For my critical play this week, I explored “Life is Strange: True Colors.” In this response, I will argue that the gameplay mechanic of Alex Chen’s supernatural empathy power, and the setting of Haven Springs shape and control both the unfolding narrative and the game’s structure.
The game’s narrative plot is fundamentally an emotional one. It begins with protagonist Alex Chen arriving in the small Colorado town of Haven Springs to reconnect with her estranged brother, Gabe. Shortly after a heartfelt reunion, Gabe dies in an accident. The design decision to initiate the narrative in this manner immediately thrusts the player into feeling the emotional weight of Alex’s mission: To uncover the truth behind her brother’s death while unraveling the hidden secrets of Haven Springs.
From a gameplay perspective, the mechanic of Alex’s supernatural ability to read and manipulate emotions (Empathy) naturally plays a central role in the investigation. This is the key supernatural conceit of the premise, and plays an important role in adding an aesthetic of fantasy to the game’s enacting narrative. In concrete terms, the mechanic allowed me to see colored auras surrounding individuals and learn more about their inner thoughts and emotions. In doing so, it feeds into narrative progression by providing a novel avenue by which to uncover critical clues that propelled the mystery forward. For instance, while interrogating Mac, Gabe’s coworker, I was able to ‘sense’ his aura of fear and guilt, revealing discrepancies in his account of the incident leading to Gabe’s death. I felt that this was a really fresh way of enabling more expressive and communicative player-environment interactions, outside of traditional mystery games that often lean heavily on players traversing dialogue trees to unearth clues.
In another instance in-game, I was able to read the mind of a key witness and detect hesitation, which revealed a previously hidden piece of the mystery’s puzzle. This made it clear that the empathy mechanic also plays a crucial role in making the narrative feel deeply personal to both the protagonist and the player. I repeatedly had to decide whether to manipulate emotions or let the characters work through their feelings independently. In one scenario, I was able to take away the grief of a character who was struggling to cope with their emotions.
However, I believe the game could have gone further in exploring the moral ramifications of Alex’s empathy power. While using the ability to help characters is rewarding, there should be clearer consequences for manipulating emotions, adding more weight to the decisions and enhancing the overall immersion. In the example I described earlier, I found myself wondering about the consequences of my decision to manipulate an NPC, and also feeling the absence of real ramifications for interfering in this manner. A stronger emphasis on Alex’s toll for using her powers could make players think twice before intervening, and provoke deeper emotional complexity in players of an already ‘heavy’ game.
The game’s setting also controls the unfolding of the narrative. Haven Springs has a very distinct small-town charm despite the web of secrets that lies beneath. The game utilizes geographic locations in the game map as focal points for information and interaction with the environment. In doing so, the town’s architecture and layout become the framework for exploration and interaction, making it a key player in the story. As I guided Alex through the streets, I found myself becoming familiar with certain locations, which deepened my immersion in the plot.
The connection to the setting makes key narrative moments even more significant. For example, though I didn’t complete the game, I read about the emotionally charged LARPing sequence. In this scene, Alex and her friends transform the town into a fantasy adventure, using the streets and local shops as the backdrop. This sequence seemed playful and lighthearted, contrasting with the game’s more serious themes. This contrast deepened the characterization of the NPCs by strengthening the bond between characters outside the main narrative premise. I think this juxtaposition between silly-relatable and serious-mystery was incredibly effective at generating an emotional response in the player. For our own game, we plan to leverage such a contrast between the humor of the narrative and the atmosphere of the mystery to similar effect.
Finally, the game primarily operates on the back of its narrative arcs. While there are supporting arcs – like Steph’s coming-of-age or Eleanor’s memory loss – the overarching arc is incited by the death of Gabe – Alex from that point onwards is trying to resolve her brother’s death. In executing this, the core gameplay loops become exploring Haven Springs, interacting with characters, and using Alex’s empathy power to uncover clues. At this point, players need to make choices based on the information they cover, which progresses the narrative accordingly. This is the primary gameplay loop that keeps players engaged in the mystery by giving them a way to incrementally unlock information. I think that in the abstract, the narrative arc and gameplay loops seem quite simple. However, in conjunction with the detail, nuance, and flavor provided by the characterization and setting of the game, repeating this gameplay loop manages to avoid feeling like you’re running in place. That seems like a difficult balance to strike for a game that requires
In conclusion, “Life is Strange: True Colors” weaves narrative into its mechanics through Alex’s empathy power and branching dialogue choices. The architecture of Haven Springs controls the story’s flow and provides a rich backdrop for the mystery that makes the core gameplay loops feel fresh each time. Although the game could have explored Alex’s moral conundrums more deeply, its narrative arc (told through exploration and empathy) offers a mystery-solving experiences that differentiates itself from the rest of the genre by being highly personal and emotionally impactful.
