Life is Strange: True Colors

- Reviewed on PS4 -

Life is Strange: True Colors released on September 10th, 2021.

The Life is Strange video game series never seems to disappoint me at this point (as of writing this blog post) with its consistently great story lines, characters, design, music, and more. 

Life is Strange: True Colors is yet another example of why this series of games is among my all time favorites.

This entry into the Life is Strange series is different due to the chapters of the game all being released at once instead of periodically (like the previous games). 

This review WILL have Major Spoilers so keep that in mind before continuing...

Focusing on characters emotions, Life is Strange: True Colors allows us to travel to Haven Springs for another adventure. 

The main protagonist we (the players) play as is Alex Chen. 

We follow her path from the foster-care system to Haven Springs where Alex reconnects with her brother Gabe Chen.

Now the main story / mystery is pretty dark in this entry of the series.

Right at the end of Chapter (Episode) One, Gabe Chen (SPOILER) unfortunately dies by being hit by a boulder / rock, sending him down a cliff. 

Now, I feel like if Deck Nine, the creators of this game entry, kept Gabe's death a secret (instead of showing / telling in the trailer) it would've been more impactful emotionally. 

Deck Nine still does a great job investing us into Gabe's character but I can't help knowing that he's going to die no matter what. 

Yes, I know he would eventually die, but I didn't know when, and that kind of kept the whole scene dramatic in a sense when it happened.

Previous protagonists in the Life is Strange series have / had special powers that the player(s) can use to form their own result / story. 

Alex Chen has the ability to tell other peoples emotion(s) and also take over those emotions if they are too strong around her. 

This was a very unique mechanic that I didn't know how I would feel about, until I played the game for myself. 

The strategy of talking to someone about a mystery and their emotions changing is a very detective like power that lets Alex (you) know who could be responsible for the death of Gabe Chen (who died by an explosion, "said" to had been cancelled). 

I was very impressed with Deck Nine's location for this game, as it was much bigger than previous Life is Strange games and also introduces an open world type of setting, not familiar from previous installments. 

The depth of characters (character design) is very well established in Haven Springs (the location in this game) and is immediately shown in the opening segments of the game. 

Life is Strange: True Colors has a lot of new game mechanics / features compared to the other games in the series. It includes minigames, side quests, open world exploration, RPG battles, and more. 

Voice Acting is pretty good for the main cast of characters in the game, however, meaningless characters that are just placed in the game world to make Haven Springs feel alive (which is does), don't have that good of voice acting. 

I'm not a voice actor by any means (as of writing this blog post) but the acting for these extras sometimes brought me out of the mood Deck Nine wanted me in as a player and that got annoying pretty quickly. 

That being said, the lines from these extras were continuous and had their own little sub story for anyone paying attention (like me sometimes) and I respect that from Deck Nine (their attention to detail). 

Graphics in this game are the most realistic in any Life is Strange game (in my opinion) so far and the game is very well polished in general. 

My copy of the game (on my PS4) did crash at the very end of Chapter 5 (the final chapter / episode) and I had to resume it from the middle of the cutscene and when this happened the music stopped completely, ruining my final experience (send off). 

Music is always a hit with Life is Strange and this game lives up to that passion, considering Steph and Alex both have musical traits in the game. 

The list of chapters and their names are...

    - Chapter 1: Side A

    - Chapter 2: Lanterns

    - Chapter 3: Monster or Mortal

    - Chapter 4: Flicker

    - Chapter 5: Side B

The DLC called Wavelengths is a decent story in my opinion but very repetitive and towards the end of the DLC I kind of wanted it to be over and unfortunately this being behind a paywall was a downer for me. 

Besides the negatives, which are hardly any, Life is Strange: True Colors sticks with the Life is Strange formula and adds more to that with outstanding features. 

Pros: 

    - Amazing New Features

    - Great Setting (Location)

    - Memorable Story / Mystery

    - Believable Characters (Memorable)

    - Great Voice Acting (for Main Characters)

    - Graphics well Made (Realistic & Polished)

    - Replayability

    - Trophies & Achievements

Cons:

    - Bad Voice Acting for Extra Characters (No Name Characters)

    - Repetitive DLC

My Rating for Life is Strange: True Colors (on PS4):

5 / 5

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Disclaimer

All Reviews, Ratings, Pros, Cons, and Opinions Shared on this Blog (Press A Reviews) are my (Connor Butler) own Thoughts and Feelings.