Thanks to the rising popularity of point & click adventures on consoles mostly thanks to Telltale Games’ “The Walking Dead” series, developer Dontnod had the opportunity to craft and present an episodic, story-driven experience mixing the absurdity of a girl who discovers she can rewind time with the realities of bullying & sexual assault and how it affects the victims & perpetrators. “Life is Strange” gained critical acclaim and encouraged both a prequel and a sequel with the latter coming out during the latter half of 2018. Between those adventures, the developer decided to give fans both original and potentially new a chance to experience what is to come with “Life is Strange 2” by controlling Chris as he explored a world unseen and hidden from everyone who can’t delve into his imagination; paving the way for the officially numbered sequel that reasonably garnered mixed reviews for its heavy-handed writing in regards to xenophobia.
“Before the Storm”, the narrative prequel to the original, was handled by another studio – Deck Nine – who did a rather impressive job attaining the raw emotion of its plot’s successor. Deck Nine’s efforts paid off as they were given the task of providing gamers a new, full-blown “LiS” experience that seemed poised to be just as remarkable as the first “Life is Strange”.
Did I Complete “Life is Strange: True Colors”?
Like every “Life is Strange” experience thus far, players take control of a new protagonist in Alex Chen – a twenty-one-year-old woman who has been shuffled from foster home, to foster home, back to a group home. Thanks to her brother Gabe Chen discovering her whereabouts, Alex has the chance to move to his new hometown of Haven Springs. Haven’s idyllic nature is offset by Alex’s powers of being able to feel the emotions of townspeople, reading their thoughts and slightly seeing the person’s memories. Alex’s powers also tie into the game’s few puzzles and chapter-specific collectibles.
Some collectibles are easily missed if the player isn’t constantly tapping the scan button (L2 on Playstation systems), but this iteration does have a chapter select and collectible tracker that allows gamers to replay sections of said chapters without overwriting their save and decisions. After a little over ten hours, I attained all the collectibles, saw two endings of the six associated with a pair of choices offered at the end connected to Alex’s actions throughout, and attained the platinum trophy after the game hard crashed and I had to replay the final chapter from the last checkpoint.
Did “Life is Strange: True Colors” Live Up to the Hype?
Alex Chen’s journey into her new life as a normal person living in a quiet, Colorado town is quickly changed due to her ability to sense the emotions of others. A quick physical disagreement puts Alex even more under the spotlight and scrutiny of people she doesn’t know and don’t know her or her ability to discover how someone really feels. It is through Alex’s powers that she usually has to make important decisions and complete puzzles that aren’t complicated like assisting a women retrace her steps after a stressful day. As the story progresses so too does Alex’s need to explore the depths of her skills; causing intense moments where she either removes a strong emotion from a character or not.
Though “True Colors” doesn’t feel like it has as many grandiose or even minor choices compared to the previous major installments, this iteration of “Life is Strange” shows just how every decision no matter the initial significance can have dire consequences like not telling a parent about their kid going exploring by himself because Alex obviously believes this hometown child has a better idea of Haven Springs than this latest transplant.
There is a lacking implementation in regards to the choice system & character interaction: romance. Alex has the opportunity to find love between one of two characters, though the male character feels like he gets a little more attention in regards to emotional moments that feels like two people bonding romantically. Unfortunately the story’s romantic element feels unnecessary especially considering the crux of the story doesn’t need it to add depth to Alex’s relationship with the potential lovable interests.
Beyond Alex’s interactions with major NPCs are the aforementioned collectibles connected to using her powers when moving through Haven Springs, as well as the introduction of “Side Quests”. While side missions sounds profound in a game like this, in truth they are very minor fetch quests including helping a bird watcher find a rare bird by going a few feet to her right. There are also little things like mini-games including an arcade cabinet that can be played both in-game & through the main menu, caring for the garden on the roof of Alex’s apartment, and even taking part in a live-action role-playing game.
Beyond the new characters, environment, and, of course, Alex’s powers, is the fact this is the first game in the franchise released as a single entry instead of being episodic in nature. This decision is both a blessing and a curse with the prior seeing the developers & writers not having to cap off each of the first four chapters with some monumental moment to convince a would-be consumer to buy the next episode if this game was released in the same manner as its predecessors. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the lack of an episodic release schedule doesn’t give players the chance to really digest the big moments of a chapter before moving on to the next.
Technically, “Life is Strange: True Colors” suffers from some of the same issues as its prequels. The lacking of choices in certain dialogue situations and completing particular tasks is still a problem as the narrative isn’t as open-ended as one would hope. Frame rate issues are a lot better compared to its strictly eighth generation counterparts, but problems such as NPCs becoming unavailable to interact with when they should, screen blackouts, and hard crashes during the game’s final chapter has hindered many gamers’ enjoyment.
The soundtrack is, as per the norm with “LiS” games, phenomenal featuring a nice mix of new age folk, indie pop and rock. Voice acting is mostly top notch with Erika Mori delivering a dynamite performance as Alex. Han Soto (Gabe) and Stephen Austin (Jed Lucan – local hero, barkeep, and general stereotypical-looking, though not stereotypically-natured woodsman) are no slouches either; really anchoring their characters and the story. The voice acting is complimented by the game’s art style and rather dynamic facial depictions.
“True Colors” really feels like Deck Nine taking almost everything that made the previous entries so fun and giving it their own unique spin. Alex’s powers play a major roll in the story without it being the sole reason for the plot. Spectacular voice acting, strong narrative pacing, and mostly fantastic characterization arguably makes this the best “Life is Strange” iteration thus far.
Should You Play “Life is Strange: True Colors”?
For those who weren’t too fond of “Life is Strange 2”, but loved the original installment in the franchise and its narrative prequel “Before the Storm”, “True Colors” is a strong return to form. The game’s biggest issues boil down to an underwhelming romance option and technical issues that should be fixed in the very near future via patches. With that being stated, it may be best to wait until the game does get those necessary patches before picking it up if point & click adventures are a genre of enjoyment. “True Colors” produces an experience that can only be compared to slaying a monstrous foe during a town-wide LARP event.
