Life is Strange: True Colors

Alexandra Chen appeals to me in ways I can't explain. It may be that she's the closest to me than any of the other Life is Strange characters, or it may be that I think her empathy powers are the coolest and I wish I could be like her and read other people's emotions in real life like open books? Maybe, Although there's also the risk of achieving emotional trauma because of having so many feelings bombarding you constantly and potentially spinning you out of control... right... but, isn't life sometimes like that? Even without empathy powers?

Yeah, it's decided. I would like to be Alex Chen and feel deeply. I may get a little traumatized at the end of the day but I'll be a better person because of it! (also I will make a fortune as a therapist, economy solved! but that's not the point...)

This game has some strange contradictions going on with it... and that is, for a game that is all about feelings it certainly left me feeling a little cold by the end...

Once again, I do love Alexandra, she felt more real in a way (Max Caulfield move away, sorry!) and I did like two moments specially when she really gets going and uses her powers to "understand" something going on with someone, I was like "yeahh that's so cool! she totally gets it! She's like, a detective of feelings!! An emotional PI !!! Wow!!! I wish I could have that insight into people it would make life so much better! alright! this game's story is going to be awesome!!! but then... it's sort of... not.

So, in tipical " Life is Strange fashion" something catastrophical happens right at the beginning of the game and we are soon drowning in tears trying to understand, Why, where, when... what ? And what follows is a string of very low key dialogues and every day life situations which honestly, except for a few moments didn't really do it for me.

I feel really conflicted about this review (at least the game made me feel that) in the sense that, I see the potential for what could've been, in my opinion, the best Life is Strange, the coolest main character (and also lots of love to Steph!!!) but the story itself and the dialogues are so weak that this was, sadly, the LiS game that tooked me the longest to complete.

Maybe the let down is more unexpected since after playing LiS Before the Storm, by Deck Nine also, which incidentally has the best story of any LiS game, I was expecting something at least half as good as Before the Storm, but, that was not the case here. Even with all the upgrades in technology regarding performance capture (fully captured/animated facial expressions which bring much more life into every character) sadly, that can only take you so far if the script is not that good.

Also the music, a strong point of all the LiS games left me a little indifferent this time around. There are great themes from time to time, don't get me wrong, but I felt that the overall collection of music tracks (by different artists) lacked something that could connect them cohesively and, more importantly, with the game.
In Life is Strange when riding that bus with Max, listening to that song in the first game, I felt the moment, I lived in, I was transported right there riding the bus with her.
In life is Strange Before the Storm, when Chloe remembers her dad at one point and starts "breaking" things and the soundtrack plays "Daughter"... it was chilling, it was cathartic, and almost healing (in a strange way) music had that effect on me.
I kind of missed that on True Colors.

If only I could "thank" True Colors for one thing, that would be, that it was the one LiS game that finally got me interested in trying the series, and while it didn't end up being on my favorite list, at least it gave me an excuse to play all the other games in the series, and in doing that, playing Before the Storm, but also having some good moments on all the other ones.

And of course, now that a new game was announced recently (in the middle of playing this series in 2024) I now have one more thing to do. Life is Strange Double Exposure. The return of Max Caufield.

I loved the first game when starting it, Max reminded me of what it used to be being a young art student, studying photography at school, of all the things I wanted to say and do. But I was certainly not a teenager when playing LiS and those aspects of the story felt distant to me… that’s one thing I did like about True Colors, Alex being more grown up (at least a young adult) no longer playing as a teenager and so I always wondered how it would be playing Max as a grown up? ... until then, listen to this…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QT5eGHCJdE

Daughter – Youth © 2013 4AD


This review written with all the feelings ©2025 by Aleena.

I really enjoyed the power in this LiS game, it was pretty fun to interact with the npcs and here what they were thinking, my personal favourite was bald guy. In addition, I enjoyed playing the story and I liked the choices that were given in this game as I felt they did impact the story and some of them were quite difficult decisions to make (where I had to pause the game and brainstorm what to do LOL)! Also, the soundtrack of this game was amazing! The main drawbacks for me was that the story was a bit shorter than the other LiS games (I finished it in just under 11 hours, even with reading everything and exploring everything I could within each chapter). Regarding Steph's DLC, I personally found it quite boring but that might just mean it wasn't my cup of tea.

Overall, I would recommend to buy this game when it is on sale as I felt it was a bit too short to justify the 50 quid price tag.

I really liked the direction this game went, it didn't try to imitate what the first game did but also wasn't too divided like the second game. It is its own thing, and it's great.

Although the story isn’t as compelling as the original Life is Strange, I really enjoyed Alex’s character and personality, as well as her interactions with the townsfolk. The environment is beautifully designed, with vibrant colors that perfectly align with the game’s title. While the gameplay is relatively short, I particularly loved Chapter 3. However, I do wish the game had been longer to further explore its world and characters.

gud game hehe

and a message from my friend that played the game through together:

======================

Truly in love with this game!!! I love all the characters personality, relationship and I love the story a lot!
Just buy this game three days ago and yet I already start my second play through and will definitely play it for the third, fourth and more!

Very poor character development, the story is not involving and completely uncommon for this series - there was no actual drama. There is some anti-corporation propaganda pushed and it is really hard not to go out with Steph - it felt canonical that the main character is gay like it was in the first game.

It feels that the series is all out of fresh ideas. I found the first one groundbreaking, the second one very emotional, but this one is plainly put boring.

I was excited to play this game because I really enjoyed Life is Strange #1 and #2. Unfortunately, the story falls flat and is way too simple. The first game had so much depth and it felt like your choices matter. I'd describe #3 as more of a visual novel that lacks character development in anyone outside of the main character. Sadly, if you're a LiS fan, I don't recommend TC.

It crashed during Chapter 5 and deleted/corrupted my save. Not good enough a story for me to want to start again.

The production value of this title is high, but it bored me to death. The characters are one-dimensional, and there is not much to do or interact with in the world. Alex's power is contrived and lacks depth. It's very linear with a not-so-great story, and the few choices you can make that have an impact are often hard to read, where you might misunderstand the meaning of the choice which does the exact opposite of what you might expect.

Still, Deck Nine succeeds in capturing this peculiar LiS vibe of the '90s indie-rock teen angst, albeit with less of a Lynchian chord (LiS 1 had a stronger Twin Peaks/Donnie Darko feel attached to it). The game is technically quite nice and, again, well-produced, but lacks dimensions and doesn't go deep beyond a Sunday afternoon teen TV drama. It might be for you if that's your jam or, broadly speaking, for teenage sensibilities.

I'm halfway through and might finish it, so I'll change my review if it "colors me surprised", anyways if you're interested take it on sale, I don't believe it deserves more than 20 bucks.

As someone who has played the full story of this game (excluding wavelengths) I can tell you that its good, but to defo wait for a steam sale. The story of true colors is amazing, i honestly didn't want to stop playing ever and the characters just felt like they had atleast one thing about them I could relate to. I am currently now playing wavelengths which is not required for you to play to be able to fully understand the story. I myself only got the deluxe edition because it was at such a good price! I would defo reccomend this game if you like the life is strange series and the 'choices matter' genre.

Probably my favorite of all the life is strange games. The overarching story isn't as world destroying as the first game. It's more grounded and realistic. It's something that could very easily happen, and probably has many times. Alex's powers, unlike the other games, are not the SOURCE of the problem (which is a nice change). They just help her resolve it.

All that is kinda secondary, though, because the strength of this game is the depth of the characters. Throughout the game I felt Alex's pain, fear, and anger. They did such an incredible job at sucking you into the personal life of not just the protagonist but the side characters as well.

Life is Strange emotionally wrecked me; True Colors was incredibly cathartic.

---{Score: 10 ⭐ / 10 ⭐}---

---{ Graphics }---
🔲 You forget what reality is
☑️ Beautiful
🔲 Good
🔲 Decent
🔲 Bad
🔲 Don't look too long at it

---{ Gameplay }---
🔲 Addictive
🔲 Build your world!
☑️ Very good
🔲 Good
🔲 Mehh
🔲 Watch paint dry instead
🔲 Just don't

---{ Soundtrack }---
☑️ Dance on!
🔲 Very good
🔲 Good
🔲 Not too bad
🔲 Bad
🔲 Play it on mute

---{ Audience }---
🔲 Kids
☑️ Teens
☑️ Adults
🔲 Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
🔲 Check if you can run paint
🔲 Potato
🔲 Decent
☑️ Fast
🔲 Rich
🔲 Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Difficulty }---
🔲 Just press 'W'
☑️ Easy
🔲 Easy to learn / Hard to master
🔲 Significant brain usage
🔲 Difficult
🔲 Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☑️ Nothing to grind
🔲 Only if you care about leaderboards/ranks
🔲 Isn't necessary to progress
🔲 Average grind level
🔲 Too much grind
🔲 You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☑️ It'll replace your life
🔲 Better than many movies
🔲 Lovely
🔲 Good
🔲 Average
🔲 Some lore
🔲 No Story

---{ Game Time }---
🔲 Might forget you have a life outside of this game (100 Hours+)
🔲 Long (20 to 50 Hours)
☑️ A Bit Long (10 to 20 Hours)
🔲 Average (5 to 10 hours)
🔲 Short (1 to 5 hours)
🔲 Very Short (Less than 1 hour)

---{ Replayability }---
🔲 This is my life now
🔲 Endless
☑️ Fun to play again
☑️ Play to check other choices or endings
☑️ Only if you want all collectibles
🔲 Beat and done

---{ Price }---
🔲 It's free!
🔲 They could put double and I would still buy
🔲 Worth it
☑️ If it's on sale
☑️ If you have some spare money left
🔲 Not recommended
🔲 You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
🔲 Never heard of
🔲 Minor bugs
☑️ Can get annoying
🔲 ARK: Survival Evolved
🔲 Who doesn't love to T pose
🔲 The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ Microtransactions }---
☑️ None! Yay!
🔲 Cosmetics Only
🔲 Paywalls
🔲 Game Passes
🔲 Pay To Win
🔲 To skip Playing
🔲 "Forced"... Because the free options suck!

---{ DLC }---
🔲 There is none
🔲 Must get ALL!
🔲 Get only what you like
☑️ Cosmetics Only
☑️ New game modes
🔲 Whole new game
🔲 Base game is like a burger without meat
🔲 It's Just recolors of same stuff we have
🔲 Just to have if you got spare money
🔲 To skip Playing
🔲 Overpriced, wait for sale
🔲 Don't get
🔲 It's a Scam!

---{ Multiplayer }---
🔲 Co-op Fun
🔲 It's fine
🔲 Devs forgot there was Singleplayer mode
🔲 Singleplayer disguised as MMO
🔲 Always Online MMO
🔲 No multiplayer but few online features
☑️ No online
🔲 PVP Tryhards
🔲 Community more toxic than cyanide
🔲 Kids shouting on mic, how wonderful
🔲 Stay away if you want to keep your sanity
🔲 Forced to be "online"

choices barely feel like they matter, especially when it comes to the ending. love interests feel forced. characters are overall too nice to you in a way that makes them feel flat and unrealistic. fun game on a casual initial playthrough but falls apart on replay. if you want a murder mystery in a mining town where your choices actually feel important play twin mirror instead.

Surprisingly my first LIS gameplay as it got huge price off (while still expensive). The game was kinda boring and it was just like a whole movie playing game. The only line i loved the most was making alex and stepg a move. Too short for the price. Couldn't recommend. I would say it's the worst purchase ever.

I thoroughly enjoyed playing Life is Strange: True Colors. I think this is my favorite so far. The "main story" may not be as strong as the first life is strange, but I think the characters were relatable and grounded. The main character, Steph, Ryan, and Gabe were all great characters and felt very real. If a story can get me feeling emotions and questioning my decisions and interactions with other characters, it's a success in my eyes. I personally didn't enjoy life is strange 2. I thought it was all over the place with the time jumps and messy characters, but this was great and a step in the right direction.
The animation in this game is a huge step up over the previous 2. I am looking forward to playing more in the series if we get more!

Genuinely gorgeous and moving. Exactly what I would hope for out of a modern rendition of Life is Strange. Yes, it is corny at times, but at this point, if you’re playing the 4th Life is Strange game, chances are you know what you’re signing up for and are more than okay with that. True Colors is much more like LiS1 and BTS than LiS2, highly recommend if you’re looking for an experience similar to those two games.

While I enjoyed the story of Life is Strange True Colors, I cannot recommend it to others who have played the other games in the series.

Life is Strange 1 + 2 were amazing games, with 2 being my favorite, where the choices you made throughout the story had real impacts on your character, other characters, and the projection of the story. Life is Strange True Colors does not provide this. Instead, it is a story with a railroaded timeline that you will follow regardless of the choices you make. Every single choice timeline leads you to the exact same ending. The only difference is your romance interest, NOTHING else is different.

For this reason, I cannot recommend this game despite finding the story itself overall enjoyable. The best part of the Life is Strange series is the feeling of your choices with interactions with characters having real implications and changing the ending you get. Life is Strange True Colors just takes you along for the ride with the guise of making you think that any choices you make matter at all.

I wasn't sure going in, because I loved the Max/Chloe/Rachel world of Life is Strange so much, but Alex really is awesome as well. Some great and unique game mechanics here. Overall, I must say I enjoyed the other Life is Strange stories more (also Double Exposure), but definitely worth it after you've played the other ones.

My first LiS game, Although accompanied by some slightly cringe writing (in true LiS fashion) the story is very entertaining and keeps you on your toes.

This is my lease favorite of the LIS series. This game was painfully boring. There was a lot less interaction than previous editions. I felt like I was watching a boring 11 hour movie. Even when interactions in a room become available, a lot are just looking at objects for the sake of looking at them with no further option -or- walking when there is only one direction to go. By chapter 4, I just wanted this game to be over as soon as possible.

Another gorgeous LIS game, mixture of old style but still bringing something new and "modern day" to it. At first I wasn't too hyped about the emotions power but it got more interesting over time. Mini games in old arcane style also got hour or two from me. I suggest

As it is with a lot of the Life is Strange games, this game also provides a really nice vibe. The game plays in a small town in some mountainous area somewhere in the USA. The theme of this game is about dealing with trauma of having lost someone and the process of the main character resocializing with other people. Overall a great game and again gives off a good vibe!

I give this game a solid 8/10 if you buy it on sale. Alex and Steph, True Colors of the town, other people like Jed and Ryan, True Cowards!!

I absolutely adore this game. From the characters to the story, everything feels smooth. I have no complaints at all. I am very obsessed with Alex Chen. By far my favorite LiS character, and it's by a landslide. Other than that, I do love the romance options although there is an obvious choice.. (Steph.) If you're wondering how I am saying this with 3 hours of playtime, I know a lot about the story! This game is very fun, and I highly recommend it.

Life Is Strange: True Colors is a great game with an interesting plot, memorable characters and beautiful graphics and art direction. I strongly recommend it for both fans of the series and new players. Also I liked it way more than LiS 2, for what its worth. TC felt way more cosy and personal, and didnt overstayed its welcome, whereas LiS2 felt like a slog to get through.

The story doesn't hit as hard as previous installments but offers good dialogue, great music, and a bit of nostalgia.

Main flaw for me was subpar pacing of the plot as a whole and sometimes confusing layouts that either make you wander aimlessly around the exploration levels for a long time or accept you will miss interactions and minor story beats.

The power and the utilization of it gameplay-wise was so-so. It supports the narration but often falls flat when trying enhance the gameplay.

Overall I would still recommend the game, giving it either a strong 7 or weak 8 out of 10.

I have also experienced a few crashes on both dx11 and dx12, thankfully nothing too disruptive but replaying from previous saves always sucks. Game autosaves pretty often though.

Also if I could rewind time, I would play the Wavelengths DLC story before the main game if you're coming into True Colors after already playing Season 1 and Before the Storm. Just my feeling about it, I liked the Steph experience and feel it would flow nice into the main story. Playing in this order could be considered a minor spoiler but not worse than reading the store page in my opinion.

My most fav game ever, beautifully written story, I love it...

I liked it a lot - I like the storyline and the twists and turns. The environment is very pretty and I like the fact that you get to sit down and just exist with music in the background just to take a breather for a while. I liked the journey and getting to know all the characters. It was a very nice experience.
While I enjoyed the game it is very short in my opinion, i 100% it in 16.7 hours, and it's also quite expensive so take that in consideration when deciding to buy this game.
Therefore I give the game a solid 8/10

genuinely my fav LiS game. love the characters, environment, and storyline :)

its nice refreshing story which is bit questionable! Why you kill off major character that protagonist JUST MET and knows as their only family left yet? Game looks stunning in graphics too but could you use less loading screens for small area changes, paired with lower end system it almost is unplayable, cut off for 15+ seconds constantly when going in and out of places, it really feels the devs didn't use unreal engine to its fullest or wasn't great at optimizing the game.

This game is fucking amazing, it really blows the first life is strange out of the fucking water man and i fucking love that game.

When I first picked up Life is Strange: True Colors, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was a bit hesitant, but wow, I’m so glad I gave it a shot. The story, the characters, the emotions.. it all just hit me in the best way possible. And then there’s Steph. Oh man, Steph. I might sound soft saying this, but I wish I could have my own happy ending like that. She’s just so genuine and precious, and honestly, she stole the show for me.

The bonus DLC where you play as Steph? Absolute perfection. Getting to see more of her backstory and experience things from her perspective was everything I didn’t know I needed. It added so much depth to her character, and now I just want more of her.

This game isn’t just about the choices you make; it’s about the way it makes you feel. And for me, it felt like I was part of something special. If you’re into emotional, character-driven stories, you’ve got to play this. Trust me, it’s worth it. :,)

Overall a good entry, a tad slow during the middle three episodes but concludes satisfactorily. It's not the best entry so far from Deck Nine but not the worst either. Playing as an empath was interesting, kinda creepy considering you can not only read emotions but hear the inner monologue of the person as well. Alex is an interesting protagonist as well, probably the most likeable one in the series. Also a decent supporting cast that come off as believable yet kinda boring.

By far the worst game in the series.

Main Features:
- An insufferable pragonist and uninspired cast of side characters
- Terrible writing that goes nowhere
- The worst pacing of all Life is Strange games to date (Chapters 2-4 are a snoozefest)
- Meaningless decisions that have literally no impact on the story

First Chapter started off interesting but it got downhill from there real fast. Only positive things I can think off are the visuals and music stuff, if you like that sort of thing (I dont, so it didnt help). Not worth 60 bucks for sure.

I want to enjoy this game more than I do, really, but I just can't. Aside from the games visuals and aesthetics, there's nothing good nor appealing about it.

The gameplay and story are EXTREMELY underwhelming, predictable and bland. The game is more expensive than the remastered originals, yet it is much shorter. The important choices also fall flat and don't have as big of an impact on the story as they should.

If you're a fan of the Lis series and want to play the game, wait for it to go on sale because it is definitely not worth the €60 they are charging for it.

One of the most gut wrenching games I've played, I would be smiling with the characters and sobbing the next. Since the game has been out for a while, I would wait till the game goes on sale (I bought it for 18 bucks) but, the story is a roller coaster of emotions while also telling an important part of life we don't always see.

Nothing mind blowing, but easily the best game in the series. Alex is also by far the most likeable Life is Strange protagonist.

It´s not a bad game, but definitely "alright" at best. If no other Life is Strange game existed, I would have enjoyed this quite a lot, however it pales in comparison to the original LiS game and Before the storm.

The story - while not necessarily basic - is nothing to write home about, not too original, not too unexpected. The writing is at times unconvincing and not credible. Sometimes it´s not clear how much time passed between chapters if you miss it or forget it being mentioned briefly. Characters are believable, but don´t show much emotional depth and are not *that* interesting. All this + the game being shorter (11 hours for me) lead to only a mild connection with the characters, including the main one.

***RANT WITH SPOILERS BELOW***

Alex finds her brother, really the last member of the family, after many years. He dies the same day they finally meet up, yet Alex is - as far as I can tell - only mildly affected by it. A real person would have a breakdown. Even Eleanor had bigger reaction when she learned that she forgot to attend the funeral.
Ethan is 10 years old, yet he refuses to cooperate because in his imagination he sees a pair of big purple eyes in the mountain? I call bullshit, but evidently there was no better way how to construct the plot.
Big international corporation being the bad guy, wow, never ever before have I seen a story like that. From the very first mention it´s clear this is who you will be against.
I can get past the fact that Alex survives being (attempted to be) shot and falling down a mine shaft, but what a damn coincidence that thanks to this she randomly finds an amulet of her father, leading her to learn that he died in this very mine. Like really? What are the odds of that?!

Such a great game, with an unbelievable price. Wait for the price to reduce. Possibly the best game of this type I have ever played.

This is a very cozy choices matter game with the nice small town aesthetic. The game itself has loads of lore in its in-game text app and social media system as well as the journal and interactive assets. The story itself is (in my opinion) very well put together and the game play itself is very doable in a day if you have 10 hours. Each episode spans to about 2 hours per if your main focus is story content only in a more point a to b fashion. If you want to gain collectibles and really explore the free roam content you should plan on adding around 4 additional hours to the 10 standard play. Unlike a TT game though instead of seeing the consequences of your major decisions they tend to show either towards the end of the episode or the end of the story which can heavily influence the ending result of the story line.

Everything about this game is amazing. (To me at least). I love the story and pacing, it was very entertaining from start to finish. I recommend this game to everybody who likes fun and great storytelling. 100000/10

I am a huge fan of the series and the first two games absolutely blew me away. This is a fantastic game in its own right- the story and characters are compelling. I really enjoyed playing it.

I absolutely loved this game! I've played all of the LIS games, excluding the new one that was released. I didn't get all of the achievements, so I will end up playing it again to get them. :)

As a long time fan of the Life is Strange franchise, i adored this game. Great Characters and soundtrack as always! Great to see steph back as more of a MC.

it has a awesome storyline and is great at making character you will love so if your a sucker for a good story this is that game for you

So beautiful! Related so much with the story! I loved it, all the way through!

a smaller scale story/experience compared to the other games but incredibly heartwarming and endearing

put off playing this one for a while, because i didn't think i would enjoy it as much since it was a new roster of characters. to be completely honest, that was hella stupid of me. the overall themes of alex's past and present didn't personally reach me as much as the max and chloe, but its still a beautiful story, and i can imagine would resonate very well with someone with a similar childhood experience. fantastic

edit: after posting this, i played the "wavelengths" episode (steph's story), and it was really, really boring. it was cool to see more about steph, i love her character and voice acting (even in before the storm), but this episode honestly would've been better as a non-interactive episode, like a movie or even just a youtube video. doesn't take away from the base game of course, just figured it was worth mentioning

Its such a chill and emotional game I enjoyed every part of it. The story is amazing, the way you get to know all the characters is very entertaining and the plot twist??? Never saw it coming, wow
Not really sure if it has the same vibes as the other Life is Strange games, but its definitelly worth giving it a shot <3