Life is Strange: True Colors introduces players to Alex Chen, an all-new protagonist who uses her psychic power of empathy to solve a mystery that will make her question everyone and everything she's come to know in the quaint small town of Haven Springs.

In March, the latest entry in the Life is Strange series was revealed: Life is Strange: True Colors, a small-town supernatural mystery.

Brought to life through full performance capture by rising talent Erika Mori, players will navigate Haven Springs as Alex Chen, a young woman who has long suppressed her "curse": the psychic power of empathy, a supernatural ability that allows her to experience, absorb and influence the strong emotions of others — which she sees as blazing, colored auras.

When her brother dies in a suspicious accident, Alex must at last embrace her volatile power to find the truth, and uncover the dark secrets buried by a small town. Alex Chen's journey, power and future are all fully under the player's control.

The presentation at the Square Enix E3 2021 Showcase gave more insight into the visuals, gameplay, and narrative impact of Alex's psychic power of empathy, showing how she and the player will make choices and interact with the citizens of Haven Springs, both through use of the power during exploration, and in memorable story-driven moments that present the player with complex decisions only they — using Alex's power — can resolve.

Using Alex Chen’s psychic power of Empathy, you won’t just get to know these people by what they say and do, but also by what they feel.

You’ll need to consider on this information when making decisions in the game, as many have lasting consequences that will shape the story and its characters dramatically.

The trailer above gives you a sense of what that means and guides you through a choice from early in the game, and look at some of the outcomes that can result from it.

The decision

This decision focuses on three characters: Mac Loudon, Gabe Chen, and Riley Lethe.

Mac Loudon is the hot-headed, jealous boyfriend of Riley. Gabe Chen is the amiable bartender and transplant to Haven Springs. Gabe has become something of a confidant for Riley for a decision about her future that she hasn’t even shared with her boyfriend Mac.

This infuriates the hotheaded Mac, who has grown convinced that Riley is cheating on him with Gabe. These are all key pieces of information for the player to gather as Alex, as she moves through the Black Lantern and Haven Springs.

What’s more, a bruising encounter between Mac and Gabe acts as an unfortunate welcome for Alex on her first day in town, and neither she nor Mac are at all sure what to make of each other in its wake.

All of this tension remains unresolved as Alex begins her first shift as server at The Black Lantern, and runs into Mac, still licking his wounds in the back room. If they wish, the player can choose to use Alex’s power to empathically connect to Mac.

Through her power, Alex can feel Mac’s genuine love for Riley, his regret for the encounter with Gabe, and his fear that Riley is slipping away - and may even break up with him. Mustering the few scraps of humility of which he is capable, Mac makes a heartfelt plea to Alex. He begs her not to tell Riley how aggressive he was with Gabe.

Choice and consequence

Sure enough, Riley arrives on a warpath, laying into Mac and telling him that, unless he can give her a good explanation, they’re finished. Mac spins up a version that makes him and Gabe equally culpable - which is when Riley spots Alex. “Oh god, were you there too?” she asks, prompting Alex to choose how best to respond.

If Alex felt Mac’s true emotions, she may choose to let him off the hook, giving him the chance to save his relationship and hopefully do better in the future. Going forward, Alex could see Mac and Riley’s relationship blossom in unexpected ways, and may even be able to tap Mac for crucial information about Gabe’s death.

Alternatively, Alex may also choose to disregard Mac’s hidden emotions, or avoid engaging with them all together. Instead, she will call out Mac’s bull and tell Riley the truth, unvarnished and ugly. As a result, Mac and Riley’s relationship will be forever altered and Mac’s animosity toward Alex will grow ever stronger.

Neither decision is right and neither decision is wrong - it’s up to you to decide what the best course of action is. Either way, this is a choice made very early on in the game that has lasting consequences throughout. Mac and Riley’s status affects not just their relationship with each other and with Alex, but with the rest of Haven Springs’ expansive supporting cast.

That’s just one decision out of many you’ll have to make in Life is Strange: True Colors…

Life is Strange: True Colors will be available physically and digitally in three editions: the Standard Edition, the Deluxe Edition and the Ultimate Edition. Customers who pre-order Life is Strange: True Colors receive four additional in-game outfits for Alex.

The Life is Strange Remastered Collection is a new edition of the critically acclaimed Life is Strange and Life is Strange: Before the Storm game featuring all-new enhanced graphics and animations.

Life is Strange: True Colors is slated for release on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC on Sept. 10, 2021. Gamers can pre-order Life is Strange: True Colors now.