Life is Strange: True Colors covers a lot of ground in terms of the twists and turns of its narrative. One major event that's teased in the first and second episodes is the LARP that Steph is putting on that the whole town is participating in. When the day of the event finally arrives in episode three, Alex joins in as a bard who guides Ethan through the live-action roleplaying experience. Although the LARP itself doesn't do much to help advance the overarching story with Typhon's coverup scandal, it does a lot of groundwork in setting up the two major romance options available to Alex.
LARPing in real life is an activity that, following Life is Strange: True Colors' portrayal, has plenty of fans interested in. However, like many real-life activities shown off in media, it isn't exactly the same as it is in True Colors, but there are certainly plenty of similarities that the two share.
Life is Strange: True Colors' LARP
The LARP in Life is Strange: True Colors sees the town of Haven Springs semi-transformed into a kingdom that's just entered the "Age of Monsters." It's up to Alex and Ethan to rid the town of the monsters and once again bring harmony to the kingdom. The pair travel around the town fighting off a handful of monsters all played by the rugged park ranger Ryan who wears different masks for each monster. When encountered, the game turns into a turn-based RPG in the same vein as gaming titles like Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest, and the player cycles through each character's moves to defeat each monster. All combatants announce the moves that they're using as well as their effects like strength buffs or how many hit points they do.
When not engaged in combat, Alex and Ethan explore the town in search of scrolls to use in battle and treasures to spend at the Magpie Emporium, Steph's record shop-turned magic store. After defeating all the monsters and finding all three gems to power the Skysword of Power, Alex and Ethan engage in one last fight against Stormwrither the Undead or Cravius, Lord of the Underworld, depending on the drawing chosen earlier on, played by Jed Lucan. Once he's defeated, the LARP ends at the same time that a blasting siren goes off in the distance, triggering Ethan into a panicked episode and ending the LARP for good.
What a Real LARP Looks Like
Depending on who's asked, Life is Strange: True Colors' LARP could be seen as a true LARP or it could be a laughable attempt at one. This is to say that LARPing isn't necessarily as cut and dry as other role-playing experiences like Dungeons and Dragons. Each different LARP plays by different rules, but True Colors does actually get a lot right when it comes to general LARPing rules. The general structure to True Colors' LARP is pretty spot-on: a GM made a premise and general story for players to experience and from there, players explore an area in search of more story and battles. The encounters don't necessarily need to be turn-based as they are in Life is Strange, but they often are to make each character's moves and attacks clear.
Unlike in Life is Strange: True Colors, some LARPS use more tabletop-based rules to handle things like dealt damage and ability checks. How technical any given LARP is, however, is always up to the GM who states those sorts of rules before the game starts. What's more, LARPing can be a quick event that only lasts a few hours, but is often a several-day affair as getting or making a costume and taking the time off to actually play the game requires quite a bit of preparation. Life is Strange: True Colors' characters don't have particularly elaborate sets or costumes, so it makes sense that Steph's LARP was a pretty casual affair. Because it was done specifically for Ethan, it also makes sense that it might not be some big, multi-day event.
The only major thing that Life is Strange gets wrong about LARPing is in regards to how it handles the GM. The GM is always present with those participating in the LARP to make sure that the game is being played correctly. Steph is the GM for True Colors' LARP, but she spends the entire event running her in-game shop instead of helping dictate the rules and keeping track of battles.
LARPing also doesn't usually take place in a town; players often resort to more remote locations to be free of the modern advances that aren't around in many fantasy settings. It seems odd that, given Haven Springs' mountainous setting, that the characters would resort to sticking around the town. On the other hand, the cast did just suffer a loss in the form of Alex's brother based on the dangers of the outdoors, so it also makes sense why they would stay in the safety of the downtown area.
At the end of the day, however, True Colors' LARP is pretty close to the real thing and anyone who enjoyed it in-game might want to consider taking it up as a hobby. Some might argue that it was a little bit too casual for real LARPing, but it's important to keep in mind that it was done for the sake of a kid and that hardcore rules weren't necessary as a result. Steph ends up recruiting a handful of people around town to participate in the LARP and many real-life LARPs are open to those interested in a similar way given proper heads up.
Life is Strange: True Colors is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.