Life Is Strange: True Colors (Thankfully) Ditches The Series' Episodic Release Schedule

Life Is Strange: True Colors is set to launch September 10. Publisher Square Enix and developer Deck Nine have revealed that the upcoming choice-driven game will abandon the episodic release schedule used for the first three Life Is Strange games.

Musician mxmtoon (who provides the vocal performances for when protagonist Alex Chen sings) said that True Colors will still be divided into individual episodes like the previous games, you're just now getting the full package all at once. True Colors will be five episodes long.

Personally, I think this is great. Life Is Strange's episodic release schedule always felt strange to me. Episodes weren't releasing on a weekly basis like a TV show (a storytelling strategy that games like Fortnite and Apex Legends occasionally employ to great effect) so they didn't produce that same kind of drive to tune in, see what's new, and finish an episode in order to join in on the weekly conversation with friends and coworkers.

Instead, because they were released several weeks (and sometimes months) apart, it felt like you were just buying into an incomplete game upfront and then just frustratingly waiting for the developers to finish the rest of it. I'd often wait for all the episodes to come out so I could enjoy the story in full--so it's nice to see True Colors just coming out with that option available.

Deck Nine is changing other aspects of Life Is Strange's traditional formula too. For example, True Colors takes place in a more open world-like location, the small town of Haven Springs. A single main street cuts through the town, which you can freely explore in order to discover hidden secrets and engage in optional content and conversations.

Who you can talk to changes depending on the time of day, and how you choose to interact with others will influence Alex's relationships with other people and the overall state of Haven Springs. You can even choose to romance one of two different people if you want, each of whom has a different storyline.

If you're looking for more Life Is Strange content this year, don't worry. Life Is Strange: Remastered Collection is set to launch this fall--it's a combo platter of both the original game and it's follow-up prequel Before The Storm, both remastered with enhanced visuals and animations. You can even preorder the Ultimate Edition of True Colors to receive access to both of these remastered games.