BENGALURU : Life is Strange is a game series in the interactive-story format. This means that it does not have any complex combat. There are no boss fights. There are hardly any jump scares. However, it still is one of the most terrifying games to play. And this is because it makes you very aware of the fact that all your actions have consequences. Your only task is to interact with people, but every dialogue choice and decision matters. It can affect these people and your relationships with them. It bears in front of you the fact that human existence and emotions are complex, and that it requires a lot of attention and care.
Last week, Life is Strange: True Colours released. It is available across platforms, and I played it on the PS4. True Colours is the story of Alex Chen, who has special powers. She can not only read strong emotions of people around her but can also experience them herself. Basically, mind-reading with the side-effect of empathy. The story is about how she walks around healing people in her town, pro-bono.
I joke. The story is just a little more complex. Alex’s powers have hurt her before, and it does not help that she never had a stable life as a child. Between moving foster homes, and constant therapy, Alex has never experienced consistent warmth in her past. In True Colours, she reunites with her loving older brother after almost a decade. She finds herself picking up the pieces of her life in a small town in Colorado, where everyone knows everyone.
I also joked when I said the story was only a little more complex. We might assume that the game is a journey of Alex’s own character arc. In fact, it is really about the story of all the people with whom Alex
has interacted.
Alex’s powers are simply a plot device for us, the player, to learn and empathise with the lives of all the residents in the quaint little town. To encourage us to finish the game, woven through the story is a mystery that shrouds this new town. The game has excellent graphics, well-synced dialogue, a scenic and serene town for a setting, and storylines that infinitely branch out based on our decisions.
A 7/7 for this game, with its unique rainbow of a story.
Anusha Ganapathi
@quofles
(This economics graduate spends her leisure time preparing for the zombie apocalypse)