Life is Strangefans are getting treated to a new title this year,Life is Strange: True Colors, but it’s going to look quite different. It’s not going to beLife is Strange 3, as it is breaking away from the episodic formula that so defined the first 2. But while thisnon-episodic approach forLiS: True Colorshas its pros and cons, there is at least one part of the formula that will inherently change: choices.
There may not be obvious connections between choices and episodes in the franchise, but there’s a few ways where a day-one package probably presents better consistency. It’s worth mentioning that the upcoming game is still split into various chapters, but there will be no wait between. Players can move from one chapter to another, meaning those periods of waiting are a thing of the past. It all remains to be seen, of course, butLife is Strange: True Color’s new approach will mean choices are more, and sometimes, less obvious.
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Life is Strange and Cliffhanger Endings
In the firsttwoLife is Strangegames, as well as plenty of similar games, cliffhangers were often used to incentivize purchasing/picking up/playing the next episode. This makes sense, as with many TV shows, it can be hard to pay attention to a story no one is invested in. However, among all of the aforementioned games, it became rather predictable. Whether that’s good or bad is a personal choice, but that’s no longer possible, meaning Deck Nine has likely looked at ways to make effective choices without relying on some sort of FOMO.
With the game being split into chapters but those chapters easily feeding into one another right away, it seems more likely that each chapter is a full story building up to a bigger reveal/bigger story. This story of storytelling isn’t necessarily uncommon in games like this, and someepisodes ofLife is Strange 2certainly felt this way. But fans don’t have to worry about ending the episode worried about what happened to Daniel, as an example. InLife is Strange: True Colors, players will be able to begin the next episode immediately, day one, and that’s likely impacted choices in this area. After all, some of the biggest cliffhanger endings mean players wait on the result of a choice.
Choices in Life is Strange: True Colors
While ending choices and transitions between episode to episode are the most obvious differences, but there’s reason to believe that this impacts choices in slightly less obvious ways as well. For example, if a choice made inLife is Strange: True ColorsChapter 1 impacts Chapter 5, it may not obviously be a big choice. Again, this is nothing new, but having big choices constantly thrust in the player’s face may undermine that when new chapters come about so quickly. It’s the long-term, short-term impact of such choices. At the same time, likeMax’s photography and Sean’s drawing, Alex Chen does music. The impact of music in the real world cannot be understated, and choices regarding that will likely have some nuanced impact as well.
Another good example would be potential collectibles and their impact on the game. InThe Walking Dead: The Final Season, for example, collectibleschanged Clementine and AJ’s room. This environmental storytelling is important, but may have a bigger impact since episodic release dates won’t be as pressing anyway. Either way, a lot of this is speculation, but the move to a less episodic structure likely means more emphasis, subtly or otherwise, on choices.
Life is Strange: True Colorslaunches June 22, 2025, for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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