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I never got to say goodbye to my brother. I planned to visit him on the morning he passed away, to comfort him as he sat in bed waiting. Before any of that could happen, he was gone. I blamed myself for missing out on an interaction I had no control over. For the past few months, that missed opportunity has sat with me. It was like I’d failed him, and myself, for not being there - like the final moments with someone I treasured were unfairly snatched away from me.
Life is Strange: True Colors taught me it’s okay to feel like this, to acknowledge such failures as you grieve and accept the departure of a loved one. It’s 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.
Alex Chen is a young woman who has spent her life being tossed around by the foster care system, a broken family causing her to be whisked between guardians and government facilities as she grew up and learned to view the world as one that would never accept her. She’s a flawed human, only existing to be thrown aside by those who want to take advantage of her. This could all change as she moves to Haven Springs, an idyllic town located in the gorgeous mountains of Colorado. While it’s an ostensibly wholesome place, there are dark secrets hidden amidst its luscious flower shops and hipster record stores - and yet, no matter how ominous things may seem, it retains a sort of special quality.
This sense of belonging is further emphasised as Alex reunites with her older brother - Gabe. He’s fun, caring, and aware of his need to change in the face of a past he regrets. Upon arriving in town, Alex views herself as an outsider, but she’s taken under her sibling’s wing and brought into a community that accepts her within moments. She picks up a job at the local bar, makes new friends, and begins to feel like Haven Springs could offer her a life finally worth living. That is until a tragic accident kills her brother and she’s forced to delve into the mystery behind his untimely passing.
Deck Nine draws us into a world of nostalgic comforts before turning everything on its head, but even with all of this misery, there’s an aura of happiness that permeates throughout all of True Colors that kept me smiling in spite of such a bitingly relatable loss. I lost my brother like Alex lost hers, and her grief resonated with me in a way that no other game has been able to capture. The narrative isn’t afraid to make you comprehend the impact of losing someone you love, and how it forces you to act in ways that might seem irrational, but it’s all in service of coming to terms with how much this person means to you. Past games in the series would often dwell on mystery and melancholy, but this one is all about making you smile, like it wants you to walk through the wind and rain with a grin plastered across your face - it succeeds.
Alex has an especially unique way of sifting through her feelings. She’s an Empath, meaning she’s able to read the emotions of people around her and even absorb them into herself in certain circumstances. A fight breaking out could cause Alex to erupt into a fit of violence and aggression, while someone fearing for their life will cause our heroine to withdraw into a state of endless paranoia. She’s able to control this power to an extent, but when unexpected situations break out around her, we see Alex grow anxious and uncertain about what might happen. While it’s described as a superpower, it feels more akin to a mental illness that we must master, or perhaps comprehend so we can begin to view it as a state of mind to be treasured instead of a societal vice to be feared.
Throughout the game Alex is able to read the minds of people across Haven Springs and can decide to help them, whether it’s a man looking for his lost dog or a couple of friends debating the risk of jumping into a romantic relationship. You can also decide to walk away, recognising the importance of one’s own feelings and accepting that tampering with them isn’t right. People feel for a reason, and opting to manipulate this precious aspect of the human condition isn’t always the right thing to do. I made mistakes like this in my playthrough, and it only made me admire how brilliantly True Colors is able to weave a tale of emotional poignancy through its characters and setting so seamlessly.
Haven Springs is brought to life thanks to a cast of exceptional supporting characters. At the centre of this web of relationships sit Ryan and Steph, your close friends and potential romantic partners. Alex Chen is canonically bisexual, expressing attraction towards both men and women in the game’s dialogue that made me confident enough to pursue both options. Ryan is a birdwatching himbo with a heart of gold, so I inevitably fell head over heels for him, but there were also moments of flirting with Steph that had me questioning whether our relationship could be something more. Love in True Colors is never a straight road, and dialogue options ensure you aren’t locked into a romantic endgame because you couldn’t foresee how certain characters might react. Alex has spent her life trying to salvage relationships as they fell apart around her, and now she has a chance to build something that lasts, so I savoured every moment with these characters and the bonds that formed through adversity and triumph.
While True Colors is on the short side, it makes up for this with excellent pacing and a calibre of writing that far outweighs the quality of previous games in the series. Characters now speak like real people instead of adults trying to imitate teenagers. You’ll still cringe at some interactions and wish Alex acted differently in select moments, but this isn’t because the dialogue fails to pick up the slack - it’s because you’re delighted to see this girl is acting in a way that is so relatable. I’m awkward as hell and so is Alex, falling over her words as she struggles to speak - or flirt - with those around her. Alex is a deeply authentic character who desperately wants to be accepted. When she finally succeeds and grows close to people, it feels earned, allowing heavier emotional moments to land with all of their intended impact.
However, some pivotal narrative scenes can come out of nowhere, feeling out of place and unearned because the game hasn’t set up the required amount of dominoes for all of the themes to come across as sincere. All it needs is a few more pieces to achieve perfection, but these are small complaints in an overall story that executes its message of loss, love, and belonging so effectively. LARPing through Haven Springs like its a turn-based RPG or finding yourself roped into an impromptu performance at the local festival are just a few instances that brought a roaring smile to my face, Alex’s initial hesitation morphing into confidence as she realises this is an environment where she’s free to let loose and make a fool of herself without being mocked or belittled. It’s a powerful portrayal of authentic happiness, but the wider experience isn’t afraid to also force us to confront how people come to deal with grief that at times can feel insurmountable.
The moment-to-moment action of True Colors is slow and deliberate. You’ll walk around Haven Springs at a relaxed pace, sinking into nuanced character interactions where you’re given time to ruminate over dialogue choices and scour the environment for optional memories. Alex also has a smartphone with message threads and a Twitter-esque social network designed to provide greater depth to the town. You can delve into her past, uncovering traumatic encounters with old partners that explore the nature of consent, or social media threads from local bigots that decry how Alex is diluting the town’s cultural significance. Deck Nine has ensured this game is relevant to the modern day in every way that matters, with Haven Springs coming across as a queer, inclusive place that welcomes everyone. Sure, there’s a bad egg or two throughout, but that’s the case wherever you go. Unlike Arcadia Bay or much of America in previous games, there isn’t a dark secret festering away waiting to make our heroine’s life a misery. Like I said before, True Colors wants to make you smile, and recognise the moments in life worth fighting for.
You will be forced to make hard decisions and live with them as Alex Chen, some of which will have an irreversible impact on the narrative. Yet there’s no harrowing conclusion to be uncovered here. Much like real life, each revelation is a punch you must roll with, whether it’s losing a loved one or conjuring up the courage to confess your love to a crush. No matter how trivial or monumental, True Colors makes each moment matter as it forms the identity of a woman I came to care for and relate to in ways that few games have managed to achieve. This brings me back to the sibling bond between Alex and Gabe, and how it feels like a virtual replacement for the bond between myself and the brother I wasn’t able to bid farewell to. I had that chance here, and I can’t describe how much that means to me. Without being overly poetic or needlessly saccharine, I’m glad more games are engaging with how we can learn, grow, and love as human beings, and the rewards that come with accepting such hardships along the way. Life is Strange: True Colors truly is something special.
Tested on PlayStation 5. Review code was provided by the publisher.