As a general rule, when a series has several installments, it is logical that its formula goes through ups and downs, in part because it does not provide refreshing ideas. And as much as I like Life is Strange, its formula has hardly changed except for the change of powers. But this is just the excuse for empathize with its protagonists, for whom life has not been as easy as other people.
I really enjoyed the Maxine Caulfield story, as did the sequel with the Diaz brothers. Both adventures were the work of DONTNOD, the same studio that was responsible for other games with a certain similarity in this formula, such as Tell Me Why and more especially Twin Mirror. While with Life is Strange: True Colors the team in charge of bringing it to life falls to Deck Nine, the same one that developed the spin-off by Chloe Price, Before the Storm. The story is new and the protagonist is also like her power: that of emotions. But in a paranormal way.
Life is Strange activates automatic mode with Alex
Alex Chen has not had the same luck as his brother Gabe, whom he has just seen again after many years without contact. It was he who invited her, after discovering where his sister was, to come and live in Haven Springs, a quiet town in the middle of the mountains. It seems like the perfect opportunity for Alex to have a fresh start in his life after eight years at the Helping Hands foster home. Without family. No emotional stability …
It is precisely the latter, ironically, that makes it so special. Because she can feel the emotions of the rest of the people around her, but to the point of maximizing empathy. A hypersensitivity with which his feelings go further, even going so far as to literally see things from the point of view of those other people. And this has its advantages … and also dangers.
Alex arrives at Haven Springs without having been able to control his powers when situations get out of hand. If you are calm you can “spy” on others to see if they are angry, scared, melancholic … and thus find clues to solve a problem, or simply out of curiosity. It will be a matter of approaching that person (when his aura shows a color equivalent to a specific emotional state), using the power and “reading” his mind. But this will go to more in certain circumstances if the person is more upset, go …
The formula works but not surprising at this point, without actually showing its full potential in the first chapter, dubbed “Face A”. In it we will meet many of the inhabitants of Haven Springs, who welcome us with open arms for all the good that Gabe spoke of Alex before his arrival in town. And knowing in advance the tragic outcome of this beginning of history since Square Enix presented the game last March of this 2021.
Everything is predictable, in any case, at the same time familiar. And we do not say it to see again Steph gingrich, who we met in Life is Strange: Before the Storm, but by a development of the story that is seen to come beforehand and with characters that for now do not contribute anything that we have not seen here.
It doesn’t mean that we can’t connect with Alex, his brother Gabe or the rest of the inhabitants of Haven Springs. In fact, the reunion between brothers shows us that they are much more alike than they remembered despite the passage of time (their puns with “gnome”, the passion for music practicing crappy dances or imitating the guitar with a broom), but the rest of the people enjoy very little prominence and it is not that deep conversations abound. This gap is covered in a way by Alex’s mobile phone with their conversations through the chat or the particular Facebook of the town, MyBlock (are they perhaps fans of George Michael’s failed program in Arrested Development?).
Has yet to be discovered emotional potential …
Of course, it is not easy to be surprised at the first change and less with a story with which Square Enix itself released an important gut with its official presentation. It is too early to know, therefore, if it will be able to surpass the rest of Life is Strange, since for now it is a step below the rest, mainly because of that feeling of deja vu constant with its first chapter.
In the end, all these adventures, whether of DONTNOD or Deck Nine, have offered very good moments and with an easy empathy to develop with their main characters, so we do not doubt that with True colors the same thing will happen. In addition, it continues to preserve its same essence in other daily aspects, such as the weight of music with moments of relaxation and full enjoyment. Here the rush does not help if you want to fully enjoy the essence Life is Strange.
Without going any further, with Steph herself there is a very special musical moment, as a test. Based on some clues that he will give us (name of the group, cover and other types of curiosities) we will have to find out the music group that he has chosen on the jukebox. But we will also have other activities.
Among those activities, the one that has moved me the most has been to run into the mythical Arkanoid that I enjoyed so much in my Amiga 500, here in recreational form with five phases and the final duel against Doh. Once the arcade is unlocked, we can access it from the Extras section of the main menu, just like the fictitious arcade game Mine haunt (mix between Pac-man and the ’83 Spelunker) in Gabe’s flat. And here it should be remembered that Twin Mirror had Pac-man.
In terms of secrets, the power of Alex Chen will allow us to use the emotional charge in hidden objects, as long as there is a warning with the icon of his aura. It is a way in which to discover information from the past without the people involved there being present, but it is not something that has a superlative weight in this first chapter either. It is a contact in every way in the absence of knowing what will happen next in the chapter “Lanterns”.
We’ll get to that next week with your analysis (Life is Strange: True Colors goes on sale September 10, let’s remember). For now everything is too continuous and without surprises. Of course, experiencing a significant improvement at the graphic level, mainly in the face of animations in the expressions of the characters … except in that of some secondary, such as Duckie.
Life is Strange True Colors