Life Is Strange: True Colors is a major turning point for the narrative adventure game franchise. It's the first Life Is Strange game released following Dotnod Studio's departure from the series. Deck Nine, who developed the prequel game Before The Storm, is creating their first Life Is Strange game with original characters. It's breaking with series tradition by being a complete story at launch instead of its chapters being released episodically.
The game's already proven to be a huge hit; in CBR's own review, we praised it for bringing a more mature tone and unforgettable characters to the series, calling it the best Life Is Strange game yet. OTher critics are reaching a similar conclusion about True Colors, which is available now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Google Stadia.
Life Is Strange became popular in part because of its emotionally resonant storytelling, especially when it comes to the relationships between its characters. According to its most positive reviews, True Colors not only honors that tradition but improves upon previous games. The Gamer's Jade King personally related to the way the game handles grief, saying True Colors is "about treasuring the times that mattered, the love and intimacy formed through the joy and perseverance that comes with being human. Alex Chen’s journey into the town of Haven Springs is one I’ll never forget. Deck Nine has surpassed expectations in every conceivable way."
Taylor Lyles of IGN also considers True Colors an improvement upon the previous Life Is Strange games. Lyles says that True Colors "addresses many consistent issues that have plagued the last three games." He considers it the best game in the series because of its "consistent writing for both main and side characters, a compelling mystery story with good pacing, useful supernatural abilities, and perhaps most importantly, dialogue choices that offer more depth and complexity..."
True Colors' main character, Alex Chen, is one of the biggest changes to the game. How she's received by players is crucial, given that the game's narrative requires players to spend 13 hours on a narrative she's at the center of. At 21, she's older than Life Is Strange's previous main characters, who were teenagers. Her empathic powers are also less physical and flashy than her predecessors. Alex has won over critics, due to how she's written and portrayed.
Game Informer's Kimberley Wallace considers her "one of the best protagonists I’ve encountered in years, and it comes down to her resilience and undying hope for the better. Being thrown into the foster system, she has led a different life, but she hasn’t let it take away her sense of humor or her desire to help people in need." Wallace also praised Alex's voice actress, Erika Mori, saying she "gives Alex an emotional depth that cannot be overstated: her delivery is spot-on for Alex’s charming sarcasm, and when Alex is at her most vulnerable during emotional scenes, Mori never overacts..."
Hey Poor Player's Andrew Thornton also had praise for Alex. "Getting to know her and watch her grow was one of my favorite gaming experiences of 2021. Each chapter gives her new opportunities to connect with others, and I have to give True Colors credit for keeping things fresh. Chapter three, in particular, is such a fun twist on the series’ formula and left me grinning the whole way." Thornton closed his review by saying "I hope this isn’t the last we see of Alex. A character this wonderful deserves many adventures to come."
True Colors reviews aren't unanimously positive. Slant's Aaron Riccio gave the game its harshest review. Unlike other critics, Riccio doesn't feel that True Colors' story works, criticizing its "one-dimensional" portrayal of its characters interior lives when compared to games like Psychonauts. "True Colors doesn’t show the world in a new light so much as it slaps an Instagram filter over it." Riccio also doesn't think the game's more mature themes stick the landing, contending that True Colors "entirely glosses over mental health and the ramifications of Alex’s actions in particular." Riccio also argues that True Colors betrays the series' core purpose. "Life Is Strange series is about showing the consequences of actions, and yet we see none of that when Alex is given the choice to absorb a single mother’s anger or a well-intentioned cop’s fears, stealing away their feelings."
EGM's Michael Goroff's review is more positive but still considers the game a mixed bag. Goroff found the game's setting, the small town of Haven Springs, "claustrophobic." Even when compared to the first game's Arcadia Bay, Haven Springs' repetitive environment "feels like a limitation rather than a feature. It’s especially ironic considering the vast mountainous vista that surrounds the town, dominating the landscape. Mountains seem so small when viewing them from such a distance, and so too does the world that Alex inhabits."
True Colors has earned a mostly positive critical consensus. It's being praised for being an impressive evolution of the serious, not a serious reinvention of the narrative adventure sub-genre. Fans of previous entries in the series will feel at home with its latest installment, in spite of the change in the development team and protagonist. Given its minimal ties to previous games in the series, it's a good jumping-on point for newcomers to the series, especially those that enjoyed similar games by the late, lamented Telltale Games.
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