Life is Strange True Colors review: a sincere and profound story about what it means to find your place in this world

Since 2015, the Life is Strange saga has occupied a special place in the hearts of gamers giving us a new concept of gameplay with interesting and close characters, exciting plots and a simple and accessible gameplay

All their games are good in their own way but this installment, from the hand of Deck Nine, proves to be one of the best thanks to an excellent character development and a plot that, although simple, is perfectly told in its 5 episodes (about 14 hours if you take it easy, an afternoon of popcorn if you finish it all at once)

Before writing this review I played the game several times to see the changes in the plot and endings depending on my decisions and I have to say BRAVO Deck Nine for your incredible effort.

WARNING: This review does not contain spoilers that affect the game experience so you can read it without fear, however, if you do not want to know anything about the story I advise you to skip the first five paragraphs up to where it says "in short...":

It all begins with Alex Chen's arrival in a bucolic little Colorado town called Heaven Springs. Its huge mountains, green forests and beautiful architecture anchored in the past, make Alex feel a bit overwhelmed until she sees her brother arrive whom she hasn't seen for more than 8 years...

Up to here everything seems like a nice story of those that appear on Sunday afternoons on TV, but we are talking about LIS and LIS is synonymous with *drama*.

And, unlike other Life is strange, our protagonist calls herself a "broken character", and it is not for less, she lost her parents when she was a child, the social services separated her from her brother and she did not stop stumbling from one foster home to another until she ended up in a psychiatric hospital due to what we could call "her super power". She is a survivor and this is something we must keep in mind throughout the story.

After several events Alex, along with her friends Ryan and Steph, have to investigate a crime whose main suspect is a multinational mining company against which it will be very difficult to fight by legal means.

But not everything will be to investigate a terrible crime, Alex will have the chance to meet and help in his own way to the whole town: the people closest to his brother, neighbors in the area and you can even decide whether to live a love story with the tender ranger Ryan or the nice Dj lover of role-playing games Steph

To do so, Alex will often use his particular gift: the ability to empathize with the emotions of the person he is close to, even listening to his deepest thoughts. But this power is not activated just like that, he can only "read the soul" of those people who have a very strong feeling at that moment, being able to feel anger, fear, desire and the purest and most sincere happiness. But, like all LIS power, this one also has its consequences, although not as deadly as Max's, of course, but believe me when I tell you that although having this power is very useful, it is not always a good idea to use it...

In short, we are faced with a sincere story, sometimes hard, about loss, regret, trauma, social failure... In addition, the characters are believable, the consequences of your decisions are well studied and Alex will surprise you on more than one occasion. As a curiosity, you will find multiple easter eggs, mini-games and a chapter that I'm sure will thrill fans of Final Fantasy and other role-playing games with turn-based battles.

In the gameplay part there are not many new features compared to its predecessors, being an ideal game for people who are starting in the world as well as for people who have some difficulty to play being able to increase the size of the subtitles, cancel the time of decisions and even has an option that warns you of flashing lights or high sounds. In that aspect they have an outstanding and it is something that many games should take as an example.

Graphically we have to take our hat off to the huge evolution compared to previous installments. The small town of Heaven Springs, the ruined areas, mines, and interiors have a level of detail never seen before in the saga. Also surprising are the textures of the clothes and animations with subtle movements, but what caught my attention was the care in the faces: being a game focused on emotions they could not afford to leave the faces polygonal and lifeless, as the saying goes, "the face is the mirror of the soul" and in LIS True Colors they have taken it very seriously.

We would talk about its details, corners, textures and animations for hours but I'd better leave you with an example:

When we talk about Life is Strange, we talk about games that go far beyond a simple adventure based on decision making, they are games that throughout its history have sought something more than entertaining the player, they have extended a hand to those who have felt different, who have suffered rejection, showing that you can never lose hope, that you are not alone, giving us a unique gaming experience and True colors is not far behind in this aspect.

Undoubtedly, this new installment of Life is Strange is worth it, it is indisputably one of the best of the saga and, perhaps, Alex Chen is the most interesting protagonist of LIS that has come out to date.

Highlights

• Accessible gameplay
• Protagonist of 10
• The game treats human emotions with respect and intelligence, all the alternate endings leave you satisfied.
• The villains cease to be cliché and the music selection, as always, brilliant.

The Worst

• Although they try, the game fails to truly make you nervous about your decisions.
• Although the personal stories of each character are carefully crafted, the main plot is rather predictable.

We have made this review thanks to a PS4 download code provided by Koch Media