Since its first episode published in 2015, the license Life is Strange has made a lasting impression on players, thanks to endearing characters, rather well-crafted stories, and superb atmospheres. For my part, the formula has always hit the mark, and I was waiting True Colors as much as I feared. I indeed had some reservations, since it was Deck Nine Games behind the project, already at work on Life is Strange : Before the Storm (acting as a prequel to the base game), which did not disappoint me, but seemed to me below what Dontnod offered. Fortunately, after about 8 hours of play and a platinum trophy in my pocket, I'm won over!
Haven Springs, a city where life is good!
Life is Strange : True Colors tells us the story of Alex Chen, a young woman with a tormented childhood, who lost her parents and traveled from home to home with her brother Gabe, who was also forced to abandon his sister after having some bullshit that sent him to a detention center. Wanting to redeem himself, Gabe asks his sister - now an adult - to join him in Haven Springs, a small mountainside town in Colorado. Alex therefore runs, and takes a bus to this colorful town and a bit cliché, it must be admitted. The reunion will however be short-lived, since after an event that I let you discover, Gabe dies and leaves a gaping hole in Haven Springs. Our character, in mourning but determined, will investigate, the circumstances of the death of his brother being quite curious.
Life is Strange obliges, our protagonist has a somewhat special power that will help him throughout the adventure... Indeed, by observing people, Alex sees a colored aura emanating from them and can "read" the emotion of the person and what they think. Modulo the color of the aura, the emotion is distinct. A blue aura indicates that the person is sad, red, angry, purple, scared, and yellow, happy. Note that certain objects loaded with memories can also be vectors of emotions for Alex, who can therefore read them. This power of super-empathy will be used on different occasions, whether to advance the main adventure, or to strengthen our ties with the few characters who inhabit Haven. Due to this rather unique ability, the story immediately takes a strong emotional turn and, faced with this flood of intense emotions, our heroine does not remain insensitive, she can soak it up, which will unlock/modify certain dialogues, For better or for worse. The butterfly effect is indeed always present, and this has a lot of repercussions on certain parts of the work.
Alex is an extremely endearing heroine!
In terms of game system, we can say that we are on familiar ground. The formula does not change one iota compared to the previous parts. So we end up with a "Telltale" gameplay, where we interact with surrounding objects and avatars, with a bit more leeway than before. Indeed, Alex will have the freedom, during a large part of the adventure, to wander in the main artery of Haven Springs. This allows us to visit several shops and the park. Not enough to jump to the ceiling, but it's already less compartmentalized than in previous episodes, and it's frankly appreciable. In addition to making friends with the neighborhood while strolling, Alex will have the possibility of developing a romance with two characters of the game: a man or a woman.
On an artistic level, the games Life is Strange have always stood out. We don't change a winning team, and we therefore find this unique cachet. However, this time we are entitled to many more colors. Each building in Haven is adorned with a different color, and we find ourselves facing a very colorful and warm main alley. Immediately, you feel good there, and each interior is also richly decorated and provides a feeling of well-being. Too bad that all this is tainted by a technical sawtooth. On PS5, the game offers 4K resolution, limited to 30fps. One would think that this compromise would allow the game to remain constant in terms of fluidity, but it is not. Frequently, the framerate takes a little hit, and we feel like a hitch to the image. It's never very long, but noticeable. I first thought it was related to the Raytracing option enabled in the graphics options, but no. Whether the option is active or not, the game remains subject to these frequent hiccups. Deck Nine Games is currently working on a patch to fix this.
A lot of work has been done by the studio to make the game's social network "credible"!
At the level of hitches, we can quickly approach lip synchronization. In VO, it runs more or less correctly, but in VF, it often hits the side. Too bad because in terms of dubbing quality, the work done commands respect and will please players who want to finally discover the series in French. I still favored the VO, out of habit, which is of course high-end. Finally, it's impossible not to talk about the soundtrack when we talk about Read. Once again, the selection is superb and all of this could run for long weeks on a playlist!
Although the first Life is Strange holds a special place in my heart, Life is Strange : True Colors knew how to charm me. Admittedly, his story is quite classic, but the dialogues are well written and almost all the cast is endearing! The fact of abandoning the episodic format also allows the game to better balance the rhythm of the game. We avoid the annoying feeling of having to wait for the sequel for 2 months, and we can thus follow the story in one go. The only black spot on the board: his irregular technique. We bet that the studio can patch all this correctly.
An aura emanates from a character when under the influence of a strong emotion.
Available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series since September 10. Recommended retail price of €59,99 for the standard edition. A Nintendo Switch version is planned for the end of the year.
- Xbox Store
- PlayStation Store
- Steam
