As part of the Square Enix Presents E3 presentation, Deck Nine has revealed more details on their upcoming title Life is Strange: True Colors. In the new “Power and Consequence” trailer, game director Zak Garriss takes us on a deep dive of the mechanics behind the empathy system that was announced with the game back in March. Players will be using multi-colored auras they see throughout the game to help solve mysteries, uncover clues and dialogue, and get a general sense of character emotions and backstories as they progress through True Colors.
We also got our first taste of what gameplay will actually look like in this trailer, as Alex, the protagonist reads her fellow townsfolks’ feelings and makes split-second decisions of how to progress based on what she can sense. We learned in this trailer that Alex can actively connect with particularly strong emotions that NPC’s put off. This places her in a “Nova”, a reflection of that specific character’s psyche. Within the Nova players will experience fragments of thoughts and memories that will help them understand the root causes of many deeper issues displayed by True Colors‘ characters. Some of these Novas are especially strong – carrying life-threatening levels of power and danger for Alex. Decisions made by the player will affect the entire progression of the storyline, so gamers will have to carefully pick and choose the best decisions as they arise.
Ultimately, players will be tasked with solving the seemingly not-so-accidental death of Alex’s brother – Gabe. With Alex’s emotional compass as the best guide forward, it will be interesting to see how this new gameplay mechanic plays out on top of Life is Strange‘s previously adopted narrative and decision-making game structure.
During the True Colors E3 presentation Deck Nine also reminded us that Life is Strange Remastered, which contains all the episodes from the original Life is Strange, and Before the Storm, will be released as a separate purchase starting September 30.
Life is Strange: True Colors will be releasing on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Steam, Windows Store, and Google Stadia on September 10, 2021. You can pre-order True Colors, as well as the Remastered collection, via the Square Enix page for Life is Strange now. You can also keep up with all the team’s updates via their Twitter page.
