During Square Enix’s showcase this morning, the company announced the next chapter of the acclaimed Life is Strange series. Life is Strange: True Colors is in development at Deck Nine, the team behind the excellent (if a little underrated) Life is Strange: Before the Storm.
True Colors is the story of Alex Chen, played by Erika Mori, who’s spent her life suppressing her “curse”: a psychic power that lets her see other people’s strong emotions in the form of coloured auras, and even experience and manipulate them herself. When her brother dies in an apparent accident, this “curse” proves to be the power that’ll let her find the truth, and uncover the dark secrets hidden within the little town of Haven Springs.
Soundtrack is always a big part of any Life is Strange game, and True Colors is no exception. Among the artists featured here are mxmtoon (who also presented the announcement during the Square Enix Showcase), Novo Amor, Radiohead, Phoebe Bridgers, Gabrielle Aplin.
“It has been such an honor to return to the vibrant, emotive, and impactful world of Life is Strange. We are delighted to share this new story with you: a story of empathy, human connection, and the struggle to find a place to call home,” said Jeff Litchford, Vice President at Deck Nine Games. “All of the advancements in storytelling, development technology, and premium voice acting that we have made since Life is Strange: Before the Storm will allow players to be more immersed in the compelling world of Life is Strange: True Colors than ever before.”
In a first for Life is Strange, True Colors won’t be released episodically—it’ll be a complete, standalone game, released as a single package on September 10 this year. It’s coming to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, Windows Store, and Google Stadia, across three different versions:
- Standard Edition: just the base game
- Deluxe Edition: includes the game, access to a DLC chapter when it’s available, and four bonus outfits for Alex
- Ultimate Edition: includes the game, access to a DLC chapter when it’s available, four bonus outfits for Alex, and remastered versions of Life is Strange and Life is Strange: Before the Storm
Those Life is Strange and Before the Storm remasters come with improved visuals and animations. They’ll also be released separately later this year as Life is Strange Remastered Collection, though there’s no release date just yet.