Life is Strange: True Colors

In its best moments (of which there are plenty), this is about as good as Life is Strange has ever been. [Issue#364, p.112]

A modern narrative adventure game with an amazingly lovable heroine and plenty of strong scenes. But it’s also a tad too ambitious in scope. It looks great, sounds great and its story holds together for the most part, so in the end, you should probably play it. Just not on consoles!

Bursting with color, and well acted, but also a bit to short and clumsy at times.

There is light that developer Deck Nine just never allows darkness to touch, and there is joy to be had in being able to play some small part in making sure they all do better. But the disconnect between that vibe and the turmoil that brought Alex here to begin with is tangible, and the game would achieve brilliance if those two concerns could connect. Dropping by Haven Springs is still time well-spent--but it's simply a pleasant visit, rather than a powerful, emotionally resonant one.

True Colors is the best game in the series since Before the Storm, and it will satisfy your narrative craving for a time.

There isn’t an easy way to recommend Life is Strange: True Colors. It, like the rest of the Life is Strange franchise, isn’t a typical game. It’s more akin to a visual novel or point-and-click adventure. The game is a slow, enjoyable experience, perfect for when you want to wind down for the night or get up in the morning. More than that, though, it’s an emotional triumph. Experiencing Alex’s adventure and seeing the world through her excellently crafted perspective is a joy that hit me harder than I expected it to.

Life Is Strange: True Colors is worth your time, and is a title you don't want to miss. Just be ready to put the controller down at the start of fifth chapter, and pretend that the game ends at this exact point.

Life is Strange: True Colors is an experience that can be appreciated in the sweetness of its journey, sublimated by shimmering colors, animations more accomplished than ever and very beautiful melodies. With this episode, Deck Nine Games chose to explore empathy from top to bottom; a preponderant aspect in the powers granted, the narration and the construction of the characters. The whole provides a very neat adventure on a human level, but which undeniably lacks a certain liveliness in its actions and the unfolding of the plot. The result is an investigation that lacks a certain panache.

Life is Strange: True Colors might feature grown-up characters, but it's evident the franchise itself still has a bit of growing to do. Deck Nine tries and ultimately fails to tell a story of emotional healing at best. At worst, it treats difficult topics with a flippant callousness that suggests it doesn't quite understand how to deal with these emotions to begin with, let alone tell a meaningful story about healing and moving on.

Life is Strange: True Colors is a game that constantly aims higher, but never really takes off. Neither the power, nor the story, nor the environment are up to its greatest virtue, which is none other than Alex Chen, its main character. The good ideas are weighed down by the timidity of a game that does not end up betting on its own proposals. There are things to rescue, it has a good rhythm, and it is easy to get into, but it is within the best installments of the franchise.

Interactive possibilities make this dorky tale about a small-town psychic musician strangely absorbing.

Life Is Strange: True Colors had every chance of becoming the series' best game to date, but it's been let down by arguably its most important element: the story. Wonderful character work can only go so far carrying a narrative that just isn't particularly exciting. And while Alex's power crafts one interesting scenario after another, it too isn't enough to offset those dull plot points. With an awful framerate to boot, Life Is Strange: True Colors falls short despite everything it has going for it.