Announced at this morning’s Square Enix Presents, Life is Strange: True Colors is the next game planned to ship within the Life is Strange franchise. The game will release on September 10th and features a brand new setting, a unique supernatural ability, and an all-new cast, although fans of the series are bound to recognise a face or two.
The game is considered by its developer, Deck Nine Games (the team behind Life is Strange: Before the Storm), a fully-fledged addition to the series and stars Alex Chen, who is portrayed by Erika Mori using full performance capture technology which is a first for the series. After an invitation from her brother Gabe, Alex travels to Haven Springs, which appears to be yet another quaint, close-knit rural community like the others we’ve already seen play home for the other Life is Strange stories.
After her brother dies in a tragic accident, she relies on a long-dormant power (or curse, as far as Alex is concerned) that grants her empathic intuition, which leads her to discover there might be more to Gabe’s death than she thought. In hope of unearthing the town’s dark secret, Alex uses her ability to read, and absorb to an extent, other people’s feelings. With enough focus, she’s able to get to the source of their emotion. While it’s not clear how in-depth the focus will be, True Colors will still pay attention to LGBTQI themes, continuing the series long-running dedication to that community at large.
As Alex, players will be able to choose between a heteronormative relationship and a same-sex relationship with either of the game’s co-supporting characters, Ryan and Steph. Fans will likely recognise the latter from her role in Life is Strange: Before the Storm.
Although Life is Strange has historically released in an episodic format, Deck Nine did confirm that the game would be released in its entirety on day one. For those who aren’t prepared to binge all of the game’s content in one sitting, there are still episodic breaks that separate the game’s chapters.
Life is Strange: True Colors releases on September 10, 2021.
