Life is Strange: True Colors
| Video game fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name | Life is Strange: True Colors |
| Abbreviation(s) | LIS3, LIS: True Colors, LIS: TC |
| Developer(s) | Deck Nine |
| Release date | 10 September 2021 |
| External link(s) | Life is Strange: True Colors official website |
| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
This article or section needs expansion. |
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Life is Strange: True Colors is an episodic choice-based adventure game developed by Deck Nine and published by Square Enix. It is the fifth game in the Life is Strange series. For the first time in the series, the game was released with every episode included, aside from a DLC centered on fan-favorite Steph Gingrich and her experience before the main story.
Canon
Life is Strange: True Colors follows protagonist Alex Chen, a young woman with the power to absorb the emotions of those around her. When her brother Gabe dies in a mysterious accident, she must embrace her powers and make new allies in the town of Haven Springs in order to find the truth behind what happened to him.
The Wavelength DLC takes place over a whole year and concludes with Alex's arrival in town. It is divided in four chapters (for each season) in which the player, as Steph, animates the local radio, cleans up the store, reminisces on events from previous games and optionally flirts with people on a dating app.
Major Characters
Major Themes
Fandom
Pre-Release Fandom
The trailer released 18 March 2021, with supplementary material such as gameplay previews and interviews following soon after. This content has sparked fan activity centred around the new game, mostly among existing fans of the franchise and including fan art, theories and some fan fiction based on the game’s new characters or setting. This content is mostly centred on Alex, who is the character fans have been given the opportunity to learn the most about, and Steph, who was a minor but fan-loved character in Life is Strange: Before the Storm.
Life is Strange: True Colors never sparked the controversy of Life is Strange 2 upon its trailer release. This is likely because fans of the original game have now accepted that Max Caulfield and Chloe Price’s story is over, and are no longer expecting to see them again in subsequent titles in the series. In addition, queer fans of the series who appreciated the focus on queer relationships in the original title know from the start that Alex is bisexual and has the opportunity to romance a man or a woman over the course of the game, as opposed to Sean Diaz, whose bisexuality was only revealed a few episodes in.
Post-Release Fandom
Unsurprisingly, the Alex/Steph romance is much more popular than the other possibility, Alex/Ryan, thanks to the series historically having more interesting WLW representation and to Steph being a returning character from BtS. Another reason is that while Steph stays faithful to Alex throughout the story, Ryan can turn against the protagonist even if he's romanced. With that said, Ryan seems to have somewhat of a following among gay and bi males for his lumberjack, bear-ish appearance.
Criticisms include the brievety of the game (around 10 hours), a disappointing last chapter, predictable plot (following generally the same beats as the original Life is Strange) and for the DLC, its repetitiveness. It is generally agreed that True Colors is similar to the original game both in atmosphere (though lighter) and quality (with OG LiS perhaps being more appreciated thanks to nostalgia), whereas BtS and LiS 2 strayed from the original concept.
Shipping
- Alex Chen/Steph Gingrich
- Alex Chen/Ryan Lucan
- Alex Chen/Steph Gingrich/Ryan Lucan
- Gabe Chen/Ryan Lucan
Let’s Plays
Fanworks
Fanfiction
Fanart
- Happy Pride Month by TheWindyHobo
- D&D by TheWindyHobo
Archives & Fannish Links
- Life is Strange: True Colors works at AO3.
- Lis3 and life is strange true colours tags on Tumblr.