The next Life is Strange game is True Colors, coming in September

The third main entry in the series will be a single release instead of split into chapters

Square Enix and developer Deck Nine have announced the next game in the Life is Strange series, and have revealed it won’t be episodic like its predecessors.

Life is Strange: True Colors tells the story of Alex Chen, a young woman who moves to the small town of Haven Springs where she ends up investigating the death of her brother, which she believes may not be accidental.

Alex has a power called Empathy, which lets her see people’s emotions as differently coloured glowing auras around them, then absorb and manipulate them.

She has to use this power to discover the small town’s dark secrets and figure out the truth behind what happened to her brother.

Whereas Life is Strange, Life is Strange: Before the Storm and Life is Strange 2 were all episodic adventures, True Colors will be a single release on September 10, 2021. It will still be split into chapters that provide natural breaks in the plot, but players will be able to play through them all at launch instead of having to wait for each one to be released.

“At its heart, this is a game about empathy, about how we connect to each other,” director Zak Garriss explained during today’s Square Enix digital presentation.

“The story is driven by a complex mystery, with supernatural elements, all brought to life by an incredible cast, led by our new player character Alex, played by Erika Mori.”

The game will allow players to choose a male or female romantic interest for Alex: her brother’s friend Ryan, or Steph from Life is Strange: Before the Storm.

True Colors will feature motion-captured performances for the first time in the series. It will also have a licensed soundtrack including music from Radiohead, Phoebe Bridgers, Gabrielle Aplin, plus new songs from mxmtoon (who will be providing Alex’s singing voice in-game).

Life is Strange: True Colors will be released on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, PC and Stadia. It will be available physically and digitally in three editions: the Standard Edition, a Deluxe Edition and an Ultimate Edition (the latter will include the Life is Strange Remastered Collection, which features enhanced versions of the first game and Before the Storm).