At this point, there have been five entries in theLife Is Strangeseries - includingThe Adventures Of Captain Spirit.Life Is Strange: True Colorsis the latest installment. The game isn’t too different from its predecessors.
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It follows the series tradition of providing an engaging, emotional tale with a likable protagonist. Plus, as always, there’s an interesting supernatural power, a great soundtrack, and some wise-cracking characters. So, it shares plenty of similarities to those that came before, but how does it actually compare? Here are some of the biggest things that separateTrue Colorsfrom the rest of the series, in both positive and negative ways.
10Better: Amazing Setting
True Colors’entire story occurs within a mining town named Haven. The place is very different from Arcadia Bay and the various locations seen inLife Is Strange 2. In fact, Haven is the best setting in the series history.
There’s plenty of beautiful scenery, all of the buildings look distinct from one another, and the streets are filled with little details. Plus, the players' constant visits to the area breed a familiarity that helps capture the small-town feel.
9Not: No Partner In Crime
In the earlier entries in the series, players typically followed a pair of lead characters. In fact, one ofthe many comparisons made between the Dontnod titleswas about the main duos. InTrue Colors,Alex doesn’t have a specific ally glued to her side.
She has a few close associates like Gabe, Steph, and Ryan. Yet, those characters aren’t as involved in the protagonist’s adventure as Chloe, Rachel, and Daniel. Perhaps it was by design to make Alex feel a little bit more alone, but she could’ve done with someone to banter with more often.
8Better: Use Of Side Characters
The previous games included plenty of people who either supported on hampered the protagonist on their journey. Unfortunately, most of those characters were underdeveloped. Figures like Taylor and Penny had roles in their games' narratives, but by the time the credits ended, players still barely knew them.
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InTrue Colors, things are different as almost all of the supporting players have something going on during the game. For instance, the flower shop owner Eleanor has a whole arc regarding an illness. Even no-named characters speaking in the street have their own little stories.
7Not: Evil Corporation Trope
Warning! This entry includes spoilers for True Colors.
Pretty much from the moment Gabe dies in chapter one, the Typhon mining corporation is positioned as the villains of the story. While players find out more details about the incident later on, nothing takes the blame away from the big company. And Alex’s main motivation is to bring them down.
WhileTrue Colorsputs its own spin on how everything plays out, the basic premise isn’t very original. In contrast, the first game had a unique villain with Mark Jefferson; whereas,Life is Strange 2’smain antagonist was more of a societal injustice than an actual person or group.
6Better: Not Episodic
BeforeTrue Colors, theLife Is Strangeseries was known for its episodic nature. The two main entries were separated into five installments, andBefore the Stormhad three. And there certainly were somefantastic and memorable episodes. However, players had to follow each of them up by waiting around a month or so for the next part of the story.
Thankfully,True Colorsditched the episodic model, and the game is all available in one, even though it’s still split into chapters. The pacing and flow of the narrative benefit from the lack of enforced multi-week breaks.
5Not: Little Connection To The Other Games
Every entry in the series is its own self-contained adventure. Yet, the first few games are still connected in some form.Before the Stormserves as a prequel to the original, whileCaptain Spiritcrosses over withLife Is Strange 2. Even the second numbered game makes several references to what occurred in the first. It helps to make everything feel like it’s happening in the same universe.
True Colors, on the other hand, doesn’t acknowledge the events of the other games. Yes,Before The Storm’sSteph is around, but she doesn’t talk much about her past. And the only references to the rest of the series are in the form of little easter eggs.
4Better: Well-Written Dialogue
Dialogue hasn’t always beenLife Is Strange’sbiggest strength. Characters in the early games often delivered lines that were unnatural and even cringy. Deck Nine has rectified this greatly inTrue Colors, as the writing is one of the best aspects of the game.
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Friends engage in witty conversations, and characters give speeches that are filled with powerful verbiage. As always, the voice cast deserves plenty of credit for their delivery, but it’s clear that they’re working with good material.
3Not: The Mystery Is Not As Compelling
Thevideo game industry is filled with mysteriesand so is theLife Is Strangeseries. The narratives of the original game,Before The Storm, andTrue Colorsall revolve around the protagonist trying to figure out a dark secret.
Unfortunately, the mystery in Alex’s adventure isn’t as interesting as the others. For one, there isn’t really any question about who the culprit is. The whole escapade is more about finding out the reasons for their actions. While there are still some intriguing moments, they’re not as common as they were in the other games.
2Better: The Supernatural Power
A staple of theLife Is Strangefranchise is supernatural powers. BesidesBefore The Storm, each game includes a major character that has a specific ability.
Alex’s gift is the ability to feel other people’s emotions and their causes. She can even take strong feelings away if necessary. It’s a fascinating power, and the game makes use of it in a litany of clever ways. Max’s rewind ability and Daniel’s telekinesis aren’t quite as unique or interesting.
1Not: Less Dramatic Ending
In the final moments ofTrue Colors, Alex has to choose between building a stable life in Haven or setting off on the road to have countless adventures. The protagonist might also have to make that decision with their significant other in mind.
It’s an important step in the life of Alex, but it’s not quite as dramatic as deciding the fate of an entire town or choosing whether to give yourself up for murder. So it doesn’t quite feel as big as some of this series other conclusions.
Life is Strange: True Colorsis out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and will release later for Switch.
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