Life Is Strange: True Colors - What We Know So Far

Kicking off a new series of digital-direct events, Life is Strange: True Colors headlined the Spring 2021 Square Enix Presents livestream on March 18. True Colors continues the run of critically acclaimed standalone narrative adventures, offering up a new setting, protagonist, cast, and psychic power bolstered by an exclusive soundtrack with licensed songs and fresh tracks from mxmtoon and Novo Amor.

Published by Square Enix, True Colors has been in the works at Deck Nine Games, the developer behind Life is Strange: Before the Storm, since 2017. Chief creative officer Zak Garriss described the title as "a real labor of love," promising an experience centered on empathy and the different ways people connect. 

While the design and themes seem consistent with previous Life is Strange games, True Colors is poised to set itself apart in multiples ways. Not only will it leave the episodic format behind to release all at once, but it will be the first entry in the franchise to feature characters rendered via full performance capture technology.

Here's what else you can expect from Life is Strange: True Colors, including when you'll have the opportunity to experience the game for yourself.

It's not often a game gets announced with a solid release date. Usually fans get a release window out in the far-flung future, and if things don't go to plan, the title gets delayed and the date gets pushed back. Fortunately, that wasn't the case with the reveal of Life is Strange: True Colors. Fans have a solid date they can mark on the calendar, and even better: it's not years down the road.

Life is Strange: True Colors is set to launch on Sept. 10, 2021. As the game's announcement makes clear, there'll be versions on a multitude of platforms, including PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC via Steam, and Google Stadia. As of March 2021, True Colors is available for pre-order, so you can plunk your money down right this instant. There's even an Ultimate Edition that includes an additional story, a "Hero Outfit Pack," and remasters of Life is Strange and Life is Strange: Before the Storm.

Square Enix had a lot to accomplish during its Spring 2021 event. Life is Strange: True Colors hadn't ever been shown before, so players went into the livestream with little to go on. The company's answer was a trailer and presentation that ran through all the important details, all in a little more than ten minutes.

The Life is Strange: True Colors - Announce Trailer and accompanying Announce Show introduced the game's characters and set up the story with a banger of a soundtrack that included "When You Call (feat. BELLSAINT)" by Cyrus Reynolds and "Haven" by Novo Amor. If nothing else, the trailer and the tracks did their best to prepare players for the kind of game True Colors wants to be: an emotional journey with soaring highs and deep, deep lows.

It seems True Colors' first trailer did its job, as expectations are running high. One commenter captured the general mood of the fan response to the video, observing that "[the] game already OOZES passion all over the place."

The plot of Life is Strange: True Colors centers on a girl named Alex, who — after spending years apart from her brother, Gabe — moves to the small mountainside town of Haven Springs and reunites with her sibling. It isn't long, though, before tragedy strikes. Gabe mysteriously dies, and Alex is left searching for answers as to why. Some of the townspeople believe his death was an accident. Others, however, aren't so sure that's the case.

Like past Life is Strange games, True Colors aims to tell a believable real-life tale while mixing in some supernatural elements. In order to learn the truth about Gabe's death, Alex will use a special power to get to the bottom of what really happened. There'll undoubtedly be some twists and turns along the way as Alex digs deeper into the mystery. As for what truth she'll uncover — players will have to wait until Sept. 10, 2021 to find out.

Following in her predecessors' footsteps, True Colors' Alex possesses a unique supernatural ability: "the psychic power of Empathy." As revealed during the Announce Show, Alex can use this power to interact with the emotions of those around her, experiencing them first-hand. 

While the ability plays an instrumental role in connecting with the denizens of Haven Springs and unravelling the circumstances surrounding her brother's death, this potent empathy has a dark side. When not used with care, the emotions Alex absorbs can override her own, leaving her overwhelmed or disoriented. In addition to these experiences, she can also manipulate the emotions of her targets, which raises a few ethical questions.

According to the developers, players will have complete control over how Alex uses her Empathy. You'll encounter lots of opportunities to test the limits of this power, altering the lives of those around you. It seems fate is in your hands once more — for better or worse.