The First Chapter of ‘Life is Strange: True Colors’ is Everything I Could Have Hoped For
Some works of art transcend the innate qualities that comprise them, rising above their constituent parts to become something above one’s otherwise critically minded eye. The Life is Strange series has in some ways become that source of transcendent art in gaming for me. And even though I was intensely critical of Life is Strange 2 for its pacing issues, mishandling of supernatural powers, and overall feeling that choices didn’t matter beyond the scope of their contained episodes, I ended up developing a soft spot in my heart for the blemished sequel by the end. Thus, against my better judgment, I pre-ordered the ultimate edition of the newest game in the series, Life is Strange: True Colors; from a mere three hours with the game’s first episode, True Colors completely blew me away.
Alex Chen’s identity has been the source of much discussion leading up to True Colors’ release, and for good reason. She completely steals the show. It’s affirming to see an Asian-American woman in the lead role of this new Life is Strange game, and an explicitly queer woman at that — something I consider to be fundamental to the Life is Strange experience. Alex is also compellingly written, offering quirky references, deftly handling social situations, and being an overall adorable person, someone that I find incredibly likeable as a playable protagonist. The game starts off by showing us a close-up of Alex, who is being interrogated by a therapist, and we learn from simple responses and non-verbal cues that Alex struggles with articulating an important aspect of her identity that isn’t so obvious: her powers.
Alex’s powers aren’t necessarily a game mechanic in the same way that the original Life is Strange mapped on the R2 button to the act of rewinding time, but they are immediately introduced to the player as something they can use in similar everyday moments. By simply looking at a character and holding down the X button, you can observe the emotions and inner thoughts of most notable characters, revealing that Alex’s powers are grounded in empathy. It’s a strange choice for an ostensible superpower, but as the title suggests, her powers allow an unobstructed window into people’s inner lives, into their True Colors.
Losing Control: An Exercise in Empathy
In the first episode alone, we see how – if unchecked – Alex’s powers can cause her to lose control, adopting, mirroring, and reacting to the expressive emotional states of people around her, like intense fear or anger. As Alex moves into this unfamiliar mountain town, Haven Springs, Colorado, her brother Gabe articulates how he’s living with his current romantic partner and won’t have much need for this living space, offering it to Alex instead. This wholesome moment of fraternal generosity and bonding is rudely interrupted by Mac, a character whose seething anger is visibly on display around the outline of his body. Immediately, Mac is revealed to be an insecure dolt whose possessiveness over his girlfriend has corrupted itself into a feeling of jealousy, that Gabe and Mac’s girlfriend are hooking up behind Mac’s back. This escalates into a brutal one-way fight where Gabe effectively doesn’t defend himself, taking punch after kick.
Alex cannot handle the combination of Mac’s molten rage and the sight of her brother being brutalized, so Alex channels her empathic powers, swallowing his emotion, and wallops Mac to the point of near-unconsciousness. Clearly, Alex and Gabe are both horrified at Alex’s violent retaliation, but it diffuses Mac’s stubborn anger, and we see him tuck his metaphorical tail between his legs on the way out. Instead of this being a moment of celebratory self-defense, Gabe sees himself out as well, and Alex is left feeling like she has already made a horrible mistake, a terrible first impression on her first day in Haven Springs.
Alex’s powers become central to the story in a late-episode scene that involves embracing the terror of a child who has gotten himself into a life-or-death situation. In order to convince this child, Ethan, that he will be okay, Alex has to get inside his head so she, too, can see the imagined monster that is keeping Ethan frozen to the spot. I loved this moment because it challenged the notion I have about slow movement in video games – namely, that there is almost never a good justification for restricting movement of the player unless you are trying to communicate frustration. In this instance, as Alex’s movement is restricted, I felt the mechanical restriction communicate the fear experienced by both characters in the scene. It was a simple interaction but one that was effective for me.
Graphical Upgrades and Tone-Setting Moments
Aside from Alex and her powers, Life is Strange: True Colors is the best-looking game in the series to date. From the moment she paces across a bridge into Haven Springs, Alex is presented with one of the series’ traditional moments of music, scenery, and contemplation. The game refers to this moment as a Zen moment, which I found charming. Thinking all the way back to the original Life is Strange, some of my favorite and most memorable moments involved simply putting the controller down and drinking in alternative music while watching the camera pop between a few well-chosen angles. This opening moment on the bridge perfectly set the tone, showcasing Haven Springs and its immense mountain beauty.
Music is also central to the identity of the Life is Strange series. True Colors is no exception, as music feels very much at the core of the emotional story the writers want to tell. True Colors features silly, lighthearted moments involving Alex and Gabe dancing around her new apartment, playing air guitar on a broom. It also provides for some sober and reflective moments involving Alex discovering a brand new acoustic guitar under her bed – a gift given to her by Gabe – as she strums her own rendition of Radiohead’s “Creep.” I was endlessly delighted at every instance where music was given the center stage in True Colors’ first episode.
Though the first episode of True Colors doesn’t offer much in the way of exploring the town, the camera deliberately lingers on various storefronts and facades, hinting at some of the locations in Haven Springs that will become relevant in later episodes. Places like the Dispensary and the Record Store seem like key areas for social interaction within this small town, and the local tavern below Alex’s new place is clearly the go-to for everyone, regardless of age, to unwind. The first episode stages a sizeable chunk of its character exchanges within this tavern, as Alex dips her toe into the service industry, introducing herself to some of the town’s notable residents.
The performance capture on offer for True Colors’ characters is simply remarkable, as a longtime fan of the series. Especially looking back at the original Life is Strange, the character animations have never been standard-setting for the industry. To see subtle gestures like nervous blinking and fidgeting hands animated in such a realistic way truly elevates the always-stellar art direction of the series to new peaks. Everything in True Colors feels of a similar graphical fidelity to the series’ previous games, but now that the characters look as believable as they sound, there is a level of immersion and caring about these characters that truly allows the writing to shine. It’s a shame that the original Life is Strange remasters are delayed, because I imagine returning to them with this additional motion capture will also be a delightful treat.
A Well-Written Story
The writing in True Colors also feels like a massive step up for the series as well. Obviously, I am willing to overlook the cringe interspersing of “hella” and “shaka brah,” from the first game. And Life is Strange 2 has some awkward moments of dialogue as well. But so far with True Colors, I haven’t had a single line of dialogue take me out of the experience. In fact, not only is the writing more authentic-feeling than previous entries, it’s incredibly sharp. This first episode of True Colors, for all its seriousness and sincerity, made me belly laugh a few times throughout its modest runtime. As mentioned above, Alex is incredibly likeable, and her wit is a large part of my affection for her character.
True Colors’ first episode also introduces us to Alex’s two romanceable love interests, Steph and Ryan. With only one episode of context, I felt myself vicariously stepping into Alex’s shoes, fertilizing the budding sapphic romance between herself and Steph, a LARP-ing record store owner who players of Life is Strange: Before the Storm will recognize as a familiar face. Ryan is charming in his own right, but unless I take some sort of completionist route for all of True Colors’ 40 Steam achievements, I don’t see myself pursuing his character. Even if we tabled my own romantic preferences, as well as that additional Before the Storm context, I just think Steph is a more compelling character and I can’t wait to see how she plays a role in Alex’s story.
It’s a blessing that Life is Strange: True Colors retained its episodic format while releasing all episodes at once. I think that was the perfect move for this series, especially in an era of binge culture where shows like The Boys are review bombed – not for being bad, but for having the audacity to stagger its episodes in a traditional weekly drip feed format – it makes sense to give the player agency of how much of the story they want to consume at once. At the same time, I’d be lying if I didn’t actively consider calling out of work the next day after playing episode one, because True Colors was just hitting every single high note I could want from the series.
Looking Ahead: What Remains of True Colors
It’s almost like the developers of Life is Strange: True Colors read my lengthy reviews of each episode in Life is Strange 2, taking all of the criticisms to heart. Of course, I don’t think that’s what happened, but if you go back and read some of what I had to say about “Rules,” or “Wastelands,” for instance, or even “Faith,” you will see a dogged but exhausted attempt at optimism for the series. When the final episode of Life is Strange 2 released, “Wolves,” it miraculously redeemed much of those rough middle episodes for me. Maybe the writers themselves were dissatisfied with their final product and wanted to revive aspects of what made the original Life is Strange so special to so many people.
I cannot overstate my enthusiasm for Life is Strange: True Colors, and it’s one of the most delightful experiences I’ve found in gaming this year. I’d be shocked if True Colors ends up as my game of the year pick for 2021, but I’d be equally shocked if it didn’t make it somewhere towards the top of that list when the time rolls around to start considering which games impacted me the most. Undoubtedly, I’ll end up opining more about True Colors as I play it. But for now, I am absolutely itching to dive back in and see where Alex Chen’s journey leads her.
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