During today’s broadcast from Square Enix Presents, the publisher revealed Life is strange: true colors, the next entry in the choice-based adventure series. The full game – without episodic releases this time – will arrive on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X / S, PC and Stadia on September 10.
Life is strange: true colors is being developed by Deck Nine, the team behind the 2017 spin-off Before the storm. Next up is protagonist Alex Chen as she adjusts to a new life in the small town of Haven Springs with her brother Gabe after they were separated for eight years. But as soon as the brothers are reunited, tragedy strikes, and it is up to Alex to unravel the mystery of Gabe’s death with his own unique supernatural powers.
Like several Life is strange characters prior to her, Alex has paranormal abilities that set her apart from the rest of the cast, although she considers them more of a curse than a gift. By exploring other people’s feelings, Alex is able to absorb and manipulate emotions, which manifest themselves as beautiful colored auras around the people in his life. This empathy is the key to understanding what happened to your brother and the mysteries that surround Haven Springs.
Alex will also make two friends in potential romantic interests, Ryan and Steph, the last of whom Life is strange fans can remember their supporting role in Before the storm. Each character came to life through the first motion capture technology in the series, making animations and facial expressions particularly impressive compared to previous games. True Colors it also features a much more open world, allowing players to explore Haven Springs’ main street and experience side stories and optional content.
Perhaps less importantly, Life is strange: true colors marks the first time that I was really interested in checking out one of those games. Although I generally love the genre, especially when it comes to Telltale Games, something about Life is strange never really grabbed me until now. True Colors it looks both charming and melancholy in a way that few games are today, and I’m looking forward to seeing how Alex’s story unfolds later this year.
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Break my heart, Deck Nine. It makes me cry. I’m ready for that.