emotions are tied to the core story, not a side plot. Beyond that, the controls are fluid. On the PS5, you even get tactile triggers, which just add a little something to it.
If I were to criticize Life is Strange: True Colors at all, it’s that it’s too short. It could have had some more mystery solving and exploring. You spend most of the game in the town. And, while it changes a lot in a short period of time (seriously, a lot!), I still would have liked to venture outside of town a bit more than you get to. I guess what I’m saying is, the worst part about the game is that there isn’t more of it. I really got immersed and wanted to spend another 10 hours or more in this world.
Or 20. 100? Listen, Deck Nine, if you make more DLC, I will buy it. Speaking of which…
Go Deluxe?
So, if you go deluxe, you get three things. First, in the main story, you’ll have some sweet outfits to choose from, many inspired by previous Life is Strange games. Second, you get the bonus chapter, Wavelengths. This follows Steph through the year before Alex Chen came to Haven Springs. You’ll take a little radio station and record store and turn it into a home, of sorts. Also a successful business. Sometimes the two are the same thing.
I like to think there are many little pockets of the U.S. that haven’t been ruined by a giant corporation buying up radio stations and frequencies, and Wavelengths lets you live out that fantasy. You’ll befriend folks, solve problems using your future telling abilities (a D20), and even adopt an angry kitty.
The game is a kind of “bottle episode.” You’re in the store the whole time. Honestly, the game takes place in 2018 and 2019, but this episode felt most like the pandemic. The only time you see people is on a computer screen. It felt so familiar. Still, you get to make that little space Steph’s own, all while trying, in vain, to fix her dating life. Dating while queer in a small town is like threading a needle without any thread.
Been there, Steph, been there.
It alone is a fun addition. The end plays right up into the first episode of the main story, so, of course it forced me to start my third playthrough. Of course.
Oh, and the third thing? You get to throw money at Deck Nine, so they’ll be able to make more Life is Strange games.
What? Hey, sometimes, we have to play into the capitalistic card we’re dealt. Buy the deluxe edition. If Deck Nine asks for your firstborn, send them that too. Just ensure the future of Life is Strange, okay?
Overall
If you’re sitting there, still wondering if this is a good game or not, I’m fairly certain you don’t really care for your firstborn that much. Kind of a weird kid, aren’t they? Well, believe it or not, not all firstborn children are weird. I mean, that’s not me talking from experience, but we can’t all be weird, right?
So, if you have a PC, PS4/5, Xbox… whatever they are now (Series One X Series X?), you should get Life is Strange True Colors. I’d say don’t play Wavelengths until you’ve played the first Life is Strange and the prequel (in that order), Life is Strange: Before the Storm. The latter actually introduces Steph, and you’ll want to have that.
True Colors doesn’t rely much on what happened in Life is Strange 2, but play it anyway. Go back to the “Just ensure the future of Life is Strange” comment.
From Life is Strange: Before the Storm
Life is Strange is a series that forces you to reflect. Think about your own life and choices and how they’ve been reflected in your gameplay. Depending on where you are in life, and perhaps the choices you’ve had to make, it can be one of those games that just sticks with you. Others may just become engaged with the characters and the story for no other reason than their own powers of empathy. Whatever it is, I can say that Life is Strange: True Colors is a true successor to the first Life is Strange game. It’s heartfelt, deep, and will likely put a tear in your eye. While it has more positive potential outcomes than other Life is Strange games, the path there won’t always be easy. But it’ll be worth it.
It’s an adventure I can promise you won’t be sorry you’ve taken.
Life is Strange: True Colors is out on:
- PS5, PS4
- Xbox Series X (Yes, I know what it’s actually called… after checking), Xbox One
- PC
- Stadia
- and the Nintendo Switch
Go pick it up.
And if you’re not normally into story-driven games? This one might be what it takes to get you into them. While I still recommend playing them in release order, True Colors is definitely a good intro. Just skip Wavelengths until you’ve finished playing all the other Life is Strange games, which I’m sure you’ll do anyway. They will hook you like that.
