After months of rumors and speculations, Square Enix finally revealed the next entry in the Life is Strange franchise at its first-ever digital direct event. Life is Strange: True Colors is in development at Deck Nine, the studio responsible for bringing Life is Strange: Before the Storm to life.
Like previous Life is Strange games, Life is Strange: True Colors also features a supernatural ability that will influence its narrative and the characters. The main protagonist is Alex Chen, a young Asian American woman who wields the psychic power of empathy. The reveal trailer gave a glimpse of how Alex's ability to read mind and feel other people's emotions would affect her and the world around her. Shedding more light into Alex's power is none other than Life is Strange: True Colors' game director Zak Garris.
In a new developer presentation from Gamesradar, Garris explained how Alex's psychic ability functions in the game. Alex has a "supernatural sensitivity" towards the emotional state of other people. It goes beyond the ability to just read minds or be aware of what other people are feeling. Alex gets overwhelmed when other people are surging with strong emotions such as rage, grief, or terror. In situations like these, Alex forms an emphatic connection with these people and can not just feel what these people are feeling but also get a glimpse of why they are feeling it.
Life is Strange: True Colors take place in a small mountain-side town called Haven Springs, based on real-life Colorado. It features an all-new cast of characters, except Steph Gingrich, who makes her return from Life is Strange: Before the Storm. Unlike previous Life is Strange games, players will have more freedom in terms of exploration and interaction. Although not on the scope of an open-world game, Life is Strange: True Colors will encourage exploration to some extent. How Alex's story plays out will also depend upon the people she interacts with while freely exploring the streets of Haven Spring. It would be interesting to see how optional characters that players choose to interact with while exploring would impact the broader narrative.
Although cross-gen, Life is Strange: True Colors is the first Life is Strange coming to the next-gen consoles. The reveal trailer gave a glimpse of the game's striking visuals and improved character models, which are for the first time rendered using full performance capture technology. Life is Strange: True Colors is also the first Life is Strange game that ditches the episodic model of the game and will launch in its entirety later this summer.
Life is Strange: True Colors will be available on September 10, 2021, for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.