Life is Strange: True Colors is the third main installment of the series, and the second by the Deck Nine studio, who had previously worked on Life is Strange: Before the Storm, the prequel to the first season released in 2017.
Just months ago, when Square Enix announced that the next Life is Strange I would no longer be in charge of Dontnod Entertainment, the news aroused mixed feelings in me. Because of course, Dontnod may not be the most competent dev on a technical level or writing natural dialogue, but all their games have a certain something that is difficult to replicate, and that I can only describe as an authentic sincerity when telling their stories that It shines through in its scripts at rushed moments and the somewhat cringy dialogue. After the lukewarm reception of Remember me -his debut game- Life is Strange He had put them on the map, and in many ways the series always felt like his baby, with his personal stamp present in each of its aspects. Deck Nine had, in my opinion, some big shoes to fill.
Life is Strange: True Colors It is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X / S and Nintendo Switch.
Reviewed version: Nintendo Switch
(Note: I try to talk about the story as little as possible to avoid spoiling, so if you want to go 100% spoiler-free I recommend skipping this part of the review.)
The events of True colors They begin when our protagonist Alex Chen arrives in the small town of Haven Springs, Colorado. After spending the last eight years in different orphanages, Alex receives an invitation from his brother Gabe, whom he has not seen since they were both children. Gabe has been settled in the mining town for years, working at the local tavern, and as we catch up he will give us a short tour of Haven – during which we will also meet the rest of the cast – before asking Alex to stay there permanently as well. .
The happiness of the reunion lasts little as long, because as soon as they arrive in Haven Springs, what should be the beginning of a new life for the brothers becomes a tragedy. A tragedy that, moreover, could have been avoided. Alex will try to find out who or who are trying to cover up what happened and why, with the help of his new friends: Ryan and Steph (who originally appeared in Before the Storm). But she also has an extra help, something inside her that she has been trying all her life to hide out of fear of not appearing normal: Alex is an empath, and has the power to read people’s feelings (which she sees as different auras. colors), or even absorb them if they are too strong. Reluctant at first to use his powers to avoid the problems that usually result, he decides to do so in order to reveal the truth about what happened.
The gameplay in True colors continues in the line that we can expect from the series, and we will control Alex as we go through each episode in a linear way, sometimes having to use our powers to move forward. At times we are offered different options for decisions to make, with each choice affecting our relationship with the rest of the characters, or even how they get along with each other. Alex’s powers, while at times somewhat inconsistent as to what exactly they do (Can I know what a person is feeling, or am I Charles Xavier?), They are visually represented in a fantastic way, and they are a really original way of interacting with the world around us. What yes, there were specific moments in which its implementation was not as well applied or achieved as it would have liked. To give an example: trying to guess what was happening to a scared character, I chose the wrong option, to which this character only replied “What? No ”and it just threw me back into the same dialogue menu where I just chose the other option, after which the story did continue as it should. I couldn’t help but think about how that character would have sent Max Caulfield to fry churros, after which she would have rewind time and chose her response well. Boom: There is no disconnect between the narrative and the gameplay.
Despite having come out as a complete unlike previous games, True colors it continues to maintain a structure divided into chapters, with a duration of between an hour and a half or two each. If we add to this that the first game in the series to be sold at full price, it will be left to each one to think about whether the price / duration ratio is worth it. Luckily, in those five chapters it maintains a constant level of quality, with the story giving some interesting plot twists (pulling out an important plot twist that at least for me did not work, justified by the plot or not) but mostly sustained by the interactions and the evolution of the relationship between Alex and the other characters, who are by far the strong point of the game.
Separate paragraph for Alex, who quickly became my favorite protagonist in the series, from his design and personality to his internal conflict. Behind his powers – and his Gen Z sense of humor and sarcasm – is simply a girl who wants to help others, and to be able to find a place to finally call home. I would have liked to spend more time doing nothing with Ryan and Steph before the story went 100% drama, especially since they are both potential romantic interests of Alex, but luckily there are also a good share of light moments to connect with them. and with the rest of the characters, with chapter 3 being my favorite by far in this regard.
This is also thanks to the dialogue in True colors It became much better written and more natural in general than what I was used to with the series. I noticed little to no dialogue that sounded forced in an effort to sound young and cool, which was a common criticism on the show so far. Maybe it helped that the main characters this time around are adults and not high school students. Maybe it helped that I’m almost 33 years old and I don’t know how to figure it out anymore. Impossible to know.
The game also represents an important quality leap for the series in facial and body animation, thanks to which the funniest or most emotional scenes in the game feel more real than ever, with lots of small gestures or glances between the characters adding weight to the game. dialogue. Even playing on a portable version with all the graphic compromises that this represents, the difference is day and night. And speaking of ports …
The Nintendo Switch port of True Colors must be one of the strongest I’ve ever seen, especially considering that even the last-gen console versions were released with a few technical glitches. There was some concern when it was announced that it would not be released at the same time as the other versions, but you can see that the extra time was well used to get the best possible performance. Of course, Deck Nine had to sacrifice visual fidelity to run the game on the laptop, but still it looks and runs so good it almost feels like a little miracle. It is normal during the game to find some low-quality textures (especially in outdoor scenes), violent streaming at some specific moments, or that some modeled object was replaced by a 2D image, but these are details that do not detract from the experience. Taking out some long loading times, and that the digital version weighs FORTY-FOUR GIGAS on Switch, I have zero complaints as far as the technical section is concerned, and I even dare to say that it is currently the game with the best graphics that I have seen on the console. Even in laptop mode it looks fantastic (and I challenge you to guess which images in the review were taken on laptop).
Unfortunately various aspects of True colors They appear to have been affected by the scissors of the pandemic as well, with the variety of venues being considerably reduced compared to previous deliveries. The first chapter promises a lot in that sense, to later spend most of the game jumping between the same places. Not that the story needs more, but it would have come in handy. Certain characters, roles, or plots appear to have been reduced considerably from their original form, with the resolution of at least one subplot reduced to an optional encounter super easy to skip if we aren’t paying attention. There were scenes that were not alone to advance the plot. Some of my favorite moments in the series are of characters connecting and getting to know each other more, and here they missed each other quite a bit. The music also seems to have gone to a very second level, at least compared to the previous installments. There was of course the soundtrack full of folk and indie rock that one would expect, but not as well integrated as they have managed to do with the series in the past. It’s a bit weird that in the game with the main character with the most musical interest so far, the music itself has had less prominence than ever.
With Life is Strange: True Colors, Deck Nine proves that Life is Strange is in good hands. Alex is for me the best protagonist of the series with one of the most creative powers, and it is she – accompanied by an excellent cast – who ends up elevating what otherwise is a fairly manual mystery story and that surprises so far. no more. Although not all decisions at the gameplay or narrative level work, and the emotional moments did not have the impact of the highest points of the rest of the series, it also does a lot to correct the points in which those games made water, leaving us with the game Strongest of the series yet, with one of the best ports to Switch I’ve seen to date, and my only real reservation in recommending it is the price. That no-minor detail aside, definitely one of my favorite console experiences so far.