Life Is Strange: True Colors is the fifth installment of the LIS series and the third game in the main set of games. It was released on Sept. 10 and is the first game of the series to be released on the Nintendo Switch, which releases on the platform later this year. The game is the first in the series to maintain the episodic structure, but release all at once. Prior LIS games would be released in chapters over a set timeline. The game is intended to be played in chunks but can be played all at once if the player desires.
Similar to Life Is Strange and Life Is Strange 2, the player makes choices throughout the game that affect the gameplay and ultimately the ending of the game. LIS: True Colors follows the story of Alex Chen, a 21-year-old girl who, after a life of foster care and orphanages is finally reunited with her brother in a small town called Haven Springs in Colorado. Alex isn’t just your average girl though, she has the ability to see a person’s emotions as an aura. If they’re feeling something strongly enough and she can even tap into those emotions to tell why they feel the way they do.
Alex moves to Haven Springs with her brother Gabe and begins a new life, but her idyllic peace doesn’t last for long. When the son of her brother’s girlfriend goes missing, Alex, Gabe, and Gabe’s friend Ryan, who’s a ranger, go in search of the boy near the old mines. They learn that Typhon, the mining company in the area, is set to blow part of the mountain that night. Gabe attempts to call the company to stop the blast but as the trio is nearly out of danger after locating Ethan, the boy, the blast goes off. Gabe is sent over the edge and in a harrowing choice, Ryan cuts the line in order to save Alex. Gabe falls to his death as his friend and sister watch in horror.
Following the events of that night, Alex sets off on a personal mission to find out if her brother’s death was truly an accident as Typhon claims, or if there was something more nefarious to it. What lies ahead is a story of romance, intrigue, and an all-too-real tale about big companies hiding dirty secrets.
Life Is Strange: True Colors is a third-person narrative story-based game and is visually stunning. The player is responsible for most of Alex’s dialogue choices and nearly the entire world is able to be explored. The game includes several unique environments as well. One point of interest is a mini-adventure similar to Dungeons and Dragons that is played in the game. It includes a side-scroller fighter-type sequence in which the player chooses actions for Alex and Ethan. Alex can explore the town and can often help members of the town. Some of these sequences serve to help Alex with an important moment in the game, while others are just simply good deeds. Alex can even see the auras of some NPCs who aren’t able to be interacted with other than the aura.
On Sept. 30, a DLC for True Colors will be released called Wavelengths, which follows one of Haven Springs’ residents and a character player meet in the game named Steph. Deck Nine and Square Enix, the games’ studio and publisher announced on Sept. 5 that they have partnered with Critical Role for Wavelengths, as there are references to the web series’ merch and tabletop RPG characters.
Life Is Strange: True Colors is available now on Xbox, Playstation, Google Stadia, Steam, and Windows. Coming to Nintendo Switch in late 2021!
Jeri Hensley
Executive Editor/Creative Director