Genre(s): Adventure,
Fantasy, Magical
Realism, Action, Family,
LGBTQIA+, Mystery,
Drama, Romance, Loss
Rated: M for Mature
Tia’s Rating: 4/5 Stars
Title: Life is Strange: True Colors
Developer: Deck Nine
Publisher: Square Enix
Director: Zak Garriss
Producer: David Lawrence Hein
Designer(s): Christopher Sica, Chris Floyd
Programmer: Todd Bolinger
Artist: Andrew Weatherl
Writer(s): Felice Kuan, Ryan Clements, Mallory
Littleton, Deandra Fallon Warrick
Composer(s): Angus and Julia Stone, Novo Amor
Available Platform(s): Microsoft Windows,
PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One,
Xbox Series X/S, Stadia
Format: Video Game
Mode: Single-player
Release Date: September 10, 2021
Awards/Honors: N/A
Interest Level: Best for anyone who ever played
Clue like it was the best game ever created.
Speed Round Video Game Talk: After a heartfelt reunion between siblings separated for eight years, Gabe and Alex are wrenched apart again when Gabe dies tragically. But mystery swirls in the sleepy mining town of Haven Springs, Colorado, and Alex is concerned that her brother’s death was no accident at all. With her empathic abilities, Alex must unravel this mystery that’s tied to the citizens of town, as well as Alex’s own memories and history.
Synopsis: After eight, long years of separation, two siblings are finally reunited when Alex Chen moves to Haven Springs, Colorado to live with her brother, Gabe Chen. Alex has secrets from her time apart from Gabe, mainly surrounding her budding supernatural empathic abilities, but she thinks she has the time to tell her brother everything. Their reunion is heartfelt, emotional, and incredibly brief. When Gabe’s surrogate son, Ethan goes missing in the mines on the night of a test explosion from Typhon (the big company basically running this town), the siblings and Gabe’s best friend, Ryan, search for the boy. They find and save Ethan, but the Typhon blast that Gabe contacted the company about ceasing due to the mines not being vacated goes off, causing a landslide that results in Gabe’s death. Mystery surrounds Gabe’s death, and Alex isn’t sure who or what to believe but she knows she can’t move on until she knows the truth. Using her supernatural empathic abilities, Alex tries to unlock all the mysteries and secrets of the town of Haven Springs, and its residents.
Critical Evaluation: Players in this game take up the persona of Alex Chen, a young woman with the supernatural ability to feel other peoples’ heavy emotions, as well as the causes leading up to them. It’s an interesting ability that makes for a compelling gameplay. Alex is brand new to this town and basically has to use her abilities to uncover the secrets of the town, and the mystery behind her brother’s death. However, the only person Alex semi-knew in this town was her brother (whom she hadn’t even been in contact with for the past eight years), so she’s starting below ground zero for this investigation.
This is the fourth installment in the narrative adventure Life is Strange series, and each game features a protagonist with a supernatural ability of some sort. Each game is a standalone in the series, but does feature cameos from various characters in each of the games. The series is such an interesting game because of its narrative choice structure. The format of the gameplay makes the game easy for new gamers to pick up (or even people that are not gamers by any means) and dive in to. There are not a ton of special key functions and combinations to move the character or explore the surroundings. Basically, it is simple to play, but enthralling to experience.
Developer Background: This game developer prides itself on their use of innovative technology and compelling storytelling. Though not the creators of the award-winning narrative adventure Life is Strange series, they took the series to the next level with their additions of Before the Storm and True Colors. Their name, Deck Nine, pays homage to the starting location upon the Stellar Patrol Ship Feinstein in the 1983 game Planetfall by designer Steve Meretzky (Deck Nine Games, 2021).
Creative Use For A Library Program: Whodunnit in the Library – program takes place at night, and a group of people who up at the library to find a dead body; they must find clues in the library to figure out which of them killed this person before the library opens.
Potential Challenge Issues: It is rated M, so there’s some curse words and violence throughout the game. However, this game is more psychological than straight up violence, so it’s not as bad as a lot of games.
Reason for Inclusion: The premise of this game series is pretty unique compared to other games on the market, and it’s visually stunning. It’s easy to pick up and play even if you’ve never played video games before, while still having a compelling storyline.
Quilted Bookworm 